The NY Times weekend's snow storm makes this a white Christmas. Of course there is debate.
Not A White Christmas, But That's NYC
LIRR Passengers' Snowy Commute From Hell
The weekend's big storm hit Long Island hard, giving the region an official blizzard while some towns record snowfall (Upton had 26 inches). While some people couldn't navigate some roads because of "tired" snow plow drivers, the saga of 150 Long Island Rail Road passengers takes the cake.
More Photographs Of The Weekend Winter Snow Storm
As the snow melts away, here are some photographs from around the city of how the white stuff stacked up. And thank you to the readers who contributed their lovely pictures!
NYC Region Deals With Snow Storm Aftermath
After Saturday-Sunday's big snow storm that hit the East Coast, folks are getting back to their routines as best they can. While the city's roads are relatively cleared up (and schools are open), hundreds of flights have been delayed or cancelled, causing some holiday travelers to panic, thanks to snow dumped at airports—14 inches at JFK, 11 inches at Newark and 9 inches at Laguardia.
Winter Wonderland Wallop For The City
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.
No Nostalgia Train Today
NYC Transit has cancelled today's Nostalgia Train, because it's trying to deal with making sure the subways and buses work on this snowy day. According to the NYCT Service Alerts, "Due to snow removal efforts, please expect delays on all New York City bus and subway service at this time." And LIRR service is described as "extremely limited" (the Nassau County Office of Emergency Management urges people to stay at home) —150 people were stranded for hours on a Ronkonkoma-bound LIRR train from Penn Station, because of "drifting snow, frozen switches and equipment failure."
Where's the Snow?
Night has fallen, and so have snow flurries—but it's not at the six-to-nine-inch or foot predictions yet. And New Yorkers are impatient to see some snow insanity (especially the ones that braved going to packed grocery stores to stock up!).
OMG: The Snow Is COMING For US!!!
So Final Winter Storm of 2009 Watch is in full effect: After earlier predictions of six to nine inches for the city, now it's six to a full foot! And on Long Island, 12-18 inches may be headed there, while NJ may expect 12-20 inches.
City Gets Ready For Winter Storm
Oh, the winter weather is on: Notify NYC sent the message, "The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Warning for NYC, effective at 12 PM Saturday until 11 AM Sunday," and NY1 says, "About six to nine inches of snow are expected to fall in the city between Saturday morning and Sunday morning, with the worst downfall taking place 4 p.m. Saturday and 5 a.m. Sunday."
Snow Day or Snow Job
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."
Television Watching: TV Snowjob
It is snowing and that means it is time for the local morning newscasts to fall into the normal winter storm clichés get trotted out. Reporters standing out in the cold and snow? Check. Live shots from some highway depot (bonus points if in New Jersey, natch)? Check. Pictures of the aftermath of people who can’t drive in the snow? Check. School closings? Check. Some sort of graphic branding for the coverage? Check.
Two Storms Beat as One
A complicated pair of weather disturbances are bringing a wintry mix to New York today. This morning a short wave trough, think of this as a kink in the jet stream, has brought instability to the atmosphere, which has caused the early morning snow to fall. The short wave will give way later today to a developing coastal storm, which will bring more snow and probably freezing rain and sleet. As a result the National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Warning, which is in effect until late tonight.
Gusty Cold Today, Dreaded Wintry Mix Tomorrow
The cold and windy conditions that caused problems yesterday will continue through the day today. Today's high will be around 25 but the wind chill will stay around zero degrees for most of the day. With wind chills that low it is a good idea to cover up if you will be outside for more than a few minutes. We were reminded of this when our cherubic cheeks started getting numb on Gothamist's walk to work.
Snow Job: No Storm in These Parts
After much forecasting hype, New York City only saw rain - not even the low estimate of a few inches of snow meteorologists had predicted throughout Saturday night and yesterday. Teases!
First 2008 Snow May Be Coming
Kiss the unseasonably warm weather of last week good-bye. A coastal storm is "brewing" in the Atlantic Ocean and is expected to arrive in the New York region tonight. An "intern" meteorologist told Newsday, "This is a change in weather pattern. We know the abnormal weather patterns can't stay forever. We're trending toward more of a wintertime pattern."
Soggy End to 2007
The sunny weather we've had for the past couple of days is about to give way to several days of rain. As Gothamist types up this post we see that the local radar shows showers overhead. There's no rain yet reaching the ground, which tells us that whatever rain is to fall this afternoon is likely to be on the light side.
