New York City Weather Archive

Easter Sunday Weather Highlights for New York (1970 - 2013)

• 1970 (March 29) - Rain that began before sunrise changed to sleet and snow after 10:00.  When it ended late in the afternoon, four inches had piled up - a record amount for Easter Sunday (and the only snow that fell in March). 

 

• 1973 (April 22) - With a high of 86 degrees, this tied 1962 as NYC's warmest Easter Sunday - which coincidentally also fell on 4/22. 

 

• 1976 (April 18) - Under clear skies temperatures sizzled, more appropriate for frying eggs on the sidewalk rather than dying them, as the high soared to 96 degrees.  This was 35 degrees above average and the hottest temperature ever reported in April (later tied in 2002).

 

• 1978 (March 26) - It was a miserable, raw day as rain fell between 9AM-3PM (0.62" was measured) and afternoon temperatures were only in the mid-30s.

 

• 1981 (April 19) -  Although the temperature was 11 degrees cooler than yesterday, it was still a beauty of a day, as the high reached 68 degrees (six above average) under partly cloudy skies.

 

• 1983 (April 3) - Close to two inches of rain fell during the morning, making this the wettest Easter on record.  Besides the rain it was also quite chilly, with a high of only 46 degrees.

 

• 1986 (March 30) - Although Easter fell early this year, it was the warmest since 1976 as the high hit 78, twenty-four degrees above average.

 

• 1990 (April 15) - 1.47" of rain fell, but it was over by 8AM so the "Easter Parade" along 5th Avenue wasn't washed out.

 

• 1996 (April 7) - Chilly and raw (high of 48/low of 34) with 0.69" of rain, most which fell during the afternoon.

 

• 2002 (March 31) - This was the 4th year in a row in which some rain fell on Easter.

 

• 2007 (April 8) - With a high of only 41 degrees and a frosty low of 30, this was the coldest Easter Sunday since 1940 (based on mean temperature). 

 

• 2008 (March 23) - For the second year in a row Easter dawned with a frosty low of 30 degrees (but Easter was 17 days later last year). 

 

• 2011 (April 24) - With a high of 80 (sixteen degrees above average), this was the warmest Easter Sunday since 1976. (And just the sixth Easter with a high of 80 or warmer.)  However, showers between 6-9PM put somewhat of a damper on the day.  The 0.50" of rain that fell was the most since Easter of 1996.   

 

• 2012 (April 8) - Sunny and pleasant with a high of 67, nine degrees above average.

Today in New York Weather History: April 14

 

• 2014 - This was the fourth day in a row with highs in the 70s.  The average high during these days was 75 degrees, fifteen above average.

Comparing Weather Conditions of Yankees & Mets Home Openers

In two previous posts I summarized game day weather conditions for each Home Opener of New York's Yankees and Mets.  This post, however, brings the two teams together with a side-by-side comparison, found below, of each year's first home game, going back to 1970.  First, some key takeaways:

 

• The average temperature during both teams' home openers has been in the upper 50s (57 degrees for Yankees, 59 degrees for Mets).  For the Yankees it's ranged from 35 (twice) to 76 degrees, while for the Mets the temperature range has been from 40 to 90 (twice).

• Both teams have had to contend with precipitation during six of their home openers, about once every seven or eight years.  The Yankees, however, are the only team to play in snow.  It's happened twice, in 1996 and again in 2003. (In 1974 snow fell during the morning on the day of the Mets home opener but it was over long before the first pitch.)

 

• Temperatures have been in the 70s for the Yankees six times; they all occurred between 1976 and 1988.  The Mets had the last home opener with temperatures in the 70s, back in 2010. 

• The 1970s was a decade of cold home openers for the Mets.  Afternoon temperatures were in the 40s for seven of them between 1970 and 1978.  The Yankees had consistently chilly/raw conditions between 1996-2005.

