New Year’s Eve merrymakers should prepare for polar party

Times Square crowds could shiver through the most frigid fest in 50 years

All the drinks will be on ice for this party.

Revelers in New York’s Times Square could face the coldest New Year’s Eve celebration in more than 50 years as a brutal wave of arctic air tightens its iron grip on much of the nation.

“We are predicting 11 degrees at mid- night in Times Square that will feel like minus-10 degrees,” AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Paul Walker warned. “But everybody from the Rockies eastward is going to experience severe cold through the end of 2017 and into 2018.”

The 11 degrees would tie for the second-coldest New Year’s Eve on record, matching the temperature in 1962,

“We are predicting 11 degrees at midnight in Times Square that will feel like minus-10 degrees.” Paul Walker AccuWeather senior meteorologist

Walker said. Times Square was a record 1 degree above 0 for the party in 1917.

Winds of up to 20 mph will add to woes facing this year’s partiers, Walker said. But few cities will be spared. Boston is looking at 8 degrees with a “feels like” temperature of -21.

Chicagoans can look forward to a relatively balmy 9 degrees that will feel like -3. Even Atlanta will be freezing: 29 degrees that will feel like 24.

“People will really need to bundle up if they are heading out Sunday night for New Year’s Eve celebrations in places like Chicago, for example, where the high will be 15 F on Sunday, around 15 degrees below normal,” AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Dan Pydynowski warned.

Gusty winds and frigid air will conspire over the next couple of days to bring nasty weather to the region. Wind-chill advisories were in effect for parts of Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire and New York, AccuWeather said.

New Yorkers should get used to the cold. AccuWeather is calling for 11 consecutive days in which the city’s high stays below freezing. New York City’s Emergency Management agency issued a warning for extreme cold and published a guide on social media that urged residents to wear layers and keep their ears covered.

The guide also lists frostbite symptoms, such as discolored skin and numbness.

Skiers in New England could face temperatures near minus 30 degrees as an “expansive portion” of the Northeast faces frostbite-ready conditions, AccuWeather said.

But alas, New York, snow is not in the picture at least for now.

“It is looking less and less likely,” Walker said. “If it’s going to be that cold, you might as well have some snow with it.”

SETH WENIG/AP It was no day at the beach Wednesday on the windy, frigid streets of New York City’s Times Square.

GREG WOHLFORD/AP Soledda Hernandez stands on the roof of her car as she brushes off snow in Erie, Pa., on Wednesday. Erie and surrounding areas have seen a record amount of snow this week.