Quebec

• US record for the lowest wind-chill temperature in the country.
• The state of New Hampshire reached negative 78 degrees Celsius.
• Frostbite on exposed flesh might occur within five minutes.

Meteorologists reported Saturday that an Arctic blast that caused “frostquakes” in areas of the United States caused the country to record its lowest-ever wind-chill temperature.

The wind chill factor at Mount Washington in the northeastern state of New Hampshire reached negative 78 degrees Celsius (minus 108 degrees Fahrenheit) overnight, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).

The service’s Gray, Maine, office tweeted that it had set a new US record for the lowest wind-chill temperature in the country.

It broke Alaska’s previous record of – 76 degrees Celsius.

According to the Weather Channel, the previous low at Mount Washington was – 74 degrees Celsius in 2004.

Mount Washington, at about 6,300 feet (1,920 meters), is the tallest summit in the northeastern United States and is noted for experiencing some of the world’s worst weather.

The historic low was set by temperatures of -43 degrees Celsius and wind gusts of more than 110 miles per hour (177 kilometres per hour).

The NWS office in Caribou, Maine, reported a wind chill of – 51 degrees Celsius in the little village of Frenchville, just south of the Canadian border.

Frostquakes

The office said they had received reports of “frostquakes,” also called “cryoseisms,” in the region.

“Just like earthquakes, (they) generate tremors, thundering sensations. These are caused by sudden cracks in frozen soil or underground water when it´s very cold,” the NWS office wrote on Twitter.

Ahead of the blast, it had warned of an “epic, generational Arctic outbreak.”

The NWS said the chills would be “something northern and eastern Maine has not seen since similar 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,” the service added.

It warned that in such conditions, frostbite on exposed flesh might occur within five minutes.

“The perils of being caught unprepared in the weather without suitable winter survival gear cannot be overstated,” the military wrote.

Temperatures in the US Northeast and coastal Mid-Atlantic were 10 to 30 degrees Fahrenheit below average, according to the NWS.

Several million people were under extreme weather warnings across parts of New England, Quebec, and eastern Canada.

At Montreal International Airport, the wind chill factor was – 41 degrees Celsius.

The Hydro Quebec energy provider stated late Friday that the polar blast had resulted in record-high electricity consumption and asked customers to turn down their heating by a degree or two.

A “code blue” policy was in place in New York City, which meant that no homeless shelter may turn anyone away.

According to the NWS, the temperature in New York’s Central Park dropped to minus 16 degrees Celsius.

Wind chill temperatures in Boston dipped below minus 34 degrees Celsius, forcing public schools to close on Friday as a precaution.

Warmer air is expected to arrive in the region late Sunday.

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