New York Snow Drought Set to End Wednesday With Flakes in Forecast

New York City’s snow drought may come to an end Wednesday, just in time for the morning commute.

(Bloomberg) — New York City’s snow drought may come to an end Wednesday, just in time for the morning commute.

The city, which hasn’t had a measurable snowfall yet this year, could get as much as 2 inches (5 centimeters) of snow in the morning, said Bryan Ramsey, a National Weather Service meteorologist at Upton, New York on Long Island. The snowfall will be short lived, given rising temperatures throughout the day and rain that will wash it away.

“It will be too warm; it isn’t going to stay,” he said.

Still, Wednesday’s accumulation will be enough to end New York’s snowless streak. While a trace amount was recorded at Manhattan’s Central Park on Jan. 14, the city hasn’t had even 0.1 inch of snow this season. A typical year would have dropped just over 11 inches by now.

One reason why New York has seen little snow this year is that the city has found itself on the warm sides of storms. During La Nina, storm tracks moving across eastern North America tend to roll inland on their way to the Atlantic. That brings milder air to the coast — meaning rain and not snow.

The deepest into winter New York has gone without even 0.1 inches was Jan. 29, 1973, according to Ramsey. If Wednesday doesn’t produce the expected accumulation, there’s a good chance that record could be broken.

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