Freak MAY snow storm compounds lockdown misery for New Yorkers with thousands taking to Twitter in disbelief as flurries fall in Central Park and parts of the state seeing more snowfall than all of February(20 Pics)

A freak May snow storm compounded lockdown misery for millions of New Yorkers over the weekend, with many taking to Twitter in disbelief after snowfall in Central Park.

Mother's Day weekend got off to a chilly start Saturday thanks to the polar vortex bringing cold air down from the north. 

Snow was detected in New York City's Central Park on Saturday, equaling a record set in 1977 for the latest snowfall of the year. Parts of the state have now seen more snowfall in May than for the whole of February.  

The National Weather Service New York tweeted Saturday: 'All 6 of our climate sites (EWR, NYC, BDR, LGA, JFK, ISP) reported a T of snow early this morning. Officially, the month of May has the exact same amount of snow as the month of February for 5 of these sites. 

'Islip, NY has officially had a snowier May than February.'  

In New York, some residents saw flurries drop into their backyards and the NWS reported there was snow in Central Park. Images shared online showed flakes falling in Manhattan. 

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Mother's Day weekend got off to a chilly start thanks to the polar vortex bringing cold air from the north

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Snow was detected in New York City's Central Park on Saturday, equaling a record set in 1977 for the latest snowfall of the year; parts of the state have now seen more snowfall in May than for the whole of February

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'In case you need anymore evidence the world is ending, it's snowing in May in New York', one resident said

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The National Weather Service New York said Islip, NY has officially had a snowier May than February

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In New York, some residents saw flurries drop into their backyards and shared pictures of snow in Manhattan

'Snow in Central Park! In May!' the NWS wrote. 'The Central Park Automated Surface Observing System (ASOS) recorded snow. This ties the record snow set in 1977.   

New Yorkers shared their disbelief at the flurries, with @VoiceOfValor writing: 'It snowed in NYC in May!!! As if 2020 wasnt crazy enough already.'

@vivekrjain added: 'What is happening?' @macmurph said: 'This has been one wacky May. Never have I ever seen snow in the New York City metro area this late.' 

'It is currently snowing in New York City. Actual snow. In May. 2020 is the weirdest year', Alex Willimott tweeted.  

The city has been under lockdown since the end of March and is the epicenter of the virus outbreak. 

As of Sunday it had more than 177,000 confirmed cases and a confirmed death toll of 14, 482, with 5,313 probable deaths. 

@jabbermaster tweeted: 'I never thought I’d see snow in New York City in May. I wish that were the most notable thing I saw today that I never thought I’d see in New York City.'   

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 Mother's Day weekend got off to a chilly start on the east coast on Saturday thanks to the polar vortex bringing cold air

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The city has been under lockdown since the end of March and is the epicenter of the virus outbreak

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The National Weather Service New York tweeted: 'All 6 of our climate sites (EWR, NYC, BDR, LGA, JFK, ISP) reported a T of snow early this morning. Officially, the month of May has the exact same amount of snow as the month of February for 5 of these sites. 'Islip, NY has officially had a snowier May than February'

Some higher elevation areas in northern New York and New England reported snowfall accumulations of up to 10 inches, while traces of snow were seen along the coast from Maine to Boston to as far south as Manhattan.

John Cannon, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Gray, Maine, said parts of northern New England saw as much as 10 inches of snow and even coastal areas of Maine and New Hampshire got a dusting. There were even reports of flurries in Boston.

'We´ve had several inches in many areas in the Northeast. This is a rare May snow event,' he said.

The hardest hit areas were hill town communities like Sugar Hill, New Hampshire, which got 10.5 inches, and Carrabasset Valley in Maine, which got 9 inches, he said.

Conditions at the Mount Washington Observatory, atop the highest peak in the northeast, were downright arctic Saturday afternoon, with the wind chill at minus 22 degrees Fahrenheit and winds gusting at 87 mph.

In many areas, the snowfall was one for the record books, even if it didn't stick around. Massachusetts had not seen measurable snow in May since 2002, while in Manhattan´s Central Park, the flakes tied a record set in 1977 for latest snow of the season.

The wintry weather came two days after Vermont began to lift restrictions on tennis, golf and other outdoor activities that had been imposed to curb the coronavirus outbreak. 

Gov. Phil Scott tweeted sympathy to Vermonters frustrated by the weather following weeks of being inside.

'I know snow on May 9th isn´t a welcome sight for many Vermonters, just as we´re cautiously allowing outdoor recreation to get going again,' he wrote. 'But this is just a snapshot in time. Just like better weather is ahead, better days will come, as well. We will get through this, together.'

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A freak May snow storm compounded lockdown misery for millions of New Yorkers over the weekend, with many taking to Twitter in disbelief a flurry fell in Central Park

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In this photo provided by Robert Beretta, snow accumulates on the grass and vehicles in Monroe, N.Y., Saturday, May 9, 2020. Mother's Day weekend got off to an unseasonably snowy start in areas of the Northeast thanks to the polar vortex. (Robert Beretta via AP)

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In this photo provided by Timothy Ferris, snow accumulates on the grass and trees in Syracuse, N.Y., Saturday, May 9, 2020. Mother's Day weekend got off to an unseasonably snowy start in areas of the Northeast thanks to the polar vortex. (Timothy Ferris via AP)

Usually the polar vortex is a batch of cold air that stays trapped in the Arctic all winter, but a couple times during the season, it wanders south and brings bone-chilling cold and snow to Canada and parts of the United States.

A low pressure system off the coast of southern New England helped pull cold air down from the north, said lan Dunham, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Norton, Massachusetts.

Cannon said the snow will give way to strong winds upward of 40 and 50 mph in much of the Northeast for the remainder of Saturday, along with unusually cold conditions. 

There were freeze watches and warnings out for much of the Northeast. 

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A horse grazes on new grass poking through the snow at Wedgewood Stables in Lanesborough, Mass. on Sunday 

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The greens and fairways are covered in snow, just as golf courses were starting to open for the season at Country Club of Pittsfield, Mass., on Saturday. Mother's Day weekend got off to an unseasonably snowy start in areas of the Northeast