New York City Weather Archive

Today in New York Weather History: June 26

 

1952

Today's high/low was a torrid 101/81.  The low was NYC's warmest reading ever recorded in June and the high was the earliest reading in the triple digits (next earliest would come in 1966 on June 27).  This heat came just three days after a high/low of 64/58.

 

 

1979

For the second day in a row a record low was set.  Yesterday's was 54°, today's 56°.

1989

0.65" of rain fell in an hour during a strong thunderstorm between 8-9PM.  This followed a day with a high of 90°.

2003

The low of 79° degrees, thirteen degrees above average, tied June 10, 1984 for the warmest low temperature in the month of June since a low of 81° on this date in 1952.  And today's high of 93° was the third day in a row with a high in the 90s, making this the fourth year in a row to start its 90-degree readings with a heat wave, the longest such streak on record (going back to 1869).

2005

Today's high was a sizzling 92°, eleven degrees above average, making this the hottest weather during the Gay Pride Day parade.

 

 

2010

Six of the past seven days had lows of 71°.  Typical low during these days is in the mid-60s.

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Junes With No 90-Degree Days

As meteorological summer gets underway (June 1 thru Aug. 31) a typical June will see two or three days with highs in the 90s.  However, about once every five years no readings this hot occur; since 1869 there have been 31 years in which this has happened, most recently in 2016 (and at the other end of the spectrum, one June in four has five or more 90-degree days, the most recent being in 2012). 

 

 

Using 90° as the cut-off for hot conditions, rather than 88° or 89°, is a bit arbitrary (and doesn't take into account humidity levels).  Nonetheless, a June with no readings of 90+ is usually results in a cooler than average June.  For example, none of the ten coolest Junes had any high temperatures in the 90s.  Additionally, the five coolest summers started out with a June with no 90-degree readings.  But not every June with no readings in the 90s is so cool.  In fact, the warmest June with no 90s was in 2014.  It was 1.1 degree warmer than average and ranks 39th warmest (out of 150).  And, surprisingly, one of the ten hottest summers, 2016's, started out with a 90s-free June.  Here are some other tidbits:

 

• The most years in a row to have a June without a 90-degree reading is three (1926-1928).  Interestingly, this streak was bracketed by Junes with five or more 90-degree highs (1923 had eight, 1925 had nine, and 1929 and 1930 each had five).  The most consecutive years in which June had at least one day in the 90s is 12 (1997-2008).

• Despite having no days in the 90s in June four years had an above average number of 90-degree days: 1955 (25); 1977 (23); 2016 (22) and 1979 (19).  The average number of 90-degree days in years that had no 90-degree readings in June has been 10 (an average year, since 1930, has had 18; before that the average was just 11).

• 11 of the 31 years with no June 90s had 90-degree readings prior to June 1, with 1977 having the most such days, three.

• 89° was the hottest reading in 12 of the years in which June had no readings in the 90s.  Three of those years had their 89° reading on 6/30 (this excludes any June that had a high of 89° on 6/30 but on other dates in June as well).  One June had it occur on 6/1, another on 6/2.  And three years had their first 90-degree reading on 7/1.

• The coolest warmest reading in June is 81°, occurring in 1903 (the coolest June on record).

 

 

• June 2016 and 1955 had the most readings between 85°-89°, ten.

• Finally, daily low temperatures in the 70s are sometimes considered the counterpart of highs in the 90s.  Interestingly, 22 of the 31 Junes with no 90s had lows in the 70s (nine had some lows of 72° or warmer).  Seven of these Junes had three or more, with June 1869 having the most, seven.  The warmest low during a June with no 90s was 76° in 2014.

 

 

 

May 2019 Continued April's Wet Trend, But With More Rain

Like the month preceding it, May 2019 was characterized by a surfeit of rainy days.  There were 19 with measurable rain, which tied December 1972 and May 1973 for the second greatest number for any month.  (The most days, 20, occurred in July 1871 and May 1888).  However, May 2019 distinguished itself by having more rain than those other months (see chart below).  The amount that fell, 6.82", made this May the 12th rainiest on record.  Although it had one more day of rain than April (its 18 days was a record for April), nearly two-and-a-half inches more rain fell.  But despite the high frequency of rain, much of it occurred on just five days: 1.31" on 5/5; 1.32" on 5/12; 0.70" on 5/13; 0.80" on 5/29; and 0.95" on 5/30.

