Winter Wonderland Wallop For The City

Photograph by JR From Brooklyn

The winter storm roared into the city a little later than expected but still left its mark: 11 inches fell in Central Park, while 13 inches were measured in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn. In New Jersey, accumulation ranged from five to 24 inches while in Long Island, the storm was classified as a blizzard and some areas were hit with nearly 25 inches of snow.

Mayor Bloomberg said that roads will be cleared today, thanks to the 2,400 Department of Sanitation employees manning over 2,000 pieces of equipment, "Even though the first day of winter isn't until tomorrow, something you would not know if you were outside, we were hit by a major snowstorm. In some places people will be digging out from a foot of snow all morning. I'm happy to say men and women of the sanitation department have been out all morning plowing the streets." He also expects schools to be open tomorrow—sorry, kiddies!

There are delays and cancellations at the area airports. And even those not traveling were in a frenzy—a 69-year-old shopper at Foodtown in Bay Ridge told the Post, "Once I saw the weather report, I knew we had to get our food shopping done. If there's a storm, there may not be a tomorrow!" On the other hand, the Daily News found glass half-full folks like 7-year-old Dinisha Martin of Harlem, "I've never made a snowman before. I don't know how to do it, but it'll be fun." Aww.

National Weather Service meteorologist Bruce Sullivan said, "For those who are looking for a white Christmas, this certainly will stick around for Christmastime."