New Yorkers can expect some flurries on their morning commute Wednesday, but the first snowfall of the season will be far from frightful, forecasters say.
A “Winter Operations Advisory” was issued starting at 6 a.m. Wednesday, allowing the city to fill and deploy salt spreaders if needed, according to the city Department of Sanitation.
That sort of response would not likely be necessary as the boroughs are only expected to get a dusting of powder, a meteorologist told The Post.
“You may have to get into the surrounding areas north and west of I-287 [to see accumulation],” Accuweather senior meteorologist Bob Smerbeck said. “Better chances up into the Hudson Valley and up into the Catskills, where there can be a coating of snow.”
The daybreak flurries could also be followed by some rain, but forecasters said a wintry mix was not expected to cause icy road conditions in New York City because dry air was expected to absorb moisture.
“I would think that would definitely be the exception rather than the rule,” Smerbeck said, adding that travel could be slick in the northern and western suburbs.
After the minor brush with winter, temperatures are expected to soar into the 60s on Saturday.
“The next 10 days we’re gonna be up and down with roller-coaster temperatures,” Smerbeck said, as competing winds from snow-covered Canada clash with warmer Gulf Coast air.
“It’s the time of year it’s going to happen.”
The average first snowfall in New York City occurs on Dec. 7 historically, Smerbeck advised, and if anything sticks to the ground Wednesday, the city would have just overshot the mark. The boroughs did see traces of snow in November, but not enough to be measured.
The earliest the city saw powder on the streets was Oct 18, 1876. The latest snowfall in recorded history was Jan. 29, 1973.
Last season, the city saw 39 inches of snow in Central Park, nine inches more than average.
