Weather: The day will start off partly sunny, but by midafternoon snow should begin to fall. Expect heavy snow and windy conditions tonight.
Alternate-side parking: Suspended today and Thursday for snow operations. Parking meters will remain in effect.
Monday’s snowflakes were trivial compared to the pounding snow expected to arrive in New York City today.
Up to 14 inches of snow are in the forecast, along with strong winds that could create blizzard-like conditions. A winter weather advisory will be in effect beginning at 2 p.m.
While some might be excited for snow, the storm will be a pain to restaurant owners who now have to secure outdoor dining structures — and a wistful time for students who can no longer look forward to a day of classes being canceled.
The city will also briefly close coronavirus testing sites run by its Health and Hospitals system.
[Read more about the expected snow, and how it will affect New York City.]
Here’s what you need to know about the upcoming storm:
Table Of Contents
What to expect today …
Snow won’t begin to fall until late afternoon, between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. Forecasters expect it to start off light and intensify throughout the evening. The most intense precipitation could come around 10 p.m. through 5 a.m.
At its peak, snow could accumulate at a rate of one to two inches per hour. Temperatures are forecast to remain close to freezing.
The snowfall will be coupled with heavy winds, which could lead to fallen tree branches and power lines. Con Edison said it is monitoring the storm and calling in outside workers to supplement its own crews in case there are power outages this week.
… and tomorrow
The wintry mix is expected to taper off by Thursday afternoon, but plummeting temperatures and heavy winds will stay around for most of the day. Highs will be in the low 30s — about nine degrees below average for this time of year — and lows in the mid-20s.
Watch out for ice, and slippery streets and walkways.
[How bad will it get on the East Coast?]
The big picture
The last time that New York City saw more than a foot of snow was in 2016, according to James Tomasini, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in New York City.
Still, it’ll be less disruptive than in previous years — considering a large portion of city schoolchildren are learning remotely and many employees are working from home.
From @nytarchives on Instagram:
After New York received a dumping of snow from a particularly vicious winter storm, this car — parked overnight in Times Square on Feb. 21, 1947 — was on the receiving end of the city’s snowplows. The following day, nearly 13,000 New Yorkers were hard at work liberating the city from the heaviest snowfall since 1941.
“Sharp, gusty winds that churned unshoveled snow into new drifts” added to the laborers’ troubles, The New York Times reported, as did freezing temperatures that “turned partly cleared surfaces to brittle ice.”
The city’s sanitation commissioner, William J. Powell, who was in charge of the cleanup, told The Times that he decided “no matter what the Weather Bureau called the 24-hour snowstorm it was a blizzard to him.”
It’s Wednesday — stay warm.
Metropolitan Diary: Usher talk
Dear Diary:
My best friend and I had gone to see “1917” at the Union Square theater on a Saturday afternoon.
The usher tore our tickets in half, and then turned to his co-worker.
“Did you guys see that glove that was stuck on the escalator for two days?” he said.
— Amanda Hoffman