Polar air currents with strong gusts of wind have hit the eastern United States and Canada.
The weather authority NWS speaks of historical values.
Boston – The US weather authorities warned of a dangerous cold snap in the north-east of the US and Canada.
A “wind chill warning” has been issued for 25 million Americans.
The coldest wind chill in US history was measured on Mount Washington in the US state of New Hampshire on Saturday morning: a wind chill temperature of minus 108 degrees Fahrenheit – the equivalent of minus 73 degrees Celsius.
Record wind chill temperature: minus 73 degrees measured on Mount Washington
The US weather agency NWS shared footage from the summit camera of this historic moment on Twitter.
"This is extreme weather!" It reads there.
The shaky video appears to show outlines of the snow-capped weather station on the highest peak in the northeastern United States.
It gets light for a moment, then dark again.
The pictures look unreal.
The combination of an air temperature of minus 43 degrees and wind gusts of up to 177 km/h is responsible for the extreme wind chill temperature.
"Insane conditions": US weather service NWS shares footage from the summit camera on Mount Washington
Mount Washington (1,920 meters) lives up to its reputation for having the worst weather in the world, the tweet goes on to say.
The NWS calls the temperatures of minus 42 degrees Fahrenheit, wind chill minus 101 degrees Fahrenheit and wind gusts with peaks of 127 miles per hour (approx. 204 km/h) “insane conditions”.
❄️💨❄️This is EXTREME WEATHER!
Right now Mount Washington is living up to the reputation of having the worse weather in the world.
INSANE conditions Temp -42° F, Wind Chill -101° F, Wind Gusts 127 mph!
https://t.co/vr4pGu9p7G
From the summit cam 230-240pm.
#OHwx #PAwx pic.twitter.com/6N30euV9oL
— NWS Cleveland (@NWSCLE) February 3, 2023
Extreme cold in the USA – metropolis on the east coast is shivering
Public schools in the metropolitan area of Boston were closed on Friday as a precaution because of the extreme cold.
On Saturday, the values there in the east coast state of Massachusetts were minus 22.8 degrees Celsius.
The temperature fell below the previous record from 1881 of minus 20.6 degrees.
This is reported by the news portal
ABC News
.
The wind chill values were even at minus 37.2 degrees Celsius.
The NWS field office in Caribou, further north in the state of Maine, reported a wind chill temperature of minus 51 degrees for the town of Frenchville, which is on the border with Canada.
According to the NWS, such temperatures can lead to frostbite on unprotected skin within five minutes.
Arctic cold in the USA: Authorities report frost quakes
In addition, so-called frost quakes were reported from the region.
According to the NWS, these tremors on the earth's surface are caused by sudden cracks in frozen ground or frozen water in the bedrock.
However, temperatures were also as much as 15 degrees below seasonal averages across much of the U.S. Northwest and the Atlantic Seaboard, according to the NWS.
There were weather warnings due to the extremely low temperatures, as well as in the Canadian province of Québec and other parts of eastern Canada.
A wind chill temperature of minus 41 degrees was measured at the airport in Montréal, and minus 34 degrees in Boston.
In New York City, minus 16 degrees were measured in Central Park.
During the course of Sunday, warmer air masses should put an end to the extreme cold.
What role does the polar vortex play in the extreme cold?
The polar vortex is responsible for the extreme cold snap in the USA and Canada, explains meteorologist Jan Schenk at
weather.com
.
At the end of January, the polar vortex was disturbed and pushed aside.
Strong high pressure from Siberia had previously "stretched" the polar vortex.
As a result, arctic cold air was able to cover large parts of North America.
The weather expert assumes that the polar vortex will "catch itself again" and even move towards the North Pole again.
However, that could change as early as mid-February.
Strong high pressure from Asia is ramping up and bringing extremely warm air to the North Pool, that is his forecast.
The polar vortex is pushed back again.
It remains to be seen whether there will be another Arctic winter onset in North America.
Just before Christmas, an extreme cold spell caused chaos in the USA.
Freezing rain and masses of snow paralyzed traffic just before the Christmas holidays.
At least 50 people died.
(ml/afp)