Metro

Polar vortex sets NYC record low

Hot-coffee sales were hot, ice cream was not and New Yorkers layered up to bid good riddance to the polar vortex.

“It’s cold — nobody buys ice cream,” groused Alam Khan, 55, who was working the counter at a Tasti-D-Lite on Chambers Street. “No tourists, no nothing.”

At the nearby Blue Spoon Coffee on William Street, however, there were more customers than usual — and regulars wanting more hot java than is typical.

“If someone normally gets a medium coffee, they were getting a large today,” said Tim Lannen, 36, one of the shop’s owners.

The cold wave blew away a 118-year-old record of 6 degrees when it hit a low of 4 at dawn in Central Park Tuesday. But the thermometer was expected to reach into the 20s Wednesday, the 30s on Thursday, and might reach the 50s over the weekend. And the winds will drop sharply.

“It’s not going to rip your head off” like it did on Tuesday, said AccuWeather meteorologist Tom Kines. “It’ll feel like a good 30 to 35 degrees warmer” on Wednesday, he said.

Nevertheless

, some New Yorkers were stocking up on Tuesday, as if they were going to stay home until spring arrives. Asked what people were buying at a Duane Reade near City Hall, a worker described a lively scene.

“More food, like they are planning not to leave the house. Beer, a lot of beer and chips. The beer to keep them warm,” she said.

“I might buy some liquor when I get home to stay warm.”

All over town, New Yorkers layered up. Central Park Conservancy gardener Janna Passuntino, 57, used five layers to go out for her 7-a.m.-to-3-p.m. shift, including long johns, a turtleneck, a shirt and two jackets.

Local airports are also bouncing back after JetBlue resumed flights into and out of New York and Boston after a 17-hour break to catch up with its weather-ravaged schedule.

Experts were fairly certain that a second brutal polar vortex will not blow through the Northeast this winter.

“Could we have another like this? Sure,” Kines said. “But it’s not likely.”

Additional reporting by Philip Messing