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Dangerous and possibly record-breaking freeze hits Northeast: What to expect

A dangerous and possibly record-shattering freeze is invading the Northeast.

The cold moved into the Northeast Friday morning, with a wind chill -- what temperature it feels like -- reaching minus 21 degrees in Maine, minus 22 degrees in Vermont and minus 7 degrees in Buffalo, New York.

PHOTO: Visitors at Niagara Falls on Feb. 2, 2023. (Lori Cappellazzo/Polaris)
PHOTO: Visitors at Niagara Falls on Feb. 2, 2023. (Lori Cappellazzo/Polaris)
PHOTO: People bundled up walk in midtown Manhattan as bitter cold temperatures moved into much of the northeast United States in New York City, Feb. 3, 2023. (Mike Segar/Reuters)
PHOTO: People bundled up walk in midtown Manhattan as bitter cold temperatures moved into much of the northeast United States in New York City, Feb. 3, 2023. (Mike Segar/Reuters)

Boston is bracing for its coldest temperatures since 2016, when a temperature of minus 9 degrees was recorded. Overnight, Boston could fall to minus 6 degrees.

Public schools in Boston are closed on Friday and sports are canceled through the weekend due to the extreme cold.

PHOTO: A pedestrian crosses the street on a cold winter morning in Boston, Feb. 3, 2023. (Brian Snyder/Reuters)
PHOTO: A pedestrian crosses the street on a cold winter morning in Boston, Feb. 3, 2023. (Brian Snyder/Reuters)

MORE: How to stay safe and prepare for freezing temperatures

By Friday night, Portland, Maine, could near its record for lowest wind chill, which stands at minus 41 degrees.

The coldest air for the Northeast will hit Saturday morning, when wind chills are forecast to plunge to a bone-chilling minus 36 degrees in Boston; minus 29 degrees in Albany, New York; minus 27 degrees in Hartford, Connecticut; and minus 14 degrees in New York City.

The most extreme forecast is for Caribou, Maine, near the Canadian border, where wind chills could be as low as minus 63 degrees on Saturday morning. That would clock in as the coldest wind chill in the region on record.

PHOTO: Wind chills forecast for Saturday morning. (ABC News)
PHOTO: Wind chills forecast for Saturday morning. (ABC News)

But the bitter blast won’t last long. On Sunday and Monday, Boston is forecast to thaw to the mid-40s.

Click here for tips on how to stay safe in the cold.

Dangerous and possibly record-breaking freeze hits Northeast: What to expect originally appeared on abcnews.go.com