New York City Weather Archive

New York Weather History: October (1979 - 2012)

Highlights:  2011's precipitation passed sixty inches on Oct. 1; Game 1 of 1996 World Series rained out (Oct. 19); 88 degrees on Oct. 22, 1979; three weeks of flooding rains in 2005 between Oct. 8-25; record-setting early snowfall on Oct. 29, 2011; the "Perfect Storm" nor'easter of Halloween 1991.

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Oct 28

Oct 29

Oct 30

Oct 31

 

 

Today in New York Weather History: Halloween (October 31)

 

• 1984 - Temperatures during the past two weeks were 10 degrees above average.  Half of the days had highs in the 70's (average high should be around 60 degrees).

 

• 1988 - This morning's low of 31 degrees was the earliest sub-freezing reading since 1976.

 

• 1989 - A rainy Halloween.  Over a 12-hour period (10A-10P), 0.89" fell.  On the positive side, it was the 6th day in a row with temperartures 10 degrees or more above average. 

 

1991 - An intense nor'easter (made famous by Sebastian Junger's book The Perfect Storm) brought gusty 30-40 mph winds but stayed far enough off the coast that NYC received just a a trace of rain.  

 

• 1994 - Today's high of 73 degrees made this the warmest Halloween in the years I've lived in NYC (since 1979).

 

• 2007 - This October tied 1947's as the mildest on record, a whopping 7 degrees above average.  And today was one of the twenty-five days this month with above-average temps (high/low of 64/49, +five degrees).

 

• 2009 - It was a very mild day (high of 71 degrees) but light rain began falling just as the Greenwich Village Halloween parade was getting underway.  Although just 0.17" fell over five hours, this was the first rain to fall on Halloween night in 14 years.    

 

• 2012 - Last year many of New York's suburbs postponed or cancelled trick-or-treating because of power outages caused by an unprecedented snowstorm two days earlier.  This year most Halloween festivities were once again cancelled, this time it was due to power outages caused by superstorm Sandy which struck on 10/29.  And for the first time in its 43-year history Greenwich Village's Halloween parade was also cancelled.  The day itself was chilly and mostly overcas, with a high of 50 degrees. 

Today in New York Weather History: October 30

 

• 1989 - For the 6th day in a row we enjoyed high temperatures in the 70's.  This stretch of days, which included four that had highs of 76+, averaged 15 degrees above average.

 

• 1994 -  Today's high of 75 degrees was the warmest reading of the month.  The last time it was this warm was five weeks earlier.

Today in New York Weather History: October 29

• 1973 - A heavy, all-day rain amounted to 3.67", a record for the date.  Up until today just 0.03" had fallen this month, and it was twenty-seven days ago.

• 2000 - Although it was just 0.01", the rain that fell today was the first on this date since 1984 (when just 0.02" fell).

• 2003 - Up until October 27 it had been a very dry month, with just 1.26" of rainfall measured.  Then 3.62" fell in the past three days, including 1.63" that fell today.

• 2011 - An intense nor'easter lashed the area with high winds and outrageously early snowfall.  The 2.9" of heavy, wet snow that was measured in Central Park was the most to ever fall in October (5.2" fell in Newark and over a foot buried northern NJ, parts of NY state, CT, western MA and NH).  Since the temperature never fell below freezing, there was mostly just slushy accumulation on City streets.  However, the day's low of 33 degrees, which occurred in the early afternoon, was the coldest reading in October since 1988.  Total liquid precipitation from the storm was two inches.  Remarkably, the next measurable snow wouldn't be for another twelve weeks (4.3" fell on January 21, 2012).

• 2012 - Unbelievably, an even more devastating storm than last year's nor'easter - hurricane/nor'easter Sandy - struck between noon and midnight.  And it more than lived up to its hype.  Although the rain wasn't the issue (less than an inch fell), its 60-80 mph wind gusts and record storm surge wreaked havoc on New York's transportation system and power grid.  Not only did the storm surge strike at high tide, but also during a full moon, resulting in flooding never experienced before in Manhattan.   

Today in New York Weather History: October 28

 

• 1984 - The City basked in a balmy 79 degrees, the warmest reading of the month.  (In a case of flip-flop, the month's chilliest reading occurred at the beginning of the month.)  Later that night 0.28" of rain fell during a 5-minute downpour (10:45-10:50 PM) and 0.88" between 10:00 and midnight.

