100 million people affected by East Coast’s deep freeze

About 100 million people faced a new challenge after the whopping East Coast snowstorm: a gusty deep freeze, topped Saturday by a wind chill close to -73 C on New Hampshire’s Mount Washington that vied for world’s coldest place.

Jaw-clenching temperatures to start the weekend throughout the Northeast hit Burlington, Vt., at -18 C and a wind chill of -34 C. Both Philadelphia and New York were shivering at -13 C.

And in Hartford, Connecticut, a brutal cold of -13 C yielded a wind chill of -28 C.

On Saturday, winds of more than 145 km/h swirled Mount Washington, the Northeast’s highest peak, at a temperature of -38 C and a wind chill of -69 C.

It tied for second place with Armstrong, Ont., as the coldest spot in the world.

Boston, at a relatively balmy -11 C, was wrangling with a different kind of challenge: a shortage of plumbers as the weather wreaked havoc on pipes that froze and cracked, Mayor Marty Walsh reported.

A three-foot tidal surge brought on by the nor’easter along the Massachusetts coast was the highest recorded in nearly a century. Residents of Boston and its suburbs were cleaning up Saturday after the tide that came in Thursday, flooding streets and forcing some residents to be evacuate as the water started to freeze.

In New Jersey, many people stayed home instead of dealing with single-digit temperatures. Others were cleaning up from the storm that dropped more than a foot of snow in some spots earlier in the week.

“My car felt like an icebox this morning, even though I had the heat on full blast,” Julie Williams said as she sipped coffee inside a Jackson Township convenience store.

She was headed to work at a local supermarket, and was expecting it to be packed.

“People think it’s nuts before a storm happens, with everyone getting milk, bread, etc.” she said, adding with a laugh, “but it’s even worse in the days afterward, because they do the same thing but they’re a little crazy from cabin fever.”

Monday is expected to be the first day above freezing since last month.

In New York City, temperatures should reach 4 C next week.