• There have been six seasons in which the two teams' home openers were played in very different weather conditions.  The greatest contrast was in 1977 when the temperature was in the mid-40s for the Yankees while the mercury climbed to 90 for the Mets five days later.  Not far behind was 1991 when the Mets once again started the season on a day the temperature soared to 90; a week later the Yankees home opener was played in rainy conditions with a temperature of 50.

 

• Six seasons have had home openers with bad weather for both teams while five had good conditions for both, the most recent being last year (when both teams played on the same day, April 2).

 

COMPARISON OF YANKEES & METS HOME OPENERS (1970 -2013)
	Yankees				Mets
Year	Date	Temp	Conditions		Date	Temp	Conditions
1970	Apr 07	53	Partly Cloudy		Apr 14	48	Drizzle
1971	Apr 13	68	Sunny		Apr 06	41	Light Rain
1972	Apr 18	68	Clear		Apr 15	45	Sprinkles
1973	Apr 09	55	Clear		Apr 06	60	Partly Cloudy
1974	Apr 06	43	Overcast		Apr 10	41	Incr. Clouds
1975	Apr 11	56	Partly Cloudy		Apr 08	45	Partly Cloudy
1976	Apr 15	76	Sunny		Apr 09	47	Clear
1977	Apr 07	45	Sunny		Apr 12	90	Clear
1978	Apr 13	76	Sunny		Apr 07	47	Partly Cloudy
1979	Apr 10	55	Sunny		Apr 10	55	Sunny
1980	Apr 18	65	Sunny		Apr 10	72	Sunny
1981	Apr 09	75	Sprinkles		Apr 15	52	Sunny
1982	Apr 11	50	Overcast		Apr 13	53	Sprinkles
1983	Apr 12	56	Partly Cloudy		Apr 05	62	Partly Cloudy
1984	Apr 10	53	Partly Cloudy		Apr 17	64	Sunny
1985	Apr 16	75	Sunny		Apr 09	47	Windy
1986	Apr 08	75	Mostly Cloudy		Apr 14	67	Sunny
1987	Apr 13	52	Overcast		Apr. 7	57	Overcast
1988	Apr 05	73	Sunny		Apr 12	56	Mostly Cloudy
1989	Apr 07	50	Overcast		Apr 03	58	Overcast
1990	Apr 12	54	Partly Cloudy		Apr 09	62	Sunny
1991	Apr 15	50	Light Rain		Apr 08	90	Partly Cloudy
1992	Apr 07	60	Cloudy		Apr 10	71	Hazy Sun
1993	Apr 12	55	Overcast		Apr 05	58	Sunny
1994	Apr 04	60	Clear		Apr 11	68	Clear
1995	Apr 26	68	Clear		Apr 28	72	Partly Cloudy
1996	Apr 09	35	Wet Snow		Apr 01	52	Light Rain
1997	Apr 11	48	Sunny		Apr 13	67	Partly Cloudy
1998	Apr 10	57	Sunny		Mar 31	86	Sunny
1999	Apr 09	45	Rain		Apr 12	55	Windy
2000	Apr 12	50	Sunny		Apr 03	64	Overcast
2001	Apr 02	49	Overcast		Apr 09	78	Partly Cloudy
2002	Apr 05	42	Mostly Cloudy		Apr 01	60	Sunny
2003	Apr 08	35	Overcast		Mar 31	40	Windy
2004	Apr 08	54	Showers		Apr 12	52	Rain
2005	Apr 03	50	Overcast		Apr 11	52	Clear
2006	Apr 11	68	Sunny		Apr 06	50	Overcast
2007	Apr 02	56	Foggy		Apr 09	49	Sunny
2008	Apr 01	67	Overcast		Apr 08	58	Sunny
2009	Apr 16	64	Clear		Apr 13	58	Clear
2010	Apr 13	56	Sprinkles		Apr 05	75	Clear
2011	Mar 31	43	Raw		Apr 08	49	Raw
2012	Apr 13	65	Clear		Apr 05	58	Sunny
2013	Apr 01	62	Incr. Clouds		Apr 01	62	Incr. Clouds
2014	Apr 07	53	Overcast		Mar 31	56	Clearing
Source: NOAA Local Climatological Data

Analysis: The First 60-Degree Day of the Year

There are a number of ways to gauge how cold a winter has been: mean temperature; the number of days with sub-freezing highs or single-digit lows; streaks of days with below average temperatures; or a dearth of mild readings.  For instance, this year New York didn't experience its first 60-degree day until March 11.  That's more than five weeks later than the average date for this occurrence (Feb. 2) - and the latest date since 2003.  Here are some other interesting tidbits:

 

• Between 1902-1970 the average date for the first 60-degree reading was Feb. 22.  Since then the average date is nearly three weeks earlier.

