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NEW YORK, Jan. 30-- The freezing weather caused by the polar vortex in the midwest United States expanded to New York on Wednesday with snowfalls and strong wind gusts, sending temperatures to the single digits Fahrenheit, or below -12 degrees Celsius. The National Weather Service (NWS) issued snow squall warnings for New York City and some counties in neighboring states of New Jersey and Connecticut on Wednesday. "A line of snow showers and/or snow squalls will move across the region this afternoon into the early evening," the NWS tweeted. A snow squall means a sudden burst of blowing snow, which arrived in the city around 3:30 p.m. (2030 GMT) and lasted around 30 minutes, causing trouble for evening commute. Meanwhile, Wind chill warnings and advisories are in effect for much of the tri-state area Wednesday night through Thursday morning. An arctic blast is also expected to hit the area Wednesday night with gusts up to 40 miles per hour, making temperatures continue to plummet, according to the NWS. New York City's Emergency Management Department issued a hazardous travel advisory for road traffic Wednesday afternoon, saying that the snow squall "may cause brief whiteout conditions, limiting visibility and making travel extremely dangerous." "New Yorkers should plan for hazardous travel during the evening commute and are advised to take mass transit where possible, delay travel or safely exit highways or roadways before the snow squall arrives," the department said. | 
