New York City hits new record for longest winter period without snow in 50 years
The iconic images of New York City blanketed in snow remain far from reality this season. On Monday, the city hit a new record for the longest amount of time in winter without snow in 50 years.
While there have been some below-freezing temperatures and a few instances of falling flakes so far this year, Jen Carfagno, a meteorologist with The Weather Channel, said that it was never enough to measure, and therefore didn't count. Monday officially marked the longest the city has gone in winter without any measurable snowfall, passing a record set in 1973.
That year, snow finally fell on January 29, and Carfagno said that winter "went on to be NYC's least snowiest winter on record" with less than 3 inches of snow.
And if the city doesn't get any snow by Sunday, it could hit another record – most consecutive days with no snow.
"Right now that record is 332 days," Carfagno said of the last streak, which was set on Dec. 15, 2020.
"We are currently sitting in 2nd place with 326 snowless days as of Sunday Jan 29," Carfagno said. "... There has never been a season with no snow all winter in NYC."
It is possible that New York City could make up its "snow deficit" in February or March, Carfagno added, particularly if the city were to get hit by a nor'easter. But according to The Weather Channel's latest forecast, there is no snow expected through at least Feb. 13 with most high temperatures ranging from the mid-40s to the low 50s.
New York City's no-snow streak is vastly different from what's happening elsewhere in the state. As the city hit a record for nothing on Monday, Buffalo was forecast to be hit with fresh snowfall. It's also expected to see additional snow next week, according to The Weather Channel.
The expected snowfalls come just weeks after upstate New York and many other spots in the Northeast were blasted with the "blizzard of the century" that dropped more than 4 feet of snow across western New York. At least 69 people in eight states died from the winter storm.
