Feb 22, 2008 6:02 pm US/Eastern
Winter's First Major Snowfall Blankets NYC
Between 6-9 Inches Fall In Tri-State; Sleet, Freezing Rain At Night
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
It took you long enough, Old Man Winter.
The first signficant snowfall of the entire winter has finally arrived, blanketing the tri-state with several inches of snow just in time for the Friday morning commute.
By 2 p.m., 5.6 inches of snow had accumulated in Central Park. Only 5.7 inches of snow
in total had fallen all winter before Friday, with the most snowfall in one day totaling just 2.8 inches.
The snow caused
major delays and more than 800 cancellations at area airports.Winter storm warnings remained in effect until 1 a.m. Saturday for much of the region, with wintry weather to continue throughout the day. Temperatures struggled to rise into the 30s kept the precipitation all snow in the morning, but as the high rose to 33 by 2 p.m., the snow changed over to sleet, freezing rain, and rain.
When all is said and done, between 6 and 9 inches of snow should accumulate in the city, with higher accumulations north and west of the area, and lesser accumulations south and east.
Visibility will be low throughout the day so travelers should be cautious.
Sanitation Commissioner John Doherty tells CBS 2 that workers have been out since 1 a.m. salting the roads and sidewalks.
"We right now have over 2200 pieces of equipment between our plows and our salt spreaders out there," he says. "I think John [Elliott] and his cohorts gave us a pretty good forecast. Like everything else, people have to be careful when driving around the city."
The bulk of the precipitation will begin to exit the area by the evening. But significant snow and ice accumulation will be on the ground by this point so travel troubles will be widespread throughout the tri-state.
Any rain, freezing rain, or sleet leftover will change to snow when all is said and done with additional light accumulations possible overnight.
More leftover snow or rain is possible on Saturday as trailing precipitation will brush through our area. The skies will remain a bit cloudy and temperatures will only a rebound a little bit due to limited sunshine and a northerly flow.
Stay with wcbstv.com and CBS 2 for the latest Eye on the Storm coverage.
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