• Between 1902-1970 the first 60-degree day occurred on March 1 or later in half of the years, but since 1971 it has occurred after March 1 just 20% of the time.

• Since 1902 the first 60-degree day has occurred on New Year's Day five times: 1919, 1966, 1973, 1979 and 2005. 

• The latest date for the first 60-degree reading was April 8, in 1915 and again in 1970. 

• Once every 10 years the first 60 has occurred in the first three days of January, while once every 23 years the first 60 occurred on April 1 or later.

• In 2007 not only was the first 60-degree reading of the year early (Jan. 5), the mercury on that day soared to 72 degrees. 

• In 1997 and 1998 the first 60-degree temperature occurred on the same date, a very early Jan. 3.  And 1906 and 1907 had their first 60 on Jan.  4.  At the other end of the spectrum, 1962 and 1963 both shared March 25 as the date of their first 60.

• For four years in a row, 2005-2009, the first 60-degree reading occurred in the first nine days of the year.

• In 1943 the year's first 60-degree temperature, 63 degrees, came just five days after the morning low was 8 below zero.

 

FIRST 60-DEGREE TEMPERATURE OF THE YEAR
(Since 1902)
Earliest			Latest
Jan. 1	2005		Apr. 8	1970
Jan. 1	1979		Apr. 8	1915
Jan. 1	1973		Apr. 5	1958
Jan. 1	1966		Apr. 4	1931
Jan. 1	1919		Apr. 1	1941
Jan. 2	2000		Mar. 31	1940
Jan. 3	1998		Mar. 31	1917
Jan. 3	1997		Mar. 30	1982
Jan. 3	1950		Mar. 30	1924

New York's Snowiest 30-Day Periods

In the winter of 2010 New York experienced its snowiest month of all time when 36.9" of snow fell in February.  Then the following winter January 2011 had 36.0", making it the second snowiest month.  Although these are the record amounts for calendar months, there has been a 30-day period that crossed months that had more snow - the current winter (2014).  Between Jan. 21 and Feb. 19, 42.1" of snow fall piled up.  Here are some additional points of interest:

 

• 100 years ago, the winter of 1914 also had a hefty 30-day period of snow as 35.2" fell between Feb. 10 and March 11.

• Although not large enough to make the top 10 list below, the 25.3" of snow that fell between March 12 and April 8, 1956 is worth noting because of its late date.

• In the winter of 1923 26.4" of snow fell between Jan. 3 and Feb. 2 and then four days later another 30-day period of excessive snow began, with 26.1" falling between Feb. 6 and March 7.

• Three winters had overlapping 30-day periods of excessive snowfall (30 inches or more).  Winter 1948 had three while the winters of 2011 and 2014 each had two.  In these cases only the period with the largest amount was included in the top-10 chart. 

MOST SNOW TO FALL IN 30 DAYS
(Since Winter of 1902)
		# of
Snowfall	Dates	Snowfalls
42.1"	Jan 21 - Feb 19, 2014	9
38.2"	Jan 28 - Feb 26, 2010	5
37.9"	Dec 26, 1947 - Jan 24, 1948	6
37.6"	Jan 7 - Feb 5, 2011	7
36.0"	Jan 13 - Feb 11, 1978	4
35.2"	Feb 10 - March 11, 1914	7
34.1"	Jan 15 - Feb 13, 1961	5
33.0"	Dec 19, 1995 - Jan 17, 1996	6
30.8"	Dec 15, 1948 - Jan 13, 1949	3
29.6"	Jan 26 - Feb 24, 1994	6
(Analysis of NOAA's monthly Local Climatological Data reports)

