New Yorkers Shiver as Frigid Air Hits the City

Seth Wenig/Associated Press Children and adults bundled up against the cold on their way to school in New York on Wednesday morning.

It may seem like cold comfort, but New York City has it lucky â€" at least compared with our upstate neighbors.

With temperatures expected to reach the single digits overnight Wednesday, making it the coldest couple of days in nearly two years, New Yorkers are feeling the impact of an arctic chill that is sweeping down from the north and impacting millions of Americans.

But the deepest freeze will be felt farther north, in the Great Lakes region from Ohio to upstate New York, where temperaures are expected to drop to more than 20 degrees below freezing and large snowfalls are expected.

Still, as the wind whipped through frozen city streets Wednesday morning, the idea that someone had it worse did little to provide warmth. Someone always has it worse.

And after a couple of very mild winters, it may be that New Yorkers have forgotten how quickly a truly cold day can chill right to the bone.

But for the next few days, they will get a reminder. And even the sun will do little to help.

“We are not going to see much change today, even with sunshine across the area,” said Joey Picca, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

As of 10 a.m., he said, the temperatures across the city are in the low teens and the wind chill makes it feel as if it is hovering just around freezing. “La Guardia is at zero,” he said.

While the temperature is not setting any records, it could still be dangerous.

The city has opened several warming shelters where people can seek shelter.

Mr. Picca said there could be snowfall in and around the city at the end of the week, but forecasts did not show a significant accumulation.

The last time Central Park reached temperatures this cold was on Jan. 24, 2011, with a recorded low of 6 degrees. On Wednesday morning, Mr. Picca said, the low in Central Park was 11 degrees.

“We have this cold air that has been reinforced over the last few days and has a solid hold over the area,” Mr. Picca said. “By Sunday,” he added, “we could get into the 30s.”