If you’ve been walking around the city looking like a marshmallow lately, we have some fabulous news. After a brutal start to 2026–including that chaotic New Year’s Day snow squall and a December that felt more like the Arctic Circle than Manhattan–New Yorkers can expect a long-awaited warm up straight from the weather gods later this week.
According to latest forecasts, New York City is about to experience a massive January thaw. While we were shivering in the 20s just 48 hours ago, temperatures are expected to climb steadily this week, eventually peaking at nearly 60º by the weekend!
The Forecast Breakdown
Though the week is kicking off on a cold foot–today, Monday, January 5th, is only reaching a high of 36º, according to AccuWeather, and Tuesday, January 6th won’t be much warmer with a cloudy high of 42º–come Wednesday things will start to look up.
Wednesday, January 7th and Thursday, January 8th are both going to hit highs of 47º–a pretty big jump from Monday’s blistery 36º. Plus, considering January in NYC is typically the coldest month of the year and NYC’s average January temperature was just 31.2º in 2025 according to the National Weather Service, we’ll welcome 47º with wide open arms!
Even more: it only gets warmer from there!
Friday, January 9th, will reach a high of 53º, though you will want to have an umbrella handy to avoid getting wet from an afternoon shower. And the start to the weekend will be warm as well, approaching the record of 60º set in 1876 with a predicted high of 57º on Saturday, January 10th!
Yes, there’s a chance of some “April showers” style rain to go along with it, but for nearly 60º in the dead of January? We’ll gladly take the umbrella and leave the puffer coat at home.
Don’t let the sping-like weather get your hopes up, though, because we’re still stuck in winter’s icy grips.
Sunday, January 11th will drop back down into the 40s, and, as of now, thermometers will remain in the 30s-40s through the rest of the month.
Is This Warm Weather Normal?
Actually, yes.
The “January Thaw” is a real meteorological phenomenon where the jet stream shifts, allowing warm air from the south to surge into the Northeast. While it’s common to see a few days in the 50s, hitting near the 60s is the city’s way of teasing us before February inevitably tries to freeze us again.
How To Spend The Warm-Up
Since this spring-like fever won’t last forever (the cold is expected to return by Sunday), you need to maximize these 72 hours of bliss:
- Dine Al Fresco: dust off the outdoor dining habit–you probably won’t even need heat lamps for a Saturday lunch!
- Stroll the High Line Stroll: this weekend you’ll be able to can walk the High Line without being hit by wind off the Hudson that feels like literal knives–plus, you can say your final goodbyes to our favorite oversized pigeon (or sign the petition to make it permanent!)
- Embark on a “Main Character” Walk: put on your favorite light trench coat, grab an iced latte (it’s officially iced coffee season again for three days), and walk through NYC like it’s May
Enjoy it while it lasts, New York. We all know a polar vortex is probably just lurking around the corner, waiting for us to get comfortable.