Why New York is a wet and warm wonderland this Christmas

Before and after picture of New York…

In the movies, New York is always cold and covered in snow at Christmas – but this season it’s an unseasonably warm and wet wonderland.

Hundreds of record highs are expected to fall on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day across eastern parts of the US and Canada, with temperatures forecast as high as 77F (25C) in Georgia, 75F further north in Washington, and 15C (59F) in Toronto.

While the East enjoys spring-like warmth, forecasters predict heavy snow across the West while tornadoes have been reported as a storm system crosses parts of the South.

In a reversal of a traditional Christmas, forecasters expect temperatures in New York to be several degrees higher than in Los Angeles.

Bruce Bombara, a construction worker who was wearing a t-shirt outside Penn Station in Manhattan, told the BBC that he was freezing this time last year. “I think it’s great that there’s no snow – I love it. It lingers too long. I’ll take the rain over snow any day.”

“Oh God this time last year I remember it was cold and dry,” said Lillian White as she waited for a cab. “No, I don’t miss the snow. I don’t miss the inconvenience of it – especially from last year. I do miss the snowflakes though.”

But for Montana Cole, a student originally from Chicago who was wearing a sweatshirt and shorts, the unseasonable weather in New York felt all wrong.

“I think snow is a lot better than this rain. I grew up with seeing snow at this time of the year. Right now it doesn’t really feel like Christmas.”

Source BBC