New York City Weather Archive

A Look Back at New York City Weather: April 19

• 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.  

 

 

Looking Back at New York Weather: April 10

 

• 1980 - A day after 3.42" of rain fell, today was dry and warm with afternoon temperatures in the low 70's, thirteen degrees above average.  The weather was perfect for the the Mets' home opener against the Cubs.

 

• 1983 - 4.31" of rain fell, with nearly 2.50" of it falling in just three hours (between 11AM-2PM).

 

• 1992 - Although today's Mets home opener was twenty degrees cooler than last season's record heat, at 71 it was still twelve degrees above average.  This was also the first 70-degree day of the year - two weeks later than usual. 

 

• 1996 - An overnight snowfall of 0.7" was the last snow of the season, bringing the winter's total to a hefty, record-breaking 75.6".  This was 48" above the average winter and came just two years after 53.4" fell.

 

• 2010 - Three days after a high of 92, this morning's low was 50 degrees colder. 

 

• 2013 - What had been a beautiful spring day, with a high of 74 degrees, came to a crashing end as a series of strong thunderstorms barreled through between 7-11PM.  What made them especially noteworthy was the fact that they occurred in early April.  However, despite the storm's long duration, relatively little rain fell, with just 0.49" measured in Central Park.  Still, this was the first rainfall of the month.

Glancing Back at New York Weather: April 9

Only April 1 is more likely to have rain than April 9.  During the period 1979-2012 precipitation has fallen in 19 of the 34 years.

 

• 1979 - A coastal storm lashed the area during the afternoon with rain and gale force winds.  High temperature was only 41 degrees, seventeen degrees below average.  This fine day happened to be my first day at my first job out of college, in the Media department at ad agency Scali McCabe Sloves (on Third Avenue).   

 

• 1980 - 3.42" of rain fell, with nearly two inches falling in a 3-hour span between 5-8 PM.  It was an especially inopportune time for so much rain because it happened during New York's 11-day subway strike (April 1-11), which forced many commuters, like myself, to walk to and from work.

 

• 1981 - It was a delightful day for the Yankees home opener as the afternoon high topped out at 75 degrees, seventeen degrees above average.   

 

• 1996 - Hard to believe today's Yankee home opener wasn't postponed as the temperature was in the upper-30's and wet snow fell throughout the game.  (This was a week after their season opener in Cleveland was snowed out.)  Since the air temperature remained above freezing very little of the snow accumulated (0.3" was measured in Central Park).  Happily, the Yankees beat KC 7-3.

 

• 1998 - 1.86" of rain fell (2.15" when counting rain that continued into the wee hours of the following day).

 

• 1999 - A steady light rain fell between noon-6PM, resulting in the Yankees home opener being called after 7 innings, with the Yankees in the lead 12-3.  Not only was it rainy but cold as the temperature fell all day.  By game time it was down into the mid-40's - quite a change from yesterday's 80-degree weather.

 

2000 - One day after the high temperature reached 71 degrees, 1.2" of snow fell during the morning - the final snowfall of winter.  The day's low of 30 was the coldest reading of the month. 

 

• 2001 - A passing cold front produced a 30-minute downpour in which 0.43" of rain fell between 6:45-7:15 PM.  Earlier in the afternoon the temperature topped out at 78 degrees, the first 70-degree reading of the year and the warmest temperature since October 3.  (The Mets played their home opener this afternoon, but at Shea Stadium temperatures were cooler, in the mid-60's.)  By contrast, yesterday's high had been just 45.  

 

• 2003 - For the ninth year in a row precipitation fell on this date, a cold rain that amounted to 0.30".  The high/low of 39/35 was thirteen degrees below average. 

 

• 2007 - The Mets home opener was played under sunny skies, but chilly temperatures, as the high of 49 was nine degrees below average.  The morning low of 32 degrees was the the last time the temperature dropped to freezing in the month of April. 

 

• 2013 - One day after the year's first 70-degree reading (73), the first 80-degree reading occurred (82).  This was about two weeks earlier than average for this temperature level (while the first 70-degree reading was about two weeks later).  The day had a desert-Southwest feel to it as the humidity in the afternoon was below 20%.

Today in New York Weather History: April 7

April 7 is a study in contrasts.  Not only is it the latest date for a sub-freezing high temperature (1982), it's also the earliest date for a high in the 90's (2010). 

