Dangerous Cold Greets Northeast This Morning | WeatherBug
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Dangerous Cold Greets Northeast This Morning

August 14, 2017
UPDATED By WeatherBug Meteorologist, Andrew Rosenthal

Dangerous, even record-breaking cold is spreading across the Great Lakes and into the Northeast this morning. Temperatures are running well below zero across much of the Northeast, with wind chills of 10 to 30 degrees below zero.

Arctic air is being squeezed southward into the Eastern U.S. between a large Canadian high pressure system in the Great Lakes and low pressure racing away from Atlantic Canada. The two are also driving sub-freezing temperatures and wind chills as far south the Interstate 40 corridor from Arkansas to North Carolina.

Temperatures this morning have bottomed out at minus-20 in Goshen, Mass., with Madison, N.Y., clocking in at minus-26. Even beachfront property isn't providing any relief from the cold, with Nantucket falling to minus-9 degrees, and Provincetown, Mass., at minus-2. Sub-zero readings stretch through the New York metro area, including Long Island, with single digits deep into the Mid-Atlantic.

Coupled with a gusty northwest wind, wind chills have entered the "dangerous" category, with Washington, Conn., as low as minus-39 degrees and Northampton, Mass., at minus-33. Wind chills this low can cause frostbite in a matter of minutes, so bundle up if you must go outside.  Wind Chill Warnings and Advisories stretch from the Appalachian Spine to northern Maine through early afternoon.

Also, Freeze Warnings now stretch across southeastern Alabama, southwestern Georgia and parts of the Florida Panhandle through this morning, where the mercury will drop back into the upper 20s to near 30 degrees. This will mean sensitive vegetation will need to be covered or brought inside for them to survive.

Fortunately, temperatures will be a bit warmer tonight, as a storm system starts to advance from the Midwest and South. This will bring clouds into the region, holding temperatures "only" in the single digits and teens. The flip side of the coin is that it will bring wintry precipitation into the East on Monday and Tuesday.