Fans stand in line in subzero temperatures to enter U.S. Bank Stadium to watch an NFL football game between the Chicago Bears and Minnesota Vikings, Sunday, Dec. 31, 2017, in Minneapolis. (Carlos Gonzalez/Star Tribune via AP)
Dress in layers, lay off the booze and bring hand warmers. That was the advice offered for the crowd of revelers in Times Square for what was expected to be one of the coldest New Year’s Eve ball drops on record.
Brutal weather iced plans for scores of events in the Northeast from New Year’s Eve through New Year’s Day, but not in New York City, where people started gathering in Times Square up to nine hours before the famous ball drop.
“Hundreds of thousands have withstood very cold weather over the years for a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and we expect this year to be no different,” said Tim Tompkins, president of the Times Square Alliance which puts on the event.
The coldest New Year’s Eve in Times Square came in 1917, when it was 1 degree at midnight. This year, the forecast was for 11 degrees with a wind chill around zero, which would tie for second with 1962.
City and state health officials are advising people to cover all exposed skin, and wear a hat, scarf and gloves. Drinking alcohol is discouraged because it causes the body to lose heat faster.
Extra New York Fire Department personnel were on hand to provide medical support and a National Weather Service meteorologist was on site with the city’s emergency management officials to monitor weather conditions.
In other areas gripped by the cold, some events are being canceled or reconsidered. The annual Lobster Dip at Old Orchard Beach in Maine has been rescheduled for the first time in 30 years.
Organizers of the Penguin Plunge in Narragansett, Rhode Island, said it’s still on for today but advised the thousands of expected participants to “use their good judgment” and avoid taking the plunge if they have a medical condition or have been sick.
With temperatures only expected to reach 9 degrees in Springfield, Ill., on Sunday, organizers of its annual New Year’s Eve fireworks display canceled this year’s show. Officials say they plan to reschedule it for a warmer date_
In Ohio where some communities saw single-digit temperatures on Saturday, fireworks were canceled and events moved inside. The New Year’s Eve ball drop and other activities in New Carlisle were reduced to an hour.
Despite the drawn-out deep freeze across Pennsylvania, officials said the annual New Year’s Day Mummers Parade would still be held. The event features thousands of performers in colorful costumes adorned with sequins and feathers strutting through Philadelphia’s streets.
The village of Orchard Park near Buffalo, N.Y., canceled its New Year’s Eve event because subzero temperatures were forecast. “With frigid weather, the chance of a water line break is higher, and I’d rather have my public works crew fixing it than hoisting a ball up to drop,” said Mayor Jo Ann Litwin Clinton.
