Snow greets New York region on first full day of spring

pulse

March 22, 2018 5:36 AM

NEW YORK — It was the winter that would not let go.

While spring beckoned on the calendar, the fourth nor’easter this month — quickly nicknamed the “four’easter” — blanketed the New York City region and beyond with fat, wet snowflakes that flew sideways.

Inch after inch piled up on lawns and sidewalks, grounding thousands of flights between Washington and Boston and disrupting subway, bus and commuter train services. Even Citi Bike, the city’s ever-expanding bike-share program, called it quits.

Children and their parents threw snowballs and reveled in their unexpected snow day — likely their last for a while — as schools closed. What was not to like? Phoenix Stolzman, 7, a second-grader, crept up on his mother, Sasha Eden, armed with a giant snowball in Brooklyn Heights. “I just get to hang around and play in the snow,” he said.

Tourists paused to snap selfies against a snow-globe backdrop. Less delighted were the dogs that had to be dragged out for their walks, bundled in sweaters with mini-boots on their paws, and their shivering owners. Or the countless residents tired of shoveling snow and contending with power failures, icy roads, flooding and shortages of bread and milk.

Businesses operated with thin staffs, if they opened at all, as many employees worked from home. Normally overcrowded subway cars and buses suddenly had seats for the taking.

Hotels filled up with stranded travelers. Those who did not move fast enough prepared to camp out alongside their suitcases. “Hopefully the bar just stays open,” said Sharon McCormick, 55, at LaGuardia Airport.

The nor’easter was in no hurry to leave, taking its time crawling north in its last hurrah. A state of emergency was declared for New York City and its suburbs, and for New Jersey, where there was at least one death after a car and a bus collided. Long before it was done, weather forecasters were already comparing it to the biggest spring snowstorm in the city’s history — a 10-inch blizzard on April 3, 1915.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

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