With one icy inch still on the ground in most parts, New York City figures to get more snow on Friday from an approaching low-pressure system.
The five boroughs are under a winter weather advisory from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday; the National Weather Service (NWS) predicts between 2 and 3 inches of the white stuff will fall throughout the day. However, the city’s Emergency Management department indicated snow totals go as high as 4 to 5 inches if the storm tracks closer to the coast.
Friday’s storm would be the city’s second snowfall in a week after going nearly two years without one; Tuesday’s storm snapped a 701-day snowless streak, the longest on record in the city’s history.
Conditions remain ideal for snow (temperatures have struggled to get beyond the freezing point this week), and unlike the Jan. 16 system, there will not be a change over to sleet or rain, the Emergency Management office noted in a snow alert Thursday afternoon.
The all-snow event, however, will be light throughout the day. At points, the Emergency Management office noted, snowfall totals could be about a half-inch per hour.
Once again, the city is gearing up to handle the anticipated snow. The Sanitation Department has mobilized its fleet of nearly 800 salt spreaders to help keep the roads clear, and will send out collection trucks fitted with plows if the snowfall exceeds 2 inches.
Roads will be slick and slippery all day Friday, so the city advises all residents to take it slow whether walking, biking or driving, and to allow extra travel time. Check with the MTA for updates on potential weather-related delays in public transit.
Meanwhile, the city’s Department of Transportation suspended alternate-side parking rules Tuesday to give drivers an extra incentive to leave their cars at home. But if you’re parked at a paid spot, you’ll still need to feed the meters.
After the storm departs Friday, it’s going to be a frigid weekend. Saturday’s forecast high, according to the NWS, will be just 22 degrees under cloudy skies. Temperatures will not get out above freezing until at least Monday.
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