NORTHAMPTON — People out and about Thursday said there was only one thing getting them through. Layers.
With temperatures in the teens, meteorologists at the National Weather Service said it was the coldest day since the first frost. And 50 mph wind gusts carrying a subzero chill didn’t help, they said.
Meteorologist Bill Simpson of the National Weather Service said to expect the cold temperatures to last into Friday night, at which point snow will bring warmer temperatures and up to 6 inches of precipitation.
“This is kind of a brief, sharp cold air mass from Canada,” he said. “It’s short-lived, luckily.”
Still, he advised area residents prepare accordingly.
“Dress appropriately. We have a wind chill advisory out once you get below zero to minus 20,” Simpson said. “Hopefully people are dressing appropriately.”
Walking downtown Thursday, Walter E. Bak of Northampton said the weather warranted breaking out his special occasion coat. He said it’s typically too warm to wear unless temps drop to zero.
“Last year I only wore it once,” he said of the B-29 bomber jacket he got an Army Surplus store “back in the day.”
Despite the frigid air, his skin was warm to the touch.
“It’s leather so the wind doesn’t go through it,” he said.
Parking enforcement officer Cara Pease said six layers were a saving grace during her eight-hour shift.
“I’m walking like a penguin,” she said before writing a parking ticket with heavily mittened hands.
Others were unphased by the frigid gusts. Michael Woodard, a mechanic diagnosing a car outside of Ernie’s on King Street, said he doesn’t mind the cold.
“I was wearing shorts yesterday,” he said as a differently-minded colleague skooted by, shivering with shrugged shoulders. “I put pants on today because it’s cold — it’s officially winter.”
Jill Hill, a letter carrier for the post office in Northampton, said she’d take cold over rain any day.
“I don’t mind it at all,” she said, tugging at her layers. “You can always bundle up and get warm.”
Staying warm is about strategy, after all.
“I think what’s important for me is the hands, to have my feet warm and my head warm,” said Emiliana Cruz, strolling downtown donning a furry, tie-on hood for extra measure.
The day’s weather inspired one clipboard-carrying Northampton woman to buy hand warmers for the first time. Cracking a fresh pack, Maddie Prestogeorgi tossed one to a neighboring pandhandler.
“When you’re standing in it for six hours, that’s when you feel it,” said her colleague, Christine Iglesias of Belchertown.
Both the Interfaith Winter Shelter and the Grove Street Inn in Northampton will remain open 24 hours a day until the cold front passes, said Katie Miernecki, Servicenet’s director of Hampshire County Shelter and Housing Services.
Because of the extreme cold, and accompanying high winds, Miernecki said no one will be turned away at the emergency overnight shelter, at 43 Center St., which typically can have 20 guests a night who begin lining up at 5:30 p.m.
In Amherst, Craig’s Place homeless shelter has 28 beds – six more than last winter – in its location at the First Baptist Church, 434 North Pleasant St. But these extra beds means the shelter will not be allowed to go beyond this capacity during extreme weather events, such as deep freezes and winter storms, as it has in the past.
“If everyone needs services, we won’t have room for everyone, which is a tough place to be,” said Rebekah Wilder, executive director for Craig’s Doors: A Home Association.
The shelter normally opens its doors at 9:30 p.m., but will try to be ready earlier on days with low wind chills, Wilder said. Even those who don’t have access to one of the beds are welcome to have a meal that is served.
Wilder said staff will then check with the Interfaith Winter Shelter and the Friends of the Homeless shelter in Springfield to find space for those it can’t provide beds, though she suggests that couch surfing could be a better option for some.
“We will work with them to get them into another shelter, but these may be nights where they might want to call on a friend,” Wilder said.
During the day, Wilder said those without homes can turn to coffee shops, libraries and churches, some of which offer sanctuary so long as they are respectful and well behaved.
