NYC Weather: Snow Squalls, Polar Front Could Bear Down On City

NEW YORK CITY — A rude, cold awakening this weekend awaits New Yorkers who enjoyed recent balmy weather.

Snow — and potentially quite a bit of it — reenters the forecast Saturday, according to the National Weather Service. The white stuff's return could also be dangerous, as outlined in an updated hazardous weather outlook.

"A polar front will cross the region Saturday afternoon, with potential for a line of snow showers and embedded snow squalls to affect the region with a brief burst of heavy snow, northwest winds
gusts of 35 to 45 mph, and temps dropping towards freezing," the outlook states. "Roads could become hazardous if this event materializes."

Yes, the 60-plus degree temperatures that brought jacketless New Yorkers outside could be replaced by a polar front and snow squalls.

A snow squall is an "intense, but limited duration, period of moderate to heavy snowfall, accompanied by strong, gusty surface winds and possibly lightning," according to the National Weather Service.

Many New Yorkers first became acquainted with the concept of a snow squall on Jan. 30, 2019, when heavy snow and strong winds suddenly caused whiteout conditions.

Snow squalls Saturday are not a sure thing — the chance of precipitation that day stands at 50 percent as of Friday morning, the forecast states.

But forecasters still predict temperatures will drop Saturday and into Sunday, when the high will be 36 degrees. Unseasonably warm temperatures, however, won't be gone for long — President's Day will have a high of 56 degrees, according to the forecast.

Here's the complete National Weather Service forecast:

Friday
Sunny, with a temperature falling to around 37 by 5pm. Breezy, with a northwest wind around 23 mph, with gusts as high as 43 mph.

Friday Night
Mostly clear, with a low around 27. Northwest wind 12 to 17 mph becoming west 6 to 11 mph after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 29 mph.

Saturday
A slight chance of rain and snow showers between 11am and 1pm, then a chance of snow showers. Increasing clouds, with a high near 41. Wind chill values between 20 and 30. Breezy, with a southwest wind 8 to 13 mph becoming west 18 to 23 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 39 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%.

Saturday Night
Mostly clear, with a low around 22. Wind chill values between 10 and 15. Windy, with a northwest wind 21 to 26 mph decreasing to 14 to 19 mph after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 40 mph.

Sunday
Sunny, with a high near 36. Northwest wind 8 to 10 mph becoming southwest in the afternoon.

Sunday Night
Clear, with a low around 31.

Washington's Birthday
Sunny, with a high near 50.

Monday Night
Mostly cloudy, with a low around 37.

Tuesday
Rain, mainly after 8am. High near 56. Chance of precipitation is 80%.

Tuesday Night
Rain. Low around 52. Chance of precipitation is 80%.

Wednesday
A 40 percent chance of showers. Cloudy, with a high near 60.

Wednesday Night
Mostly cloudy, with a low around 37.

Thursday
A 40 percent chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 42.