Mario Tama/Getty Images The snow should start after the morning rush and get heavy by lunchtime.Good Tuesday morning. The season’s first substantial snow is on its way.
The forecast calls for two to four inches, starting at the end of the morning rush and peaking in early afternoon.
Here’s what you need to know.
A winter weather advisory is in effect across the tristate area from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
There might be a few raindrops at first, but as the storm gets going, all will be snow.
“Our concern is that there could be a narrow stripe of some heavier amounts where it could be more like five or six inches,†said Bill Goodman, a National Weather Service meteorologist.
Those heavier bands look like they’re headed right for the city.
Some suburban schools have called the day off already.
Prepare for squinting weather: gusty and white, with visibility of less than half a mile and temperatures staying near freezing.
The snow will taper off toward evening, but the ride home could be a mess.
Whatever lands will stick around: Forecast highs are in the 20s tomorrow and Thursday. Lows might hit the teens.
The city’s 365 pumpkin-color salt spreaders and 1,400 snowplows are standing by, said Kathy Dawkins of the city’s Sanitation Department..
The salt trucks go out as soon as there’s a trace of snow.
After two inches go the garbage trucks outfitted with plows.
Around 6,000 workers are on alert.
“We’re ready,†Ms. Dawkins said.
Here’s what else you need to know.
COMMUTE
Subways: Check latest status.
Rails: Check L.I.R.R., Metro-North or N.J. Transit status.
Roads: Check traffic map or radio report on the 1s.
Snow or no, alternate-side parking is in effect.
COMING UP TODAY
Outdoor events subject to cancellation.
- Elected officials and parents protest rules that would require New York City children to receive annual flu shots, at noon on the steps of City Hall.
- Mayor Bloomberg launches what the city is calling the “nation’s largest continuous outdoor public WiFi†zone on 125th Street in Harlem at 2:30 p.m.
- The 2013 United Nations Human Rights Prize recipients are honored at the U.N. at 3 p.m. [Live Webcast]
- The Madison Square Park tree lighting at 5 p.m., followed by an ugly sweater competition in which participants may don their “most tragic holiday knits,†for prizes, at 6:30 p.m. [Free]
- The authors Elizabeth Gilbert and Ann Patchett discuss their new books at the New York Public Library. It’s sold out but will be webcast.
- The Society for the Advancement of Social Studies presents “The History of Really Big Things,†such as skyscrapers and dreams, at the Bedford, a bar in Williamsburg. 7 p.m. [Free]
- For more events, see The New York Times Arts & Entertainment guide.
Joseph Burgess contributed reporting.
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