MIDTOWN — An arctic cold air mass sweeping down from Canada plunged temperatures into the single digits across the city Thursday morning.
Temperatures dipped to 8 degrees, just six off the record low of 2 degrees set on Jan. 8 last year.
Fierce winds are making it feel more like minus 5, according to the National Weather Service.
It was so cold, the fountain in Bryant Park froze solid.
“We won’t be seeing anything colder than what we’re seeing right now,” a service spokesman said Thursday morning.
“But we are on the colder side of temperatures we’ve seen for this date.”
The high was expected to reach just 19 degrees Thursday, a far cry from the Jan. 8 record high of 65 degrees reached in 1998.
Temperatures should warm up tonight, but snow showers may hit the city Friday morning, leaving about a half-inch before noon. Temperatures should then rise above the freezing mark by midday, the NWS said.
The Office of Emergency Management is advising New Yorkers to keep their fingertips, earlobes and noses covered and clothing dry when going outside.
Saturday’s high will likely dip back down to just 22 degrees as wind gusts reach nearly 30 mph. Sunday’s high is expected to be about 34 degrees, according to the NWS.