Boston
Burlington and Portland, Maine, set records, with Burlington falling to minus 20, beating a 1923 record by a degree, and Portland recording minus 11, also a degree below a 1941 record.
The National Weather Service said Worcester, Mass., which fell to minus 9, and Providence, R.I., which dropped to minus 3, also set record lows, as did Hartford, Conn., where the temperature dropped to minus 9, smashing a 1912 record. Boston tied a low-temperature record set more than a century ago in 1896 of minus 2.
The extended period of severe cold has begun to get on the nerves of even the flintiest of New Englanders.
Evan Premo, of Marshfield, Vt., stopped into a Capitol Grounds coffee shop in Montpelier for lunch Sunday with his two young sons, aged 5 and 3.
“We’ve been stir crazy because we spend so much time outside always, so yeah, it’s a challenge,” said Premo.
The good news is the bone-numbing air is set to push out of the region.
By today, Boston temperatures should return to a more seasonable low 30s. The mercury will continue to rise and Boston could see temperatures in the mid-40s by Thursday and as high as the low-50s on Friday.
Many Northeast residents endured jaw-clenching temperatures and brutal wind chills over the weekend as cleanup continued from the storm that dropped as much as 18 inches of snow in some places on Thursday.
In New England water main breaks, frozen hydrants and burst pipes created new headaches for officials.
The temperature registered minus 37 Saturday at the Mount Washington Observatory, one of the coldest places on the planet.
The wind chill was minus 93. It tied with Armstrong, Ontario, as the second coldest spot in the world.
Meteorologist Mike Carmon said people at the observatory were “layering up as a much as we can.”
The chilly winter blast did not spare Florida, where rescuers rushed to save hundreds of young sea turtles stunned by the cold.
State wildlife officials said they had rescued more than 100.
In New Jersey, George Jenkins was working on Sunday morning to get rid of some stubborn icy spots on his driveway of his Toms River home.
“The ice usually isn’t a problem here at the (Jersey) shore, because it usually goes away a day or so after a storm. But it’s been so darn cold lately, I can’t get rid of it,” he said.
Some of those benefiting from the deep freeze are hardy diners hoping to land a table at Boston’s hottest restaurants.
Owners told the Boston Globe that reservations have been down with fewer patrons willing to suit up in layers of clothes and shiver on sidewalks waiting for a table to open up.