Record cold grips much of Northeast

Associated Press

NEW YORK

For much of the northeastern United States, Valentine’s Day was the coldest on record, with people bundling up for the not-so-warm embrace of teeth-chattering temperatures.

From New York and Boston to Providence, R.I, and Hartford, Conn., temperatures Sunday morning dipped to as low as minus 40 – on Mount Washington in New Hampshire.

The National Weather Service said the temperature in New York City’s Central Park fell to minus 1, a record low for the date. The last time it was below zero in Central Park was in January 1994.

“I’m dumb enough to do this,” exclaimed John Male before starting a 12-mile park run Sunday morning with two companions.

“I just always come out, and I just decided not to do anything differently” – except to wear a furry tiger hat with two tails over his normal headgear, in addition to four layers of clothing.

His running partner also was wearing a tiger hat on top of the balaclava that covered her face – except the eyes.

“It’s zero degrees and feels like negative 19; I’m going to sue him for personal injury after this,” joked Molly Manning, a Manhattan attorney. “I’m here because they peer-pressured me to come out today. They basically made me feel like I was a wimp unless I came out.”

Boston reached minus 9, breaking the record set in 1934 by 6 degrees. It reached minus 16 in Worcester, Mass., breaking the 1979 record of 11 below zero. Providence hit minus 9 and Hartford minus 12, also breaking records from 1979.

In Montpelier, Vt., the overnight temperature hit minus 19, tying a record set in 2003. And South Lincoln, Vt., recorded 27 below zero.

Temperatures were so low in some spots, utilities were knocked out. A frozen regulator left about 400 customers in Connecticut without natural-gas service, and officials believe extreme cold in Vermont broke a utility pole, knocking out service to about 1,500.