This recent stretch of cold and snow has seemed endless and painful to many, but temperatures near 60 degrees are forecast for Wednesday. More melting -- and some rain and fog -- will come with the warmth. This winter in the city has landed among the top five for consecutive days of 1 inch of snow or more on the ground in Central Park.
Here is a list of the top five winters with consecutive days of 1” of snow or greater on the ground.
Last March, Central Park had at least an inch of snow on the ground until March 10. This year it will take longer to see bare ground.
Snow depths are impacted by where snow is measured. Locations that have snow depth measurements taken in direct sunlight have dramatically less snow on the ground than places measured in the shade. This is why there is a drastic difference between LaGuardia Airport and Newark, New Jersey, versus Central Park.
Here are the current snow depths across the area as of Monday afternoon:
- Central Park: 13 inches
- LaGuardia: 3 inches
- JFK: 2 inches
- Islip: 6 inches
- Bridgeport: 14 inches
- Newark: 3 inches
Many areas upstate have between 15 and 25 inches of snow, which will melt into the city's drinking water reservoirs in the Catskills over the next few weeks. This will help build a good reserve of water prior to the hotter and possibly drier months of late spring and summer.
The vernal equinox -- SPRING! -- is 10 days away. The vernal equinox is when the sun’s direct rays pass north over the equator. It arrives next Friday, March 20, at 6:45 p.m.
The sun will continue to set later through the spring until the its direct rays reach the Tropic of Cancer. This is known as the summer solstice, which is the longest day of the year. The summer solstice takes place on Sunday, June 21 at 12:38 p.m.