Jets to Find Out if Patriots Are Larger than Life
The spread opened at 27 points. It's recently settled at 24 1/2 points, which, if held, would be the largest ever for an NFL game. More went into that spread than a terrible team playing an unbeaten one on the road. The Patriots have been running up the score on opponents all year, and everyone thinks they're doing it to teach the league a lesson after it was exposed -- on the word of jets Coach Eric Mangini -- that New England was recording the Jets' defensive signals during a Week 1 win in the Meadowlands.
Snowy Sunday
As expected, this morning people in the tri-state area waking up were greeted to a lovely looking blanketing of snow. But as pretty as it looks, it's being called a winter storm, since sleet and freezing rain are possible. The National Weather Service expect one to two inches of snow today, some areas could et up to four inches. What are you going to do today? See if the snow is good for snowballs?...
Wintry Mix
You know, it is a beautiful thing when all the pieces come together to produce a winter storm. There's a low pressure system deepening off the Virginia coast, sending plenty of warm, moist air toward us. To our north there's a high pressure system sending cold air our way. The warm air proves no match for the dense dome of cold air so it has no choice but to ride up over the dome. As the warm air rises it cools, saturates and starts dumping snow, enough snow to warrant a Winter Storm Warning. The Weather Service is estimating four to eight inches of snow and sleet are expected in the city by tonight. Lesser amounts are likely on Long Island where rain will be more prevalent. It will stay cool enough upstate for Orange County to get around a foot of snow.
Winter's Not Over Yet
If you've been sitting in your soul-sucking cubicle hive all day you may not have noticed that it has been cooling off since this morning. Today would have been a good day to have brought extra layers of clothing to work. Central Park peaked at 67 degrees this morning and is now down to 47. Snow is expected tomorrow. Gothamist is fleeing south if we see Jake Gyllenhaal going into the New York Public Library.
Blue in the Face: Jet Blue Cancels 68 Flights
Snow came last night and it's pretty much gone. The National Weather Service no longer has winter storm warnings, as there's just a little more "sleet and rain mixed with snow" (as per WABC 7) expected today.
Snow, Maybe Ice, On Tap for Tonight
A huge winter storm, another in a series of late-winter Alberta Clippers, that's dumped more than a foot of heavy, wet snow on the Midwest is headed our way tonight. We won't get a foot of snow here, but it is likely we'll have a bad case of Valentine's Day storm deja vu.
Television Watching: Some Humor Among the Flakes
There is nothing like a little snow to make the local television stations go nuts. The madness really started yesterday evening with reporters sent out to find snow, special winter weather graphics and crawls with school closings along with other notes about the snowstorm on the bottom of the screen.
Big Freakin' Weather Mess Ahead
It's about time. It took until mid-February but it finally looks like we are going to get a real winter storm. The forecast for tonight and tomorrow is positively nasty. Guess when Gothamist is flying out of town!
March, In Like a ____?
February review: Lots of temperature swings as the atmospheric circulation pattern shifted mid-month. Central Park temperatures wound up slightly above average for the month. Precipitation was slightly below normal but more than an average amount of snow fell. All in one storm.
Winter, Just Die Already Please ...
But winter keeps bugging us, like someone incessantly poking the back of your head. It begins to get warm, and then we get that holiday snow last weekend (5 inches in the city).
Another Presidential Mess
The prediction is for snow to start tonight, with 5-7 inches to falling before it begins to turn to rain Presidents Day. So while things will clear up by the time we all head back to work, the remnants will surely be messy. (chuckle).
It's Snow Time!
If you like winter weather this is the weekend for you! A cold, cold day today is going to be followed by a cold, cold night tonight. The fun begins tomorrow afternoon, when the storm that is currently over Minnesota passes to our south. The Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Watch and is expecting 4-6 inches of snow. In the best tradition of tabloid meteorology AccuWeather is scaring the crap out of people by presenting a Worst Case Scenario forecast of 12-18 inches of snow in the city, even though they think that much snow is highly unlikely. That much snow looks possible way out on Long Island, but probably not here in the city. AccuWeather's actual forecast is in almost complete agreement with the Weather Service.
Nor'easter on the Way?
It's Friday night. It's colder than hell. Temperatures in the single digits. You are going out to a show where there's bound to be a lot of dancing, or at least jumping up and down. Do you dress for the weather outside or the activity inside? Gothamist is a nerdy weather guy, so you can guess how we dress.

