Today's Theme: Heavy Snow

No, seriously. This week has been declared winter preparedness week by Governor Pataki. Today's theme is heavy snow, which is defined as more than six inches of snow in twelve hours, or eight inches of the white stuff in 24 hours. New York has had six heavy snow events in the past five years. The city's Office of Emergency Management has winter weather hazard information and safety tips. Nor'easters can bring heavy, wet snow to the area. Blizzard conditions occur when... we're sorry, as much as Gothamist likes heavy snow, and Gothamist loves heavy snow, we're still hoping to experience a few warm days before winter begins.

Take today for instance. AccuWeather and the Weather Service agree that today will be cloudy, with maybe a few showers later in the day, but pleasantly warm in the mid- to upper-50s. Windy tonight and tomorrow, these fronts are getting stronger as the Arctic cools off, and a good chance of rain later in the week. The marathon forecast looks relatively unchanged from yesterday. No heavy snow yet, but be prepared.