The days after Christmas are shaping up to bring a dramatic split in weather across the U.S., with a wintry blast targeting parts of the Northeast — including the potential for New York City’s biggest snowfall in years — while sections of the South head into late December with unusually hot temperatures.
New York City is under a winter storm warning from 4 p.m. local time on Friday, Dec. 26, through 1 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 27. The city could see as much as eight inches of snow, according to NBC affiliate WNBC, which reported that even four inches in Central Park would mark its highest snowfall since 2022.
That year, a winter storm swept through the city on Jan. 7, dumping significant snow — including more than eight inches at LaGuardia Airport in Queens.
The weekend storm could complicate post-holiday travel. The NYC Emergency Management Department issued a travel advisory beginning Friday night and lasting into Saturday. WNBC reported snow may begin around 6 p.m. Friday, with the heaviest snowfall expected overnight into early Saturday, tapering off around 6 a.m.
Winter storm warnings also extend across other parts of the Tri-State area from Friday through Saturday, including areas northeast into Connecticut and out to Long Island.
To the southwest, northern New Jersey is included in the warning as well, according to CNN. The network reported that New York’s Hudson Valley — along with Albany and Binghamton — is also expected to be impacted.
Philadelphia may see a wintry mix, too. CNN reported the city could get sleet, freezing rain and snow Friday, with totals forecast between one and three inches.
Meanwhile, not every region is cooling down. Parts of the country saw record-breaking heat on Christmas Day, with temperatures feeling more like spring in some places, according to The Guardian.
Oklahoma City hit 77 degrees Fahrenheit on Christmas, surpassing its previous record set in 1982 of 71.6 degrees Fahrenheit.
Other southern cities — including Austin and Dallas, Texas, and Charlotte, N.C. — also saw temperatures above 77 degrees Fahrenheit that day. The Guardian reported the unseasonably warm stretch is expected to continue through the week.
