At a Glance

New York City's snow since fall is on a record low pace.That's due to a lack of cold air and a persistent, unfavorable jet stream configuration.Any Northeast snowstorms have been inland, up the Hudson Valley.Typically, the chance of significant snow in NYC plummets by April.

Sign up for the Morning Brief email newsletterto get weekday updates from The Weather Channel and our meteorologists.

N​ew York City is on pace for its least snow on record for any fall-through-spring period in over 150 years.

T​hrough March 23, only 2.3 inches of snow has been measured at the Central Park weather station since fall.

T​hat's a half-inch less than the least snowfall in any fall-through-spring season in Central Park records dating to 1869. Only 2.8 inches of snow fell 50 years ago during the 1972-73 season.

Season-to-date snowfall through March 23, 2023 (first bar), compared to the least snowy season on record, what falls in an average April and an average full season of snowfall at New York City's Central Park.

(Data: NOAA/NWS; Graph: Inforgram)

O​ne reason is they had to wait until February for any measurable snow to fall. It finally arrived on the morning of Feb. 1, the first time Central Park's inaugural measurable snow of the season didn't happen until February.

U​sually, the city picks up its first measurable snow by mid-December.

C​entral Park's "heaviest" snowfall this season was a paltry 1.8 inches combined during the last two days of February.

N​ot Just The Big Apple

The lack of snow hasn't been confined to New York City. P​hiladelphia, Baltimore and Washington, D.C., haven't managed to scrape together an inch of snow this season.

I​f Baltimore's 0.2-inch season snowfall stands, it would be the city's least on record, ducking under the 0.7-inch total for 1949-50.

Philadelphia did have one season without any measurable snowfall, in the 1972-73 season that set New York City's current record. So, their 0.3 inches this season would tie 2019-20 for second-least, if that holds.

April Isn't Often Snowy

I​n an average year, New York City's last measurable snow of the season happens by March 14, according to data from the National Weather Service.

As seen in the bar graph at the top of the article, April has averaged only 0.4 inches of snow in Central Park from 1991 through 2020. There have only been four April days with measurable snow in New York this century.

T​he last such day was April 2, 2018, when 5.5 inches blanketed the city.

There have been 27 Aprils with at least 1 inch of snowfall. While 20 of these occurred either in the late 19th or early 20th centuries, some other recent snowier Aprils included 2000 (1.2 inches) and 2003 (4 inches).

While history tells us we can't completely write off April snow, the outlook this April isn't favorable. Near-average or warmer temperatures are expected in the East.

Why The Lack Of Snow?

T​he weather pattern since fall has been most favorable for snow from the West into the Northern Plains.

More specifically, low-pressure systems have most often plowed into the West Coast, intensified in the High Plains of the Rockies, then tracked into the northern Great Lakes or eastern Canada. T​hat's a pattern typical of late fall or spring, steering winter storms through the Dakotas or areas nearby.

M​eanwhile, high pressure has been stubbornly in place over eastern Canada and the Northeast, keeping much of that area warmer than average. Incidentally, this is almost the exact opposite pattern that delivered the last snowy April to the New York City metro in .

Anomaly in the upper-level weather pattern over the U.S. and Canada from Oct. 1, 2022, through March 21, 2023. Areas of persistent lower pressure are highlighted by the "L" and the blue contours over the West and Plains. Areas of higher pressure are highlighted by the "H" and the green and yellow contours over eastern Canada and the East.

(Original analysis: NOAA/PSL )

A​ccording to the Southeast Regional Climate Center, it's been the in New York City, Philadelphia and Baltimore.

W​hen cold air swept into the Northeast, it whipped across the Great Lakes and manufactured two rounds of prolific lake-effect snow in Buffalo and Watertown, New York, in late November and December.

January storm tracks brought snow to the interior Northeast but pulled warm air into the Interstate 95 Northeast Urban Corridor, with rain the result.

F​rom late February into March, additional winter storms hit the Northeast but were either too warm to generate snow in the corridor from New York City to Washington, D.C., or tracked too far offshore.

The skyline of lower Manhattan and One World Trade Center is reflected in the top of a granite monument as the sun rises in New York City on Jan. 26, as seen from Jersey City, New Jersey.

(Gary Hershorn/Getty Images)

So, the odds strongly suggest 2022-23 could be a historically low snow season in both New York City and Baltimore.

The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, .