Record-Breaking Cold Snap Hits Northeast, Causing at Least One Death

Residents of the Northeast were met with a record-breaking cold snap this weekend as an arctic air mass descended on the region. The National Weather Service warned of “dangerously cold wind chill temperatures” and blizzard conditions in northern Maine.

The cold temperatures and strong winds have already caused at least one death. On Friday, a tree branch fell on a vehicle driven by a 23-year-old Winstead, Connecticut, woman, according to a statement from the Hampden district attorney’s office. The driver was taken to the hospital with serious injuries, but the infant in the vehicle died.

The coldest temperatures were recorded at Mount Washington in New Hampshire, where the wind chill reached 108 degrees below zero. The observatory also recorded an actual temperature of 47 degrees below zero, tying an observatory record set in 1934. Wind gusts peaked at around 127 miles per hour.

Mount Washington is known for its extreme weather conditions, and this weekend it certainly lived up to its reputation. The National Weather Service has warned residents of the Northeast to take precautions against the cold weather and to stay indoors as much as possible.