NYC weather: Following storm, concerns over freezing temperatures remain; when will the snow and ice melt?

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Snow can prove divisive; some people love it, others hate it. As for ice, fans are surely few and far between. However, thanks to the frigid temperatures accompanying the weekend, the snow and ice may linger a little longer than desired.

Friday’s snow system delivered scattered amounts of powdery precipitation across New York City. The system predominantly fell short of the National Weather Service’s anticipated amounts, originally expected to exceed 3 inches for much of the city.

Central Park received less than half-an-inch as of 5 p.m. Friday evening, a far cry from the 3 inches slated for the city.

While this shortcoming resembles something of glad tidings for those who dread shoveling, it does not diminish the threat of ice.

FREEZING CONDITIONS

Arctic air has enveloped New York City in cold conditions that look to foster slippery ice. While the welcome return of sunshine might appear as the onset of melting, the frigid air remains too powerful.

“Even with the sunshine popping back out today, and once again tomorrow, that can briefly melt down some of that ice, but again, as you work your way into shaded spots, and then into the overnight hours, those things refreeze once again,” AccuWeather meteorologist Brandon Buckingham said.

These patches of ice can make for some nasty travel conditions, which Buckingham noted was responsible for a number of reported accidents Saturday morning.

But where there’s a will, there’s a way. Why not just spread some salt out and clear these roads, right? Wrong.

In actuality, according to Buckingham, Saturday’s temperatures (struggling to reach beyond the mid-20s) “can render salt less effective.”

“The kind of typical methods used to mitigate that ice doesn’t work as effectively in this magnitude of cold,” Buckingham said.