Extreme cold in US north-east closes schools and Covid testing sites

A mass of Arctic air swept into the US north-east on Tuesday, bringing bone-chilling sub-zero temperatures and closing schools for the second time in less than a week.

Low temperatures can result in frostbite to exposed skin in as little as 30 minutes, according to the National Weather Service.

The freezing temperatures were caused by a pocket of cold air descending from Canada, but the good news was that it was expected to be a short-lived cold spell, said Bill Simpson, a meteorologist at the NWS office in Norton, Massachusetts.

Syracuse in New York, Manchester in New Hampshire, and Burlington, Vermont, were among communities that also closed schools. Many schools closed because of snow on Friday.

Wind chill temperatures in areas near lakes Erie and Ontario in New York state were expected to drop as low as -30F (-34C) by the afternoon. To make matters worse, parts of the state were expected to be hit with up to 2ft of lake-effect snow and winds gusting up to 40mph.

The high temperature in Vermont on Tuesday was expected to be several degrees below zero in some areas with wind chills of up to -35F (-37C).

In New Hampshire, it was -26F (-32C) atop Mount Washington, known for its weather extremes, with a wind chill of nearly -72F (-58C) as of 8am. That was actually warmer than earlier in the morning.

The Mount Washington Observatory posted a photo on Facebook of a frozen plate of spaghetti supporting a fork. Temperatures dropped into the single digits in many areas of Massachusetts, with the wind chill making it feel well below zero.

The New Hampshire health and department announced that four Covid testing sites would be closed because of the cold. The sites are in Claremont, Manchester, Nashua and Newington.

Testing sites in Springfield and Chicopee, Massachusetts, also closed because of the cold.

Central Maine Power said it was encouraging customers to weather strip windows and open drapes to let in heat and light from the sun, to reduce reliance on electricity during the cold spell.