Hazardous High Winds in White Plains Thursday-Friday: National Weather Service

WHITE PLAINS, NY — High winds will create hazardous conditions from Thursday to Friday morning in Orange, Putnam, Rockland and Westchester counties, the National Weather Service warns.

• Wind Advisory in effect from December 15, 09:00 AM EST until December 15, 06:00 PM EST
• High Wind Warning in effect from December 15, 06:00 PM EST until December 16, 06:00 AM EST

That's in addition to what Bill Potter of Hudson Valley Weather is calling "brutal cold."

"A piece of the polar vortex has broken off, and spun its way down into SE Canada, and we’re feeling the effects of that," he said. "Temps will not rise at all today… they will remain steady, or fall a few degrees...The cold will persist straight through Thursday night and into Friday."

The cold means temps will struggle Friday afternoon to get into the low 20s, which is 20 degrees below normal, he said.

As for those winds: Northwest winds will blow from 20 to 30 mph today with gusts up to 50 mph, the NWS said. Tonight, the highest wind potential, we can expect gusts up to 60 mph. That's strong enough to blow down trees, tree limbs and power lines. It's also a hazard for drivers.

And, of course, it means we'll get wind chill values ranging from around 10 above zero today, to around zero to 10 below tonight.

The National Weather Service says:

IMPACTS...DAMAGING WINDS MAY BLOW DOWN TREES AND POWER LINES. WIDESPREAD POWER OUTAGES ARE POSSIBLE. TRAVEL WILL BE DIFFICULT...ESPECIALLY FOR HIGH PROFILE VEHICLES. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A HIGH WIND WARNING MEANS A HAZARDOUS HIGH WIND EVENT IS EXPECTED OR OCCURRING. SUSTAINED WIND SPEEDS OF AT LEAST 40 MPH OR GUSTS OF 58 MPH OR MORE CAN LEAD TO PROPERTY DAMAGE.

A WIND ADVISORY IS ISSUED WHEN SUSTAINED WINDS OF 31 TO 39 MPH...OR GUSTS OF 46 TO 57 MPH...ARE EXPECTED OR OCCURRING. WINDS THIS STRONG CAN MAKE DRIVING DIFFICULT...ESPECIALLY FOR HIGH PROFILE VEHICLES. USE EXTRA CAUTION.

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