NYC bracing for snow that could complicate commutes Tuesday

New York City is bracing for its biggest snowfall in a winter otherwise nearly devoid of frozen precipitation, with the weather poised to complicate commutes Tuesday morning.

A mix of snow, sleet and rain is expected to continue into Tuesday, dumping as much as six inches of wet snow into the city, according to the National Weather Service.

It’s more likely that 1 to 3 inches accumulate in the Big Apple, however, due to temperatures hovering around freezing or even remaining a bit above 32 degrees, Tom Kines, a senior meteorologist for AccuWeather, told the Daily News.

“The one concern or danger that we might have is if some of the chillier air up around southern New England, the Hudson Valley … gets pulled into the city and it snows longer than anticipated,” Kines said.

“It’s going to be a case where a degree or two makes a big difference on the snow amounts. It wouldn’t take a whole lot to go wrong for the city to get more snow than we’re anticipating.”

The Department of Sanitation issued its higher-level snow alert, saying the city is stocked with more than 700 million pounds of salt and more than 700 salt spreaders.

“The forecast indicates that this is an appropriate event for the use of brine, and the Department is already placing this liquid pretreatment on roadways,” the sanitation department said Monday. “The Department’s collection trucks will be turned into snow plows, ready to plow once two inches of snow has fallen. The Department has more than 2,000 plowable vehicles.”

The Department of Buildings urged property owners to secure construction sites and buildings, including by covering electrical equipment, tying down debris and bringing lightweight items inside. New York City and Long Island are also included in an NWS winter weather advisory that remains in effect until 1 p.m. Tuesday.

The city has only recorded 0.4 inches of accumulated snow this winter, all of which came on Feb. 1. That set a record for the latest day of winter for snowfall in New York and ended the city’s near-record snowless streak at 328 consecutive days.

“With this being a snowless winter, we’re not accustomed to the snow,” Kines said. “That first time out when you’re traveling on the snow, it catches people off-guard. It’s probably more of a nuisance storm for us than anything else.

“Getting into suburbs of northwest Jersey and into the Hudson Valley, I would certainly think up there that roads will be a mess. In the city, while there certainly could be slick spots, I think the roads will probably be wet to slushy. I think the big problems will be in the suburbs.”

Air travelers should prepare for possible flight delays out of New York early Tuesday, said Kines, who expects the precipitation to become much spottier by the afternoon. Temperatures are expected to reach the mid-50s by Thursday.

The wintry weather is part of the same storm system that recently pounded the West Coast, including Southern California, with snow and rain.