Don’t be fooled by the brilliant sunshine – the Polar Vortex of frigid arctic air lived up to expectations, sending the temperature in New York City plunging to a brutal 4 degrees Tuesday at 8 a.m.
And brisk northwest winds gusting over 20 mph made it fell even more bone-chilling, with wind chills of about 12 below zero.
“Despite bright sunshine, actual high temperatures will be in the lower teens across the metro area” Tuesday, meteorologist Alex Sosnowski said on AccuWeather.com.
The 4 degrees recorded by AccuWeather set a new record low for today’s date, breaking the previous mark of 6 degrees set in 1896 – 118 years ago.
Relief is at least 24 hours away, as temperatures are not expected to rise into the relatively balmy 20s by Wednesday afternoon before continuing to warm up as the week progresses.
“Temperatures will slowly trend upward later this week and could touch 50 degrees in some locations this weekend,” Sosnowski said.
New Yorkers like Mick Sol, 26, an art store employee from Brighton Beach, were ready for the warm-up.
“It’s unbearable. it’s freezing. It’s dangerous, especially if you’re outside too long. I’ve never seen it this cold. Something is crazy with this weather,” he said.
But John Halikas, owner of the Hollywood Diner on Sixth Avenue at West 16th Street, saw a positive side to the blast of arctic air.
“Once in a while this weather is good. The rats, the mice, the flies will die. We need this kind of weather, this weather cleans the air,” Halikas said.
Thousands of air travellers remained stranded as JetBlue and other airlines cancelled scores of flights in and out of Kennedy, LaGuardia and Newark airports due to the double whammy of last week’s snowstorm and the Polar Vortex.
Nationally, 2,245 flights were cancelled Tuesday as of 8:30 a.m., according to FlightAware.com, which tracks delays.
JetBlue cancelled all flights out of the three New York-area airports as well as Boston’s Logan airport starting at 5 p.m. Monday.
The carrier said in a statement it will begin ramping up service Tuesday at 10 a.m. and hoped to have full service restored by 3 p.m.
Schools in New York City remained open, though some on Long Island, and in Rockland and Westchester counties delayed openings Tuesday.
The city’s Office of Emergency Management warned New Yorkers that prolonged exposure to the cold can cause hypothermia, frostbite and could worsen chronic heart and lung conditions. Seniors and infants are most at risk.
The health department encouraged everyone to stay indoors as much as possible and to check on friends, family and neighbors.
Speed restrictions were issued for the Tappan Zee Bridge due to high winds.
And alternate side of the street parking was suspended in the five boroughs.
Upstate, a 50-mile stretch of Interstate 81 north of Syracuse remained closed as heavy snow and winds gusting to 40 mph made driving hazardous.
The highway was ordered shut down Monday night when Gov. Andrew Cuomo declared a state of emergency for more than a dozen upstate counties.
The state Department of Transportation says Tuesday morning that I-81 remains closed between Exit 31 at Brewerton, just north of Syracuse, to Exit 45 at Watertown in Jefferson County.
DOT officials say there’s no estimate yet on when the highway would reopen.