Spring sprang early, but will soon go splat.
Central Park reached a sweltering 80 degrees Tuesday, making for the earliest day in the year to reach that temperature — though the mercury is expected to plunge back into the 30s in the coming days.
High winds and cold will put an end to the record, summer-like March interlude by late Thursday — and lead to a chilling St. Patrick’s Day weekend worthy of breaking out the sweaters.
“I hate to be the bearer of bad news … but spring does not occur by simply flipping a switch,” explained Accuweather Senior Meterologist Bob Larson, emphasizing that New Yorkers are in for a “setback” on Thursday.
“It’s going to be a harsh reality check that it is, in fact, still the first half of March.”
Central Park recorded an incredible 80 degrees Tuesday afternoon, closing out several warm days that sent New Yorkers flocking to greenspace and busting out picnic blankets.
That sweaty reading is the average that Central Park typically sees in the middle of June, according to Larson.
It made for the earliest 80-degree day on record — beating out the previous one set when Central Park hit 85 degrees on March 13, 1990.
The balmy weather also made for several other daily temperature records in the tristate area: Newark hit 82 degrees, Hartford had a record high of 79 and LaGuardia tied for its record of 78.
The record-breaking day was only made possible by a perfect alignment of sunshine and low winds.
“If you’re going to smash a record, it’s got to be dry, it’s got to be sunny and the wind direction has to be just so. And all those things fell into place and perfectly aligned yesterday,” said Larson.
While Thursday morning is expected to be relatively similar to Wednesday’s high 50s temperatures, high winds will cause temperatures to plummet to the 40s by the afternoon and back to a bone-chilling 32 degrees at night.
The chill will remain through the weekend, with cloudy conditions forecasted for Sunday, expected to keep the real feel at a frosty 38 degrees.
With the impending cold front in mind, New Yorkers made sure to take advantage of the brief warmth — especially considering it comes just 15 days after the blizzard dumped 19 inches of snow in Central Park.
“I think this is my first time wearing shorts in about 4 months,” said Manhattanite Joe Jun, 26, who was enjoying a picnic in the park with Taylor Torgerson, 25.
“I’m used to wearing winter clothes until about April. So this is a nice change of pace.”
Anya Zaripova, 39, spent her entire Monday in the park “just doing loops and loops, revisiting my favorite paths, and just taking it all in.”
“It feels like I’ve been waiting for this for a long time! I’m a summer child, so I love the sun,” said Zaripova, an artist originally from Russia now living in Manhattan.
“I feel fantastic and I’ve been enjoying the weather.”
Giulia Spena, 35, of Italy, said she had planned to visit Central Park on her holiday, but was shocked that the weather would be perfect for a stroll.
“My brother had told me not to come a couple of days back because of the snowstorm so it’s surprising that it’s warmer today,” she said.
Similarly, Frederic Fellague, 52, was eager to take full advantage of the break away from the cloudy, chilly and “not nice” weather from his home in Paris, France.
“The weather is extraordinary. Super pleasant. We rode a bike around Central Park, and it was very, very nice,” he said.
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