 

January/February 2014 Ranks Second Among New York's Snowiest Consecutive Months

The snow that piled up in New York during the winter of 2014 made it one of the ten snowiest on record (going back to 1869).  The bulk of the 57 inches fell in January (19.7") and February (28.8").  Their combined total of 48.5" is the second greatest amount of snow to fall in back-to-back months.  Only the winter of 2011 had a combo with more as December picked up 20.1" and January saw 36.0". 

 

Three of the winters found on the chart below had 20" or more of snow for both of the months: Jan/Feb 1978, Jan/Feb 1996 and Dec 2010/Jan 2011.  And three winters make two appearances: 1996, 2010 and 2011.  (If March 2014 sees nine inches or more it will also have two slots on the list.)

 

NEW YORK'S SNOWIEST BACK-TO-BACK MONTHS
(Since 1869)
Months	1st Month	2nd Month	Combined
Dec 2010/Jan 2011	20.1"	36.0"	56.1"
Jan/Feb 2014	19.7"	28.8"	48.5"
Jan/Feb 1996	26.1"	21.2"	47.3"
Dec 1947/Jan 1948	29.6"	15.3"	44.9"
Jan/Feb 1978	20.3"	23.0"	43.3"
Jan/Feb 1923	24.5"	18.8"	43.3"
Feb/Mar 1967	23.6"	17.4"	41.0"
Feb/Mar 2011	36.0"	4.8"	40.8"
Dec 1904/Jan 1905	21.6"	18.4"	40.0"
Feb/Mar 1896	9.5"	30.5"	40.0"
Jan/Feb 2010	2.1"	36.9"	39.0"
Feb/Mar 1914	17.4"	21.5"	38.9"
Jan/Feb 1994	12.0"	26.4"	38.4"
Dec/Jan 1996	11.5"	26.1"	37.6"
Dec/Jan 1893	27.0"	10.6"	37.6"
Dec 2003/Jan 2004	19.8"	17.3"	37.1"
(Analysis of data from www.NWS.NOAA.gov)

Longest Streaks of High Temperatures at 32 Degrees or Colder

Since the winter of 1960 there have been nineteen streaks of seven days or longer in which the high temperature was 32 degrees or colder; six lasted ten or more days.  The most recent occurred this winter, a streak of seven days between Feb. 6-12, 2014.  Not only was it the longest such streak since January 2005, it was the longest during the month of February since 1979.  More streak observations:

 

 

• The lengthiest streak came in the winter of 1961 when New York experienced sixteen days in a row of sub-freezing highs from Jan. 19-Feb. 3.  The "warmest" temperature during this timeframe was only 29 degrees.  The next longest streak was 40 years later, thirteen days in the winter of 2001 from Dec. 22-Jan. 3.

• No winter has had two of these streaks (but there have been numerous winters with more than one smaller streak of four, five or six days).

• Three have been in December - in 1962, 1963 and 1989 .  The latest streak was in February 1979 and extended from the 9th to 19th.  It was further distinguished by having six days in a row with lows in the single digits. 

• What was remarkable about the February 1979 streak was the fact that not only was it the latest of all but it had the most days with lows in the single digits - eight.  It and a 9-day streak in January 1968 share the distinction of the having coldest mean temperature; February 1979, however, had the coldest average high (20.5) while January 1968 had the coldest low (6.4).

• There were extended streaks in the consecutive winters of 1977, 1978 and 1979.  1977's streak was bookended by smaller streaks of five days before (broken up a day with a high of 41) and four days after (broken up by a day with a high of 36).  In total, 18 of the 20 days between Jan. 5-24 saw highs at freezing or below.

• The earliest of all the streaks occurred at the beginning of the winter of 1962/63 when there was a 7-day streak between Dec. 10-16.

• Fourteen of the nineteen streaks saw some mornings with lows in the single digits or colder (three of them had a day with a low below zero).

