New York gets its biggest snowfall in two years

New York City finally has its snow back.

The heaviest snowfall in nearly two years began falling late Monday in the city, with neighborhoods expected to receive an average of two inches of snow by late Tuesday morning, according to a National Weather Service forecast.

According to the weather service, there was 1.5 inches of snow in Central Park at 7 a.m.: 0.4 inches of snow before midnight and 1 inch after. This broke a streak of 701 days without significant snowfall on a single day. The last time there was significant snow in the park was February 13, 2022, when 1.5 inches of snow fell.

Another inch of snow was expected late Tuesday, said Dominic Ramunni, meteorologist for the service. Conditions for morning and evening commutes could be difficult, he added. “It's going to freeze pretty hard this afternoon,” he said.

The snow was brought in by a low-pressure system that moved up from the south on Monday afternoon, said James Tomasini, another meteorologist with the employ. That system was forecast to leave the coast of North Carolina and South Carolina late Tuesday afternoon and into the early evening, passing north and east of New York City.

“The snow will start well in advance,” Mr Tomasini said on Monday afternoon, predicting it would last until early Tuesday. “After much of the snow falls, there could be a transition to some mixed rain and snow, then over to rain, and even a possibility of a little bit of freezing rain.” The city was expected to be dry on Tuesday evening.

The previous record for the city without significant snowfall — which in Central Park is measured at at least an inch in a 24-hour period — was 400 days, ending on March 21, 1998, Mr. Tomasini said.

Central Park typically has about two feet of snow throughout the winter. But last year's mild winter brought a total of just 6.5 centimeters of snow, the smallest amount recorded there since records began in 1869.

Storm systems usually have a warmer and a colder side. Last year, New York finished on the warmer side of most storms, resulting in less snowfall.

Mr Tomasini said last year's weather pattern was unusual and more snow was expected this year. “It seems unlikely that the kind of winter we had last year will happen again,” he said.

“There is already another chance of snow before the end of the week as we are in this active pattern,” he added.

Isabella Kwai contributed to the reporting.