New Yorkers face real-feel temperatures of below zero over the weekend — meaning frostbite can occur in just 15 minutes on exposed skin — as an offshore bomb cyclone blasts through with arctic wind.
The Big Apple is forecast to be hit with a brutal low of 8 degrees in Central Park on Saturday as frigid winds make it feel as cold as -1 degree, warned AccuWeather Senior Metrologist Dan Pydynowski.
“If you have exposed skin, you can get frostbite on the tips of your fingers in a matter of minutes,” Pydynowski said.
“Hypothermia can set in quickly in this weather,” he said. “Cold like this can take your breath away.”
Fortunately, there is now less likelihood that the city will be battered by heavy snow for a second week running — as the bomb cyclone barreling toward the city is expected to move east.
A bomb cyclone is a weather pattern that describes intense winter storms that typically form over an ocean and rapidly build up deadly power.
Less than an inch of snow is expected in the tri-state area, with most small accumulations anticipated on eastern Long Island and southeastern Connecticut, according to forecasters.
But biting north wind gusts of up to 45 mph are still expected to pound the region.
“The bomb cyclone is still going to make it very windy, which will make it even colder,” Pydynowski said.
It will feel even more freezing in areas north and west of the city — such as Morristown, NJ, which will be slammed with an icy low of -3 and a real-feel temp of -10, he said.
Meanwhile, White Plains in Westchester County is expected to reach a low of -1 degrees with a real feel of -3 on Saturday.
Sunday is also forecast to be dangerously cold in the Big Apple with a windy low of 16 degrees and a real-feel of zero.
Monday will warm up slightly with a low of 18 and a real-feel temperature of 10 degrees, Pydynowski said.
The brutal warnings came as the city woke to temps of just 10 degrees Friday, with the wind chill making most of the Big Apple feel like minus-5 to minus-10, according to the National Weather Service.
Frostbite can occur in just 15 to 30 minutes on exposed skin in such extreme temperatures, officials warned.
Saturday’s frigid weather won’t break the day’s record cold temperature of -1 in New York City — but the Big Apple is shivering through what’s likely to be the longest stretch of subfreezing temperatures in eight years.
New York City is forecast to see 14 consecutive days with high temps below freezing — potentially tying a 14-day stretch in January 2018, according to AccuWeather.
City officials urged residents to dress warm and to check in on neighbors, friends, and relatives — especially older adults and people with disabilities — during the frigid temperatures.
Older adults, infants and those with chronic cardiovascular conditions are at increased risk, as are those with drug and alcohol problems and people with disabilities, officials warned.
