New York, the city where it doesn't snow

It has been 328 days since the last measurable snowfall in New York.

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There has been no snow for 328 days in this jewel that is Central Park, in the heart of Manhattan.

Usually, at this time of winter, Central Park proudly wears its white winter coat. But not this year. In fact, the first measurable trace of snow finally fell on February 1: one centimeter. The snow has never arrived so late in the metropolis.

The last record dates back to 1973, when the first accumulation was measured on January 29 after a food shortage of 326 days.

Christopher Stachelski, National Weather Service Regional Observing and Climatology Program Manager for the Eastern Region, is amused: We broke the record by just three days, but we did. done, and it's remarkable. But I think it will be even more remarkable to see where we will be at the end of the season.

So the magic of winter is absent, but nothing to prevent followers ice skaters who were present on the rink of the busiest park in the United States. Each year, some 42 million people visit this 341-hectare “little” gem, nestled between Manhattan's Upper West Side and Upper East Side neighborhoods.

Central Park's skating rink continues to attract its followers, snow or not.

This absence of snow, Soledad Rodas, a teacher who lets her young students let off steam on the green grass of the park, does not complain too much. As a teacher, there are times when you might as well like it when there aren't any, because the kids are so excited. It's true that it excites children quite a bit, the snow. Me, I prefer that there is no snow, because I live in New Jersey and it is true that in terms of transport, it is not always very easy .

The one who has lived in the region for 10 years takes note of the upheavals. I think this is the first year where we notice a really noticeable change. And it's true that in terms of the climate, it's a bit upside down, I would say and it's especially it's very humid this year.

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Children having fun on the hopelessly green grass of Central Park.

Clarisa Alayeta, who lives in the Bronx, visits the park as often as she can, because she loves its fairy side. I like snow because it helps us to relax, to calm down. But I'm sad too, because I know it's global warming that's making it disappear.

The warming is evident in the fact that the islet of heat in New York has been well developed for almost 100 years now, says Chris Stachelski.

This is largely due to the development of New York City which became urbanized at this time. I would say it's more evident in the last 20 or 30 years, and I would even say it could go back 40 or 50 years. But, relatively speaking, variance is probably, to me, the biggest thing we see in terms of climate trends, just a lot of extremes one way or the other.

New York received its first inch of snowfall in 332 days.

For example, this year's La Niña weather phenomenon generally tends to favor fewer snowfall. If you go back and look at the late 1990s when we had a period of one of the strongest El Niño and La Niña, adds Mr. Stachelski, these winters were both abysmal in terms of snowfall. You were out for two winters in a row without seeing much in the way of snow.

A little further south, Washington finally experienced a weak area of ​​low pressure that dropped a handful of centimeters of snowy dust over the region early Wednesday morning. But since the air and road temperatures were generally at or above freezing, the snow accumulated on the grass, on the cars and on some high surfaces, but not on the roads.

On the other hand, the extreme variation of this winter can be observed in only one part of upstate New York, namely in Syracuse, the x27;one of the snowiest cities in America. Usually, it receives an annual average of more than 304 centimeters of snow. She only received 63 centimeters this winter. In Rochester, it was less than 38 centimeters, while the average is 127 centimeters at this time of year.

Carriages near Central Park waiting for tourists who will have to do without a snowy New York

On the opposite end of the spectrum, to the west of the two cities, Buffalo is experiencing one of the snowiest winters in the past 50 years. Recall that about half of this season's snow fell during a single killer blizzard.

At the entrance to Central Park, Gareth, Checkmark for 20 years in New York which has seen winters of all kinds, remains a philosopher. Sometimes New York City gets an average of 20 inches [50 centimeters] of snow a year. That being said, you can get 20 inches of snow in one snowfall, while [in] some weird years you get no snow at all. That's how it is here.

Unpredictability of climate change aside, Christopher Stachelski believes winter is far from over, however. We've had plenty of winters where, even in years past, the biggest winter storms didn't hit until late February, March, or even, in some cases, early April. .