Northeast wakes up to record cold for Valentine’s Day

As many as 18 cities across the East could endure record-breaking cold Sunday, forecasters say.

New York City is on high alert and Mayor Bill de Blasio is warning residents to stay indoors because of the wave of bitter cold that is set to intensify.

A blast of bitter cold arctic air has brought the coldest temperatures in decades to some US Northeast cities on Valentine’s Day.

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio deployed over 300 city workers to help help provide shelter for the homeless and deal with residents’ complaints about heating and hot water.

“These temperatures can be life threatening – especially for seniors, infants and people with medical conditions”, De Blasio told a press conference, and advised people to stay home and take care of each other.

The cold weather is also thought to be a contributing factor to a track condition inside the Hudson River Tunnel that was causing delays on Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor service Friday afternoon, according to an Amtrak spokesman. – As frigid temperatures continue to effect the entire state, Governor Cuomo is reminding people to stay indoors.

Valentine’s Day was the coldest day in Boston since 1957.

Nic Faitos, owner of Starbright Floral Design, in NY, was anticipating about 2,000 deliveries this weekend.

He said his business double-wraps all the flowers to protect them. “The petals will develop into utterly wilted”, he stated.

The bone-chilling cold canceled horse racing at Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races in West Virginia and at New York’s Aqueduct Racetrack. Organizers called the ice festival off just a few weeks after Winter Jam, Central Park’s free winter sports day, had to be canceled due to a major snowstorm.

A wind chill warning was in place from 1 p.m. Saturday to noon Sunday for Westchester, Rockland, Fairfield and other counties to the north. The rest of the tri-state was under a wind chill advisory.

Mindful of wind gusts, officials have ordered construction cranes around the city to be placed in a secure position, de Blasio said.

Even with the freezing temperatures, tourists cloaked in heavy layers wandered over the Brooklyn Bridge to Manhattan, snapping photos. Deliverymen cycled via the windy streets, their arms coated with plastic luggage, and storage staff modified tires.

In Boston, some hurried through their mornings to get outdoor chores done before the worst cold set in.

Though the temperatures were frigid, they weren’t necessarily record-setting.

What makes everything feel even colder is the wind chill, which the 53 million people in the northeastern states are experiencing at 15 degrees below. The last time it got below minus-18°C in Central Park was in January 1994.

And those are just the real temperatures. Winds might gust as much as forty five miles per hour inland and 50 miles per hour on Cape Cod.

“I’ve got it working now, but it’s too late”, he said.

Bowser said more than 200 plows are at the ready.

“We haven’t really found so far that anyone’s travel plans or plans for the evening have changed because of the weather, which is kind of blessing”, Moravec said.