Don’t get used to those seasonable temperatures in the Northeast this week because they are not around for long. The coldest air in several years is eyeing the region late this week and into the weekend, the FOX Forecast Center warned.
“We are going to end up getting a huge dip in the jet stream that is going to end up unlocking all of that cold air from Canada,” FOX Weather meteorologist Jason Frazer said.
Any time we start to see pinks pop up on the weather maps, that means we are talking about bone-chilling and disrespectful temperatures. Frostbite and hypothermia can occur in as little as 10 minutes, so precautions need to be taken.
“This is going to be dangerous weather,” Frazer said.
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The bitterly cold air mass takes hold from Friday into Saturday, with widespread below-zero temperatures expected across the Northeast by Saturday morning. The shot of pure arctic air will be the likes of something which we haven’t seen of this magnitude since Valentine’s Day of 2016, the National Weather Service noted.
Wind chills early Saturday could be as low as the negative 20s, 30s and 40s across New England and interior portions of the Northeast.
The FOX Forecast Center said high temperatures Saturday could be 20 to 30 degrees below average for early February. That translates to highs in the single digits, with a gusty breeze continuing to plunge wind chills to dangerously cold levels.
The last time the Mars Curiosity Rover reported high temperatures, they averaged around 7 degrees, the NWS said. With morning highs in Portland, Maine, on Saturday at negative 14 degrees, it would make it colder than your typical Martian morning this time of year.
The issuance of Wind Chill Warnings from late Friday into Saturday will be likely, according to the NWS. At this time, it looks to remain dry, with no snow expected with this arctic blast.
One exception will be some ocean-effect snow showers that are possible across Cape Cod in southeastern Massachusetts due to the flow of frigid air over the relatively warmer Atlantic waters.
The good news is that temperatures will rebound quickly, with highs back into the 40s by Sunday and Monday.
“Sunday morning, we finally start to improve, especially for those of you in the Big Apple, Frazer said. “Twenty-five degrees, but no snow, unfortunately.”