Earlier this month, temperatures in New York’s Central Park nearly hit 80 degrees.
But on Monday, just the second day of spring, it was probably best to leave the shorts at home: Temperatures hovered in the low 40s, according to CNN meteorologist Pedram Javaheri.
Spring officially started at 12:30 a.m. ET Sunday, but that’s not much comfort to those in the Northeast who were treated to some flurries late Sunday and on Monday. The National Weather Service reported midmorning Monday that the snow should taper off Monday night into Tuesday.
New Yorkers shouldn’t expect a ton of snow though — it’ll likely just be a slight nuisance rather than anything serious, according to CNN meteorologist Judson Jones.
“Spring means blooming life again, but I guess Mother Nature has something else in mind,” Richard Ramroop of Farmingdale, New York, told CNN affiliate WCBS.
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio urged New Yorkers to allow extra travel time and drive slowly, and to exercise caution walking and biking.
Boston will likely get more of the white stuff, but it won’t be crippling, Jones said.
The bizarre weather prompted a Boston hardware store to remove its front window beach chair display, the Boston Globe reported.
“It’s kind of funny — it’s been beautiful this week, and been a beautiful day,” shift manager Rob Houdlette told the newspaper. “It’s hard to imagine we are going to get the snow we are going to get. It’s a weird one.”
Cape Cod is expected to get hit pretty hard, with up to 10 inches of snow. Schools opened late or the classes were canceled altogether across the area, according to Capecod.com.
This will be a heavy, wet snow that creates hazardous driving conditions in the morning and afternoon commutes, CNN meteorologist Michael Guy said.
Boston Public Schools were closed Monday, mostly because of the timing of the snowfall, according to the district’s website. Public schools in Providence, Rhode Island, also canceled classes Monday, system spokeswoman Doris De Los Santos told CNN in a Sunday email.
Philadelphia should see 1 inch through Monday, with possibly 2 to 4 inches of accumulation along the Jersey shore.
The snow comes courtesy of a low pressure system moving up the East Coast. The National Weather Service issued a storm warning which remains in effect for the area from 7 p.m. Sunday to 11 a.m. Monday.
Weather predictions for the Northeast shifted over the past few days because different computer models produced slightly different forecasts, Guy said.
The good news? The snow should melt quickly, Guy said.
Temperatures are going to make a quick rebound from this burst of winterlike weather, with temperatures reaching the lower 50s for Boston by Wednesday and the 60s for New York.
Guy said there may not be much accumulation on New York City area roads because of recent high temperatures.
“There could be issues on overpasses, which I am sure will be treated by the DOT,” he said. “Roadways toward the eastern portions of Long Island are expected to be more hazardous due to more snowfall expected in those areas out toward Montauk, which could see up to 8 inches of snow.”
Newark and LaGuardia airports probably will not experience the delays of JFK, which will see more snow accumulations, he said. Delays are still expected because of poor visibility and poor conditions.