 

 

In addition to the well above average number of rainy days, this May will also be remembered for the damp and unusually cool conditions on Mother's Day and the two days after.  2.32" of rain fell on these three days (1.32" of it on Mother's Day) and the average high/low of 53/43 was 14 degrees cooler than average.  By contrast, the Memorial Day weekend was mostly nice,  the exception being later in the afternoon on Sunday when clouds moved in and there was an hour of heavy showers.  The three-day weekend's average high/low was 79/60, four degrees above average, and featured the warmest reading of the month, 86° on Sunday.  (The warmest mean temperature, however, occurred on 5/20, one week before Memorial Day, with a high/low of 85/66).

 

Temperature-wise, the month was average (officially, 0.2 degrees below average), with the first half of May three degrees below average while the second half was two degrees above average.  (If the chilly three-day period from May 12-14 were taken out, the month would have been 1.3 degrees milder than average.)  Seven days were five or more degrees above average while six were five or more below average.  Four days with highs in the 80s were balanced by four days with lows in the 40s, both fewer than the month's average (of seven and six days, respectively). 

 

Finally, there was an eight-day streak of rainy days (May 10-17) that had 2.56" of rain.  This was just the thirteenth eight-day steak since 1900.  Coincidentally, last May had rain on seven of eight days around the same time of the month (May 12-19), which amounted to 2.14".  And Mother's Day both years was cool (59/43 this year, 54/52 in 2018).

 

Here are recaps of the previous four Mays:

2018

2017

2016

2015

 

 

April 2019 Weather Recap

As we headed into the last week of April it appeared the month had a good chance of becoming either the fifth, sixth or seventh mildest April on record.  But when the last five days of the month averaged five degrees cooler than average, it ended up as the 13th mildest, 2.5 degrees above average (still a noteworthy achievement as it was milder than 138 other Aprils).  Perhaps a bigger highlight was the month's 18 days with measurable precipitation, the most since May 2012.  This was also the most days of precipitation of any April.  However, despite the frequent rainfall, the 4.55" that was measured was just an average amount (the month's average is 4.50").  Despite being only average, this amount was enough to make April the wettest month so far this year. 

 

The five chilly days at the end of the month were immediately preceded by a two-week period with above average temperatures (six degrees above average); this was the longest streak of above average days since one of eighteen days in late December/early January.  This mild streak included the year's first reading in the 80's, 80° on 4/19, which was Good Friday (just the fifth Good Friday with a high in the 80s); Easter Sunday cooled down to a high of 66°.  The month's coldest reading, 33°, occurred on 4/1.  (Since 2000 April's warmest temperature has averaged 85°, its coldest reading has averaged 33°.)

 

Finally, 2019's mild April came a year after the coldest April in 40 years (which followed the second mildest April on record).  Despite the disparity between the two years, April 2018's warmest temperature was two degrees above this year's (82° vs. 80°) while its coldest reading was just one degree lower (32°).

 

Here are recaps of previous Aprils:

2018

2017

2016

 

National Weather Service's Year-Round Use of 'Standard Time' Can Cause Confusion

I had been writing this blog for a number of years before learning that the National Weather Service doesn't recognize Daylight Saving Time (the period roughly between mid-March thru early November).  Instead, its reported observations throughout the year reflect Standard Time.  Because of this, weather conditions that occur between midnight and 12:59 AM during DST are reported as part of the previous day's weather observation (credited to 11:00-11:59 PM).  And the rest of each day's weather observations are reported as happening in the previous hour.

 

I discovered this quirk because I check hourly observations every day on one of the NWS sites, and during the spring, summer and first half of the fall (i.e., when DST is in effect) I noticed that rainfall and temperature for the first hour of each day was credited to the previous day.  Then when Standard Time resumed the weather conditions of each day's first hour were back to being part of that same day.

 

 

I thought that, perhaps, this decision was made over concern by the NWS about how to report conditions that occur during the "skipped" hour, i.e., when we "spring ahead" at 2AM for DST (losing the 60 minutes between 2-3AM), or when the hour between 1-2AM is repeated when we "fall back" at the start of Standard Time.  However, it turns out the reason was simpler than that as the US is a signatory of an agreement drawn up by the World Meteorological Organization calling for Universal Coordinated Time to be used as the standard (i.e., not seasonally adjusted).  However, I can't help wondering why local weather records shouldn't reflect the time that its population is conducting its life in.  And it's curious that Standard time, which lasts about four months in much of the US, is the year-round standard.

