Winter in the city usually starts with a whimper, a few gray raindrops, and a lot of slush. Not today. Honestly, if you looked out your window early this morning, you probably saw exactly what the forecasters were whispering about all week. New York City is currently sitting right in the middle of a Winter Weather Advisory, and for the first time in 2026, we’re actually seeing the white stuff stick.
Right now, it’s about 32°F out there. The humidity is sitting at a heavy 88%, which is why that "light to moderate snow" falling currently feels so damp and bone-chilling. There’s barely a breeze—just a 1 mph west wind—so the snow is just sort of drifting straight down, turning the parked cars in Brooklyn and the fire escapes in Manhattan into something out of a postcard.
But don't let the quiet morning fool you. Basically, things are about to ramp up.
What the snow alert means for your Sunday
If you're planning to head out for a bagel run or a walk in Central Park, you’ve gotta keep an eye on the sky. The city is expecting a heavy snow storm to develop during the daytime hours. We’re looking at a high of 34°F, which is just warm enough to keep the roads messy rather than frozen solid, but cold enough that the Department of Sanitation (DSNY) has already issued a full-blown Snow Alert.
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They aren't playing around. Mayor Zohran Mamdani and the NYC Emergency Management (NYCEM) team have already activated the Winter Weather Emergency Plan. You might have seen the salt spreaders out last night; they’ve got about 700 million pounds of salt ready to go. They're also using this new "Bladerunner 2.0" GPS tech to track every single plow in real-time. It's kinda wild how much tech goes into just clearing a bike lane these days.
The precipitation chance is sitting at a staggering 86% for the day. We’re likely looking at 1 to 3 inches across the five boroughs. If you’re in eastern Queens or southeast Brooklyn, you might even get hit with 4 inches if those localized bands decide to park themselves over your neighborhood.
Hour-by-hour: When will it get bad?
- 5:00 AM - 7:00 AM: This was the "onset" phase. Light dusting, mostly on the grass.
- 8:00 AM - 12:00 PM: This is the first "heavy" window. This is when the visibility will probably drop and the roads start getting that gray, salty slush.
- 12:00 PM - 4:00 PM: A bit of a mid-day grind. Temperatures hover near 34°F.
- 4:00 PM - 7:00 PM: The second heavy wave hits. If you're coming back from a museum or a late lunch, this is when travel will suck the most.
- 7:00 PM onwards: It starts tapering off into light snow, with the low dropping to 26°F tonight.
The "Code Blue" and why you should care
One thing most people ignore until it’s freezing is the Code Blue. Because temperatures are expected to stay low and the wind is shifting to the North at 5 mph, the city has officially triggered it. This means if you see someone outside who looks like they’re struggling with the cold, call 311. Outreach teams are literally canvassing the boroughs right now to make sure nobody is left out in this mess.
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It’s also worth noting that tomorrow is Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Since it’s a holiday, there was already no trash or recycling pickup scheduled for Monday. But with this snow, expect everything to be a little delayed. If you usually put your bins out on Sunday night, maybe hold off until Monday evening. The DSNY guys are going to be busy enough with the plows.
Survival tips for the NYC commute today
Honestly, the best advice is to just stay off the roads if you can. The city issued a Travel Advisory for a reason. If you have to move, the subway is your best bet, though even the outdoor lines (like the Q or the 7) might have some lag.
Watch out for black ice tonight. As that temperature drops from the daytime high of 34°F down to 26°F, all that melted slush is going to turn into a skating rink. It’s the "flash freeze" that usually catches people off guard.
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Check your radiators. If you live in an old pre-war building, you know the drill. The "clank-clank-clank" is the sound of your landlord finally turning the heat up to keep the pipes from freezing.
Actionable Next Steps:
- Download the Notify NYC app or follow @NotifyNYC on social media for the literal second-by-second updates on road closures.
- Clear your sidewalk if you own property; the city is pretty strict about that once the snow stops.
- Charge your devices just in case the heavy snow causes any local transformer issues, though with only 5 mph winds, we should be mostly fine on the power front.
- Stay home and enjoy the view. New York is arguably at its best when it's covered in a fresh inch of snow before the cars turn it all into black gunk.