The Northeast of the United States is preparing this Friday for a cold wave "epic"with extremely low temperatures in some areas, forecasters said.
The National Weather Service (NWS) has warned that parts of Maine could experience wind chills of minus 51 degrees Celsius.
"This is an epic, generational arctic wave"said the NWS office in Caribou, near Maine’s border with Canada.
He added that "northern and eastern Maine have not seen similar (cold) waves since 1982 and 1988".
"Most stations are forecast to experience the lowest wind chill in decades or, in some cases, the lowest ever recorded"the NWS added.
He also warned that in such conditions, frostbite on exposed skin can occur in as little as five minutes.
"The danger of not being prepared, without shelter from the elements, and without the proper winter survival gear cannot be stressed enough."he pointed.
Forecasts call for the most extreme conditions to occur Friday night and Saturday morning, with extremely low wind chill warnings across much of New England.
The city of Boston and surrounding areas are expected to experience a wind chill of -34C, while New York City is expected to be -23C, according to the NWS.
An improvement is forecast for Sunday.