 

 

 

So what does this mean in practice?  Let's say that a rainstorm at 12:30 AM DST on May 10 kept you awake.  Using Standard Time rather than DST, the NWS would report that the rain fell at 11:30 PM on May 9; however, in the world of Daylight Saving Time that you're living in you were watching TV at 11:30 and not in bed being kept awake by the rain. 

 

(These parallel time frames bring to mind how life was in the US before time zones were established.  Prior to their creation in 1883 there were two types of time.  True Solar Time, based on the sun's actual position over a city, was precise and used by the general public in conducting its day-to-day activities, with every city having its own time (e.g., when it was noon in NYC it was 12:10 PM in Boston, 11:55 AM in Philadelphia, and 11:50 in Washington, DC).  Railway Time, on the other hand, was used by the railroads for scheduling arrivals and departures of its trains and was the impetus for the establishment of time zones, whereby New York, Boston, Philly and DC all had the same time).

 

    

Over the course of a year there are instances of daily records hinging on what happens either during the last hour of the day or the first hour of the next day, and the DST-Standard Time situation creates a "fuzzy" reality.  For example, sometimes there are days during DST when it appears a rainfall record has been set, but using Standard time is the official measure, the amount from midnight-1AM DST is credited to 11PM-midnight, erasing what appeared to be a record amount (however, there can be instances were adding rain to the previous day could result in a record amount for that date).  Regarding temperature records, I can recall a few instances in early October during the past fifteen years when it appeared a new record for the latest date for a low of 70+ was going to be established only to find that, although the temperature dropped below 70° after midnight DST, it was actually credited to the day before, so no record was set. 

 

Of course, in the grand scheme of things, this isn't a big deal.  Since it's doubtful many people are aware of this idiosyncrasy it's a case of ignorance being bliss.  However, for those of us who are aware of this quirk it's annoying (like a hangnail). 

 

 

Here are a number of other thought pieces I'v written about weather measurement:

 

A Case For Reporting Temperature & Precipitation to One or Two Decimals

Can Trace Amounts of Precipitation Add Up to Measurable Amounts?

Why 2011, Not 1983, Should be Crowned as NYC's Wettest Year

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Best & Worst Weather Conditions During Mets Home Openers

It seems fitting that the Mets first home opener in 1962, a season in which they lost 120 games, ranks as one of its worst, with cold temperatures, wind and drizzle.  And how perfect was it that the weather was glorious the year they won their first home opener in 1968?  The charts below focus on the best weather conditions in years the Mets won their home openers, while the worst weather is grouped into games lost and games won.  (But does it really matter what the weather is, just as long as the home team wins?)      

 

 

 

To read about weather and outcome of every Mets home opener since 1962, double click here.

 

 

 

March 2019 Weather Recap - Old Man Winter Makes a Memorable Exit

March began with a continuation of unseasonably cold temperatures that arrived in the last three days of February.  This extended Arctic outbreak persisted through the first eight days of the month; the average high/low during these days was 36/25, nine degrees colder than average.  This included three days in a row with highs of 32° or colder - the longest such stretch in March since 1984.  Besides the cold, an inch or more of snow fell on each of the first four days of the month - the longest streak of its kind.  The 10.4" that fell more than doubled the amount of snow from the previous four months (10.1"), making this the fourth winter of the past five in which March was the snowiest month. 

 

After March's harsh beginning, temperatures recovered and the rest of the month was two degrees above average, with the coldest reading being 32° (on two days) - and there was no measurable snowfall.  The month's mildest reading was 75° (26 degrees above average and two degrees shy of the record for the date), which occurred on 3/15.  A second day in the 70s came two weeks later (70° on 3/30).  Overall, the month was 0.8 degree below average, making it the sixth March of the past seven that was colder than average (but of the six years, 2019 was closest to average).

 

 

Like the temperature, the month's precipitation (3.87") was also slightly below average. The biggest rainfall of the month, and so far this year, occurred on 3/21-22 when 1.43" was measured.  This rainstorm was book-ended by three days before and five days after that had unusually low humidity; the lowest was reported on 3/24 and 3/26 when a few hours in the afternoon had readings of 13% and 14%, respectively. 

 

The 11-day stretch between Feb. 26 and March 8 saw the most wintry conditions of the winter.  The five-inch snowfall on March 3-4 was the second biggest on record to fall in temperatures that stayed above freezing (the greatest accumulation in above-freezing temperatures happened last year when 5.5" fell the morning of 4/2).

