Winter is set to arrive with a vengeance this weekend with Arctic temperatures setting in on Saturday’s solstice, though a dusting of snow might pretty up New York City.
By Friday, two weather systems could lock above us, generating light solstice snow as weekend temperatures dip into the winter range, the National Weather Service said Wednesday.
“We’re looking at less than an inch of snow. Maybe half an inch of snow,” NWS meteorologist Brian Ciemnecki told the Daily News. “We’re not breaking out the shovels here.”
But even those few flakes could provide a touch of holiday magic. The exact time of the solstice is 4:21 a.m. Saturday, and there may well be snow to greet it.
“At that moment in time, when winter officially begins, there’s a good chance that there’ll be at least some snowflakes in the air,” said AccuWeather senior meteorologist Dave Bombek.
Holiday travelers and last-minute shoppers will want to bundle up after that though, as temperatures plummet Saturday into Sunday and early next week.
The NWS was predicting “a light rain-snow mix Friday into early Saturday,” before things drastically cool down.
“An arctic airmass follows the rest of the weekend into next Monday with potential for several areas, especially inland, not rising above freezing for at least three consecutive days,” it said in its forecast.
Saturday will reach the low- to mid-30s, but Sunday would see a high in the mid-20s, Ciemnecki said. This will be the season’s coldest weather so far, Bombek told the Daily News.
“It does look like there’s a very high probability, very likely, that the temperature in Central Park on Sunday will not make it out of the 20s,” Bombek said. “We’re predicting a high of 27 that day. We’ll probably bottom out at 16 or so Monday morning.”
Dry tonight, with another round of rain arriving for Wednesday. Drying out Thursday, with colder weather arriving late this week. It turns even colder this weekend! #nycwx #nywx #njwx #hvwx #ctwx #liwx pic.twitter.com/GtkQRH11Nu
— NWS New York NY (@NWSNewYorkNY) December 17, 2024
The preliminary assessment for next week was for mostly dry conditions with slightly less chill temperatures.
On Tuesday and Wednesday, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, it’s “likely to stay dry with more cloud cover and somewhat moderated temperatures, though still below average,” the NWS said. “There is a possibility of a light rain-snow mix.”
The NWS has not issued any warnings, though AccuWeather predicted a chance of disrupted holiday travel across the Northeast.