Don Sutherland's photos with the keyword: snowfall

A snowstorm blankets the landscape (Larchmont, New York)—February 13, 2024. The storm brought 3.2" (8.1 cm) of snow. Overall, the season has been characterized by much below normal snowfall. Through today, seasonal snowfall is 7.5" (19.1 cm). Last winter saw the least snowfall on record with just 2.3" (5.8 cm). New York City went through a record 701-day stretch without seeing daily snowfall of 1.0" (2.5 cm) or more. The old record was 383 days. Should New York City finish with less than 10.0" (25.4 cm) of snow, Winters 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 would mark the first time two consecutive winters had less than 10.0" (25.4 cm) of snow. (The snow season ends on June 30th, although New York City has never seen measurable snowfall after April 25th. Normal snowfall is 29.8" (75.7 cm). In terms of temperatures, Winter 2023-2024 is concluding today with a seasonal average temperature of 40.6°F (4.8°C) in New York City. That is its fourth warmest winter on record. The past two winters have become the first occurence of two consecutive winters having average temperatures of 40.0°F (4.4°C) or warmer in New York City. Such winters were once rare. Prior to 2000, only one winter, 1931-1932, had a mean temperature of 40.0°F (4.4°C) or above. Since then five winters have seen such warmth: 2001-2002, 2011-2012, 2015-2016, 2022-2023, and 2023-2024. New York City's records go back to 1869. Many locations experienced their warmest winter on record. Much of Canada, the Northern Plains in the United States, parts of Europe, and northwest Africa saw extraordinary warmth. Scandinavia was one of the few places that had a colder than normal winter. Overall, it seemed that autumn lingered through the winter months giving up only its glorious colors, but not much of its warmth. Now, the early flowers of spring already dot the landscape.

Manor Park after a light snowfall (Larchmont, New York)—January 27, 2021

View of the LuEsther T. Mertz Library at the New York Botanical Garden (Bronx, New York)—December 3, 2019

A tulip is weighed down by snow (Larchmont, New York)—April 16, 2014. Just days earlier, spring had asserted itself quite forcefully with the temperature rising to 77°F (25.0°C) on April 13 and 75° (23.9°C) on April 14 in New York City. However, the spring party was brought to an abrupt end during the afternoon of the 15th. Just ahead of a strong cold front, the temperature peaked at 63°F (17.2°C) at 4:01 pm EDT. Afterward, much colder air swept away spring’s warmth as a steady rain developed. During the night, the rain changed to sleet and then snow as the temperature dove. The snowfall blanketed the ground and even roadways in the New York City suburbs. One could easily borrow from an account published in the April 22, 1835 edition of Baltimore’s Southern Patriot concerning a late-season snowfall that occurred on April 15-16 of that year to describe this year’s mid-April snowstorm. That newspaper wrote: His hoary frost, his fleecy snow, Descend and clothe the ground. In the wake of the snowfall, the temperature bottomed out at 31°F (-0.6°C) in New York City. That was New York City’s first April freeze since April 9, 2007. It was also the City’s coldest reading after April 15 since April 16, 1943 when the temperature fell to 30°F (-1.1°C). P.S. For those wondering about the fate of the tulip and other flowers, the above tulip, other tulips and daffodils all rebounded very nicely following the snowfall.

A doe at the Marshlands Conservancy during a light snowfall (Rye, New York)—January 25, 2014