 

• 1982 - In the aftermath of yesterday's snowstorm, the morning low was 21, twenty-one degrees below average and the coldest reading so late in the year since April 1, 1923 (when the temperature dropped to 12).  Today's afternoon high of 30 was the latest date on record for a below-freezing high.

 

• 1990 - The last snowfall of the winter fell at around daybreak, a surprise 0.6".  It didn't last long, however, as the temperature rebounded into the low 50's under sunny skies.  A total of 13.4" of snow fell during the winter, the third winter in a row with well below average snowfall.   

 

• 2003 - Four inches of snow fell, the biggest April snowfall in twenty-one years.  This brought the season's snowfall total close to 50 inches.

 

• 2010 - The afternoon high hit 92, an incredibly hot temperature for so early in the season.  In fact, it was New York's earliest 90-degree reading on record, besting the previous record from 1991 by one day.  This temperature was 34 degrees above average - even in mid-July today's high would have been five degrees hotter than normal.  At 11PM it was still 80.  The next 90-degree reading would be seven weeks later, when it was 92 on May 26.   

Looking Back at New York Weather: April 5

 

• 1984 - After 1.61" of rain fell yesterday, an additional 2.76" poured down today, for a two-day total of 4.37".  This storm was the biggest rain producer since November 1977.  Rain fell for thirty-one consecutive hours and ended shortly after 4:00 this afternoon.

 

• 1988 - The Yankees' home opener was played under sunny skies and temperatures in the 70's.  Today's high reached 73, sixteen degrees above average and the mildest reading of the month.  The Yankees haven't had a home opener with temperatures in the 70's since.

 

• 2002 - For the third season in a row, the weather for the Yankees' home opener was very chilly, with a high of only 45, twelve degrees colder than average.  (Tampa Bay's bats were chilly as well as they managed just three hits and were shut out 4-0.)

 

2006 - The 0.1" of snow that fell today brought the season's total to exactly 40 inches, making this the unprecedented fourth winter in a row with 40 inches or more of snowfall.  Most of the winter's snow fell on February 11-12 when the City was buried by 26.9", NYC's biggest snowstorm of all time.

 

• 2010 - It was a fine spring day for the Mets home opener as the temperature rose into the mid-70's, eighteen degrees above average - the warmest weather for a home opener in nine years. 

 

• 2012 - Skies were sunny and temperatures in the seasonable upper 50's as the Mets won their home opner over Atlanta 1-0.  The last time the team won a home opener by this score was in 1998. 

Today in New York Weather History: March 29

• 1970 - Today was Easter Sunday, and rain that began pre-dawn changed to sleet and snow after 10:00.  When it ended late in the afternoon four inches had piled up.  This was the only snow to fell in March.  

 

• 1984 - 39 consecutive hours of precipitation, which began yesterday morning at 9:00, ended at midnight, totaling 2.60" (2.04" of it fell today).  There was only a two-degree difference between today's high/low (36/34).  3.3" of snow fell during the storm, but it was washed away by regular changeovers to rain. 

 

• 1985 - Today was the third day in a row with much above average temperatures.  And although the sun was filtered through a light overcast, the temperature soared to 82 degrees, twenty-eight degrees warmer than normal.  Not only was it warm but also uncomfortably humid.  However, today's summerlike warmth was four degrees lower than the record for the date set in 1945 (the warmest reading ever reported in March, later equaled on March 31, 1998).  The average high over the past three days was 78 degrees, a reading more typical of the second week of June.

 

• 1996 - Beginning late last night and continuing through this morning, 4.1" of snow fell, the seventh snowfall of four inches or more this winter.  It brought March's snow total to 13.2", making it the snowiest March since 1967.  Besides being snowy it was also a cold month, the coldest March since 1984.  Today's high/low of 41/31 was the ninth day this month that was 10 degrees or more colder than average. 

• 2013 - Today's mean temperature was one degree above average (hi/low of 55/40), the first above-average day since March 13.  This 15-day streak of below average days was 5.6 degrees colder than average and was the longest string of below-average temperatures since a 15-day streak in July 2009.    

 

Today in New York Weather History: March 24

 

• 1988 - After a nippy low of 17 degrees two days earlier, today's high was a record-setting 76.  These were also the temperature extremes for the month.

