NEW YORK: For much of the northeast 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 on 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 on 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.
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.