After bracing for harsh weather that threatened to wreak havoc, New York City dodged the worst of a winter storm that blanketed parts of the metropolitan region with up to 2.5 inches of snow overnight.
Still, city residents awoke on Saturday to a relative rarity in recent years: sidewalks in need of shoveling and hills ready for sleds. By 1 a.m., the National Weather Service said, 2.3 inches of snow had fallen in Central Park.
Even the modest snowfall made streets icy and dangerous, and Sanitation Department plows and salt-spreading trucks were deployed across the city to address the hazardous conditions. The storm, arriving soon after Christmas, also caused the cancellation of hundreds of flights at the region’s three major airports, stranding many travelers.
Darius Johnson had planned to return home to Grand View, Texas, on Friday after spending four days celebrating Christmas with friends in New York. By Friday evening there was no snow on the ground, but Frontier Airlines had canceled his flight anyway.
The airline’s best offer, Mr. Johnson said, was a flight three days later to Cleveland, with a connection to Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. Frontier had offered a $20 meal ticket, he said, but no hotel stay and no refund. There were no rental cars left at the airport, he said.
“So what am I supposed to do for three days?” he asked.
After falling steadily in New York City on Friday night, the snowfall eased briefly just before midnight. It then picked up again in the early hours.
The National Weather Service lowered earlier projections at 8:23 p.m. Friday, predicting 2 to 5 inches of snow in the city and northeast New Jersey. Even at the reduced totals, the snowfall was substantial for an area where hardly a foot of snow has accumulated in some places for three straight winters.
Early on Saturday, forecasters said 5 to 8 inches had fallen across Connecticut and eastern Long Island. A further inch or two could fall through Saturday morning, they said.
Preparations for the snow began early. By midnight Friday, city workers were spreading salt brine across the five boroughs, said Javier Lojan, commissioner of the Sanitation Department, and salt-spreading trucks were loaded and ready by 4:30 p.m.
Snow predictions varied. Gov. Kathy Hochul, who declared a state of emergency covering New York City, Long Island, the Hudson Valley, and other upstate counties, said the city could receive as little as four inches of snow. Mayor Eric Adams said the city’s northern reaches could see as much as 11 inches. In New Jersey, Tahesha Way, the state’s acting governor, also declared a state of emergency.
By 1 a.m. Saturday, the Weather Service reported accumulations of 6.1 inches in Peekskill, N.Y., in Westchester County; 6.5 inches in Newtown, Conn.; and 1.9 inches in Sag Harbor, N.Y., on Long Island. The totals in New York City were more modest: 2.3 inches in Central Park, 2 inches at LaGuardia Airport and 2.5 inches at John F. Kennedy International Airport.
Ms. Hochul’s office said winds were expected to reach 25 to 35 miles an hour, with gusts up to 50 m.p.h., another reason officials were urging people to avoid unnecessary trips on the roads. Officials also issued a “code blue,” increasing outreach to homeless people and expanding access to shelters for those exposed to the weather.
Heavy snow has been uncommon in New York City in recent years. Last winter, the city recorded barely over a foot for the season, an increase from 7.5 inches the previous winter and just 2.3 inches the winter before that. From February 2022 to January 2024, the city went nearly two full years without meaningful snowfall.
Sean Piccoliand Kieran Corcoran contributed reporting.
Christopher Maag is a reporter covering the New York City region for The Times.
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