NEW YORK – New York City is facing this The coldest weather it has seen in a long timeand parts of New York and New Jersey could expect a white Christmas with snow this week.

The cold triggered a First Alert Weather Day at the start of the day on Monday, but temperatures rose to over 20°C in the afternoon. Highs will be in the upper 20s but will feel like the mid 20s with the wind chill.

Cloud cover is expected to increase overnight and a late snow shower is possible well north and west of the city.

This arctic air mass blew with the coldest temperatures the city has experienced in all of 2024 and all of last winter. Highs will gradually increase each day this week and fall back to average on Friday.

Will there be a white Christmas this year?

Christmas Eve will likely start with a few snow showers Tuesday morning, then skies will brighten in the afternoon.

The window for snow in New York City appears to be between 7 a.m. and 10 a.m., with up to a half-inch of snow accumulation possible.

Up to 1 to 2 inches is possible at higher elevations north and west of the city. The system is expected to produce a quick round of light showers lasting two to three hours at each location.

An accumulation of at least one centimeter on the ground is considered a white Christmas and therefore depends on how the temperatures develop in the afternoon.

Skies are likely to brighten and temperatures will rise above freezing, but parts of the area could still have some coverage on the ground through Wednesday morning.

Christmas Day will bring a mix of sun and clouds with highs in the mid to upper 30s.

The last time New York City experienced a white Christmas was in 2009, and historically the city has only an 11% chance.

View our full offering The winter snow outlook for the season can be found hereand stay with the First Alert Weather team for the latest alerts.

Live radar around the Tri-State area