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Not so fast, spring: Code Blue returns as temps plunge in NYC and Newark
By
Catalina Gonella
Published Mar 1, 2026
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Ryan Murphy/Getty Images
By
Catalina Gonella
Published Mar 1, 2026
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New Yorkers caught a whiff of spring on Saturday. Now, another blast of winter is settling in, triggering Code Blue alerts in New York City and Newark as overnight lows drop into the teens and wind chills dip into the single digits.
Central Park reached 54 degrees Saturday, the warmest day since Jan. 9, according to the National Weather Service. But the reprieve is short-lived.
New York City enacted a Code Blue for Sunday, lasting through at least Monday morning. Temperatures on Sunday were expected to stay in the 30s before dropping into the low 20s overnight as a cold front moves through the area, according to the National Weather Service’s New York office. Wind chills could make it feel like the teens.
“We'll be lucky if we reach freezing,” National Weather Service meteorologist Joe Pollina said of Monday’s forecast.
Highs Monday are expected to remain in the low 30s, roughly 10 to 15 degrees below the seasonal average of about 45 degrees for early March.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani said the city is increasing street outreach, adding warming buses and opening more warming centers, including some at public schools. He said outreach workers will operate around the clock to encourage unsheltered New Yorkers to come indoors.
Mobile teams will distribute blankets, warm clothing and other supplies and can transport people to shelters or warming centers.
Across the river, Newark extended its Code Blue through 9 a.m. Tuesday. City officials there were urging residents to bundle up and check on neighbors, especially seniors and people with chronic health conditions.
Pollina said relief is in sight later this week.
Tuesday is expected to remain slightly below normal, with highs in the lower 40s and a brief period of mixed rain and snow in the morning changing to rain by the afternoon. By Wednesday, temperatures should return to the mid- to upper 40s.
“By Thursday, we actually start to see temperatures rise above normal, into the mid-50s,” Pollina said. “After Monday, we’ll start to see a warming trend.”
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Health and Science
new jersey
new york city
Catalina Gonella
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