The Cold Continues

That's kind of an obvious headline but it's true! Yesterday was 23 degrees below normal. Today will be nearly as cold, as if the high temperature makes it out of the teens. There's no wind to speak of, a gust reached 53 mph at JFK yesterday, so we don't have to contend with a wind chill.

Our wind chill respite is but a temporary one. A second, albeit weaker, arctic air mass arrives tomorrow afternoon. Thursday will start off warmer than today but the winds will pick up, temperatures will drop, and a few flurries may fly beginning around lunchtime. The wind and cold will last through Friday morning. By Saturday temperatures will moderate into the upper 40s, and we may see 50, with maybe a little rain, on Sunday. Next week: looking warm!

What happens when you throw a cup of boiling water into -37 degree air? You get an instant snow mini-storm! This week the summit of Mount Washington has experienced some of their coldest weather in years. It was 37 below there yesterday morning. With steady 100mph winds the wind chills were between -80 and -100 Fahrenheit.

During the worst of the weather, observers at the summit threw boiling water in the air and filmed what happened with a regular video camera and thermal infrared device. The water retains its heat while in a cup or pot, but freezes instantly when scattered into little drops.

Defiant hydrant photo by New York Daily Photo on Flickr.