NEW YORK – A massive nor’easter slamming the New York City area Monday morning has already dumped 5.3 inches of snow as measured in Central Park as of 7 a.m., the National Weather Service said.
Another foot or more of snow is expected, said Dominic Ramunni, a meteorologist with the service.
“We’re still thinking upwards of 20 inches remains possible across the city,” Ramunni said.
At the sledding hill on W. 115th St. and Morningside Ave. in Harlem, Kieran Patel and his buddy Dylan Eldridge, both 10, were among the first kids to hit the downhill run about 7:45 a.m.
“It’s awesome,” Kieran said. “There’s no school, that sucks. But it’s a snow day. We can just stay out here all day!”
“Yeah, let’s just stay out here all day!” Dylan added.
“The last couple years, there’s basically no snow, so no sledding, so this has been a nice change,” said Kieran’s father, Gaurav Patel. “And reassuring from a climate standpoint!”
He noted that the storm has created a sudden sledding shortage.
“We got ours on Amazon a few weeks ago,” he said. “Yesterday I walked by the hardware store and they had like six to seven green sleds in the front window and I thought maybe I’ll pick one up and 10 minutes later, gone.”
The city declared a state of emergency from 6 a.m. Monday to 6 a.m. Tuesday, with only essential or emergency vehicle travel permitted. The MTA said it was moving to local subway service only following the morning rush hour, but there were no immediate plans to suspend above-ground trains.
Carmen Bu, 55, shivered as she waiting for a crosstown M66 bus near Central Park. “It’s been rough. I’m going to work,” she said. “The bus is delayed.”
A few steps away, doorman Angelo Santiago was heading home after a shift at his building. “As of right now, it’s bearable,” he said. “But I think it’s gonna get worse. But I’ll be in bed sleeping because I’m off today and tomorrow.”
Meanwhile in Bay Ridge, Dave Resultan, 32, was rushing to the urgent care facility where he works in three pairs of pants.
“It is what it is,” he said. “I’m excited because I know it’ll be slow (today at the facility.)”
A woman walks her dog in Queens on Monday morning.
A woman walks her dog in Queens on Monday morning. (Theodore Parisienne/for New York Daily News)
The storm was centered off the coast of Delaware, near Atlantic City, Monday morning.
“It’s still slowly inching north and east,” Ramunni said.
New Yorkers should expect heavy snow intermittent throughout the day with a particular heavy patch starting later Monday morning and extending into the afternoon. Winds will also be picking up to 20 to 30 mph in the city with gusts of 40 mph.
Abou Mboob, a security guard for Lincoln Center, said it never snows in his native country of Gambia, where it was 90 degrees Monday. “I love the snow,” he said, laughing. “I love it as much as it falls.”
Hezekiah Matthew, 65, was among a crew shoveling the steps of Lincoln Center. They started about 5 a.m.
“We’ll be out here till 6, 7 at night tonight, plus we gotta come in the morning,” he said. “When we get cold, we go inside, take a couple minutes to warm up, and then we come back.”
Temperatures are expected to rise somewhat into the evening, creating the potential for mixed rain and snow.
“By that point the damage is already done,” Ramunni said.
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(With Morgan Chittum)
