After weeks of summer-like conditions, New Yorkers woke up this morning to temperatures below freezing. This cold snap is a reminder that what goes up must come down, especially when the calendar still reads March.

The city reached a high of 54°F early yesterday and then saw the temperature drop throughout the afternoon.   The dramatic cool down was accompanied by a strong north wind with gusts of 43-mph recorded in Central Park.  The wind chill made it feel like it was in the 30’s.  This frosty change is a huge departure from the record highs we saw only a few days ago.  Last week, on the first day of spring, we had a high temperature of 73°F and a low of 55°F.  Our normal high for this time of year is 53°F.

This plunge in temperature, as jarring as it may feel, has brought us back to average March conditions. Local forecasters, however, are expecting a brief warm-up followed by a return to more seasonable temperatures later this week.