 

 

Of all the Marches since 1950, March 2019 ranks among the ten with the coldest starts.

 

 

Finally, although last March was colder than March 2019 (2.4 degrees below average vs. 0.8 below average) it had no days with temperatures colder than 27°, while this March had four such days (its coldest reading was 18°).  However, this March had eight days with highs of 55° or milder while last March had only three.

 

Other March recaps:

2018

2017

2016

 

 

 

February 2019 Weather Review: Largely Uninspiring

February 2019 was one of the least interesting months, weather-wise, in a while.  In fact, it was so uneventful I was tempted to not even bother with a monthly recap.  Although its average temperature was slightly above average (+0.9 degree) it was the coldest February since 2015.  Just 2.6" of snow was measured, the smallest amount in February in seven years (ironically, the milder February's preceding it all had more snow).  And although the amount of snow was well below the average of 9.2", the month's total precipitation (3.14") was an average amount (which is 3.09").  The coldest and mildest readings of the month occurred during the first week: 11° on 2/1, 65° on 2/5. 

 

Although the month wasn't too far from average, just three days had mean temperatures that were average.  Nineteen days were five or more degrees above or below average.  There were half a dozen days with highs of 35° or colder (three were 32° or colder) and four with highs of 55° or warmer.  The mildest stretch was the six days from 2/3 thru 2/8, which were 12 degrees above average (high/low of 54/37).  The coldest temperatures were experienced at the beginning and end of the month, with the first two days 13 degrees below average (28/14), and the final three days eight degrees colder than average (35/25). 

 

 

Although only 2.6" of snow fell (during what, on average, is the snowiest month of the winter) an amount this small isn't all that rare, happening about once every four or five years.  However, the last time a February as chilly as this year's had less snow was in 2004, which was 0.4 degrees above average and had just 0.7" of snow.  Finally, the only excitement about snow this February was the 1.2" snowfall on the 12th, which was the first snowfall of an inch or more in nearly three months (since the snowstorm of 11/15).  And it fell on the date most likely to have a snowfall of one-inch+.

Previous February recaps:

2018

2017

2015

Weather Highlights of Presidents' Day (1971-2019)

Since the Presidents' Day holiday was first observed on the third Monday of February in 1971, temperatures have ranged from 3° in 2015 to 64° in 2008.  There have been three consecutive Presidents' Days with highs of 32° or colder (1977-1979) and four in a row with highs of 50° or warmer (1981-1984).  The three coldest (based on mean temperature) were in 2015 (high/low of 21/3), 1987 (32/7), and 2003 (26/14).  The three warmest Presidents' Days were in 2008 (64/40), 1976 (60/43) and 1994 (53/42).  Here are some additional findings:

 

• The biggest temperature difference between two consecutive Presidents' Days was in 2007 and 2008 when a high/low of 30/12 was followed by a high/low of 64/40.  The closest in temperature was in 2009 and 2010 when the respective highs/lows were 40/28 and 40/27, and in 1981 and 1982 when the highs/lows were 57/34 and 56/33, respectively.

• The most years in a row with lows above freezing was five, from 1981 thru 1985.  Ironically, this streak was preceded by the coldest streak, the four-year period from 1977 thru 1980.  A five-year period from 2003 thru 2007 was also quite cold.

• Three of the coldest and two of the mildest readings on Presidents' Day have fallen on Feb. 16.  Additionally, five of the seven coldest readings have occurred during the 21st century.  Furthermore, three years in a row (2015-2017) had readings that were either among the coldest or mildest (2015, coldest on record; 2016, fourth coldest; and 2017, sixth mildest).  Lastly, the consecutive years 1981 and 1982 had two of the mildest high temperatures while 2003 and 2004 had two of the coldest lows. (See chart below.)

• Measurable snow has fallen on Monday in just five years, but two of these snowfalls were major snowstorms.  In 2003 16.5" fell (and 3.5" on Sunday night) while in 1979 12.7" fell.  The other three snowfalls were in 2005 (3.5"), 2011 (3.2") and 2016 (1.4").

• The most consecutive years with measurable precipitation on Presidents Day is only two, and it's happened three times: 2018 and 2019; 2010 and 2011; and 1975 and 1976.  The most years in a row with no precipitation is six, from 1980 to 1985.

