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Latest Storm Brings Snow, Sleet and Freezing Rain to Manhattan

By DNAinfo Staff on January 31, 2011 11:04am  | Updated on February 1, 2011 9:49am

By Mariel S. Clark

DNAinfo News Editor

MANHATTAN — Snow, sleet and freezing rain made for a messy start to February as another winter storm moved into the area on Tuesday.

City public schools were open Tuesday as the latest storm, which meteorologists said would bring 2-4 inches of snow and ice as it lingered through Wednesday, dropped a light dusting of snow overnight and switched to sleet and rain as early morning commuters started to make their way to work.

"I hate it," said Bernice Vazquez, 54, a Lower East Side resident who was waiting for a bus on Essex Street. "If I had money, I'd be in the Caribbean right now."

Standing beside her, another Lower East Sider, Sheri, 34, who was taking her 6-year-old daughter to school, shrugged off the wintry weather.

The winter spanning 1995 and 1996 still holds the No. 1 rank — but the current season is closing fast.
The winter spanning 1995 and 1996 still holds the No. 1 rank — but the current season is closing fast.
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DNAinfo/Jason Tucker

"It's just snow," said Sheri, who did not give her last name. "We have a roof deck full of clean snow, so the kids get to play in that."

Metro-North was experiencing delays on the New Haven line due to the weather.  Subways and buses in the city were running normally, the MTA said.

The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning in effect from early Tuesday morning through Wednesday evening. 

Snow was expected to start falling again Tuesday night, according to the National Weather Service.

The ice was of particular concern as it could create dangerously slick roads and sidewalks and could cause power outages as it coats tree limbs and power lines, meteorologists said.

The MTA activated weather plans Monday night, which included de-icing trains, and warned straphangers to be prepared for delays during the winter storm.

"Our entire organization is on alert for what promises to be another difficult storm, and our customers should also be alert and allow extra time for travel during the storm," said MTA Chairman Jay Walder. "Each storm impacts parts of our region differently, and that appears to be especially true in this case."

The icy weather will also make for a miserable Groundhog Day on Wednesday, but it will hopefully keep Staten Island Chuck from seeing his shadow, and thus help usher in the start of spring.

January narrowly missed becoming the snowiest month ever on record. The month saw 36 inches of snow fall, just 0.9 inches shy of the record which was set in February of 2010.

Snow from this latest storm will add to this winter's already massive total. More than 56 inches of snow has fallen in Central Park making this season the sixth snowiest on record with plenty more winter to go.

"It's been a horrible winter,"said John Kujawski, 60, who works in hotel real estate in Midtown. "It's too much. I'm ready for it to be over already.

There has been so much snow in recent weeks that the city has asked New Yorkers to clear away the areas around fire hydrants.

Tuesday and Wednesday's highs will be in the low to mid-30s. Cooler weather is expected to move in behind the mid-week snow and ice bringing sunshine and highs in the upper 20s for the remainder of the workweek, meteorologists said.

Alternate side parking and parking meter rules were once again suspended Tuesday and until further notice, according to the Department of Transportation.

Limited trash and recycling collection was ongoing.