New York City Weather Archive

Today in New York Weather History: April 4

 

• 1987 - 1.99" of rain, a record amount for the date, fell throughout the day and ended late in the afternoon.  Including rain that began late last night, the storm total was 2.48".  It was the biggest rainstorm since the beginning of last December when 2.74" fell.

 

• 1994 - The Yankees' home opener was played under ideal conditions as skies were clear and temperatures slightly milder than average (60 degrees).  And the Bronx Bombers triumphed over Texas, 5-3.

 

• 1995 - A vigorous cold front passed through in the early afternoon and the temperature plummeted 40 degrees by midnight, from 68 to 28.

 

• 2007 - Under rainy skies (0.85" fell) only two degrees separated today's high/low (42/40).

 

• 2013 - The morning low dropped to 33 degrees for the third day in a row.  This was also the 4th day in a row with a low in the 30's, the longest such streak since 2007, when there was an eight-day streak. 

 

Cold & Dry: A Snow Lover's Nightmare

Some of New York's biggest snowstorms have come in the depths of Arctic deep freezes (e.g., the blizzard of January '96 and the President's Day snowstorms of 1979 and 2003).  But there have also been stretches of cold weather in which very little snow has fallen, the most notable being the bitter cold December of 1989.  Temperatures were 11 degrees below average but just a little more than an inch of snow fell.  And although meager snowfall during mild winter weather is to be expected, a lack of it during cold weather is torture for snow bunnies. 

 

The chart below lists the ten least snowy periods during cold weather, ranked by degrees below average (for winters between 1960 and 2012).  

 

	# of	Degrees	Total
Period	Days	Below Average	Snowfall
Nov 29 - Dec 29, 1989	31	-10.8 degrees	1.4"
Dec 9-18, 1988	10	-10.0	0.3"
Dec 18, 1983 - Jan 2, 1984	16	-7.4	2.0"
Dec 11, 1980 - Jan 2, 1981	23	-6.1	3.1"
Jan 17 - March 9, 2007	52	-5.8	6.9"
Dec 1-29, 2000	29	-5.5	1.4"
Jan 24 - March 3, 1980	40	-3.3	2.7"
Dec 3-30, 1985	28	-2.6	0.9"
Dec 29, 1961 - Feb 1, 1962	35	-1.5	1.5"
Jan 15 - Feb 13, 1992	30	-1.2	2.5"

 

Today in New York Weather History: February 2

 

• 1985 - Light snow fell throughout the day and accumulated 4.3".  It was the third snowfall over four inches so far this winter.  One more would follow in a few days.

 

• 1989 - Between January 6 and today temperatures were 9.5 degrees above average.  No snow fell during this 4-week period.   

 

• 1993 - This morning's low of +7 was the coldest reading of the winter.

 

• 2004 - Today was the 28th day in a row with colder than average temperatures.  During this 4-week period temperatures were 10 degrees below normal.

 

• 2013 - Today's high was 29 degrees, the first time in 13 years that NYC reported a maximum temperature of 32 degrees or colder on Groundhog Day.  

Today in New York Weather History: January 22

 

• 1984 - The past twelve days had temperatures that were nine degrees below average, with every day but one having a high temperature of 32 degrees or colder.  Average high/low during these days was 28/17.

 

• 1985 - Temperatures over the past two weeks (1/9-22) were eight degrees colder than normal as the average high/low was 30/18.

 

• 1986 - The average high/low during the past five days was 56/40, sixteen degrees above average. 

 

• 1987 - A daytime snowstorm dumped 8.1" of snow on the City while much of Long Island picked up a foot or more.  (Virginia, DC, Maryland, Delaware and South Jersey bore the brunt of the storm with much higher accumulations.) The City's accumulation was held down when sleet mixed in.  This was NYC's biggest snowfall in four years and would be the biggest until the March 1993 Superstorm. 

 

• 1991 - This was the coldest day of a mild winter, with a high of 20/low of 10, 17 degrees below average.

 

• 2005 - A weekend snowstorm began early Saturday afternoon and by daybreak Sunday had dumped 13.8" (8.5" fell on Saturday, 5.3" on Sunday).  After a very cold a.m. low of 9, the high of 25 was reached at midnight.  This was the biggest January snowfall since the blizzard of 1996. 

