Historic Northeast arctic blast: Thaw ahead after life-threatening wind chills grip I-95 corridor
Even without factoring wind chill, Watertown, New York recorded the second-coldest February temperature in the state's history on Sunday, dropping to -36 degrees.
Historic Northeast arctic blast: Life-threatening wind chills grip I-95 corridor, with relief ahead
Across the Northeast, a final morning of bitter temperatures took hold Monday with wind chills between -5 and -10 degrees along the shore and -10 and -15 degrees in the interior. Temperatures will moderate Tuesday before potentially reaching the 40s Wednesday.
NEW YORK – Another shot of arctic air blasted the Northeast and New England early Monday, capping a weekend of life-threatening cold across the region, with many places seeing dangerous wind chill temperatures between -10 and -30 degrees.
The National Weather Service (NWS) had issued rare Extreme Cold Warnings for more than 43 million people through Sunday evening, including the major metro areas of Philadelphia and New York City.
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Image 1 of 7Scituate, MA - February 1: A person shovels plowed snow out of their driveway on February 1, 2026. ((Photo by Finn Gomez/The Boston Globe via Getty Images))
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Image 2 of 7A person crosses the street in Copley Square during a snowstorm in Boston, Massachusetts, on January 25, 2026. (Joseph Prezioso / AFP via Getty Images)
![FILE - Boston, MA - January 17: A commuter is bundled for the cold outside South Station.]()
Image 3 of 7FILE - Boston, MA - January 17: A commuter is bundled for the cold outside South Station. ((Photo by Craig F. Walker/The Boston Globe via Getty Images))
![FILE - PHILADELPHIA, PA - JANUARY 27: A general view of the exterior of Citizens Bank Park with snow during stadium shoot at Citizens Bank Park on Tuesday, January 27, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.]()
Image 4 of 7FILE - PHILADELPHIA, PA - JANUARY 27: A general view of the exterior of Citizens Bank Park with snow during stadium shoot at Citizens Bank Park on Tuesday, January 27, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ((Photo by Denis Kennedy/MLB Photos via Getty Images))
![The ice-covered Ohio River in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, US, on Monday, Jan. 26, 2026.]()
Image 5 of 7FILE - The ice-covered Ohio River in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, US, on Monday, Jan. 26, 2026. (Photographer: Justin Merriman/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
![U.S. Coast Guard cutters are busy trying to keep New York's iced-over waterways moving, including freeing an NYPD Harbor Unit vessel that was beset by ice floes Tuesday.]()
Image 6 of 7U.S. Coast Guard cutters are busy trying to keep New York's iced-over waterways moving, including freeing an NYPD Harbor Unit vessel that was beset by ice floes Tuesday. (U.S. Coast Guard Northeast/Facebook)
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Image 7 of 7People walk in the snow in Central Park in New York City on December 27, 2025. New York City received around 4 inches (10 centimeters) of snow overnight. Airlines canceled 1,500 US flights during the peak holiday travel period Friday, with severe winter storm warnings and heavy snow forecast across parts of the Midwest and northeast. (Photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY / AFP via Getty Images) (Photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY / AFP via Getty Images)
Another morning of bitter temperatures took hold Monday with wind chills between -5 and -10 degrees along the Northeast coast and -10 and -15 degrees in the interior.
Temperatures are expected to moderate through the day and into Tuesday before potentially reaching the 40s Wednesday.
Cold Weather Advisories remain in effect across the Northeast through Monday morning, as the coldest air of the season thus far begins to depart.
(FOX Weather)
The wind chill was the main driver of the freezing conditions as powerful winds out of the Northwest ushered in air associated with the polar vortex across the Northeast and into the densely populated metro areas of the Interstate 95 corridor.
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Even without factoring wind chill, Watertown, New York recorded the second-coldest February temperature in the state's history on Sunday, dropping to -36 degrees.
(FOX Weather)
"The last time [New York City] had a warning issued similar to what we have this morning was in 2004," FOX Weather Meteorologist Stephen Morgan said Friday.
Frostbite can set in on open skin within just a few minutes and prolonged exposure to these temperatures could be life-threatening, according to the NWS.
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New York City is in full preparation mode ahead of dangerous cold, possible snow this weekend
New York City Emergency Management hasn't stopped its winter weather operations after a very active season so far. Christina Farrell is the first deputy commissioner for New York City Emergency Management, and joins FOX Weather to talk about how the city is readying for another round of dangerously cold temperatures and potential snow this weekend.
Municipal leaders encouraged people to take proper precautions ahead of the historic weekend.
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"We are prepared," Christina Farrell, the first deputy commissioner of New York City's Emergency Management Agency told FOX Weather Friday.
Farrell added that the city is responding aggressively to wellness calls, alerting officials to people in need of shelter.
HOBOKEN, NJ - JANUARY 26: A person jogs along a snow-covered walkway in front of the skyline of lower Manhattan and One World Trade Center in New York City on January 26, 2026, in Hoboken, New Jersey.
( (Photo by Gary Hershorn/Getty Images) / Getty Images)
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said Wednesday that at least 13 people have died since January due, in part, to hypothermia.
Warming shelters are open from Boston to Philadelphia and Washington, DC, as well.
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu issued a cold weather emergency for the city starting Saturday and lasting through Monday.
(FOX Weather)
A cold front moved across New England, the Northeast and the Interstate 95 corridor on Saturday morning. The front came on the heels of a fast-moving clipper system that brought a dusting of snow to the region Friday.
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The clipper’s proximity to the coast as it exited helped drive the strong winds behind it, as cold air rushed in to fill the vacuum.
The freeze intensified Sunday morning as wind chills plummeted into the negative teens for millions in Philadelphia, New York City and Boston, as New Englanders and other NFL fans headed out to watch the big football game.
Winds gusts reached between 40 and 50 mph Sunday.
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A man clears newly fallen snow with a snowblower on Winter Street in Montpelier, Vermont, after a major winter storm dumped more than a foot of snow on the capital of Vermont on Jan. 26, 2026.
( (Photo by: John Lazenby/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images) / Getty Images)
The rounds of arctic air this winter have kept many cooped up inside and frozen mountains of snow leftover from January's deadly and historic cross-country winter storm.
From arctic blast to bone-chilling temperatures — meteorologists and residents across the Northeast are running out of adjectives to describe winter's death-grip over the region this season.
(FOX Weather)
Fortunately, a measure of relief is finally on the way later this month due to a major change in the weather pattern.
A shift in the jet stream will shield the East from the worst of the polar vortex, which will retreat farther north than earlier projections.