Continental us records coldest wind chill of -78°C ever, freezes over
The coldest wind chill ever has been recorded in continental US as an ‘epic’ Arctic blast freezes a swathe of North America.
America's National Weather Service (NWS) said the icy gusts on Mount Washington in New Hampshire on Friday produced a wind chill of -78°C.
Residents from Manitoba to Maine were urged to limit their time outdoors until Saturday in the ‘once-in-a-generation’ cold snap.
‘This is an epic, generational Arctic outbreak,’ the NWS office in Caribou, near Maine's border with Canada, wrote in an advisory.
It said the chills are ‘something northern and eastern Maine has not seen since similar outbreaks in 1982 and 1988’.
The service added, ‘Most stations are forecast to see their lowest wind chills in decades or, in some cases, the lowest ever recorded.’
It warned that frostbite to exposed skin can occur within five minutes in such conditions.
‘The dangers of being caught unprepared without shelter from the elements and without proper winter survival gear cannot be stressed enough.’
The most extreme conditions were forecast to occur Friday night into Saturday morning, with extreme weather warnings in effect across Quebec and much of eastern Canada.
In Montreal, the wind made the temperature feel like -41°C early Friday afternoon.
The mercury was predicted to drop as low as -50°C in the northern regions of Quebec because of the strong, cold gusts.
White Arctic sea smoke rose over parts of the St Lawrence River due to extreme cold winds passing over the unfrozen water.
The Hydro-quebec power company said it was preparing for a historic consumption of electricity overnight Friday to Saturday and called on users to reduce their use.
In the Canadian capital Ottawa, a snow squall - snowfall combined with 60-70kmph winds - overnight Thursday to Friday reduced visibility to near zero.
On the streets downtown, the few residents who ventured out wrapped themselves in wool blankets atop their parkas.
Further south, New York City was forecast to be - 23°C.
Warmer air is due to move into the region early Sunday.