A few days ago, New York City was beautiful.
Women and men shed their puffy coats in favor of dresses and shorts and took to the parks and streets to play some Frisbee, eat a cone of froyo, or look up at the sunny, cloudless sky and acknowledge it was a great day to be alive.
Why even just today, I walked back from class without a jacket on and it was marvelous.
Then I saw the weather report for tomorrow, courtesy of accuweather.com:
“Spring is on hold for at least the remainder of March across much of the Northeast and parts of the mid-Atlantic as several bouts of wintry weather are expected.”
“A general 1-3 inches of a slushy mix of snow and sleet can be expected across this area.”
So don’t put away your scarves and parkas yet. Like Accuweather says, various types of precipitation are expected to start Tuesday night and make their way into Wednesday morning. I’m just as baffled by this weather as you, so I’ve compiled a FAQ:
Q: …are you joking?
A: No.
Q: Why is this happening?
A: There’s a warm front coming in from (where else?) the southern US.
Once it mashes with the high-pressure “unseasonably” cold front coming in from Canada and advancing moisture from the West, a major winter storm is more than likely to occur Tuesday night/Wednesday morning.
Here’s a nice picture for all you visual learners:
Q: Yeah, but wasn’t it the first day of spring on Monday?
A: Well, the weather gods are merciless.
Q: What can I do?
A: Just what you’ve been doing. Students in the northeast: stay warm, check the weather, keep your eyes out for information about your commute/school closings, and commiserate with your friends who are no doubt despise the weather as much as you.
Students everywhere else: enjoy your spring. Us Northerners are duly jealous.
