An overnight low of 9 degrees at Reagan National Airport on Sunday morning would be around 20 degrees below average, but would be shy of breaking the coldest temperature on record for the date, which was 4 degrees, set in 1905.
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A southward dip of the polar jet stream, bringing cold air from the Canadian Arctic, is being blamed for the plummeting temperatures that could affect states from California to SC.
Saturday temperatures slowly improve with a high of -18 C and that will hold steady into the evening as well. The cold air is expected to move out rapidly on Monday, with temperatures returning to typical February numbers, whatever that might be.
Upstate New York will be the epicenter of this cold snap.
The National Weather Service in Albany is calling it a “life threatening situation” with wind chills expected to drop to 20 to 50 degrees below zero around Albany, Utica and the Adirondacks.
An extreme cold weather alert has been issued for the city of Toronto, and the Medical Officer of Health says that will remain in effect until further notice. That should surpass the previous record of two degrees set back in 1916.
The forecast low on Sunday morning in the city is just 1 measly degree above zero Fahrenheit. New York City could break a 100-year-old record if they drop below 2 degrees.
Record cold is possible Saturday across the Great Lakes region as afternoon temperatures stay in the single digits and teens for much of the day. The second arctic cold front will pass through late Friday into Saturday bringing a chance of snow showers during the early part of the day.
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According to the NWS, temperatures and strong winds on Sunday morning could cause frostbite on exposed skin in under 30 minutes.
