Snow covers New York City on first day of winter, frigid temps to follow

Jessica Schladebeck, New York Daily News on Dec 21, 2024

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

NEW YORK — Winter is here and so is the white stuff.

Snow blanketed New York City early Saturday morning, ushering in the first official day of winter in a truly frosty fashion. Flurries first started to fall across the tristate area on Friday, fluctuating between flakes and rain for much of the day before transitioning to more steady snow as temperatures dropped overnight and into Saturday morning.

“Hard to believe: Today is actually the first day of winter!” New York Gov. Kathy Hocul wrote Saturday on X alongside some scenic city photos. “Happy solstice!”

By the time the precipitation tapered off late morning, some 2 inches of snow had fallen in many parts of the city, including Central Park, according to the National Weather Service. It marked the first significant December snow in the city since 2020, and the frigid temps coming up could freeze it in to place for the coming days.

Despite plenty of sunshine, Sunday was slated to have a high of 27 degrees and a low of 16, “the coldest air so far this season,” according to AccuWeather. With winds of up to 35 mph, it could feel more like the single digits or even subzero in New York and beyond.

As a result, city officials have issued a cold weather alert while the Department of Homeless Services announced a Code Blue for the weekend.

“Outreach teams will canvass all five boroughs to connect our most vulnerable New Yorkers to shelters,” New York City Emergency Management said in a statement. “No one who is homeless and seeking shelter in New York City during a Code Blue will be denied. New Yorkers who see individuals they believe to be experiencing homelessness and in need should contact 311 via phone or mobile app and request outreach assistance.”

The bitter blast of arctic air — the remnants of a fast-moving weather system coming out of Canada called an Alberta Clipper — will engulf the entire Northeast through Monday, with temperatures starting to climb on Tuesday.

By Christmas Day, temps could reach as high as the low 40s, with clouds giving way to some sun.

Despite the snow, the wintry weather has had little impact on flights amid the holiday travel rush. City officials have, however, warned of dangerous driving conditions for those heading home for the holidays.

Nearly 120 million people are expected to travel at least 50 miles by plane, car or other mode of transportation between this weekend and New Year’s Day, according to projections from AAA. That would make it the busiest year-end holiday travel season on record.