North America, Canada prepare for Arctic blast

NEW YORK: The northeastern United States and Canada steeled themselves on Friday February 3 for an epic Arctic blast that could see some areas record their lowest ever wind chill temperatures.

The National Weather Service NWS warned that parts of Maine could see wind chills of minus 51 degrees Celsius.

The NWS office in Caribou, near Maine's border with Canada, wrote in an advisory on the epic, generational arctic outbreak.

The chills are something northern and eastern Maine has not seen since the outbreaks in 1982 and 1988. Most stations are forecast to see their lowest wind chills in decades or, in some cases, the lowest ever recorded, according to the service.

It warned that frostbite to exposed skin can occur within five minutes in such conditions.

The dangers of being caught unprepared without shelter from the elements and without proper winter survival gear cannot be stressed enough, the service wrote.

The most extreme conditions are predicted to occur Friday night into Saturday morning, with extreme weather warnings in effect across Quebec and much of eastern Canada.

The temperature felt like minus 41 degrees Celsius on Friday afternoon in Montreal.

The mercury was predicted to drop as low as minus 50 degrees Celsius in the northern regions of Quebec because of the strong, cold gusts.

White Arctic sea smoke grew over parts of the St. Lawrence River due to extreme cold winds passing over the unfrozen water.

Hydro-Quebec power company said it was preparing for a historic consumption of electricity overnight Friday to Saturday and called for users to reduce their use.

In the Canadian capital, Ottawa, a snow squall snowfall combined with 60 to 70 kmh winds overnight Thursday to Friday reduced visibility to near zero.

On the streets downtown, the few residents who ventured out wrapped themselves in wool blankets atop their parkas.

Wind chill warnings were also in place across much of New England.

Boston, where public schools were closed Friday, and surrounding areas are expected to receive a wind chill of minus 34 degrees Celsius.

New York City is forecast to be minus 23 degrees Celsius further south, according to the NWS.

Warmer air is due to move into the region early on Sunday.