• Looking at the three-day Presidents' Day weekends, 1979 had the coldest one, averaging a high/low of 19/7 (along with a 12.7" snowstorm).  The two next coldest were in consecutive years: 24/6 in 2016 and 26/8 in 2015.   2017 had the mildest Prez Day weekend: 61/42, followed by 1994 with a high/low of 59/39.  There have been six years in which the lows for each day of the weekend were all 32° or milder (most recently in 2017) and four in which the highs were all 32° or colder (most recently in 2015).

• Finally, Presidents' Day weekend 2018 has the distinction of being the only one that reported measurable precipitation on all three days.  At the other end of the spectrum, the most holiday weekends in a row with no measurable precipitation on any of its days is three, 1981-1983.

 

  

 

 

Snowstorms From Back in "The Good Old Days" (1900 - 1949)

By far the most popular posts on this site are about snowstorms.  And after reading a recent photo essay in the New York Times about snowstorms of the distant past I was inspired to write another - this one about those that crippled New York in the first half of the 20th century.  It's worth noting that back then snow removal was on the primitive side, largely dependent upon on manual labor, so relatively modest accumulations created problems that might happen nowadays with significantly greater accumulations (i.e., six inches in 1910 might be comparable in inconvenience to what a foot or more of snow creates today).  Furthermore, since the work ethos of that era was different than what it is today, employers weren't as forgiving when treacherous weather conditions made it difficult for workers to get to their jobs.

 

WINTER OF 1901-02

Feb. 17, 1902 - This storm dropped 10".  (Similar to a few other winter storms in the first decade of the century, I was unable to find details about when the snow fell, what the hourly amounts were or what the wind speed and direction were for each hour of the day.)

 

WINTER OF 1902-03

Dec. 25, 1902- This was the second significant snowfall in the past two weeks.  After 6.4" fell on Dec. 12-14 (most of it falling on the 13th), 6.5" fell today. 

Feb. 15-17, 1903 - This was a snow and sleet storm, which began mid-day on the 15th, continued through much of the 16th, and ended mid-day on the 17th.  In total 9.8" accumulated (accounting for all of February's snow).  During the first two days temperatures ranged between 28° and 30° then fell into the teens around daybreak on the 17th.

 

WINTER OF 1903-04

Jan. 2-3, 1904 - All but a half-inch of the storm's eight inches fell today during the afternoon and evening.  Temperatures fell slowly thru the day, dropping from 26° to 13°. 

 

WINTER OF 1904-05

Dec. 17-18, 1904 - Bringing to mind December 1902, two significant snowfalls fell in the course of a week as seven inches fell on Dec. 12-13 and a half foot fell today.  Snowfall from both was pretty evenly split between the two days of each snowfall. 

Jan. 3-4, 1905 - Seven inches of snow fell between mid-afternoon on 1/3 and mid-morning the following day.  After passage of a cold front mid-morning on the 3rd (with winds shifting from the northeast to the northwest) temperatures fell from the low-40s to mid-20s, when snow began falling, and were in the mid-teens when the snow came to an end.  The snow was blown around by winds gusting between 25-30 mph. 

Jan. 24-25, 1905 - Snow began falling after 9PM and continued for 24 hours, accumulating 11".  It was a fluffy snow with just 0.54" of water content.  During the course of the storm the temperature dropped from mid-20s to low teens.  Snow fell heaviest between 8AM and noon on the 25th when an Arctic front moved through.  Besides the cold and snow, the afternoon also featured gusty winds (25-30 mph).

 

 

WINTER OF 1905-06

Feb. 8-9, 1906 - Six inches of snow fell, much of it during the morning of the 9th.  Temperatures were mostly in the 31° to 33° range.  Snow changed to sleet and freezing rain shortly after daybreak on the 9th and continued through mid-day. 

March 15, 1906 - This cold, late winter storm had temperatures that were only in the mid-20s (typical high for mid-March is mid-40s) as a half-foot of snow piled up.  Snow began falling shortly before daybreak and continued until 10PM.  Despite the cold temperatures it was a wet snow, with 1.09" of liquid measured.

 

WINTER OF 1906-07

Jan. 17, 1907 - It was very cold during this quick-moving six-inch snowfall, with temperatures in the mid-teens when the snow began, rising into the low 20s during the afternoon.  The snow fell during the daylight hours, coming down heaviest in the early afternoon.

Feb. 4-5, 1907 - Snow began around noon and continued for nearly 24 hours, accumulating 11".  It fell heaviest between 8PM and 4AM.  Temperatures stayed in a narrow range of 19° to 22°.  This storm followed a snowfall of four inches on the first two days of the month.

