(TJV NEWS) A severe outbreak of Arctic air is gripping the Northeast and New England this weekend, bringing potentially life-threatening cold and dangerously low wind chills, as Fox News reported.

According to the National Weather Service (NWS), wind chill values ranging from minus 10 to as low as minus 30 degrees are possible across large portions of the region. In response, the NWS issued rare Extreme Cold Warnings covering more than 49 million people through Sunday afternoon, including major metropolitan areas such as New York City and Philadelphia, Fox News reported.

Meteorologists say this surge of cold air is expected to be the most intense blast of the winter so far, following a season marked by repeated Arctic intrusions. Powerful northwest winds are dragging air linked to the polar vortex into the Northeast, significantly amplifying the effects of already frigid temperatures, particularly along the heavily populated Interstate 95 corridor.

“The last time [New York City] had a warning issued similar to what we have this morning was in 2004,” FOX Weather meteorologist Stephen Morgan said Friday, according to Fox News.

Officials warn that frostbite can develop on exposed skin within minutes under these conditions, and extended exposure could become life-threatening. City and state agencies across the region have moved into high alert as the cold settles in.

New York City Emergency Management has maintained continuous winter operations following January’s historic storm. Christina Farrell, First Deputy Commissioner of the agency, told FOX Weather that the city is prepared for a range of possible impacts, including power outages, water main breaks, and fire risks linked to heating issues, Fox News reported.

“There could be power outages, there could be water main breaks. Sometimes, if people don’t have heat, we see fires,” Farrell said, adding that the city is responding aggressively to wellness calls involving individuals in need of shelter.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said Wednesday that at least 13 people have died since January in incidents tied in part to hypothermia, underscoring the seriousness of the ongoing cold, according to Fox News.

Other major cities along the East Coast are also taking precautions. Warming shelters have been opened in Boston, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu declared a cold weather emergency beginning Saturday and lasting through Monday.

The extreme cold arrived behind a fast-moving Alberta clipper system that brought light snow to the region. As the system exited, strong winds rushed in behind it, allowing even colder air to surge southward. Meteorologists say the closer the system tracked to the coast, the stronger the winds — and the harsher the wind chills — became.

By early Sunday, wind chills were expected to plunge into the negative teens for millions across New York City, Philadelphia, and Boston. Conditions are forecast to be even colder inland, with parts of upstate New York facing wind chills below minus 23 degrees, including the Albany area, Fox News reported.

Temperatures are expected to remain stubbornly low throughout the day, even as residents venture out for routine activities and major sporting events. The dangerous cold is forecast to persist through Monday before slowly moderating by the middle of the week.

The relentless rounds of Arctic air this winter have left many residents confined indoors, with large accumulations of snow still lingering from January’s deadly and wide-reaching winter storm. Meteorologists and residents alike have struggled to find new ways to describe the prolonged grip of extreme cold across the region.

Some relief may finally be in sight later this month. Forecast models suggest a shift in the jet stream could push the polar vortex farther north, sparing the East Coast from the most extreme cold seen earlier this winter, as Fox News reported.