NWS Urges Long Islanders to Prepare for “Bitterly Cold” Temps This Weekend

Wind chills are forecast to bottom out Saturday night from minus-30 in the Pocono Mountains to minus-10 to the south, according to the weather service. The high will be near 24 degrees in both Springfield and Boston but the wind chill values are expected to be several degrees below zero. The worst of the cold will be Saturday night into early Sunday morning.

The weather service said wind chills will drop to 40 below zero, conditions that will cause frostbite to exposed skin in as little as 10 minutes. It is the combination of cold air and fierce wind that makes this arctic air mass painful, bitter, brutal, and risky.

Add the wind chill, and it will feel as low as minus-9 tomorrow, NWS says.

Additionally, a Lake Effect Snow Warning is in effect from 4 p.m. Friday until 10 p.m. Saturday in Ashtabula County. Much colder temperatures ahead, along with the potential for significant snow accumulation this weekend.

Today: Mostly sunny, with a high near 25. Northwest wind 8 to 13 miles per hour becoming light and variable after midnight.

SATURDAY NIGHT: A 20 percent chance of snow showers before 8 p.m. Partly cloudy, with a low around 2. It said conditions “will result in frostbite and lead to hypothermia or death if precautions are not taken”.

The big problem is not just how low thermometers will read, but also how fierce the wind chill will be.

Air temperatures…temperatures Sat night into Sunday morning will fall to near record cold values of 5 below to 5 above zero. Be sure your vehicle has a winter safety kit that includes a blanket, warm clothes and gloves in case your auto breaks down or becomes stranded.