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

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

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

Snow blanketed the 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 a 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 on X alongside some scenic city photos. “Happy solstice!”

By the time the precipitation tapered off — right around 10 a.m. — 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 snow accumulation in the city this season, and the frigid temps coming up this weekend could freeze it in to place for the coming days.

Temperatures on Saturday are expected to peak right around 30 degrees before plummeting to the low teens overnight, according to AccuWeather.

Sunday is also slated to stay quite cold despite the sunshine, with a high of 24 and a low of 15 degrees in the forecast. And with winds of up to 35 mph, it will 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, highs are expected to hit the high-30s with lows in the upper 20s.

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 in the coming days.

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