Central Park goes 653 days without an inch of snow

Remember when it snowed in New York City?

It’s been 653 days since Central Park last measured an inch of snow in a single day. That’s almost double the previous record of 383 days, which ended in March 1998.

A particularly poor winter season last year left the sleds untested and produced a total of just 2.5 inches of snow in the park, the least amount of snow ever recorded there since records began in 1869.

One snowstorm that started on February 27 had a two-day total of almost two inches, but because daily data is recorded from midnight to midnight, less than an inch fell each day, keeping the streak alive. In a normal winter, Central Park will see almost two feet of snow for the entire season.

Luisana Perez, 28, grew up in Harlem and said during a walk in the park Wednesday that as a child she remembered snow piling up as high as parked cars. But last Christmas, she said, she sweated wearing a holiday sweater as her only layer.

“I am witnessing the city slowly getting warmer and warmer,” she said. “It doesn’t feel very Christmassy. We’re not in California, where Santa Claus wears a swimsuit.”

But not all hope is lost, and this year it’s likely a matter of when, not if, snow will accumulate in the park. James Tomasini, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, doesn’t expect the streak to survive the winter.

Storm systems that hit New York City typically have a warmer side and a colder side. If the storm moves along the coast but too far inland – as most of last year’s storms did – New York will end up on the warmer side of the storm and less snow will fall. This may happen more often if the overall weather pattern is determined by La Niña.

This year, however, the winter season is starting with an El Niño pattern, and that could make all the difference when it comes to snow. During El Niño winters there is usually an increase in the number of coastal storms that form off the East Coast. A storm track southeast of New York over the ocean is beneficial, Mr. Tomasini said, because the city will be on the colder side of the storm.

That’s good news for Stephanie Ching, 35, and Beth Berns, 60, two regulars on the Central Park dog-walking scene. Their dogs both love the snow.

“But it’s one of those things we can’t change in life,” Ms. Berns said, and Ms. Ching agreed.

“I’m so sad,” Ms. Ching said of the recent lack of snow. “But as long as the park is still there, I think everything will be fine.”