NEW YORK – We seem to be missing something, something white that we tend to see this time of year.
That’s right, it’s called snow. We almost forgot.
In a winter that saw parts of the country hit by historic snowstorms, including other areas of New York State, the Big Apple has been remarkably snow-free. Stripped might be too light a term, considering we haven’t seen any measurable snow so far and we’re about three weeks into the season.
When will we have snow? Not this week, and probably not next week either, judging by the city’s extended forecast.
When was the last time it took this long to see measurable snowfall in all five boroughs? Well, the last date New York City saw accumulations of snow was January 29th. As you can see above, we don’t expect to see any with temperatures well above freezing until at least next Thursday.
And if we go to January 19, which it looks like we will, it would rank as one of the most recent five dates for a measurable first snowfall.
The latest date for the first measurable snowfall in New York City was January 29, a record set in 1973. So if we can have 19 more days with no measurable snow, we can at least take comfort in the fact that we’ll tie or even beat a record. It’s too far to accurately predict our chances beyond 10 days at this point, but we promise we’ll keep you posted.
Yes, we’ve technically seen snowflakes this season, but small amounts of snow mixed with rain don’t count towards logging weather data. (It’s not us, it’s the National Weather Service.)
Last winter, Central Park experienced its first measurable snowfall on Dec. 23, though it was only 0.2 inches (so, you see, “trace” quantities aren’t really anything). The first measurable average snowfall in the city is December 7, so we are already a month behind the average.
Looking ahead, it’s not yet clear when the first major, or even notable, snowfall this winter will hit New York City.
According to the Weather Prediction Center, we could see above-normal temperatures for the rest of the month. The models themselves aren’t entirely definitive about what’s in store in terms of precipitation.
