[Fox5ny] If you plan on ringing in the new year at the annual ball drop in Times Square, expect to be cold. A severe blast of Arctic air has descended on the New York City region and temperatures will stay below the freezing mark around the clock for the rest of the year.Gotta be all that global warming
On New Year's Eve the temperature is expected to drop to around 12 degrees, about 12 degrees below normal and one of the coldest on record. High temperatures leading into the holiday are expected to be colder than the typical low temperatures for those days.
Despite the cold, it is not expected to be a record for that date. In 1962 the temperature plunged to 2 degrees on New Year's Eve but that fact is little comfort for the upwards of one million people expected to spend hours outdoors waiting to ring in 2018.
It's too early to tell for sure but there are also some predictions that light snow could fall on New Year's Eve. The only good news with that is that clouds could help trap some warmth at the ground level.
The National Weather Service says the average forecast temperature for the next 7 days for Central Park will be 19 degrees with forecast highs in the low and middle 20s and lows in the middle teens.
New York City Emergency Management officials issued an extreme cold weather alert starting on Tuesday afternoon encouraging New Yorkers to stay indoors as much as possible. They warned that prolonged exposure to cold can contribute to health problems such as hypothermia, frostbite and exacerbation of chronic heart and lung conditions.
A Code Blue was issued for the homeless. People were asked to call 311 if they saw homeless people outside so that city workers could attempt to get them to go to a shelter.
Get used to the cold. You are gonna see a lot more of it.