• 1986 - It was a gloriously sunny and and mild day (high of 68 degrees), perfect for the tickertape parade in lower Manhattan celebrating the Mets World Series championship the night before over the Red Sox.  The sunny skies were particularly welcome after three damp and gloomy days.

• 1989 - Today's high of 77 degrees tied with two days ago as the warmest temperature of the month.

• 1995 - 1.21" of rain fell in the morning, the fourth rainfall this month that exceeded one inch.  Each storm occurred about a week apart and delivered a combined 7.13".  0.86" of today's rain came down between 4:00 and 5AM.

2006 - A nor'easter that moved in last night dumped 2.54" by the time it exited around 1:00 this afternoon.  Shortly before the last raindrops fell a final rain band dumped 0.33" in a 5-minute period between 12:32-12:37 PM. 

• 2008 - 2 inches of rain fell, with the greatest amount (0.87") falling between 9-11AM.  Besides the rain it was also unseasonably chilly, with a high of only 47 and a low of 39. 

• 2009 - 1.29" of rain fell thru mid-afternoon, making this the third year of the past four to receive more than an inch of rain.

• 2012 - The entire Mid-Atlantic region was feverishly preparing for the worst as hurricane Sandy approached.  For the second time in 14 months New York City's entire transit system was shut down thru tomorrow.  To add insult to injury, today was the sixth day in a row with overcast skies.         

Today in New York Weather History: October 27

 

• 1987 - 1.82" of rain fell tonight between 6PM and 1AM.  As the rain wound down, one last heavy band delivered 0.63" between 11PM-midnight.  It was a record rainfall for the date, later broken in 2003 when 1.88" fell. 

 

• 2010 - After a very mild morning low of 65 (nineteen degrees above average), the afternoon temperature hit a balmy 75 degrees, making this the warmest day of the month.  Showers fell in the pre-dawn hours and in the middle of the afternoon, amounting to 0.19" - the 5th year in a row that rain fell on this date.

Today in New York Weather History: October 26

 

• 1986 - A steady light rain during the daylight hours (amounting to 0.64") forced postponement of Sunday's Game 7 of the World Series at Shea Stadium.  This followed the incredible comeback by the Mets last night in Game 6 when a groundball went through the legs of Red Sox 1st baseman Bill Buckner in extra innings, giving the Mets the improbable win.

 

• 1997 - It was a chilly day (high/low of 50/38, ten degrees below average), with rain moving in after 4PM.  The 0.36" that fell thru midnight was the first rain on this date in 11 years. 

 

• 2011 - After the three previous days had morning lows of 50 degrees, the streak was broken today - with a low of 51.

Today in New York Weather History: October 25

 

• 1980 - 1.76" of rain fell, with 1.15" falling between 9A-noon.

 

• 2005 - In less than three weeks (October 8-25) nearly 17 inches of rain fell, making this the wettest October on record (and the second rainiest month overall).  During these two-and-a-half weeks of deluges, seven days received an inch of rain or more.  In stark contrast, September had just 0.48" of rain, making it the driest September since 1963. 

 

• 2008 - Mostly light rain fell between 3-8PM, but then 0.62" fell in the hour between 8-9PM.

 

• 2011 - This was the third day in a row with a morning low of 50 degrees.  Although the high temperatures on these days weren't identical, they were very similar: 59, 61 and 62.

Today in New York Weather History: October 23

 

• 1990 - 2.53" of rain fell, beginning at 3AM and continuing all day, ending shortly before midnight.  At its heaviest, 0.80" poured down in the hour between 7:41-8:41 PM. 

 

 

2007 - The morning low was a balmy 66 degrees, 19 degrees above average and five degrees warmer than the typical high for the date.  The afternoon high got up to 78.

Today in New York Weather History: October 22

• 1972 - This was the 16th day in a row with below average temperatures.  During this long stretch, temperatures were eight degrees colder than average.

• 1979 - A flashback to summer as the temperature soared to 88, twenty-seven degrees above average. This was the warmest reading in October since 1941.  Fortunately for runners, this freakish warmth occurred the day following the New York City Marathon (but even on that day it was a toasty 80 degrees).  Despite these few days of summerlike conditions the month overall would be cooler than average by 1.4 degrees.

• 1984 - In a 15-minute period (8:30-8:45 PM), 0.55" of rain poured down and 1.01" fell between 8:30-9:30 PM.  It was also very mild, with a high of 77/low of 62.  The day's total rainfall day was 1.45", enough to set a record for the date.