Photograph of someone determined to get around in the snow by Charley Lhasa on Flickr
After January hype - which resulted in rain - and a brief moment of snow last week, a winter snow storm finally made an appearance this year. Two weather disturbances resulted in many inches of snow falling in the region: By 2PM, more than 6 inches fell in the city, which is the biggest snowfall in two years and the biggest daily snowfall on the books (old record: 5.7 inches in 1948).
NY1 reports 6 inches fell in Central Park, 6.3 at JFK Airport and 8 inches in Staten Island! Before yesterday, only 5.7 inches had fallen all winter. Over 1,100 airplane flights were canceled at the three area airports. JetBlue, whose service came under fire after last year's February storm, is allowing customers to rebook their travel to certain cities (including NYC) between yesterday and this coming Wednesday without extra fees.
Mayor Bloomberg said that the timing of the storm was almost "perfect...We'll have the whole weekend to clean up the mess." He noted that the Sanitation Department was working hard to clear the roads, but also implored people to be very careful while driving.
Photograph of a girl led by her dog in Riverside Park by Daniel Avila, NYC Parks & Recreation
Though air travelers, drivers, and home owners weren't too thrilled with the snow, there were some fans - the ones who got to enjoy the snowy goodness! The Parks Department, which had a "Snow Day" yesterday with sleds, hot chocolate, and Urban Park Ranger explaining how to find animal prints in the snow in parks around the city, said that almost 2,000 people enjoyed the event - and that 1,700 cups of hot chocolate were served.
Did you have a good or bad snow day?
