New Yorkers woke up to the first day of winter on Saturday with a light layer of snow on the ground. But while the fluffy ground cover will help supercharge the holiday spirit, those hoping for a white Christmas will need a miracle.
“The snow is pretty much gone at this point,” Fox Weather meteorologist Marissa Lautenbacher told The Post Saturday morning.
The National Weather Service defines a “White Christmas” as an inch or more of snow on the ground by 7 a.m. on December 25. “So that doesn’t mean it’s going to snow on Christmas,” Lautenbacher said.
But with temperatures expected to rise above zero before the holidays, “This two inches of snow, I don’t really see it sticking around,” she said.
The last time New Yorkers saw a white Christmas was in 2009, when the city was covered in 2 inches of glitter.
Total snowfall in the metro area Saturday ranged from 1.8 inches at both Central Park and JFK Airport, to 2 inches at LaGuardia Airport and 2.2 inches in Newark, NJ.
The morning storm didn’t come at the most wonderful time of year for those flying on one of these Peak travel days of the season,
Both LaGuardia and JFK reported delays of up to 1 hour, 49 minutes, as well as gate holds and air delays for incoming flights. According to it, about 19% of LaGuardia’s flights were delayed, as well as about 23% of JFK’s flights. Flight Tracking Service FlightAware,
At Newark Liberty Airport, about 18% of flights were delayed. Some flights were also canceled at all three regional airports.
Temperatures in Central Park are expected to reach 34 degrees on Saturday, but will drop into the low 20s at night.
“The cold will reach into Monday tonight and the rest of the weekend,” Lautenbacher said.
“We lose a lot of our heat overnight.”
Sunday will be the coldest day before Christmas, with a high of 26 degrees, the coldest day so far of this year’s meteorological winter, which began on December 1.
“The last time it was that cold was 24 degrees on Jan. 17 earlier this year,” Lautenbacher said.
However, there is a ray of hope on Sunday, which will bring some rays of sunshine.
“The sunshine will make it feel a little warmer,” he said.
(Tags to translate)Metro(T)US News(T)Central Park(T)Christmas(T)New York City(T)Snow(T)Weather
