Results tagged “snow”

Yes, the mayor of Moscow has called war against snow—hey, it's expensive to shovel— and "will marshal the Russian air force and air defense systems to intercept advancing storm fronts and hit them with dry ice and silver iodine particles." The Daily News has an editorial denouncing the idea—and prefaces it with, "Mayor Bloomberg, stop reading this editorial. Right now. Thank you," lest our mayor get any ideas. (Well, a Russian lawmaker did say, "If it works out, Chicago or Montreal may want to copy us.")

Hey, was that snow? Yes. Yes it was. Nobody ever said April showers were limited to rain. Expect more light rain or snow showers through this afternoon as an upper-level disturbance does its thing while passing through the region. Any precipitation will add to the rawness of what is turning out to be a cold and windy spring day. The high should barely make 50 today.

Mother Nature sure has a funny sense of humor, sending a snow shower our way almost to the minute of the vernal equinox. The shortwave pulse of energy responsible for the shower will quickly move through the region and the sun is likely to return late this afternoon. The clouds and northerly winds will keep today's high in the mid 40s.

Following the snow storm, there's no doubt that the sidewalks in the city weren't all ice-free this week. Earlier this year the DoT told us, "The City is generally in charge of snow removal on streets and sidewalks, though property owners share in that responsibility on adjacent sidewalks." But what about all of that melting snow dripping on your head? NY1 reports today that "The Department of Buildings says property owners should safely remove any ice or snow from buildings." (Having an icicle fall on you is just as possible as you falling on the ice, after all.) They also say that "melting snow can damage the building's structural integrity and that cold temperatures could create a safety hazard in the form of icicles." Mother Nature is quickly loosening up those frozen daggers, so be careful out there!

Hey, Gothamist readers: Given that 78% of you managed to make it to work on Monday through the snow storm, you can call yourself tougher than...an FBI agent! The Post reports that the FBI's NYC field office closed on Monday, citing the weather.

Martha Stewart is on Twitter (though her page could use a little bit of design help—perhaps a lovely seersucker background for the upcoming spring season, or toile, which is always in season). Anywho, she's had a lot to say about the snow this week—particularly how we are all a bunch of pansies whilst in it (her words: "the snow is paralyzing New Yorkers—they are a bunch of wimps"). Then she started with the scaremongering, Tweeting that "New Yorkers are feeling sorry for themselves—the economy etc—but buck up. The worst is yet to come and it will not be snow." Martha just likes acting all hard because she did time. But don't get too down New Yorkers, Perez Hilton says when life hands you a snow-covered recession, you make recession cupcakes...and maybe Martha will have a recipe? [via Wonderwall]

Yesterday's rare snow day with the Department of Education closing public schools was a blessing for children and a mess for parents. One mother told the Post, "When I found out it was a snow day, it was too late to make arrangements. When you count on school every day, it's hard to find people to take care of your kids. Had I known [Sunday] afternoon, it might have been easier."

Bono & Co. kicked off their week long residency on Letterman last night, and because they are such a Big Deal, Mayor Bloomberg has declared that part of West 53rd Street (leading up to the Ed Sullivan Theater) is now temporarily renamed U2 Way. And, perhaps grasping how litigious New Yorkers can be when it comes to icy sidewalks, the supergroup was out there yesterday keeping their new street snow-free. (Letterman also addressed the white stuff in his Top Ten.)

       

After yesterday's snow storm, be careful whether you're walking or driving—the roads are slick and icy. As for the snow fall, WCBS 2 reports that Central Park saw 8" (Long Island—14.5"— and the Jersey shore—13.5"— saw higher amounts of accumulation).

              

It is the , generally, made it to work! And more snow is expected today.

It was no contest. In a battle of weather legends Staten Island Chuck's month old prediction of an early spring was thoroughly pummeled by March coming in like a lion last night. Snowfall amounts generally ranged from 5-8 inches across the city this morning. More than a foot fell on eastern Long Island.

Long Island authorities believe that the weather may have played a role in two fatal car crashes yesterday. Newsday reports that around 9 a.m., Ryan Charles, 23, crashed his minivan into a tree (right) in Medford. He was pronounced dead at the hospital and police said "there were slippery road conditions. And an icy road caused a two-car crash: A Toyota four-door sedan was broadsided by a van in Greenlawn. The Toyota's driver, Jose Fuentes, was pronounced dead at the hospital, while the van's driver, Lois Molloy, had a foot injury and her daughter was not injured, according to Newsday.

Meteorologists warned that snow starting yesterday would dump up to a foot of snow (maybe 14 inches on Long Island!) by this morning, but will we see that much? National Weather Service meterologist John Murray said that the winter storm warning is in effect till 6 p.m. tonight, with wind gusts up to 35 mph, "It's a classic Nor'easter, that's for sure."

Before you get to uncork your first "Spring Breaaaaak!" scream, the arrival of March appears to be playing one its cruel (or delightful) tricks on us as it comes in like a snow leopard with a storm that looks like it may be the heaviest accumulation we've received all winter. The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning in effect for twenty-four hours beginning at 6 p.m. this evening. They are calling for six to ten inches of snow to have fallen by tomorrow, coming down heavy at times throughout the night. (Some reports are calling for as much as 13 inches to hit Manhattan by morning.) Temperatures are expected to be lower than normal for the next few days, so the white blanket might just stick around for a while.

Despite the received wisdom that meteorologists don't know what they're talking about, weather forecasts are usually highly accurate for a day or two into the future. Not this weekend. Between now and Sunday the city will have to deal with a dying storm arriving from the Midwest, a storm developing off the coast, an upper level disturbance and a couple of small high pressure systems. The overall pattern toward weather suckage is clear but the details are far from certain.

