美国华盛顿山山顶4日“寒风指数”降至摄氏零下79度。图为从华盛顿山州立公园观测台看到的景象。路透
法新社报导，一个世代难得一见的“极地寒流”(arcticblast)4日在美国东北部和加拿大造成危险的低温，美国国家气象局警告，民众在户外待5分钟就可能冻伤。
New Hampshire’s Mount Washington sees recordcold, stunning -108 wind chill amid arctic blast https://t.co/l87LRtqYu6
— Fox News (@FoxNews) February 4, 2023
美国气象局表示，在新罕布夏州的华盛顿山(Mount Washington)山顶，夜间的寒风指数(wind chillfactor)，亦即在低温和寒风下的体感温度，降到摄氏零下79度，打破之前的零下74度低温纪录。
华盛顿山有1920公尺高，是美国东北部的最高峰，以天气恶劣闻名。气象局表示，4日摄氏零下43度的低温和时速超过177公里的阵风，造成华盛顿山寒风指数再创新低。路透发布一张从华盛顿山州立公园观测台看到的冰封景象，宛如世界末日。
缅因州卡里布(Caribou)的气象局办公室表示，靠近加拿大边界的缅因州小镇法国村(Frenchville)的寒风指数达摄氏零下51度，是“一个世代难得一见的极地寒流”，缅因州东部和北部“自1982年到1988年以来就没再看过这样的寒流”。
Morning has broken and here is the view fromatop Mt. Washington where the wind chill is still -102F withsustained winds at 97 mph and a temperature of -42F. #winter @spann @foxweather@MWObs#arcticblast pic.twitter.com/0xhRbnFwfr
— Tom Niziol (@TomNiziol) February 4, 2023
Quite a brisk morning in Boston today, but Imanaged to photograph the sea smoke from the arctic blast so youdon’t have to go outside #boston #seasmoke #arcticblast pic.twitter.com/4JrR5zL0xg
— Matthew Raifman️ (@MatthewRaifman) February 4, 2023
[2/3 3PM] Wow absolutely prolific #waterspout activity over Lake Champlain today as viewed fromdowntown Burlington! #vtwx #arcticblast #btvpic.twitter.com/o9TrGrk3X1
— Rodney Chai (@RodneyChaiWX) February 3, 2023
What I do during my break. It’s not a truearctic blast without taking part in this classic cold weathertrick! pic.twitter.com/2g8h9YZX7V
— Zack Duhaime (@theWeatherlord) February 4, 2023
Several cities in the northeastern UnitedStates enacted emergency measures to protect the homelesspopulation. The Arctic blast also caused “frostquakes” from suddensnaps in frozen soil. https://t.co/8OudQn07b1
— DW News (@dwnews) February 5, 2023
Upper Midwest, Northeast bracing for arcticblast bringing sub-zero temps, ‘life-threatening’ wind chillhttps://t.co/2ehaQd1uCL
— Fox News (@FoxNews) February 3, 2023