Mount Washington records coldest wind chill ever: minus 108 degrees

Temperatures dropped precipitously and wind speeds increased in the northeast early Saturday, but no region could match the frigid conditions atop Mount Washington in New Hampshire.

At 6,288 feet, it is the tallest peak in the northeast and known to have one of the worst climates in the world.

A new record for the coldest wind chill on record, minus 108 degrees Fahrenheit, was set Friday at the summit of Mount Washington in New Hampshire, the highest peak in the region. The previous record was minus 103 degrees. The temperature at the top of the mountain reached minus 47 degrees in the early hours of Saturday, which equaled the previous record from 1934.

By comparison, the coldest Thursday was minus 5 degrees. The average wind speed was 55 mph and the maximum wind gust was 95 mph

Those looking into the Mount Washington Observatory Tower camera could see blankets of snow, with structures atop windswept.

Summit temperatures are expected to rise Saturday morning and approach minus 15 degrees by sunset Saturday. But winds will rise above hurricane force and fog will return on Sunday, with isolated flurries expected.

Venturing outside on the mountain to track the system on Friday, Francis Tarasiewicz, meteorologist at the Mount Washington Observatory, encountered a wind that sounded like a roaring freight train. “There were chunks of ice flying around, lots of dodging and dodging,” he said. “I had a small area of ​​skin exposure a millimeter wide, and I felt like I was stung by a bee.”