 

Looking Back at New York Weather History: January 9

• 1970 - The morning low of 3 above zero made this the coldest reading of the winter.  And the high recovered to just 14 degrees.

• 1985 - With a high of 25/low of 16, today was the first day of the winter that was completely below freezing.  It was only the fifth time it occurred as late as January in the 1979-2013 period.  Only the winter of 1986/87 recorded a later date for the first high temperature of 32 degrees or colder (January 20).    

Today in New York Weather History: December 21

• 1973 - Yesterday and today were contrasts in big swings in temperature.  Yesterday the temperature climbed throughout the day, rising from 25 degrees at midnight to 54 twenty-four hours later.  Today, the temperature reversed course, falling from 57 degrees just before daybreak to 25 by midnight.  Additionally, a lot of rain fell in the morning and afternoon, amounting to 2.49" (a record for the date). 

 

• 1993 - A hard morning rain dropped 1.65" between midnight and 9AM.  Near the end, 0.66" fell in the hour between 6:49-7:49 AM.

 

• 2005 - Today's high of 33/low of 24 felt even colder for many commuters who were forced to walk to work due to a three-day subway strike (December 20-22).

 

• 2007 - Just three degrees separated today's high (39) and low (36).

 

Today in New York Weather: December 18

December 18 is the average date of the first high temperature of 32 degrees or colder (based on the period 1979-2012).  It's happened as early as November 22 (in 2008) and November 23 (1989) and as late as January 20 (1986).  In more than half of the years the first high of 32 or colder was 31 or 32 degrees, but it's been as cold as 20. That happened in the winter of 2007-08 when it occurred late, on January 3.   

 

• 1979 - With a high of 30 degrees, today was the first day of the season with a high of 32 or colder.  

 

• 2011 - Today's high of 31/low of 22 (ten degrees colder than average) was the first day completely below freezing since February 10 when it was 29/22.  This morning's low would end up being the coldest reading in December.  It was the "mildest" minimum temperature in December since 1984 when December's coldest reading was 25.    

Today in New York Weather History: December 15

"New York City Weather Archive" revisits interesting and off-beat weather that has occurred in NYC since 1979, the year I moved to New York.  Data comes largely from NOAA's "Monthly Climatological Data" reports.  

 

• 1980 - For the first time this winter the high temperature remained below freezing all day (high of 31/low of 18).  And the first snowfall of the winter arrived after 9PM, accumulating 1.1" by midnight.  

 

• 2008 - Today's high temperature of 67 was a record for the date, twenty-one degrees above average.  It was one of seven days between December 9 and 28 with a high of 57 or higher (three days were 65+). 

Today in New York Weather History: December 8

• 1980 - The day John Lennon was shot outside his apartment building in New York was a very mild one.  With a high temperature of 64 degrees/low of 46, it was the mildest day of the month, eighteen degrees above average.

 

•  1982 - Over the past nine days the high/low temperatures averaged 60/50, sixteen degrees milder than average.

 

• 2000 - The first snowfall of the season fell late this morning, a dusting of 0.1".  The day was cold and raw with a high/low of 31/28.

 

• 2006 - During a month that would be very mild (6.3 degrees above average), today was an anomaly as it was 15 degrees colder than the average, with a high of 29/low of 18.  This teeth-chattering day came just one week after a record high of 70 degrees.  It was also the earliest date for a low below 20 degrees since the brutally cold December of 1989. 

 

 

Today in New York Weather History: November 24

 

• 1980 - Half of today's 0.90" of rain fell between 7-8PM.  The remaining rain fell over ten hours.

 

 

• 2005 - It was Thanksgiving Day and very cold air moved in later in the afternoon, dropping the temperature from 49 degrees to 24 by midnight.  Light showers fell before and after the Macy's parade.  (To read more weather highlights of other Thanksgiving holidays doubleclick here.) 

 

2007 - This morning's low of 26 degrees was the coldest reading of the month and came two days after the month's mildest reading (60 degrees).