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Updated 10:28 a.m.

Good chilly Thursday morning to you.

Some of the best things in life come from Canada — poutine, Neil Young, polar bears.

But also, frigid air masses. These may cramp your fall style for the next week or two.

We’re not quite like Casper, Wyo., where it was 26 below on Wednesday, or Marquette, Mich., which got three feet of snow.

Still, after today’s high of near 50, the forecast calls for six days with lows near or below freezing, and highs only in the 40s.

And a trace of snow overnight tonight, starting as rain.

Slate’s resident meteorologist, Eric Holthaus, blames an interruption of normal airflow patterns called an Omega Block.

An unmoving system up north is forcing the jet stream to detour far to the south. Hello, frosty nights.

So is this the onset of an early, brutal winter?

Depends on whom you ask.

The National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center says chances of above-normal temperatures for the region in December, January and February are slightly above average.

But New York Metro Weather, an upstart site run by young meteorologists, begs to differ.

Their reasons have something to do with sea-surface temperature anomalies, October Greenland blocking and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation.

The bottom line, writes John Homenuk of New York Metro Weather: “Our confidence, in fact, is fairly high that this winter will average below normal temperature and feature more snow than normal.”

We’ll see who’s right. For now, bundle up.

Here’s what else you need to know. Read more…

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Updated 10:16 a.m.

Good Wednesday morning. It’s foggy out there.

On Thursday, a city councilman from Brooklyn will introduce legislation to expand the state ban on texting while driving — to include texting while cycling.

Mark Treyger’s proposal also calls for the creation of a city-sanctioned bicycle safety course, which would be mandatory for first offenders.

After that, cyclists caught texting or talking on the phone would pay $50, increasing to $200 for repeat offenses.

“I’m not after petty fines,” Mr. Treyger told us. “I really believe we have to promote safe bicycling.”

A recent study showed cyclists injured nearly 8,000 pedestrians in New York State from 2004 to 2011. Two pedestrians have been killed by cyclists this year.

Mr. Treyger said the bill could help “reduce the factors” that cause accidents.

It has the support of Ydanis Rodriguez, the chairman of the transportation committee, he said.

On Tuesday afternoon in Brooklyn, there were few texting cyclists around.

On Franklin Avenue, Alisa Burza pedaled along, towing her sons in a cart.

Asked if she ever rode and texted, she said, “I don’t have that ability.”

Several cyclists carried other things, though — luggage, a bedroom mirror — and many more wore earbuds.

(Wearing headphones in both ears while biking is already illegal under a state law, as it turns out. One earbud is fine.)

Two sixth graders cruising through Grand Army Plaza on their Razors wondered how far the ban would go.

“It’s probably skateboards next, but I’m pretty sure if they pass it they’ll include Razors,” said Ryan Levychin, 12.

Here’s what else you need to know. Read more…

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Updated 10:13 a.m.

Good morning on this fine Tuesday.

When Raymond Kelly was police commissioner, parades got shorter in New York City.

In 2010, the Police Department told organizers that parades had to cover 25 percent less distance and could not go on for more than five hours.

Still, Mr. Kelly says he is a great fan of parades.

“I love them,” he told us.

That’s fortunate, because today Mr. Kelly will lead the Veterans Day parade as its grand marshal.

“I’m a veteran at being grand marshal,” he said, referring to the St. Patrick’s Day parade of 2010.

Mr. Kelly is a Vietnam veteran and a former Marine lieutenant.

He described his military service as “an experience that stays with you your whole life.”

Mr. Kelly will march with his wife, Veronica, who served in the Coast Guard reserves.

(He would not comment on whether he would also march with his sizable security detail, which he may lose at the end of the year.)

Asked what he would wear, he said, “Dress blues, tennis shoes and a light coat of oil.”

“I wanted to see if you were listening,” he said. “I will wear a two-button suit.”

The opening ceremony takes place at 10 a.m. at Madison Square Park.

The parade begins at 11:11 a.m. and proceeds up Fifth Avenue to 52nd Street.

Here’s what else you need to know. Read more…

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Updated 10:04 a.m.

Good morning on this mild Monday.

Much has been made of the size of the new Fulton Center, the downtown subway station that opens its 27 entrances to commuters this morning.

And of the Oculus, a dome that draws daylight into the station through a so-called Sky Reflector Net.

And of the redesigned station’s rings of retail space, which one architect called “doughnuts of accommodation.”

Vivian Yee, The Times’s reporter who attended the center’s ribbon-cutting ceremony on Sunday, pointed out another feature:

“There are screens everywhere, and everything is moving,” she said.

From ads to maps and service announcements, “they’re very into the digital Fulton Center,” Ms. Yee said.

“When we’re used to being in a regular station where the ads are all paper, it’s startling to go into a station and see all these moving ads.”

One of the opening-day ads is for Burberry. The wristwatch in the ad, she said, is supposed to match the actual time whenever it comes on screen.

She declared the experience “a little overwhelming” to the senses — certainly more so than Grand Central Terminal, though less so than Times Square.

“There are no blinking lights,” she said.

The center connects the 2, 3, 4, 5, A, C, J, Z and R lines, and will eventually extend to the World Trade Center and PATH trains.

Here’s what else is happening. Read more…