Hudson Valley Will Be Colder Than Russia, Alaska

Parts of Alaska and Russia will be warmer than Long Island on Thursday as an Arctic cold front sweeps across the region. The mercury will dip to a low of about 1 degree below zero early Thursday morning while wind chills will make it feel as cold as -17, the National Weather Service says.

"Temperatures will plunge almost 20° in about 4 hours all across the region," warn Alex Marra and Bill Potter of Hudson Valley Weather. "By midnight, everyone is near or below 0°. So the temperatures will certainly plummet. But in addition to crashing temperatures, we’ll see HOWLING winds!"

Here's a look at how it will change hour-to-hour:

Anchorage, Alaska will feel balmy by comparison with a temperature of 18 degrees and a wind chill of 13 when the Hudson Valley is at its coldest, according to the weather service. Even Moscow will be above freezing at 35 degrees, AccuWeather says.

Temperatures will rise to a high near 30 degrees around midday Wednesday before plummeting through the teens in the afternoon and evening and into the single digits by 10 p.m., meteorologists predict.

Also, wind chill advisories are in effect:

• for Dutchess and Ulster counties from 5 p.m. Wednesday to 1 p.m. Thursday.
• for Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Westchester from 7 p.m. Wednesday to 10 a.m. Thursday

"30mph to 50mph gusts around the region, will surely take any lightweight objects and throw them dozens if not hundreds of feet away from their original location," Hudson Valley Weather said.

Also, with those winds, frostbite and hypothermia will set in fast for people outside, specially if not properly clothed.

Here's what we can expect over the next couple of days:

• Wednesday night: lows of 1 to -8
• Thursday: highs in the low teens
• Thursday night: lows of 4 to -3
• Friday: highs in the high teens
• Friday night: lows from 9 - 14 degrees
• Saturday: highs from the high 20s to low 30s

Images/National Weather Service