US facing record-breaking wind chill factors so cold they’re literally off the charts
Parts of the US are experiencing a record-breaking wind chill factor that is so cold it’s literally off the National Weather Service’s official charts.
The northeast of the country has been struck by a powerful arctic blast, with the temperature at New Hampshire‘s Mount Washington plummeting to a new low of -46F (-43C).
But the wind chill temperature is how cold people actually feel while outside and depend on the strength and temperature of winds.
High winds of 96mph on Mt Washington have produced a wind chill factor of -108F (-78C) – comfortably below the lowest point on the National Weather Service’s (NWS) wind chill chart, which stands at -98F (-72C).
The picture at Mount Washington’s weather station. Pic: National Weather Service Cleveland/@NWSCLE
‘Worst weather in the world’
NWS said Mt Washington, the highest peak in the northeastern US, was “living up to the reputation of having the worst weather in the world”.
New Hampshire is one of several states under wind chill warnings, alongside Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maine, Rhode Island, Vermont, and much of New York, where a “Code Blue” alert for sub-zero temperatures was issued.
Thousands of properties have lost power and emergency shelters have been opened.
While the deep freeze is expected to be relatively brief, people are being warned the conditions are life-threatening, with schools closed in some cities due to risks of children suffering hypothermia and frostbite.
One weather expert says the wind chills forecast could cause frostbite on exposed skin in just 10 minutes.
Meteorologist Donald Dumont at the National Weather Service in Gray, Maine, said: “It’s painful.”
One of the cities hit by the worst of the freeze is Boston, Massachusetts, where mayor Michelle Wu declared a state of emergency.
Record low temperatures are forecast there for Saturday, and in one of the state’s other cities, Worcester, where residents have already endured lows of 3F (-16C) heading into the weekend.
Boston’s record low is -2F (-19C), set back in 1886, and Worcester’s is -4F (-20C), which dates back to 1934.
‘Citizens have been let down’
The freezing conditions, which are sweeping in from eastern Canada, come as southern states recover from another winter storm that brought days of rain, sleet, and ice.
In Texas, thousands of residents were still without power on Friday night, even as conditions warm up. One of the state’s biggest cities, Austin, has seen 30% of customers without electricity at any given time since Monday.
Mayor Kirk Watson admitted the city “let its citizens down”.
“The situation is unacceptable to the community, and it’s unacceptable to me,” said the Democrat.
One resident, Edward Kim, has had no power or heat since Wednesday. The 43-year-old revealed he was using a generator to keep his home “on life support”.
Another local, Will Rison, said his elderly parents had also been without electricity for three days.
“You can only wrap yourself in so many blankets and wait it out,” he added.
While no deaths have been reported as a result of the outages, the weather has been blamed for at least a dozen deaths on roads across Texas, Arkansas, and Oklahoma this week.
Democrat Zohran Mamdani – who described himself as “Trump’s worst nightmare” – is set to become New York’s next mayor, Sky’s US partner network NBC News projects.
The projected win – with 60.2% of votes counted – comes after one of the most colourful races in years and looks set to have a profound effect on US national politics.
Mr Mamdani will be the first Muslim, first South Asian, and youngest person in a century to be elected as New York City mayor.
The first reaction from the Democrat came on social media while votes were still being counted, where Mr Mamdani posted a video of a subway coming to a stop as a tannoy says: “The next and last stop is: City Hall.”
After the current Democratic mayor, Eric Adams, announced he would run as an independent after a corruption scandal, Andrew Cuomo emerged as frontrunner to take the party’s nomination.
He was looking to rebuild his career after resigning as governor of New York State in 2021 amid allegations of sexual harassment.
But in a major upset, relative outsider Mr Mamdani took the nomination instead, and became the favourite for mayor. Cuomo then chose to run as an independent.
Read more:
Who is Zohran Mamdani?
Will Mamdani inspire Democrats’ strategy?
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Who is Zohran Mamdani?
On the eve of the election, Mr Trump said Mr Mamdani – who is known for left-wing policies and campaigning on issues like affordable housing – would bring “disaster” to the city.
He encouraged backers of Curtis Sliwa, the Republican candidate who trailed in polling, to transfer their votes to Mr Cuomo instead.
Pic: NDZ / STAR MAX / IPx / AP
New York’s mayoral race was one of four elections on Tuesday serving as a bellwether referendum on Mr Trump’s second term as president.
Democrats Abigail Spanberger and Mikie Sherrill won their races to become state governor in Virginia and New Jersey, respectively.
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A cargo plane has crashed near an airport in Kentucky.
Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) say officers are attending the scene of the accident near Louisville International Airport.
The force added: “LMPD and multiple other agencies are responding to reports of a plane crash near Fern Valley and Grade Lane.
“Grade Lane will be closed indefinitely between Stooges and Crittenden. Injuries reported.”
UPS said it has been notified of an incident involving one of its aircraft. In a statement on its website, the company said three people were on board.
A fireball erupts near airport property after reports of a plane crash at Louisville International Airport, Kentucky. Pic: Jon Cherry / AP
Pic: Brad Harvey / AP
Pic: Jon Cherry / AP
A shelter-in-place order was also issued within five miles of the Kentucky airport, which is also home to UPS Worldport, the delivery firm’s largest package handling facility in the world.
The airport said that all arriving and departing flights are temporarily suspended, that the airfield is closed, and warned passengers should closely monitor their flights.
The US Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) said the crash happened around 5.15pm local time (10.15pm UK time) as the plane left the airport, bound for Honolulu in Hawaii.
It added that the aircraft was a McDonnell Douglas MD-11 plane, primarily used by cargo airlines.
Kentucky governor Andy Beshear added on social media: “First responders are onsite, and we will share more information as available.
“Please pray for the pilots, crew and everyone affected. We will share more soon.”
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Former US vice president Dick Cheney has died from complications of pneumonia and cardiac and vascular disease, his family has said.
In a statement, his family said the 84-year-old was surrounded by his wife Lynne, daughters Liz and Mary, and other family members.
The Republican was one of the most polarising vice presidents in US history under George W Bush from 2001 to 2009, and was a leading advocate of the invasion of Iraq in 2003.
Dick Cheney with George W Bush. Pic: Reuters
In later life, he became a target of Donald Trump, especially after his daughter, Liz Cheney, became the leading Republican critic and examiner of Mr Trump’s actions surrounding the January 6 2021 insurrection at the US Capitol.
“In our nation’s 246-year history, there has never been an individual who was a greater threat to our republic than Donald Trump,” Mr Cheney said in a TV advert for his daughter.
“He tried to steal the last election using lies and violence to keep himself in power after the voters had rejected him. He is a coward.”
Dick Cheney looks on as his daughter Liz Cheney takes the oath of office in 2017. Pic: AP
Last year he said he was voting for Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate, to be president against Mr Trump.
Mr Cheney survived five heart attacks and declared in 2013 he woke up each morning “with a smile on my face, thankful for the gift of another day”.
Pic: Reuters
His family’s statement said: “For decades, Dick Cheney served our nation, including as White House Chief of Staff, Wyoming’s Congressman, Secretary of Defense, and Vice President of the United States.
“Dick Cheney was a great and good man who taught his children and grandchildren to love our country, and to live lives of courage, honor, love, kindness, and fly fishing.
“We are grateful beyond measure for all Dick Cheney did for our country.
“And we are blessed beyond measure to have loved and been loved by this noble giant of a man.”
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