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NYC’s ‘biggest snowfall this season’ approaches, bringing 4-5 inches to city, 6-7 to NJ
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
Published Jan 19, 2025
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Thomas Hengge/Anadolu via Getty Images
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
Published Jan 19, 2025
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New York City is bracing for its first major snow day of the year on Sunday, with forecasters predicting the biggest snow event of the season so far.
But while the storm will move fast, freezing temps this week mean the snow will not be melting soon.
The National Weather Service expects New Yorkers to see 4 to 5 inches of snow, while parts of New Jersey could get 6 to 7 inches.
“This will be the biggest snowfall this season,” said National Weather Service meteorologist Brian Ciemnecki. “This is a quick-moving system. We’re expecting snow to overspread the area as early as [Sunday] afternoon, and then by midnight, it’s out of here. It’s over.”
Temperatures in the city are expected to stay well below the mid-20s for most of the week, Ciemnecki said. On Tuesday and Wednesday, highs will peak in the upper teens before warming slightly to freezing by the week’s end.
What does that mean for Sunday’s snow?
“Whatever snow falls is going to stick around for a while,” Ciemnecki said.
Sunday’s snowfall will mark a return to a long-missed winter staple. The city saw no single snow event exceeding 4 inches last year.
The last time New York City experienced more than 4 inches of snow was in 2022, when Central Park recorded about 7 inches, according to the National Weather Service. That January, a heavy winter storm brought winds over 25 miles per hour.
When asked whether last year’s lack of significant snow was tied to climate change, Ciemnecki pointed to other factors.
“A lot of it depends on the track of the storms and timing really,” he said. “It’s timing of cold air and everything else. The last couple of years, while New York City has missed out, it’s not like the snow has disappeared, it’s just further north and west.”
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Ramsey Khalifeh
Ramsey Khalifeh is a transportation reporter on the NYC Accountability desk covering the largest transit system in the country. He was previously a general assignment reporter at Gothamist and worked on the Boston Globe's metro and copy desk. Got a tip? Email [email protected]
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