He got a flurry of reactions.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani was mocked online for seemingly playing it safe in his announcement to New Yorkers that “3–16 inches of snow” could fall this weekend — after past City Hall administrations have created their own political nightmares for their handling of winter storms.
“3-16, way to narrow down the forecast,” one user on X commented.
“Saying that NYC is going to get between 3 and 16 inches of snow is nonsense,” another person said. “That tells you absolutely nothing. Citing numbers with a probability range of 5% to 95% is idiotic and moronic.”
“Maybe they forgot the 1 in front of the 3? Idk ?” another well-meaning commenter suggested.
Mamdani shared the head-scratching forecast around 4:30 p.m., while New York City was already under a winter storm watch, issued by the National Weather Service, calling for 6-12 inches of snow.
“NYC is forecasted to get 3–16 inches of snow this weekend. And we’re ready,” Hizzoner wrote.
Mamdani added that the city will be placed under a Code Blue warning, which is issued ahead of freezing temperatures and loosens homeless shelters’ capacity restrictions to ensure no one is left on the streets overnight.
“Tomorrow, we’ll begin pre-snow treatment, brining highways and major streets. Once the storm hits,
@NYCSanitation and city workers will be out around the clock, keeping our city moving,” his post read.
The upcoming storm — dubbed Winter Storm Fern — is expected to barrel into the tri-state area on Sunday morning and the snow could stick around until Monday.
If the Big Apple gets at least a foot of snow, it would be the most in the city since February 2021, when 16.8 inches fell in Central Park.
Snowstorms in the five boroughs have a history of leaving their mark on City Hall as past mayors have been embroiled in controversy over botched responses.
In November 2018, New York City was practically paralyzed by a snowstorm that dropped just 6 inches of snow.
Former Mayor Bill de Blasio chalked up the city’s inadequate response to “bad luck” — not poor planning.
De Blasio’s predecessor, former Mayor Mike Bloomberg, was forced to fight back political fallout in December 2010 when a blizzard crippled the city.
Bloomberg later called his failings a “character building” experience.
