Just when NYC’s towering snowbanks finally decided to start melting, the forecast laughs in our face and says not so fast.
AccuWeather meteorologists are tracking a storm that could swing into the Northeast Sunday (February 22) into Monday (February 23)–and New York City is sitting a little too close for comfort.
The system is currently off the coast of British Columbia, but depending on how it behaves over the next few days, it could deliver another round of accumulating snow to parts of the region. For a city that’s already exhausted its snow day charm, this is the opposite of good news.
The silver lining: this is far from a done deal.
AccuWeather meteorologist Brandon Buckingham says the storm is complicated, and several atmospheric pieces would have to fall perfectly into place to bring a true snowstorm to the big cities. In other words, the storm still has a lot of decisions to make before ruining anyone’s Sunday plans–unless, of course, your plans involved strapping on skis.
One of the biggest question marks is cold air–or the lack of it.
Chief meteorologist Jon Porter notes that temperatures around the time the storm develops may not be cold enough to support heavy snowfall. Most winter precipitation actually starts as snow high in the atmosphere, but if the air closer to the ground is too warm, it melts on the way down. That’s the difference between a cinematic snow globe moment and a sad, slushy commute.
The storm’s track is another wild card.
A path too far inland would drag warmer air into the I-95 corridor, making a classic snowstorm less likely and potentially shifting precipitation toward rain in major cities. For significant snowfall to happen, the system would need to stay just offshore and tap into enough cold air at the right time.
So for now, New Yorkers can cautiously cling to hope while side eyeing the sky.
Forecasters will keep refining the outlook over the next few days as the storm develops, and we’ll have a clearer sense of whether we’re facing another shovel session or just more winter anxiety.
Either way, the city is about two seconds from filing a 311 complaint against this winter.