• The 13-day steak during the winter of 2000-01 had the highest mean temperature.  However, the recent 7-day streak in Feb. 2014 had the highest average low, 19.6 degrees.

 

LONGEST STREAKS WITH HIGH TEMPERATURES AT 32 DEGREES OR COLDER
(1960-2014)
# of		Average		Degrees
Days	Date Range	High	Low	<Average
16	1/19-2/3/1961	23.1	10.1	-15
13	12/22/2000 -1/3/2001	30.0	19.2	-9
12	1/14-25/2003	27.0	14.8	-11
12	1/27-2/7/1978	26.7	17.5	-9
11	1/8-18/1981	25.2	13.9	-12
11	2/9-19/1979	20.5	7.2	-19
9	1/16-24/2005	25.3	12.8	-13
9	1/23-31/2004	24.2	14.3	-12
9	1/3-11/1996	25.3	14.2	-12
9	12/17-25/1989	25.2	13.3	-15
9	1/11-19/1977	22.1	10.9	-15
9	1/5-13/1968	21.3	6.4	-19
8	1/15-22/1984	26.9	16.5	-10
8	1/8-15/1982	24.1	14.0	-13
7	2/6-12/2014	29.1	19.6	-10
7	1/7-13/2000	23.9	11.3	-13
7	1/5-11/1988	27.0	15.3	-11
7	12/15-21/1963	27.6	16.9	-18
7	12/10-16/1962	27.0	17.4	-18
Source: Nat'l. Climatic Center

Jack Frost Nipping at Your Nose: Cold Winter Days (1970 - 2013)

An average winter in New York has 18 days with high temperatures of 32 degrees or colder (20% of its days).  Since 1970 the number has ranged from as few as three, in the winter of 2002, to as many as 45, in 1977 (half of that winter's days).  Being that it's winter suggests that cold conditions would predominate, when, in fact, there aren't nearly as many of these cold days as there are days entirely above freezing (18 vs 34).  However, there have been eight very cold winters in which days of freezing weather or colder outnumbered the mild days.

 

WINTERS WITH MORE COLD DAYS THAN MILD DAYS
(1970-2013)
	Cold	Mild
	Days	Days
2011	22	17
2003	30	21
1996	28	25
1994	30	22
1981	30	23
1978	36	21
1977	45	17
1970	27	15
Average Winter	18	34

By month, only one January since 1970 had no freezing or colder days, and that was in 1990 (after one of the coldest Decembers on record).  The most such days, 25, occurred in 1977.   Meanwhile, three Februarys had no days of 32 or colder; in December it's happened eight times. 

 

WINTER DAYS WITH HIGHS OF 32 OR COLDER
(1970-2013)
	Average	Most	Year	Least	Year
Winter	18	45	1977	3	2002
December	4	17	1989	0	2013*
January	9	25	1977	0	1990
February	5	15	1979	0	2003*
*Most recent

Finally, although they occur infrequently, November and March (which fall outside of "meteorological" winter) occasionally experience days with highs of 32 or colder.  While March sees one of these days once ever one or two years, in November it happens just once every seven years.  And no November has had more than one of these cold days (with this winter being the most recent) while in March the most was six, in 1978, and five in 1984.  The winters of 1990 and 2009 have the distinction of being the only ones bookended by days at freezing or colder in both November and March. 

 

 

New York Weather Highlights for 2014

 JANUARY

2 - A sprawling winter storm moved into the area during the evening with snow beginning at 6:30 and continuing into the overnight hours.  In total 6.4" inches fell.  Besides snow and gusty winds, there was Arctic cold to contend with as the mercury fell from the upper 20s when the snow started, to 18 degrees by midnight, and down to 11 by daybreak.

3 - Snow ended before daybreak and the rest of the day had clear skies and frigid temperatures.  3.3" fell after midnight on top of the 3.1" that fell yesterday.  With a high of just 18 and a low of 9 (at midnight), the day's mean temperature was the coldest in five years. 

