The idea of New York in winter conjures up images of Times Square and Manhattan’s Central Park shrouded in snow. But not this year.
The forecast is that the city will surpass a 50-year record on Sunday for the last date of the season’s first snowfall.
The city is also close to recording the most consecutive days with no measurable snowflakes.
The snowless city leaves New Yorkers intrigued and questioning the love-hate relationship they have with the white blanket that usually covers New York during this time.
“It’s very sad,” says retired teacher Anne Hansen. “Actually, we don’t like seeing snow. But now we miss it a lot,” he told AFP.
The Big Apple usually gets its first snow in mid-December. The year before, snow had fallen on Christmas Eve.
A snowfall often results in “snow days”, loved by children and office workers who take days off from school and work.
Children then often take their sleds and play on the nearest slopes, while adults cross-country ski in the large parks.
Others, like filmmaker Renata Romain, just “stay home and drink hot chocolate; it’s beautiful and the dog loves it,” he told AFP.
Enthusiasm usually quickly turns to desperation as the snow turns brown and trash piles up on the sidewalk: “The snow is nice to look at the first day, but then it gets dirty and I don’t like it. It’s muddy. It’s unpleasant.’ Romain added.
Meteorologists define snowfall in New York as snow that measures at least 0.1 inch in Central Park. A few flakes fell last Wednesday, but not enough to trigger this criterion.
The longest period New Yorkers have had to wait for measurable snow was in 1973, when the first blizzard of the season came on Jan. 29, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).
With no significant snowfall on Sunday, the city will surpass the longest wait since records began in 1869.
New York is also approaching its longest streak of consecutive snowless days. The current record stands at 332 and ended on December 15, 2020. This Sunday is day 326 of the current streak, which Accuweather called the “snow dry” period.
“It’s very unusual,” NWS meteorologist Nelson Vaz told AFP.
Only in 1932 were the first 25 days of January warmer in New York than they were in 2023, according to Weather.com.
Scientists say climate change is making winters warmer and shorter. “It’s disturbing,” says Professor Hansen of the last mild days, which are more like autumn.
New York has never had a very cold season without measurable snow. And since February is generally the month with the most snow, a blanket of white could soon envelop the Big Apple. “That’s what makes New York New York, right?” says Roman.
Source: DN
