The Northeast of the United States is bracing for winter's last hurrah - a blizzard expected to sweep the New York region starting today with possibly the season's biggest snowstorm dumping up to 50cm on Central Park.
The National Weather Service issued a blizzard watch yesterday for coastal regions including New York City and surrounding areas of Long Island, Westchester County and Connecticut.
A winter storm watch was in effect for a larger area of the Northeast: New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New England.
In New York City, forecasters said the first snow is expected late Monday or just after midnight Tuesday, with up to 10cm falling by dawn. Heavy snow the rest of the day could pile 25cm to 36cm more of white stuff, with sustained winds of about 48km and wind gusts of up to 80.5km.
"This would certainly be the biggest snowstorm of the 2017 winter season in New York City," said Faye Barthold, a weather service meteorologist based on Long Island.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said yesterday that the New York State Emergency Operations Centre will be activated Monday evening, with stockpiles of sandbags, generators and pumps at the ready, as well as snow-removal vehicles and salt spreaders.On Long Island, a snowfall of 30cm to 46cm was forecast along with equally strong winds and visibility of 400m or less.
The New York City Department of Sanitation is taking similar action and also notifying additional workers to supplement staff if needed.
Other areas, including the lower Hudson Valley and northeastern New Jersey, also could get 30cm to 46cm of snow. But those areas were not under a blizzard watch because high winds and low visibility were not expected.
The severe weather would arrive just a week after the region saw temperatures climb to between 15C-20C. Sunny days and T-shirt-wearing temperatures made it seem like winter had made an early exit. But the chilly weather and snow some areas got Friday may prove to be just a teaser.