Snow from the major storm that blew through New York two weekends ago is still stubbornly piled up on city streets and across the metro region. The city’s dump trucks, plows and snow-melting hot tubs have been working hard, and residents have been taking shelter at warming centers amid days of frigid temperatures.
But forecasters expect no letup in the brutal winter weather this weekend as another dangerous cold front arrives, with temperatures predicted to plummet on Saturday and Sunday. Here is what New Yorkers should brace themselves for this weekend.
What is the forecast?
The National Weather Service has issued an extreme cold warning for New York and northern New Jersey, which will be in effect through Sunday afternoon. A biting wind is expected to whip through the city on Saturday night, creating wind chills of 15 to 25 degrees below zero.
New York City could receive some light snowfall, too, though nothing like the 11.4 inches that fell during the storm two weeks ago. This weekend’s forecast is closer to one to two inches.
How does this cold snap compare with the city’s usual February weather?
This weekend is slated to be 15 to 25 degrees colder than normal for early February, threatening to unseat longstanding records for Feb. 7 and 8.
Meteorologists anticipate, though, that temperatures will climb back to a somewhat milder range by Wednesday.
What is the city doing to protect people from the cold?
Mayor Zohran Mamdani held a weather briefing on Friday evening to stress the importance of staying inside, and to relay the city’s efforts to keep vulnerable New Yorkers safe.
New York, he said, remains in a “Code Blue,” meaning that calls about homeless people needing assistance to the city’s 311 informational line would be rerouted to 911.
On Friday, the mayor directed the Police Department to informally suspend its policy of removing homeless people from subway stations and forcing them to take down their tents or tarps, according to Dora Pekec, a City Hall spokeswoman.
There are exceptions to this rule, Ms. Pekec said, but “our overall posture is to not just kick somebody out back into the cold.”
The city has added hotel shelter units and warming centers. Mr. Mamdani said that 62 such centers, including warming vehicles and public schools, as well as centers at two City University of New York locations, will operate this weekend.
Mr. Mamdani also said that the city had moved up the automated prompt for assisting a homeless person in a 311 call to an earlier spot in the menu. Previously, it had taken a minute and 20 seconds to place such a call for help. This weekend, the mayor said, it will take only 40 seconds.
What have been the adverse effects of the brutal chill?
Seventeen New Yorkers, many of them homeless, have died from exposure to the extreme cold since Jan. 24, and this weekend’s frigid temperatures pose a threat to others who remain exposed to the elements.
On Friday, Mr. Mamdani attributed “a number of these deaths” to overdoses, and said the city had partnered with two overdose prevention centers to ensure they stay open 24 hours a day on Saturday and Sunday.
Mr. Mamdani said that, as a last resort, the city would involuntarily remove people from the streets it identified as posing a threat to themselves or others, including those not wearing adequate clothing for the cold. The city would then place them in shelters.
“What will separate this weekend” from January’s winter storm, the mayor said, is an increased number of outreach workers, including extra nurses, who will assess whether people need to be removed involuntarily.
And for the first time, Mr. Mamdani said, the city is employing a peer outreach model, in which formerly homeless New Yorkers will join in the efforts to encourage people to seek shelter indoors.
“This is an all-hands-on-deck operation,” the mayor said.
Jeffery C. Mays contributed reporting.
Taylor Robinson is a Times reporter covering the New York City metro area.
The post What to Know About the Cold Snap in New York This Weekend appeared first on New York Times.
