Out with the old, in with the cold. With much of the Midwest and Northeast already besieged by freezing temperatures, ice and snow, the weather is going from bad to worse — and spreading to the South — just as revelers rang in the new year.<\/b>
\nNEW YORK, NY — DECEMBER 13: Workers unload the numerals 1 and 8 as they arrive in Times Square ahead of the New Year’s Eve celebration, December 13,2017 in New York City. The ’18’ numerals will be part of the ‘2018’ sign that will light up light up above Times Square at midnight on December 31 to ring in the new year. (Photo by Drew Angerer\/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY — DECEMBER 13: Workers unload the numerals 1 and 8 as they arrive in Times Square ahead of the New Year’s Eve celebration, December 13,2017 in New York City. The ’18’ numerals will be part of the ‘2018’ sign that will light up light up above Times Square at midnight on December 31 to ring in the new year. (Photo by Drew Angerer\/Getty Images)
Out with the old, in with the cold.
With much of the Midwest and Northeast already besieged by freezing temperatures, ice and snow, the weather is going from bad to worse \u2014 and spreading to the South \u2014 just as revelers rang in the new year.
In New York, hundreds of thousands of people packed Times Square in the 9-degree Fahrenheit weather, with a wind chill of 4 degrees below zero, to watch the 2018 ball drop and confetti rain down on the street. The frigid temperature made it the second-coldest New Year\u2019s Eve ball drop on record in New York. The coldest ball drop in New York City still holds at 1-degree Fahrenheit in 1917.
But authorities had said they didn\u2019t expect the frigid temperatures to cool revelers\u2019 spirits.
\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of brave people in New York City and the United States,\u201d New York Police Commissioner James O\u2019Neill told reporters this week. \u201cSo, I\u2019m sure there\u2019ll still be millions of people in Times Square, no matter how cold it gets.\u201d
With hours to go before Sunday\u2019s ball drop, brothers Austin and Cal Adomitis looked like they were ready to hit the slopes as they waited in Times Square, wearing ski goggles as they prepared to welcome 2018.
\u201cI just thought it would be a good idea to keep my eyes from freezing,\u201d said 18-year-old Cal, who traveled to New York from Pittsburgh to spend the holiday with his brother.
Austin, 23, said frigid temperatures weren\u2019t their only worry. They set out to the event early to make sure they nabbed a good spot for the show.
\u201cWe\u2019ve got the gloves and the hand warmers, and we\u2019ve got a view of the ball,\u201d he said, \u201cSo we\u2019re ready.\u201d
New Year\u2019s Eve is expected to be 20 to 40 degrees colder than usual across much of the United States, forecasters say. As many as 27 record lows are expected to be set on New Year\u2019s Day. And 24 record lows for January 2 are possible on Tuesday.
That\u2019s on top of record lows set late last week, from Danville, Virginia, to Augusta, Maine.
From Hettinger, North Dakota \u2014 where it was minus 37 degrees Sunday morning \u2014 and the Adirondacks of New York down to the very southern tip of Texas, more than 150 million people were under wind chill alerts in the United States on Sunday morning, more than double Saturday\u2019s 70 million.
Of the lower 48 states, only 10 weren\u2019t under a wind chill alert, and only two of those are east of the Rocky Mountains: Florida and South Carolina.
Southern regions unused to such temperatures could see some icy roads as an early morning hard freeze follows rain.
\u201cIt\u2019s going to be extra bad in the South, where they are not used to dealing with it,\u201d said CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar.
Brownsville, Texas, on the southern border with Mexico, could see wind chill in the 20s.
In Atlanta, which holds an annual Peach Drop, temperatures are predicted to dip to 22 degrees.
In Boston, forecasters predict a low of minus 1, with wind chill values as low as minus 7 degrees on New Year\u2019s Eve, and 2 degrees on the first day of the year. Mayor Marty Walsh urged residents to take precautions for the bitterly cold weather.
\u201cIn times like these, it\u2019s vital for residents to look out for one another, and I encourage all Bostonians to reach out to the city if they or their neighbors need help this winter season,\u201d he said in a statement.
The arctic front that hit earlier already has brutalized parts of the United States. It was so cold in Massachusetts last week that sharks were washing up on the shoreline of Cape Cod Bay, \u201clikely stranded due to cold shock,\u201d the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy said.
In Rochester, New York, calls to AAA Roadside Assistance in the rural areas surged because of snow, CNN affiliate Spectrum News Rochester reported.
\u201cOn a normal winter day in Rochester, we see about 300 calls in the metro area and much lower in the rural areas, said AAA Roadside Assistance Manager Mark Mika. \u201cThis week that`s changed. In the rural areas it has jumped considerably, almost to 600 calls in one day.\u201d
Beleaguered Erie, Pennsylvania, has gotten more snow in December \u2014 121.3 inches \u2014 than its average for an entire winter season, meteorologist Chinchar said. And the city is forecast to get as much as 6 inches in the next two days.
There\u2019s no light at the end of the snow tunnel for much of the United States. Although it will get a few degrees warmer in the coming week, temperatures are expected to drop again late in the week.
\u201cIt\u2019s not like this is going to end and it goes back to normal,\u201d Chinchar said.
But if you\u2019re looking to escape the cold, you could try the West, where places like Kingman, Arizona, are experiencing record highs. On Friday, more than 32 record highs were recorded, according to CNN meteorologists.
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Topics: New Year’s Eve, weather<\/p>\n

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