🔴 A wind gust of 89 mph & a temperature of -50 combined for a -108 wind chill on Mount Washington

🔴 Power outages were minimal on Friday night and Saturday morning

🔴 Temperature will be much milder Sunday and Monday


 

If you think it's been cold at your house, it's a tropical paradise compared to Mount Washington.

The Mount Washington Observatory recorded a wind chill of -108 at 3:49 a.m. Saturday morning, with a wind gust out of the northwest of 89 mph setting a new record, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Stephen Baron in Gray, Maine. He said that despite the observation showing a temperature of -47, the temperature actually reached -50.

The lowest wind chill recorded in the Seacoast region was -48 in York and -46 in Plaistow, according to National Weather Service observations.

There was a water main break in Portsmouth Saturday morning at Vaughn Street and Green Street, according to city spokeswoman Stephanie Secord. Impact on service was minimal, as a work around was implemented.

The Portsmouth indoor pool was also closed Saturday due to a pump failure.

Smoke rising from the ocean off Portsmouth 2/4/23
Smoke rising from the ocean off Portsmouth 2/4/23 (Terri Mlodzik Nulph)
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Smoke on the Water

Power outages were minimal with only scattered outages reported on the Eversource, Liberty, New Hampshire Electric Co-op, Unitil, and Central Maine Power outage maps.

ISO New England, the corporation that oversees the power grid, said in a statement that the region is well prepared for the brief cold snap.

"Energy supplies are expected to be sufficient to meet the forecasted consumer demand during this weekend's bitter cold," the organization said. It declared a Cold Weather Watch for Saturday, the seventh in the past five years.

"The region’s supplies of fuel oil are at their highest levels of the season. The expected short duration of the cold weather limits the potential for strain on the region’s stored fuel supplies, including liquefied natural gas (LNG)," the group said.

A Wind Chill Warning remained in effect until 1 p.m. Saturday as wind chills will be around -15. High temperatures won't get out of the low teens, with winds 10-15 mph.

The cold also created what looked like steam rising from many bodies of water Saturday morning.

"That's just the very cold air over the relatively warmer water which creates radiational fog better known as sea smoke," Baron said.

Minimum wind chill Saturday morning. Thermometer in Manchester
Minimum wind chill Saturday morning (NWS Gray) Thermometer in Manchester (Eric Klemarczyk)
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Back to normal on Sunday

Temperatures will rebound back to normal February levels on Sunday, with highs near 40 on Sunday and into the 40s on Monday under sunny skies.

Wind chills recorded around the Seacoast region Friday night and Saturday morning

ROCKINGHAM COUNTY

PLAISTOW -46 F 0840 PM 02/03 CWOP
EPPING -43 F 0606 AM 02/04 DAVIS
N HAMPTON -42 F 0215 AM 02/04 DAVIS
ATKINSON -42 F 0340 AM 02/04 DAVIS
PORTSMOUTH -40 F 1055 PM 02/03 AWOS
WINDHAM -37 F 0344 AM 02/04 CWOP
RAYMOND -36 F 0405 AM 02/04 AWS
HAMPSTEAD -36 F 0305 AM 02/04 CWOP
4 SSW AUBURN -36 F 0225 AM 02/04 AWS
CHESTER -35 F 0415 AM 02/04 CWOP
GREENLAND -34 F 0353 AM 02/04 CWOP
EXETER -34 F 0138 AM 02/04 CWOP
HAMPTON -33 F 1230 AM 02/04 CWOP
STRATHAM -31 F 1150 PM 02/03 DAVIS
DERRY -31 F 0256 AM 02/04 CWOP
NOTTINGHAM -30 F 0310 AM 02/04 CWOP
NEWMARKET -30 F 0445 AM 02/04 CWOP
FREMONT -27 F 0215 AM 02/04 CWOP
LONDONDERRY -26 F 0128 AM 02/04 CWOP
NEWTON -23 F 1246 AM 02/04 CWOP
DANVILLE -22 F 0418 AM 02/04 CWOP

STRAFFORD COUNTY
NEW DURHAM -47 F 0335 AM 02/04 DAVIS
MILTON -42 F 1158 PM 02/03 CWOP
ROCHESTER -39 F 0851 PM 02/03 ASOS
DOVER -30 F 0245 AM 02/04 CWOP
STRAFFORD -26 F 0415 AM 02/04 CWOP
BARRINGTON -22 F 0315 AM 02/04 CWOP

YORK COUNTY

YORK -48 F 0356 AM 02/04 CWOP
SPRINGVALE -42 F 1200 AM 02/04 CWOP
SHAPLEIGH -42 F 1220 AM 02/04 DAVIS
SANFORD -42 F 0256 AM 02/04 AWOS
KITTERY POINT -41 F 1207 AM 02/04 CWOP
OGUNQUIT -39 F 0330 AM 02/04 AWS
NORTH BERWICK -37 F 0249 AM 02/04 CWOP
ARUNDEL -35 F 1010 PM 02/03 CWOP
KENNEBUNKPORT -33 F 0325 AM 02/04 CWOP
KENNEBUNK -32 F 0340 AM 02/04 CWOP
ACTON -31 F 0400 AM 02/04 CWOP
WATERBORO -29 F 0300 AM 02/04 CWOP
RACHEL CARSON - FTS -26 F 0632 AM 02/04 RAWS
HOLLIS -26 F 0727 PM 02/03 CWOP
PARSONSFIELD -25 F 0127 AM 02/04 CWOP
KITTERY -23 F 0345 AM 02/04 CWOP

Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com or via Twitter @DanAlexanderNH

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