1976 - It was a raw and chilly day, more like March 19, with a high/low of only 52/38. This was eighteen degrees below average. Morning showers made the day feel even colder.
1997 - Today was the only day of the month that warmed into the 80's (high was 83), the fewest such days since May 1983, which had none. (2003 and 2005 would also have no 80-degree days.) This lack of 80-degree temperatures helped make this the chilliest May in thirty years.
1963 - Up until today just 0.39" of rain had fallen in April and it appeared it would become the driest on record. However, an all-day rain brought 0.89" and the month ended up tied for third driest April. Today's rainfall was a record for the date, which is the 2nd smallest amount for a daily record (Sept. 9's daily record is 0.86", back in 1902).
2012 - The final nine days of April all had chillier than average temperatures - the longest such streak since the end of March last year. But despite these below average condtions, the month was the unprecented thirteenth in a row with above average temperatures.
2013 - With a high/low of 68/51, today's mean temperature was two degrees above average, just enough to move the month's mean temperature from 0.1 degree below average to right at the average. Thus, it joined August 1999 and August 1985 as the only months since 1979 to have a mean temperature on par with the monthly average. April's high was 0.1 above average; the low was 0.1 below average. However, what was far from average was the month's precipitation, which amounted to just 1.31". This was 71% below the norm of 4.51", making it the 5th driest April on record (and the driest in 50 years).
1981 - A late cold snap dropped the morning low to 31 degrees, the latest date of a freezing temperature in New York City in the 1979-2012 measurement period. This came a year after a low of 32 was reported on 4/17. (However, it's not unknown for outlying suburbs of NYC to have subfreezing lows into May.) Interestingly, the warmest temperature this month, 81 degrees, came at the beginning of April. This morning's frosty low was the coldest reading since March 21.
1991 - A steady, cold rain, sometimes on the heavy side, fell throughout the day and amounted to 2.28" - a record for the date. The high was only 46, seventeen degrees below average.
2000 - My flight to Pittsburgh, for an Easter visit to see my mother, was delayed by six hours due to inclement weather in the Mid-Atlantic states. 1.62" of rain fell, with more than half of it coming down between noon-3PM. It was also chilly as the high got up to just 49, fourteen degrees below average.
2007 - Today's high of 79, sixteen degrees above average, came after a seasonable low of 45.
2012 - Under sunny skies, today's high reached 71, the last day this month to be in the 70's. April had seven 70-degree days in total, one fewer than March.
1972 - The temperature at 4PM was a quite chilly 43 degrees, a drop of forty-three degrees from yesterday afternoon's 4PM reading of 86.
2005 - Today's high and low of 87/64 was 22 degrees above average, making this the warmest day of the month. It would be seven weeks before a hotter temperature was reached (93 degrees on June 8).
2009 - Rain during the PM hours dumped 1.79", with 0.87" falling between 8:19-10:19 PM. More precipitation fell today than in the entire month of March (1.75"). Temperatures were on the chilly side, with a high/low of 50/42, eight degrees below average.
1978 - The 1.96" of rain that fell between 8:30AM and 9PM accounted for much of the month's precipitation. It was also a record amount for the date. Today's high got up to only 50 degrees, twelve degrees below average.
1983 - 0.8 inches of snow fell in Central Park, the City's latest measurable snowfall in 100 years (0.5" fell on April 24, 1883). However, despite the snow, a cold rain was the main feature of the day. The high/low of 43/34 made this the chilliest day of the month.
1985 - Today's high of 88 was a rebound of 43 degrees from yesterday morning's low of 45.
1992 - This was the fourth day in a row with nearly identical high/low temperatures: 47/40, 46/41, 47/40 and 47/41 (today). These chilly highs were sixteen degrees colder than average.
2002 - It appears Mother Nature cut & paste a summer heat wave in the midde of the spring as the high/low of the past four days averaged 92/71, 26.5 degrees above normal. After highs in the 90's the previous three days, today "cooled down" to 89. The next 90-degree day wouldn't be for another two months (June 26).
2004 - The afternoon temperature soared to 85 after a morning low of 48.
2007 - Today was the 16th, and last, day in a row with colder than average temperatures, the longest such string of days during springtime in the years I've lived in NYC (since 1979). During this streak the mean temperature was 8 degrees chilllier than average. Nine days had lows in the 30's.
2013 - 0.05" of rain fell this evening, one year after 0.04" fell on this date and two years after 0.03" fell.
1994 - Under clear skies, the temperature rebounded from a morning low of 42 degrees to 68 (clouds moved in later in the afternoon). This was also the day of the Mets home opener, which was played during the afternoon. Unfortunately, they fell behind early (8-1 in the 3rd inning) and lost to the Cubs 9-5.
1997 - A sunny, but quite chilly day, with the afternoon temperature only in the upper 40's (ten degrees below average). The Yankees played their home opener in these brisk conditions. Although the World Champions took a 1-0 lead into the 9th, they ended up losing to Oakland in 12 innings.
2003 - Since March 30 (a span of thirteen days), the mean temperature was nine degrees below average, with a high/low of 46/34. Today was the 8th day in a row with a low temperature in the 30's, the longest such streak since one of thirteen days in 1975.
2006 - With a temperature of 68 degrees at game time, this was the mildest Yankee home opener in eleven years.
1997 - Today was the sixth day in a row with temperatures 10 degrees or more below average. The high/low during these days was a chilly 41/30, twelve degrees colder than typical for mid-November. This streak fell in the midst of a 3-week period in which none of the days had above average readings. By coincidence, last November had a similar 6-day stretch of chilly weather (11/11-16).
2011 - The morning low of 36 was the chilliest reading of the month (along with November 5). This was the first time since 1988 that November's coldest reading was higher than October's (33 degrees on 10/29 and 10/30).
2012 - This was the 10th year in a row that no precipitation fell on this date.
1978 - The 0.05" of rain that fell overnight was the first precipitation this month (and the first since Oct. 27).
1985 - 2.39" of rain fell, a record for the date. Most of it fell after noontime and it came down heaviest between 9-11PM when 1.11" was measured.
1996 - Today was the 6th day in a row with temperatures 10 degrees or more chillier than average. Average high of 41/low of 32 during these days was 12.5 degrees below normal. Five days had morning lows of freezing or below.
2011 - Today was the first dreary, rainy day since the area's freak snowstorm two-and-a-half weeks ago. Rain fell for much of the day and amounted to 0.75".
1990 - An all-day rain amounted to 1.70", making it the rainest November 10 on record. It accounted for much of the month's total precipitation (2.82").
2012 - Today was the 12th day in a row with a below average mean temperature, the longest such streak since one of fifteen days in July 2009. Embedded in this dozen days was hurricane Sandy as well as a nor'easter that dumped nearly five inches of snow on NYC. This streak followed twelve days with above average temperatures between October 18-29.
2009 - It was sunny and brisk, a perfect day for the Yankees' victory parade in lower Manhattan (they won their 27th World Series title, over the Phillies, a few days earlier). The high/low of 50/37 was six degrees chillier than average.
2012 - The morning low was 31 degrees, the earliest sub-freezing low temperature since 1988 (when it occurred on Halloween). The typical date for this occurrence is November 21.
1997 - Today was the only day of the month that warmed into the 80's (high was 83), the fewest such days since May 1983, which had none. (2003 and 2005 would also have no 80-degree days.) This lack of 80-degree temperatures helped make this the chilliest May in thirty years.