7 - The morning low of +4, the coldest reading in New York in 10 years, was fifty-one degrees colder than 24 hours earlier.  Wind chill values were in the -10 to -20 range.  And although the day's official high of 19 was reached just after midnight, temperatures in the afternoon were in the single digits, thirty degrees colder than average.

8 - This morning's low was 9 degrees, a reading that held steady for 15 consecutive hours, beginning at 4PM yesterday.

21 - After a week-and-a-half respite winter returned with a vengeance as wind-driven snow and plunging temperatures snarled the City.  By midnight temperatures had fallen into the low teens (wind chill was at zero) and 11" of snow was on the ground (with snow that fell after midnight the total accumulation was 11.5").  The timing of the snow couldn't have been worse for commuters as it began around 9AM and continued until 10PM.

22 - Arctic air overtook the region as yesterday's snowstorm exited.  With a high/low of 17/5, and a sub-zero wind chill, this was the coldest day of the winter (mean temperature). 

 

FEBRUARY

2 - Today's high of 56 degrees made this the mildest reading of the month (the month's coldest temperature would occur at the end of the month).  And fears that today's Super Bowl game in northern New Jersey would be played in cold and/or snowy conditions were allayed when the game time temperature was in the upper 40s. 

3 - After yesterday's brief respite, winter returned in a big way as eight inches of snow fell in the morning.  This snowfall was a record for the date.

5 - The fifth winter storm of the season punished the area with four inches of snow and a quarter-inch of sleet and freezing rain.  The precipitation fell heaviest between 1-6AM and snarled the AM commute.  This storm brought the winter's snowfall to 40.3" - the seventh time in the past 12 winters that more than 40 inches of more snow has fallen.

12 - With a high/low of 25/13, this was the 7th day in a row with a high temperature of 32 degrees or colder, making it the longest such streak since one of nine days in January 2005.  This week-long period was 10 degrees colder than average.  It was also the longest streak of cold weather in February since 1979, when there was one of 11 days.

13 - An intense winter storm moved up the East Coast and brought with it high winds, heavy snow in the morning (9.5"), rain in the evening (accompanied by thunder & lightning) and an additional 3" of snow after midnight.  This brought the season's snowfall over 50".

18 - A quick shot of snow fell between 5-10AM and accumulated 1.5".  This brought the total snowfall in the past 30 days (since Jan. 21) to 42.1" - the most ever in a 30-day period.  Today's snowfall was the 8th of one-inch or more in this timeframe.       

28 - This morning's frigid low of 9 degrees (22 degrees below average) was the latest date for a reading in the single digits since 1967 when the AM low on March 19 was +8.

 

MARCH

3 - A winter storm that, a few days ago, was predicted to dump significant amounts of snow on NYC (6-12"), was pushed to the south by an Arctic high and delivered a dusting of 0.1".  Today's high/low was only 31/17, fourteen degrees below average.

6 - Sunny and quite cold, with a high/low of 31/16.  This was the third day this month with a sub-freezing high, the most in the month of March since 1984, which had five.

11 - It was a beautiful early spring day as skies were sunny and the temperature soared to 66 degrees (19 above average).  This was the first 60-degree reading of the year, the latest date for this occurrence since 2003, when it happened on March 16.  Average date for the first 60 is Feb. 3 (since 1970).

13 - Between 3PM yesterday and 7AM this morning the temperature plunged from 56 degrees to 18.  This surge of Arctic cold was accompanied by wind gusts of 35-50 mph, which produced below zero wind chills.  Under clear skies today's afternoon temperature struggled to reach the mid-20s.

17 - With a high/low of 35/23 this was the coldest St. Paddy's Day in ten years.  However, although both years had the same mean temperature (29.0), this year's high was four degrees warmer, but the low was four degrees colder.  A winter storm, which dumped 6" of snow on DC, stayed just to our south for the second time this month.

27 - With a high/low of 44/22, today's mean temperature was 13 degrees below average.  This was the 27th day since Jan. 1 with a mean temperature 10 degrees or more below average - the most since 1936.  The average number of such days during the first three months of the year is 10.5.

