Let it snow, already.
Central Park hasn’t exactly been a winter wonderland in the past few years as the majestic green space at the center of Manhattan has gone 653 days without getting one inch of snow in a 24-hour period.
The lengthy snow drought is nearly double the previous record of 383 days without an inch of snow in the park until March 21, 1998, according to the National Weather Service New York.
One minor snowfall in late February saw nearly two inches of powder fall in two days. Less than an inch graced the green lawns on both Feb. 27 and 28, according to the NWS.
The minor flurry, statistically, does not impact the 653-day drought because the official measurement requires an inch or more to be recorded between midnight and midnight.
Prior to the past few mild winters in the Big Apple, tourists and locals alike could expect mountainous piles of white snow turned brown from dirt and sled tracks haphazardly gracing the hills throughout the park, but not so much anymore.
In fact, the last time the park had recorded more than an inch of snow was February 13, 2022 – clocking in 1.6 inches, the NWS said.
Luisana Perez, 28, told The New York Times that she remembered snow piled as high as parked cars while growing up in Harlem. But last Christmas, she recalled sweating through her sweater and foregoing a winter coat.
“I’m witnessing the city slowly getting warmer and warmer. It doesn’t feel very Christmassy,” she told the outlet. “We’re not in California, where Santa is wearing a swimsuit.”
Parts of NYC did experience light flurries Tuesday evening, but as December quickly approaches, there is a noticeable lack of snow in the forecast. The only precipitation New Yorkers can expect this week is some light rain.
However, NWS meteorologist, James Tomasini, doesn’t think the dry spell will last and it’s only a matter of time until the city’s holiday decorations and streets will be dusted with a powdery white snow.
The city has yet to feel the impact of an El Niño working its way to the East Coast, where the system typically brings harsher storms.
Tomasini said storms that track over the southeast of New York are favorable, but bring colder weather in the Big Apple.
Meanwhile, Upstate New York has seen dramatically more snowfall, with a small village of less than 300 – Constableville – seeing 42.7 inches in two days this week, according to NBC News.
Parts of the Great Lake and interior Northeast saw more than 40 inches of snow by Wednesday morning in the first significant lake-effect storm this winter.
Parts of Upstate and Western New York experienced low visibility and white-out conditions as snow pummeled the region.