STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.— Good morning! The snow has started. Flakes began falling at about 5 a.m., and by 6 a.m., snow had accumulated to about a quarter of an inch, as observed in Randall Manor along Henderson Avenue.

Right now, according to AccuWeather, it’s 14 degrees with a RealFeel of 3 degrees. There is a 100 percent chance of snow today, and with the cold already biting, we’re beginning to hear about closures and cancellations across Staten Island.

As you know, I cover food, and in that realm I can confirm that Helen Lau has closed Empire East at the Staten Island Mall for the day. As of this morning, the Staten Island Mall itself remains open, though individual store hours may vary.

Beyond restaurants, church services at St. John’s Lutheran Church on Jewett Avenue have been cancelled. We’re continuing to monitor additional announcements as they come in.

I’ll be going live at 9 a.m. from Beans ’n’ Leaves Coffee Shop or the King’s Arms Diner in West Brighton, whoever is open. Join me on the SILive.com Facebook page for real‑time updates.

Looking ahead, I can confirm that Monsignor Farrell High School will be closed tomorrow, Monday, Jan. 26.

Please check back here for ongoing updates, and if you have information to share—including closures, delays, or weather conditions in your neighborhood—feel free to reach out. I’ll be on duty throughout the morning and can be reached at silvestri@siadvance.com.

Stay safe and stay in touch.

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A typical snowy Staten Island day at home, work and play

In the meantime, for your entertainment—and reading pleasure—here’s a little snowy stroll down memory lane. As a native Staten Islander, I can tell you firsthand: winter here does not play around. Over my (relatively) little lifetime, I’ve seen some truly punishing storms, and Staten Island has endured more than its fair share of historic blizzards that brought daily life to a grinding halt.

Ask longtime residents about the gold standard for snowstorms, and many will immediately point to the January 7–8, 1996 blizzard. Roughly 27 inches of snow fell, burying neighborhoods so fast that plows simply couldn’t keep up. Snowdrifts rose several feet high, transportation shut down for days, and entire blocks vanished beneath car‑deep snow. It’s the storm people still compare all others to.

Nearly a decade later came the February 11–12, 2006 blizzard, another heavyweight. Between 20 and 25 inches of snow piled up across the borough, with some areas topping the two‑foot mark. The storm set New York City’s all‑time single‑storm snowfall record and turned Staten Island’s wide residential streets into narrow snow canyons—cars completely swallowed by towering banks.

More recently, Blizzard Jonas made its mark on January 23–24, 2016, dumping about 24 inches of snow on Staten Island as part of the city’s largest official snowfall on record. Cleanup was especially challenging thanks to coastal flooding and emergency travel bans, a reminder that storms here are often intensified by strong winds and shoreline exposure.

Going back a bit further, the February 12–14, 1983 “Megalopolitan Blizzard” dropped roughly 22 inches of snow on Staten Island and caused widespread disruption. Cars were stranded on the Staten Island Expressway, buses stopped running, and entire neighborhoods were effectively frozen in place.

And then there’s the granddaddy of them all: the Great Blizzard of March 1888. While Staten Island saw about 20 to 21 inches of snow, it was the hurricane‑force winds that made the storm legendary. Enormous drifts formed, transportation and communication were crippled for weeks, not days, and the storm was so severe.