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Snow and Freezing Rain Make for Messy Day in Manhattan

By DNAinfo Staff on January 18, 2011 7:17am  | Updated on January 19, 2011 6:39am

By Olivia Scheck and Jennifer Glickel

DNAinfo Reporter/Producers

MANHATTAN — New Yorkers were treading lightly as they made their way through a soggy, slippery misery on streets of Manhattan on Tuesday.

A night of snow and freezing rain left a layer of ice and sleet atop many of the borough's streets, sidewalks and stairways causing the National Weather Service to issue a winter weather advisory for dangerous travel conditions.

The freezing rain continued until 10 a.m. and then switched over to rain, totalling about an inch by 4 p.m., according to the National Weather Service.

The rain and gusty winds made Tuesday's high of 35 degrees feel more like 28, forecasters said.

The rain should start to dry out by the evening commute with just a chance of showers over night as the temperature drops to 31 degrees, meteorologists said.

"The worst part is definitely the bitter winds," said Midtown accountant Liz Colome, 41, as she trekked up Seventh Avenue Tuesday morning.

"And the ice clogs the drains so that the water won't go down," she added, eying a massive puddle that had accumulated outside the Pax Wholesome Foods on West 49th Street. "I mean look at this – it's awful!"

East Harlem resident Vince Colon, 31, said his Weatherman boots had equipped him for the moat-sized gutter pools, but no amount of weather gear could speed up subway service.

"There were long delays on the 6," Colon said. "I have a short walk from the subway to work so the subway delays are really the worst part for me."

Shatavia Hawkins, 25, a barista at a Midtown Starbucks, noted the dreary atmosphere created by the blackened snow.

"It's the dirty, nasty snow that nobody likes – it's not like country snow, it's city snow," the Bronx native explained.

Still, other New Yorkers were doing their best to keep spirits high in the aftermath of Tuesday's weather.

"It came early; maybe it'll leave early — that's my thinking, but I always keep a positive attitude about this stuff," said Jolanda Hernandez, 52, also of East Harlem.

"Everybody wants to complain about the weather – that's what New Yorkers do," a doorman at a nearby office building who identified himself as Migz said.

"If it bothers you so much, go out and volunteer...I helped out my super during a blizzard [last year]," the Upper West Side resident said.

In the meantime, Hernandez said she was prepared for the inclement weather.

"I've got three socks on, three layers, and a hat and gloves in my bag – so I'm good," Hernandez, a chocolatier at the Godiva on West 50th Street and Seventh Avenue said on her way to work.

A pedestrian walks through an slushy Midtown intersection Tuesday morning.
A pedestrian walks through an slushy Midtown intersection Tuesday morning.
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DNAinfo/Ben Fractenberg

New Yorkers will see a brief mid-week warm-up with a high of 42 on Wednesday, forecasters said. But then high temperatures will plummet to near freezing for the remainder of the work week with frigid conditions moving in on the weekend with highs only in the mid 20s.

A man pulls out his snow shovel before dawn Tuesday.
A man pulls out his snow shovel before dawn Tuesday.
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DNAinfo/David Torres