NYC Walloped by Fast-Moving Snow Storm That Surpasses Forecasts

A surprisingly robust winter storm blanketed New York City with snow at the start of the long holiday weekend, leaving streets slippery and coated with powder and delaying air travel for the second time in a week.

Residents of Brooklyn and Staten Island woke up Saturday to seven inches of snow, the city’s sanitation department said, far more than the 2 inches (5 centimeters) forecast. By 10 a.m. some neighborhoods had logged more than 10 inches.

Crews were out overnight to plow roads, while homeowners and landlords grabbed their shovels and salt spreaders to clear slippery sidewalks. Local officials urged people to be cautious or avoid travel if possible. Subways and commuter train service on the Long Island Rail Road, Metro-North and New Jersey Transit were reporting scattered delays.

In New Jersey and Pennsylvania, snow totals in some areas exceeded 12 inches, a surprise, apparently, even to the National Weather Service.

These are some serious snowfall rates! A heavy snow band has developed from Berks County and portions of the Lehigh Valley east to Raritan Bay. We’ve received reports of 2″ to 4″ per hour snowfall rates with this band. Travel is discouraged tonight as roads become snow covered! https://t.co/A0QkOioL7f

— NWS Mount Holly (@NWS_MountHolly) February 17, 2024

The fast-moving storm came in from the US Midwest, meeting cold air already in place along the Mid-Atlantic region, dropping snow from Virginia to Connecticut, according to AccuWeather. It followed a larger and longer storm system early in the week that gave New York its first significant snowfall in two years.

The storm also snarled travel plans for some hoping to get away for the long President’s Day weekend. JFK had 185 flights delays as of early Saturday. Newark had more than 100 delays.

Despite the slushy start, some sun is expected to peek out starting Saturday afternoon, but freezing overnight temperatures will lead to re-icing, AccuWeather said.

Top photo: A resident walks a dog through a snow-covered park across the river from the lower Manhattan skyline, in Hoboken, New Jersey, on Saturday. Photographer: Gary Hershorn/Corbis News/Getty Images.