2018 may be nearly over, but there's still time for one more steamy winter monsoon. We will finish this year like we started it, sloshing through the rising tides burbling up from overflowing sewage grates as the tepid rain pellets drum intently upon our backs.
Actually, I have no memory of our meteorological start to 2018, as that was a full decade ago. (The below tweet suggests it was quite a bit colder than the present forecast threatens.) But at the very least, we will finish this week like we started it: Warm, muggy, and wet. It's an entirely unseasonable end to late December, which actually feels pretty fitting. Plus, from a travel perspective, rain > wintry mix.
Wet and cold is the trend for the New Year's eve weather. Last year, it was just 9 degrees at midnight. Coldest in 100 years pic.twitter.com/xE1Kj2l4sC
— NY1 Weather (@NY1weather) December 27, 2018
The rain begins its onslaught tonight, i.e. early Friday morning, making subway platforms extremely slick by the time you head to work. Or perhaps you have taken a long and luxurious break to wait out the inter-holiday period, lucky you! In any case, if you plan to travel at all tomorrow, be advised that you face extremely slippery conditions. The National Weather Service has not issued any advisories yet, but that can always change.
Skies will remain sunny, with highs on the low 40s, until tonight, when the rain makes its triumphant return. Suddenly, around 10 p.m., you will be overtaken by a damp, bone-invading chill as the temps drop to 37. Still, take heart: They will rise throughout the night, topping out around 56 on Friday. Rain is definite tomorrow, according to the NWS, and it will likely continue overnight. By Saturday, however, things will dry up and temps will make their way back down to the more reasonable 40s, but! The WIND could pick up, gusting at 25 mph rather than the 5-to-14 mph of previous days.
Dry today. Soaking rains for Friday. Trending wet for New Year’s Eve pic.twitter.com/7yyeeHh59q
— NY1 Weather (@NY1weather) December 27, 2018
The meat of this forecast probably lies on Sunday and Monday, at least for those of you who plan to partake of the New Years Eve festivities. Sunday, a prime travel day, brings "times of sun and clouds," per AccuWeather, along with a low of 35 and a high of 39. Monday may be soggier, with cloudy skies and 50/50 odds of rain on New Year's Eve. Temps are expected to hover in the low 40s, so bundle accordingly. New Year's Day (Tuesday) will be warmer, around 50, but still cloudy. Sounds like a day made for napping to me.
Anyway, what's nice is that the coming downpour will wash away whatever chaos dregs still swirl at the bottom of 2018, clearing the deck for freshly minted chaos of exactly the same flavor in 2019. Because if NYE lore holds true—the aforementioned old chestnut about beginning a year the way you intend to finish it—then we can expect a similarly grueling slog through the roiling subway rivers, always uphill, straight through to 2020. See you there!