Key Highlights
The Big Chill: When Winter Gets Real
You might think this is new, but… it’s not. The relentless winter of 2025-26 has been a bitter one in the East, and now it’s getting even worse. AccuWeather senior meteorologist Alex Sosnowski warns that “A brutally cold weekend awaits more than 100 million people in the northeastern quarter of the nation as Arctic air lunges southward straight from eastern Canada.”
Blame the Polar Vortex
The culprit, as AccuWeather’s Sosnowski and Washington Post meteorologist Ben Noll point out, is a lobe of the polar vortex at lower levels of the atmosphere. This “tropospheric polar vortex” is pushing frigid temperatures into regions that haven’t seen such harsh conditions in years.
Extreme Cold and Wind Chills
Temperatures will drop into the single digits or below zero across much of the Northeast, according to AccuWeather. This weekend could feature the coldest air of the whole winter in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. The “significant Arctic outbreak” is forecast to bring frigid temperatures and dangerously cold wind chills.
Extreme cold and dangerous wind chills are likely across the interior Northeast and New England, with forecasted wind chills in the minus-30s.
Frigid daytime temperatures will struggle to rise above the teens and single digits. These conditions pose a life-threatening risk of hypothermia and frostbite to exposed skin.
Widespread Impact
The cold snap is not just about discomfort; it has real economic implications. Strong winds, potentially gusting over 50 mph, will exacerbate the dangerous widespread below-zero wind chills and could produce isolated tree damage and power outages in the southern and central Appalachians, Mid-Atlantic, and Interior Northeast.
Additionally, this weekend could see brief periods of intense snowfall, including snow squalls and blowing snow. The arrival of cold air on Friday, Feb. 6 and Saturday, Feb. 7 will bring these weather phenomena to life.
Air Conditioning for Your Brain
But wait, there’s more! Some milder air is coming, but it may take until late next week to arrive, according to Weather.com. “Relief from this cold and a warming trend is forecast to commence by the middle of next week,” said the Weather Prediction Center.
In the meantime, businesses and individuals should prepare for the worst. Cold weather safety measures are crucial: Have a survival kit if traveling, limit time outdoors, cover exposed skin, ensure pets and livestock have adequate protection from the cold, take steps to prevent frozen pipes, and avoid walking on uncertain ice.