While I took a pleasant walk through Central Park yesterday, I remembered my snow storm experience that I have had in New York City. I mean after all I have only lived in the City for 1.5 years. And last winter was absolutely disappointing when we had almost no snow at all. But I seem to be lucky to have been here for four big snow storms since 2013. I am not even sure if there were major ones in the other years (although I believe there always was a bit of snow, except for last winter). I quite like snow storms because they are so powerful that they can bring a big city like this to a halt. They have everything pause and go silent. On top they make the City look beautiful in white for a few days.
Blizzard in February 2013
The first blizzard I experienced in NYC was when I visited the City for the first time ever in February 2013. At the time I lived happily in Istanbul and just spent my winter break in Manhattan. The snow storm actually arrived only on my last day. I had written about already here, but the text is only in German. To sum up, I was quite concerned that my flight wouldn’t depart in the evening. So I spent the day somewhat nervous in the Met. Even though I didn’t mention it at the time, I still remember that I started chatting with another museums visitor, a young man. He was from San Francisco and we agreed that, should I not get home, we would meet at a certain time somewhere in the City. That never happened because my flight was the only one going out that evening. As a matter of fact the whole airport was only open because of that one flight. By then snow fell heavily and they had to defrost the plane three times before takeoff – but I flew home to Istanbul through a blizzard.
Snow Storm in February 2015
Two years forward. I again spent my winter break in the U.S. Although this time I had actually flown to Boston to sign my work contract so that I could move and work there. I also went to New York City for a few days because I just loved the City. Within the two weeks I spent in both cities, I experienced several bad blizzards. There was so much snow everywhere. I still remember that, when I actually moved to the U.S. that following summer, there were still some last piles of snow in Boston’s parks.
Blizzard in January 2016
At the end of January I went to New York City for a weekend together with a group of students. Our bus trip already took several hours longer than estimated because the snow fall started soon. But at least we were the last bus still departing Boston. Only once we arrived in Manhattan, we learned that the whole City was shut down. We walked in the middle of Fifth Avenue because traffic had stopped. Eventually we arrived at Rockefeller Center where one last burger restaurant still served food. Everything else was closed. So we spent the afternoon and evening in the hotel. The next morning the storm had stopped, but all buses were cancelled. Eventually, we got lucky and got train tickets home. As all tourists attractions were still closed that Sunday morning, we took a big walk before taking the train back to Boston.
Snow Storm in February 2020
When my friend first mentioned the storm last week, I didn’t yet believe we’d get hit. Only on Sunday I became really aware that we’d get a lot of snow. Rich and I spent the weekend in Boston and returned home without issues. It just started snowing when we arrived. By then I already knew that my and all other schools in the region were closed on Monday. Instead I would teach remotely. By Monday morning there were big and heavy snowflakes falling that quickly accumulated. All of Rich’s appointments were cancelled so that he also worked from home. Every now and then we saw big chunks of snow flying from the roofs around us to the ground. We ventured a little walk in the early evening, but with the wind it was still a bit unpleasant. Also sidewalks weren’t cleared yet. My school also went remote on Tuesday because the snow storm went on.
By now they cleared the roads and most sidewalks, but the curbs are full of big snow banks. Roofs and trees are also still white with snow. It is actually really pretty. There is even more snow forecast for Sunday. So it seems like this is another very successful winter when it comes to me and my snow storm experience in the City.
© janavar