'Drought' has New Yorkers asking: Where's the snow?
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People shopping in the SoHo neighborhood of Manhattan, on Jan 11, 2023.
PHOTO: NYTIMES
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NEW YORK - The idea of New York in wintertime conjures up images of Manhattan’s Times Square and Central Park shrouded in snow.
Not this year.
The city was forecast on Sunday to surpass a 50-year record for the longest wait for the first snowfall of the season. It is also close to recording its highest number of consecutive days without any measurable flakes.
The snowless streak has New Yorkers puzzled, some questioning their love-hate relationship with the white stuff.
“It’s really sad,” said retired teacher Anne Hansen. “Basically, we don’t like to see the snow. But now we’re sorely missing it,” she said.
The Big Apple usually gets its first dusting around mid-December. Last season, it came on Christmas Eve.
A heavy load often results in “snow days”, beloved by children and office workers who get days off school and work. Children would grab their sleds and head to the nearest grassy slope, while adults would cross-country ski around the main parks.
“You stay home, you drink hot cocoa. It’s beautiful and the dog loves it,” filmmaker Renata Romain said.
Joy turns to despair fairly quickly, though, as the snow turns yellowy-brown, rubbish piles up on the pavement and trips to the launderette become hazardous.
“The snow is pretty to look at the first day, but afterwards it’s dirty, and I don’t like it. It’s slushy. It’s nasty,” added Ms Romain.
Meteorologists define snowfall in New York City as snow that measures at least 2.5mm in Central Park. Some flakes fell last Wednesday, but not enough to count.
The longest that residents have had to wait for measurable snow was till Jan 29, a record set in 1973, said the National Weather Service (NWS).
No snow on Sunday will mean the longest wait since records began in 1869.
New York is also approaching its longest streak of consecutive days without snow. The current record is 332, which ended on Dec 15, 2020. Sunday would be day 326.
Accuweather has called the period a “snow drought”.
“It’s very unusual,” NWS meteorologist Nelson Vaz said, adding that the global La Nina weather pattern was responsible for keeping colder fronts farther north and west.
Up to 1m of snow fell in Buffalo, New York state, near the Canadian border, in December, killing at least 39 people.
A gigantic snow pile is seen in front of Central Terminal in Buffalo, New York, on Dec 29, 2022.
PHOTO: AFP
Only 1932 had a warmer first 25 days of January in New York than 2023, according to Weather.com, a US weather site.
Scientists say climate change is causing winters to be warmer and shorter.
“It’s disconcerting,” Ms Hansen said of recent balmy days that have felt more like autumn.
New York has never gone a whole cold season without measurable snow. And with February usually its snowiest month, a white blanket could soon envelop the Big Apple yet.
“That’s what makes New York, New York, right?“ said Ms Romain. AFP