 

APRIL

4 - The day was gray, raw and damp with drizzle and mist.  The afternoon temperature hovered around 42, twenty-five degrees colder than yesterday.

7 - Morning sunshine dimmed by mid-day and rain moved in late in the afternoon, but it held off until the Yankees' home opener had ended (they beat the Orioles 4-2).  The game was played under overcast skies with temperatures in the chilly low 50s.

11 - The temperature jumped to 75 degrees, making this the first 70-degree reading of the year (yesterday's high was 58).  This came 2-1/2 weeks later than the typical first 70 and was the latest date for this occurrence since 2003, when it happened on 4/15.

14 - This was the fourth day in a row with highs in the 70s.  The average high during these days was 75 degrees, fifteen above average.

15 - A strong cold front moved through early in the evening and cut the temperature nearly in half, from 63 degrees at 4PM to 33 by 11:30.  Steady rain (0.71") changed to snow/sleet after 10PM, which had a tough time accumulating since the ground had been warmed from four days in the 70s.

16 - The morning low of 31 degrees was the latest date for a temperature of 32 or colder since 1980, when the low dropped to 32 on April 17.  And the latest time a temperature was below 32 degrees this late was back 1943 when the low was 30 degrees - also on April 4/16.  Additionally, the dusting of snow that fell this morning was the latest for a trace of snow since 1997.

 

 

 

Frost-Free Winter Days: A History (1970 - 2013)

During a typical winter (Dec. 1 - Feb. 28), one-third of the days have temperatures that stay above freezing for the entire day.  (Some might be surprised to learn that there are nearly twice as many frost-free days than those days at freezing or colder - 34 vs. 18).  There have been as few as 15 of these "January thaw" days (winter of 1970) and as many as 58 (winters of 1998 and 2012). 

 

Since 1970 there have been 26 streaks of frost-free days that lasted 10 days or longer; half of the winters have had at least one; six had two (the most recent was last winter).  The longest lasted 31 days in the winter of 2006-07 between Dec. 10 and Jan. 9.  (So far this winter the longest streak has been seven days, in January.)  The 31-day streak in the winter of 2006-07 also had an 8-day streak within it in which the temperature never fell below 40 degrees.  There was also an 8-day streak above 40 degrees embedded in a 21-day streak in December 1998 and one of seven days during another 21-day streak in December 2001.

 

MOST & LEAST FROST-FREE DAYS
(Winters of 1970-2013)
Most	# of Days
2012	58
1998	58
2002	54
1999	49
1983	48
Average	34
Fewest
1970	15
2011	17
1977	17
2009	20
2001	20

 

Mild One Day, Snow the Next - A History of Dramatic Change

On February 2 of this year the high reached 56 degrees shortly before 2PM.  Less than 18 hours later, at daybreak on February 3, snow began falling and by mid-afternoon eight inches had piled up, making this the most drastic one-day change in weather conditions since March 16, 2007.  On that day 5.5" of sleet and snow fell one day after a springlike high of 67 degrees was reached.  Since 1970 there have been 26 instances of an inch or more of snow falling the day after a high of 50 degrees or warmer; however, on only five of those occasions was the accumulation four inches or more.  In addition to this winter's and that of 2007, here are the three other dates it's occurred:

 

• March 29, 1970 - On Easter Sunday 4.0" of snow fell the day after a high of 54 degrees.

• Feb 2, 2009 - 4.3" of snow fell one day after a high of 53 was reported.

• Feb 21, 2001 - A snowfall of 5.8" occurred the day after a high of 52.

 

The following two snowstorms occurred the day after the high temperature was above average, but below 50 degrees; however, they warrant mention because of the amount of snow that fell:

 

• Jan 21, 2014 - 11.0" fell the day after a high of 46 degrees was reached.

• April 6, 1982 - 9.6" fell the day after the temperature topped out at 48.   

 

Finally, a shout-out to the 1.2" of snow that fell on April 9, 2000 because it came the day after a high of 71 degrees.