No end in sight next week for freezing temperatures in NYC

The weekend may be just around the corner, but there’s no warm weather in sight.

Temperatures plunged to single digits overnight, forcing New Yorkers to grapple with a brutal frigidity for the commute Friday morning, with wind chills making it feel as cold as 5 below 0 Fahrenheit at times, according to the National Weather Service.

Despite the sunny skies, daytime highs remained on the chilly side, peaking at around 17 degrees, meteorologists said. By the time the sun set, temperatures were set to drop to single digits, with wind chills forcing temps as low as 20 below zero overnight.

The rest of the weekend is expected to be just as cold, but a storm previously poised to strike the city is now expected to mostly miss the area, sparing residents of more snow. There is a chance of snow showers over parts Long Island and coastal New Jersey, but the impacts are expected to be minimal.

The National Weather Service on Friday said the “potential for snow” Sunday is “diminishing,” but noted that cold weather advisories already in place have been extended into Saturday morning, until 10 a.m.

The next time highs are forecast to climb above 32 degrees is Thursday, according to Accuweather, but even then, temperatures will only just tip above freezing before dropping back below 32 in the evening hours. If that forecast holds true, it means New Yorkers will suffer through 12 consecutive days with highs at or below freezing before they get a small reprieve. The stretch is just short of New York City’s record cold stretch, which dragged on for 16 days.

A wave of arctic air settled over New York ahead of Sunday’s winter storm — which dumped nearly a foot of snow in Central Park and a mess residents are still contending with. Given the freezing temperatures, the snow has yet to melt.

“City workers are giving this everything they’ve got, and there’s still much work to be done,” Mayor Zohran Mamdani said in a video on X. “Because whether you’re walking, riding the bus, taking the train or driving your car, or just biking around your city, you deserve to get to where you’re going.”

Mamdani said crews have so far melted 23 million pounds of snow using eight snow-melting sites. He added that workers continue to focus on clearing bus stops, crosswalks, hydrants, and other critical infrastructure.

“Extreme cold snaps like this are life-threatening,” the Mayor said.. “We are leaving no stone unturned to keep New Yorkers safe. If you see someone outdoors in need of help, call 311.”

Ten people were found dead between Saturday and Tuesday the during dangerously cold temperatures and massive winter storm in New York City, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner said.