On February 4, 2023, people explore the Ice Castles in 1 F -- 17 C weather in North Woodstock, New Hampshire. Some areas have record low wind chill temperatures because of an Arctic blast in the northeastern US and Canada. PHOTO AFP A dangerous combination of record-setting cold temperatures and powerful winds buffeted the northeastern United States on Saturday, creating life-threatening conditions and causing the death of an infant in Massachusetts.
New Hampshire's Mount Washington overnight recorded a wind chill, a measure of how the combined effect of air and wind felt to the skin of minus 108 degrees Fahrenheit - 78 Celsius, which appeared to be the lowest in the United States. The air temperature at the peak reached minus 47 degrees F- 44 C with winds gusting near 100 miles per hour and 160 kilometers per hour, according to the Mount Washington Observatory.
The high winds brought a tree down a vehicle in Southwick, Massachusetts, the Hampden district attorney said in a statement, crushing the vehicle and killing an infant passenger. The driver was transported to a hospital with serious injuries.
The low temperature hit minus 10 degrees F-23 C on Friday in Boston, where officials closed down the public school system due to the impending freeze, shattering the day's record set more than a century ago, the NWS said. In Providence, Rhode Island, the mercury dropped to minus 9 degrees F-23 C, well below the previous all-time low of minus 2 degrees F- 19 C set in 1918.
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The NWS said that the arctic blast from eastern Canada brought record lows to Albany, New York, Augusta, Maine, Rochester, New York and Worcester, Massachusetts.
The NWS office in Caribou, Maine said it had received reports of frostquakes that feel like earthquakes but are caused by the soil cracking suddenly in the cold, as well as trees splitting open, likely due to sap freezing inside the trunks.
Several cities have taken emergency measures to help residents, including opening warming centers and conducting outreach to ensure homeless people are sheltered from the brutal cold.
In Boston, Pine Street Inn, the largest provider of homeless services in New England, doubled the number of vans canvassing the city's streets on Friday and Saturday, said Barbara Trevisan, a spokeswoman.
She said they went out early this week to warn people that the weather was going to be very extreme. The goal last night was to keep people alive and safe. People explore Ice Castles in 1 F -- 17 C weather in North Woodstock, New Hampshire on February 4, 2023. Some areas have record low wind chill temperatures due to an Arctic blast in the northeastern US and Canada. PHOTO AFP Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey ordered South Station, the city's main rail terminal, to remain open overnight to serve as an emergency shelter. About 50 to 60 homeless people stayed in the station overnight, according to Trevisan.
READ MORE: Deep freeze keeps grip on eastern US, expected to be over by the end of the day.
Many ski areas have limited operations due to the temperatures. The ski resort of Jay Peak, located in northern Vermont near the Canadian border, shut down completely on Friday and Saturday, citing the danger to staff and skiers.
The frigid weather was expected to be brief-lived, with temperatures expected to be significantly higher on Sunday. The high temperature in Boston will reach 47 degrees F 8.3 C on Sunday, according to the NWS.