There's a bit of a battle going on in the weather. Winter would like to remind everbody that it is still February. At the same time, the sun is now climbing high enough in the sky that it can feel very warm outside if you are in the sun and out of the wind. Enjoy the anti-wind chill if you can find a sheltered sunny spot, otherwise winter is going to win the battle this week and probably well into next week.

If you thought last month was chilly you were right. The temperature never escaped the 40s, averaging 4.2 degrees chillier than normal. The coldest January in five whole years! Perhaps more influential on our psyches, last month was much colder, 10.4 degrees, than the last three extraordinarily warm Januarys. Predictably, the cold has given hurf-durfers occasion to demonstrate that they don't know the difference between climate and weather, or global and local.

Is it us or does this morning's satellite image look like this storm is leaving a big lipstick kiss on the northeastern U.S.? Well, the original had blue lipstick, but still. Anyway, it is a cold, wet slobbery smacker. A little over two inches of snow fell over most of the city overnight. A warm front is now close enough that the snow is mostly melting before it reaches the ground. Once the warm front passes the precipitation will be all rain as the temperature jumps into the lower 40s.

A cold high pressure system continues to dominate the weather today. Much like yesterday the city will see a mix of sun and clouds, but mostly sun. It remains cool with a high only in the upper 20s.

The mysterious case of The Penistrator—an unidentified "snowfitti" vandal who's been drawing phallic symbols on snowy cars parked in the East Village this winter—has taken a shocking, unexpected turn. EV Grieve, who regrets that he lacks the "resources to properly track this fiend," has learned that the perpetrator may be none other than Sixth Sense star and NYU student Haley Joel Osment. TMZ posted this photo of a snow-fingered Osment earlier this month, with the headline "I See D***, People." Guess we can close the file on that one! [Via Curbed]

   

The Lower East Side is about to get cool again, at least for a couple of days. On February 4th snowboarders will start taking practice runs down the ramp that's being built on the side of the East River (you can get a nice view from the Williamsburg Bridge right now). Then on February 5th they'll compete in an hour long contest, followed by a 7 p.m. Anthrax concert, followed by another hour of riding for the finalists. Here's a look at how the ramp (and snow making) are coming along—would you take a ride down this?

       

The snow that's been floating around outside all day long sure is pretty, but if you had to work today it's sure to make your commute home slightly less enjoyable. Here's a look back at some old images of New York City snowstorms, which might make you feel a little bit better about the subway ride home.

It isn't a creaking door or a Wilhelm scream but there is a Sound effect this morning. A Long Island Sound effect that is. The temperature difference between the waters of the Sound and the air above is large enough, and the wind is flowing in just the right direction, that a few snow flurries may fall over the eastern end of the island.

As forecasts predicted, winter is . There's a winter weather advisory in effect until 2 p.m., with 1-3 inches of snow expected in NYC, and more outside, with concerns of sleet and freezing rain. But there's also warning about the absolutely frigid temperatures: WCBS 2 explains, "The Northeast will feel the full wrath of the [Arctic blast] Thursday as temperatures struggle to reach double digits." And the wind chill values will be zero or below zero. Bundle up, and don't hesitate if your apartment has no heat—Mayor Bloomberg said, "Pick up the phone, call 311. We will get the landlord to fix it or we will do it ourselves. You should not have to suffer and incidently this cold wave is going to be a dangerous one. It is going to be very cold so it's not just that you're gonna be inconvenienced, your health may very well be at risk. so call 311."

Brrrr. A full course of winter is in store for the next few days. For a morning amuse bouche we've got great gobs of cold air, brutally grown without sun in northern Canada, arriving behind a cold front. The onrush of cold should cause the temperature to hold steady for much of the day. The approaching high pressure system is pretty weak. By late afternoon we should see an appetizer of calmer winds and a slightly higher temperatures.

Obviously, meteorologists who predicted 1-3" of snow for yesterday win over the ones claiming that 5-7" would hit the NYC region. The lack of snow in city parks disappointed some: One dad, in Prospect Park with his kids and their sleds ready, told the Post, "We thought there was going to be 3 to 6 inches, but we got 3 to 6 centimeters." However, there was ice (watch out while you're walking outside!), and AccuWeather's Mike Pigott warns of a deep chill for this week, "There is extreme cold coming. It's definitely going to be the coldest we've seen so far, and could easily be the coldest we get all winter."

As we already know, today's forecast is snow! The only question is, "How much?" Meteorologists still don't agree: Accuweather seems to suggest we're in the 1-3 inches of accumulation zone, while WCBS 2 has the NYC area in the 2-4" zone, with a high estimate of 5-7" of snow! WABC 7 says the heavy snow won't happen before 6 p.m., so there go our plans of sledding. In the mean time, the city suspended alternate side of the street parking and has 140,000 tons of salt ready to be put on the streets. Mayor Bloomberg said, "The good news is, if [snow] comes on Saturday and Saturday night, it will be inconvenient, it will be hard to get to church or the movies, or whatever you do Saturday night and Sunday morning, but it does let us plow without a lot of traffic on the road."

Did anyone wake up early enough to see the sunrise version of Manhattanhenge? We thought not. The sun will be out most of the day and a seasonable high in the upper 30s is expected. It should be a breezy day so be prepared for the wind chill.

Snowboarding in Manhattan? Whatever! It's really happening though (it's actually happened before), thanks to the caffeine-pushers at Red Bull who will debut their "Snowscrapers" on the banks of the East RIver next month.