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As bitter cold move in, US officials urge caution
Bitter cold: Benedikt Vom Orde and Julia Felte, tourists from Essen, Germany, walk along Park Avenue in New York during a bitter cold spell, Saturday
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Bitter cold: Benedikt Vom Orde and Julia Felte, tourists from Essen, Germany, walk along Park Avenue in New York during a bitter cold spell, Saturday. Bitter temperatures and biting winds had much of the northeastern United States bundling up for the some of the worst cold of the winter â a snap so bad it forced an ice festival in Central Park to cancel and caused an Interstate pileup that killed three. "These temperatures can be life threatening â especially for seniors, infants and people with medical conditions," New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said. Stay indoors and take care of each other, he counseled. (AP/Diane Bondareff) (AP/Diane Bondareff)
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span class="inline inline-center">Bitter cold: Benedikt Vom Orde and Julia Felte, tourists from Essen, Germany, walk along Park Avenue in New York during a bitter cold spell, Saturday. Bitter temperatures and biting winds had much of the northeastern United States bundling up for the some of the worst cold of the winter ' a snap so bad it forced an ice festival in Central Park to cancel and caused an Interstate pileup that killed three. "These temperatures can be life threatening ' especially for seniors, infants and people with medical conditions," New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said. Stay indoors and take care of each other, he counseled. (AP/Diane Bondareff)
Bitter temperatures and biting winds had much of the northeastern United States bundling up for the some of the worst cold of the winter ' a snap so bad it forced an ice festival in New York's Central Park to cancel and caused an interstate highway pileup in Pennsylvania that killed at least three people.
Officials urged residents to take precautions while forecasters warned that high winds in New England could make it feel as cold as 35 degrees below zero.
"These temperatures can be life threatening ' especially for seniors, infants and people with medical conditions," New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said. Stay indoors and take care of each other, he counseled.
Police said weather was a factor in a deadly pileup in Pennsylvania that saw dozens of vehicles ' tractor-trailers, box trucks, cars and SUVs ' tangled together across three lanes and the snow-covered median of Interstate 78. A snow squall appears to have moved through at the time of the crash.
The bone-chilling cold canceled horse racing at Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races in West Virginia and at New York's Aqueduct Racetrack. The Central Park Ice Festival, which was to feature ice-carving artists and music, was also shelved.
A wind chill advisory was in effect for New York City through noon Sunday. With the actual temperatures falling as low as minus-4 degrees F (minus-20 degrees C), the weather service says the city could see wind chills of minus-18 F (minus-28 C) to minus-24 F (minus-31 C). Wind gusts may reach 45 mph (72 kph).
Even with the freezing temperatures, tourists cloaked in heavy layers wandered over the Brooklyn Bridge to Manhattan, snapping photos. Deliverymen cycled through the windy streets, their hands covered with plastic bags, and garage employees changed tires.
City department of homeless services officials were on the streets responding to reports of people in need of shelter. On Friday night, 62 people were brought into shelters and 207 people came to hospitals to get out of the cold.
Subzero temperatures were also expected in the Boston area, with wind chills that could make it feel 35 below F (37 below C) in some places. Winds could gust up to 45 mph (72 kph)inland and 50 mph (80 kph) on Cape Cod.
Though the temperatures were frigid, they weren't necessarily record-setting. The record for cold in Concord, New Hampshire, on Valentine's Day is minus-28 degrees F (minus-33 degrees C), and Sunday's forecast is for a low of minus-10 F(minus-23.5 C), said meteorologist Bob Marine.
But the big chill didn't stall Valentine's Day plans. Nic Faitos, owner of Starbright Floral Design in New York, said he's anticipating about 2,000 deliveries this weekend.
He said his business double-wraps all the flowers to protect them. "If they fall below about 25 degrees they will start to freeze. The petals will become completely wilted," he said.
Meanwhile, in the West, heat records have fallen in recent days, from Oregon to Los Angeles, where surfers hit the beaches and golfers strolled fairways. Much of California marked its 10th straight day on Friday without measurable precipitation and temperatures reached 95 degrees F (35 degrees C). The blue skies were increasingly unwelcome in a state that just logged its four driest years on record.
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Associated Press writer Bruce Shipkowski in Trenton, New Jersey, and Amy Anthony in Providence, Rhode Island, contributed to this report. (**)
