Photo: TIMOTHY A. CLARY / AFP / Getty Images
New York City is experiencing dangerously cold temperatures while preparing for another significant snowstorm expected to bring at least 8 to 9 inches of snow starting this weekend.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani warned residents that temperatures will be "more chilling this weekend than they have been in eight years," as he outlined the city's storm preparations. The mayor emphasized the severity of the situation during a recent briefing, saying, "This will not just be snow. This storm will also bring with it intense cold, a prolonged period of frigid temperatures that will last through the next week," according to NBC New York.
Snowfall is expected to begin around midnight and reach its heaviest intensity Sunday morning and early afternoon. Wind chills on Saturday were forecast to fall between 0-10 degrees throughout the day, creating brutal conditions as residents prepared for the approaching storm.
"By early Monday morning, the heaviest of the weather will have passed, although some precipitation could continue through the day," Mayor Mamdani explained. Meteorologists predict snowfall rates of 1-2 inches per hour will be common during the storm's peak.
City agencies have implemented comprehensive preparations. The Department of Sanitation has already brined highways and roads throughout the city, while the Emergency Management Department has activated its winter weather plan. Additionally, a Code Blue has been activated, with teams reaching out to homeless residents to connect them with shelter options.
Plowing operations will commence shortly after snow begins to fall, with the mayor assuring residents, "Make no mistake, we are taking every precaution, and we are prepared for every possible amount of snow."
Before the cold snap settled in, many locations across the tri-state area recorded unusually high temperatures on Saturday, including reporting sites at JFK and LaGuardia airports.
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