Watch CBS News

Relief In Sight As Temperatures Begin Inching Up After Deep Freeze

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) — The bitter cold that followed a massive East Coast snowstorm should begin to lessen as temperatures inch up and climb past freezing next week, weather forecasters said.

Patrick Burke, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service's Weather Prediction Center in College Park, Maryland, said temperatures Sunday morning could hit record lows from South Carolina to Maine. But he said the wind won't be as punishing as it was on Friday and Saturday.

MORE: 1/7 CBS2 Sunday Evening Weather Headlines

"With the wind dying down it will probably feel significantly better although many of these areas will still be below freezing," Burke said.

MORE: Forecast | Alerts | Radar | Traffic | Safety Cold Weather Safety Tips

Sunday afternoon's high temperatures ranged from the low- to mid-20s in areas from Philadelphia to Boston. They are expected to reach the 30s and 40s on Monday and Tuesday as more mild weather moves into the northeast, CBS2's Vanessa Murdock reported.

Many Northeast residents endured jaw-clenching temperatures and brutal wind chills on Saturday as cleanup continued from the storm that dropped as much as 18 inches of snow in some places on Thursday.

In White Plains, the low dropped to 6 degrees Sunday – breaking a 30-year record. And while there are official temperatures, people like Nick from Brookfield rely on their car thermometers.

"It's like negative 10 from what I saw in the car," he said.

Nick is not sticking around, even with the temperatures set to get warmer.

"I feel pretty good," he said. "I'm driving down to Florida. So I'm going to get away it."

As aviation crews at South Carolina's busiest airport, Charleston International Airport, struggled to clear runways of snow and ice so they could be reopened, in New England water main breaks, frozen hydrants and burst pipes created new problems for officials.

Hartford, Connecticut, registered 10 degrees with a wind chill of minus 20 while Burlington, Vermont, was minus 1 degree and had a wind chill of minus 30.

The temperature registered minus 37 Saturday at the Mount Washington Observatory in New Hampshire, one of the coldest places on the planet. The wind chill was minus 93. It tied for second place with Armstrong, Ontario, as the coldest spot in the world.

Meteorologist Mike Carmon said people at the observatory were "layering up as a much as we can."

And as unpleasant as it has been, no records are expected to be set by the bone-chilling cold in the Tri-State Area.

As WCBS 880's Kelly Waldron reported, most record temperatures for this time of year hover around zero. But the most notable takeaway from this latest cold snap, according to New Jersey State Climatologist Dr. Dave Robinson, is the longevity of the subfreezing weather.

"New York City, Central Park, Newark Airport, down in New Brunswick have not gotten above freezing actually since Christmas Day," Robinson said.

That is 13 days, which is the third longest streak. The first was 16 days, set back in the winter of 1961, which will not be broken with the warmup coming this week.

(© Copyright 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.