Frigid temperatures across much of the United States are here for another few days — at least — extending a cold stretch that has already lasted longer than typical winter freezes.
Temperatures have been especially striking in Florida, where extreme cold warnings were in place last weekend and remained on Monday.
The Miami office of the National Weather Service said much of southern Florida experienced its coldest conditions in 16 years on Sunday morning, when temperatures plummeted into the low- to mid-20s in many areas and the low 30s across metro regions.
In Miami, temperatures were just above freezing at 35 degrees, the lowest reading there since January 2010. In West Palm Beach, a low of 30 degrees was the coldest since December 1989.
“No one in southern Florida signed up for 35,” said Peter Mullinax, a meteorologist at the Weather Prediction Center. “It’s these areas that are probably feeling the more significant ramifications of the cold given their sensitivities down there and how unusually cold it is right now.” He added that in Tampa Bay there were also reports of snow on Sunday morning.
Forecasters at the Weather Prediction Center said on Monday that the unusually low temperatures had created a rare contrast across the country, with parts of the Sunshine State becoming colder than parts of Montana.
Wind chills — how cold the air feels on exposed skin from the combined effect of temperature and wind speed — have also been extremely low. Forecasters said that dangerously low wind chills, dipping below zero in some places, were expected from Florida to the Northeast through Monday.
Anthony Reynes, a meteorologist at the Miami office of the Weather Service, said that in southern Florida the cold was expected to persist through at least Tuesday morning, including a risk of frost, before temperatures were set to rise again.
“But then there’s another cold front on Thursday, and this one is going to briefly bring the temperatures back a little,” he said. “But not as much as what we just experienced in these past two days.”
Record freezing-temperature streak could fall
Sunday was the ninth consecutive day temperatures remained below freezing in Washington and Philadelphia, and at Central Park in New York City.
“That is the longest stretch we have gone below freezing at Central Park since 2018,” said Bryan Ramsey, a meteorologist at the New York office of the Weather Service.
Mr. Ramsey said that the longest such stretch for the city was recorded in 1961, when temperatures remained below freezing for 16 days in a row. He added that there was a possibility this record could be broken, as temperatures were forecast to remain at or below freezing over the next couple of days before another surge of Arctic air could push temperatures lower for the remainder of the week.
Even at nine days, Mr. Ramsey said, this stretch of freezing or below freezing temperatures is unusual for New York City.
“Since records began in Central Park in 1869, it’s only occurred 30 times,” he said. “So it happens, but it’s not all that common.”
Nazaneen Ghaffar is a Times reporter on the Weather team.
The post Unusual Stretch of Frigid Temperatures Is Expected to Continue This Week appeared first on New York Times.
