Weekend deep freeze was like no other; everyone chilled to the bone

Sunday was 58 like nothing happened!
Monday and Tuesday we were back to normal

By Josh Resnek

Last Saturday when we awakened, the temperature in Everett was -8 below zero.

On Mount Washington in New Hampshire, a record -108 degrees was apparently noted by meteorologists working for the National Weather Service who follow such things.

A ride around Everett in the early morning revealed a usually vibrant place almost entirely deserted.

Broadway was empty.

The street looked frozen. Windows were iced. Smokestacks belched hot air from straining heating systems.

Main Street looked like a ghost town.

Everything about our lives seemed frozen in time.

Inside our homes nearly everyone turned their heat up only to find it did precious little to cut the cold permeating our homes.

It turned out to be an incredible weather event – an incredible 24 hours of the worst cold we have experienced in a short span in many decades.

At 44 degrees Tuesday at 11 am, we were all sighing with relief. (Photo by Joe Resnek)

The wind was blowing. It blasted our homes and apartments all night.

Keeping the thermostat at 70 degrees didn’t do much warm homes whose interior temperature dipped into the 50’s.

The frigid below zero chill had a way of piercing even the most thoroughly insulated homes and apartments.

We were told by a variety of homeowners that interior storm windows were blasted from the windows and that exterior storm windows didn’t do much to blunt the devastating cold.

Local plumbers knew early on they would be away from their homes for several days dealing with frozen and burst piping.

“I won’t see my husband for three days,” predicted one of the dentist at Everett Dental on Broadway Friday morning before the temperature plunged to to zero.

Friday afternoon was worse. By Friday evening, the temperature was hovering around 15 degrees.

The wind swirled with great energy.

By midnight it was near zero.

By the early morning, it was below zero – almost to -10 degrees below zero.

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