New York City’s been given the cold shoulder.
Forgoing the White Christmas, this winter the Big Apple settled for flurries that turned to rain before hitting the pavement. No snowball fights, sledding in Central Park or snow days — but instead a new record shattered for the longest snowless season the city has seen in 50 years.
“The record for the latest measurable snow is today — and obviously we’re going to be way too warm to see anything resembling snow,” Fox Weather Meteorologist Christopher Tate told The Post.
“The latest first snow on record is January 29, 1973, and we will break that today because we will not see snow today,” he said.
There needs to be both precipitation and cold air for snow that sticks, and New York City has not experienced the optimal conditions yet this winter even after several winter storms rolled through the region this past week.
“It’s been a very, very, very mild winter for New York City this season. It’s been just so unseasonably warm this winter thus far,” Tate said.
“The times that we’ve had moisture in place, it’s just been too warm to support anything besides the three times we’ve seen flurries this season.”
The last time there was measurable snow in New York City was 326 days ago on March 9, 2022, when it snowed a whopping four-tenths of an inch. Typically, the city sees its first measurable snow by mid-December. Last year it came on Christmas Eve, according to the Weather Channel.
Meteorologists consider measurable snow to be anything greater than a trace, even if it’s just a tenth of an inch. Central Park has only recorded a trace of snow since this past fall, which is over a foot below the average season snowfall to date.
The lack of snow isn’t unique to New York City though, other cities along the I-95 corridor like Philadelphia and Boston have also been experiencing a snow deficit. Recent storm tracks have brought snow to some parts of the interior Northeast, but have also pulled warm air into the I-95 corridor, resulting in rain.
Despite this seemingly snowless season, New York City’s snowiest month is February, according to the Weather Channel, meaning the Big Apple may see a snowstorm in the coming weeks.
“There are some very, very early indications that there might possibly be something at the end of this week or early next week,” Tate said, noting opportunities for snow are now somewhat limited. “I’m not putting any money on it yet.”