 

• 1989 - Beginning at daybreak and continuing until midnight, 2.05" of rain fell, a record for the date.  It was a cold rain as the high reached only 40.

 

• 1993 - This was the 15th consecutive day with below-average temperatures.  The average high/low during these days was 41/26, nine degrees colder than normal.  It was also a very wet period, with precipitation on seven days amounting to 4.66".

 

• 2011 - An inch of snow fell overnight, the final snow of the winter.  The winter's snowfall total was 61.9", and most of it, 56", fell in just one month's time, between December 26 and January 27.   

 

• 2012 - Today was the eighth day in a row in which temperatures were ten degrees or more milder than average.  During these days the high/low averaged 70/52, seventeen degrees above average and more typical of mid-May.

Today in New York Weather History: March 23

 

• 1991 - Raw and drizzly with just two degrees of separation between the day's high (40) and low (38).

 

• 2005 - It was a wet and windy day with rain that began late in the morning and ended late in the evening as the season's last snowfall.   (It was also the first time in 12 years that precipitation fell on this date.)  An inch of snow fell, bringing the winter's snowfall to 41 inches.  This was the unprecedented third winter in a row with more than 40 inches.

 

• 2012 - Today's high was a record-tying 76 degrees, the eighth day in the past sixteen with a high in the 70's.  During these sixteen days temperatures have been nearly fifteen degrees above average.  The high/low during this period of 66/48 is more typical of late April. 

Today in New York Weather History: March 22

 

• 1992 - Just three days after 6.2" of snow fell, another quick moving system dropped 3.2" during the evening.  These two snow events were responsible for most of the winter's 13 inches of snow.  During this evening's snowfall a USAir jet bound for Cleveland slid off the runway at LaGuardia Airport and landed in the waters of Long Island Sound; 26 passengers died. 

 

1998 - It appeared this winter was going to have the least snow on record, with just 0.5" measured.  Then a surprise five-inch snowfall occurred overnight and the winter of 1997-98 ended up as the second least snowy (behind 1972/73, which had only 2.8").  It would fall to third place four years later when the winter of 2001-02 had just 3.5".  

Today in New York Weather History: March 18

 

• 1983 - 3.10" of rain fell, most of it coming down between 1-9PM.  This made it NYC's rainiest 24 hours ever in March, but this was later disputed when it was discovered that Central Park's rain gauge had been broken for much of the year.  (On March 13, 2010 a more legitimate daily rainfall record for March was set when 3.88" fell.)  

 

• 1989 - The temperature nosedived 40 degrees, from 77 to 37.  The cold front that ushered in the sharply colder air produced a severe thunderstorm mid-afternoon in which 0.35" of rain poured down in just ten minutes (between 3:14-3:24 PM).  There was also some hail, a rarity in NYC.

 

• 1990 - This was the last day of an extraordinarily mild eight days in which the mean temperature was 18.5 degrees above average (high/low of 71/47).

 

• 1993 - This morning's low of 13 degrees was the coldest reading this month, twenty-three degrees colder than average.  The last time it was this cold in March was in 1984.

 

• 1994 - 2.8" of snow fell during during the afternoon, the last snowfall of the winter.  This brought the season's total snowfall to 53.2", making it the snowiest winter since 1960-61.  The day was a cold one, with a high/low of just 33/25, fourteen degrees below average.      

 

• 2000 - This morning's low of 22 degrees came two days after a high of 65.

 

• 2004 - A mixture of snow, sleet and freezing rain during the morning accumulated just under an inch and was the final ice/snow of the winter.  This was the second winter in a row with more than 40 inches of snow, the first time that's happened since the winters of 1947/48 and 1948/49.

 

• 2011 - Today's record high of 77 degrees was the warmest reading in nearly six months.

 

• 2012 - Morning clouds and fog cleared in the afternoon and the high reached 63.  Although this was thirteen degrees warmer than average, it was one of the coolest readings in the Eastern 2/3 of the country as most areas basked in temperatures between 75 and 85 degrees.    

 

• 2013 - A wintry mix of snow and sleet moved in during the late afternoon, and by midnight three inches had accumulated (the most snow on this date in more than 50 years).  This was significantly more snow than had been forecast as a changeover to rain occurred much later than predicted.  Also, with a high/low of 35/28, this was the coldest day this month - eleven degrees below average.