Jan 15, 2009 3:31 pm US/Eastern
It's Cold, But The Burst Is Yet To Come
Wind Chills As Low As -20 Possible Through Friday Morning
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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Uncomfortably frigid temperatures, combined with strong wind gusts from the northeast and light snow blowing every which way made for an uneasy trek to work for commuters and pedestrians alike in New York City. (File)
AP
Old Man Winter is sinking his teeth into The Big Apple.
Uncomfortably frigid temperatures, combined with strong wind gusts from the northeast and light snow blowing every which way made for an uneasy trek to work for commuters and pedestrians alike in New York City.
Wind chills early Thursday made it feel like single digits in the city, and well below zero for parts north. If you're hoping for relief, you're in for some disappointment. It's not gonna get any better.
"Wind chills are worse and you've got snow out there too, so you've got some slippery streets," says CBS 2 Meteorologist John Elliott. "There's gonna be some pretty gusty winds out there, between 0 and 10 in the city, Long Island, and much of New Jersey. Five below for parts of the day in parts of the lower Hudson Valley and parts of Connecticut."
It wasn't a heavy snowfall by any means, but the fluffy flakes swirled about in the wind and left a slippery coating along city sidewalks before ending around noon.
The snow takes a back seat to the wind during this bitter blast, though. After creeping back up to around 20 on Thursday afternoon, temperatures began their descent through the evening and continued to fall -- along with the wind chill -- to dangerously cold lows.
"Tonights lows: 8 in New York, 0 in Newburgh, 0 in Sparta. These are the forecast lows, so when you factor in the winds, we're talking about wind chills between 0 and 20 below zero tonight. I think 20 below will be the exception, not the norm by any stretch of the imagination," says Elliott.
Highs Friday will only be in the teens for this frozen tundra that is the tri-state.
"Everyone really needs to prepare themselves for Friday. The wind will be fierce," Elliot said. "Everyone should cover up and protect themselves with enough layers."
Saturday temperatures warm up just a tad, back into the low 20s, before we work our way back up to around 30 again on Sunday.
Officials are doing their best to make sure everyone remains warm during this cold spell.
Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy says police officers working with nonprofit agencies will visit areas where homeless are known to congregate and offer them warm places to stay. He says the Department of Social Services provides emergency housing at night.
In New York City, officials also are taking steps to prevent cold-related deaths among the homeless. Outreach teams are stepping up efforts to get people inside warming buses and centers. They're also sometimes coordinating involuntary transport of mentally ill people to psychiatric emergency rooms.
Please stay tuned to CBS 2 HD and wcbstv.com for developing forecasts and the latest advice and news from the Weather Center.
TRI-STATE WEATHER ALERTS:
Winter Weather Advisory in CT - Northern Fairfield , Northern Middlesex , Northern New Haven , Northern New London , Southern Fairfield , Southern Middlesex , Southern New Haven , Southern New London
Winter Weather Advisory in NJ - Hudson
Wind Chill Advisory - Delaware , Sullivan
Winter Weather Advisory - Bronx , Kings (Brooklyn) , Nassau , New York (Manhattan) , Northeast Suffolk , Northwest Suffolk , Queens , Richmond (Staten Is.) , Southeast Suffolk , Southern Westchester , Southwest Suffolk
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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