 

 

Feb. 24, 1907 - Six inches of snow piled up between 1PM and 10PM.  Temperatures rose steadily, from low 20s when the snow started, to the mid-30s when it changed to rain and sleet in the final few hours.

March 10, 1907 - Much of today's six-inch accumulation fell between 1:00 and 5PM.  Temperatures ranged between 27° and 30°.  This was the winter's fourth snowfall of six inches or more since mid-January.

 

WINTER OF 1907-08

Jan. 23-24, 1908 - A 10-inch snowstorm began after dark on the 23rd, with three inches measured thru midnight, and an additional seven inches during the morning of the 24th.

 

 

Feb. 5-6, 1908 - The day began bitterly cold with a low of 1° above zero (the coldest reading of the winter).  Then the temperature rose all day and was 32° by midnight.  Snow began falling in the afternoon and continued into the next day with four inches falling on each day.  After 8" had fallen the snow changed to rain as the temperature rose to 40° (it tumbled back to 29° by midnight).  This snowstorm came almost one year to the day of an 11-inch snowstorm.

 

WINTER OF 1909-10

Dec. 25-26, 1909 - Snow began mid-afternoon on Christmas Day and fell for nearly 24 hours, accumulating eight inches.  Much of the snow fell on the 25th, and in above-freezing temperatures.

Jan. 14, 1910 - The biggest snowfall of the winter blanketed the City with 10" (0.5" of it fell on 1/15).  This came three weeks after a snowfall of eight inches.  Snow began falling shortly after midnight and fell steadily through late afternoon.  After the temperature rose to 33° late in the morning it fell steadily until 9PM when it was 20°.

 

WINTER OF 1911-12  

Dec. 4, 1911 - A morning snowfall of seven inches ended up being the biggest snowfall of the winter.  Precipitation began yesterday evening as rain but changed to snow overnight. The day's high/low of 33/19 made this the coldest day of the month.

 

WINTER OF 1912-13

Dec. 24, 1912 - A morning snowstorm dumped 11.4", making this Christmas Eve's biggest snowfall on record.  Snow fell heaviest between 4-9AM, when it fell at a rate of 1.5" per hour.

 

 

WINTER OF 1913-14

Feb. 13-14, 1914 - On the 13th the temperature rose from -1° to the mid-20s by midnight.  Snow began falling after 7PM, fell heavily through the overnight hours and then changed to sleet around daybreak as the temperature rose into the low 30s.  9.7" accumulated.  Then on 2/16 there was a five-inch snowfall during the morning in temperatures that were in the teens.

March 1, 1914 - Rain in the morning changed to snow around lunchtime and by midnight 13.5" had accumulated (an additional inch fell after midnight on 3/2).  It was a very heavy, wet snow with a high water content (2.65") until around 9PM when Arctic air moved in.  This was the century's first snowstorm of a foot or more, and the first since February 1899, when 16 inches piled up.  This remains the longest period between snowstorms of 12 inches or more.

 

 

WINTER OF 1914-15

April 3, 1915 - The biggest snowfall of the "winter" blanketed the City on what was Easter Saturday as ten inches of heavy snow fell between 9AM and 11PM (eight inches fell between 11AM and 6PM).  During the storm winds from out of the north gusted to 25 mph and temperatures hovered around 30°, producing wind chills in the teens.

 

 

WINTER OF 1916-17

Dec. 15, 1916 - A snowstorm dumped 12.7" of snow between 7AM-9PM, with nearly ten inches on the ground by mid-afternoon.  The snow was very powdery, produced from just 0.59" of water (and by daybreak on 12/16 it had packed down to nine inches on the ground).  The day's high was 28°, the first of five days in a row with highs in the 20s.

April 9, 1917 - One of April's biggest snowstorms dumped 6.5" (0.1" of it fell late last night).  This brought the winter's total snowfall to 50.7" for the second year in a row.  The snow was over by 7AM and by noon the temperature was in the upper 30s, where it stayed for the remainder of the afternoon.  Combined with sunny skies, substantial melting took place and by nightfall there was less than two inches on the ground in Central Park.

 

WINTER OF 1917-18

Dec. 13, 1917 - The biggest snowfall of the winter began late in the afternoon and by the time the snow ended in the early hours of 12/14 9.5" had accumulated (eight inches fell today).  The temperature rose into the mid-30s as midnight approached, making it a very wet snow, with rain mixed in at times. 

 

 

WINTER OF 1919-20

Feb. 4-7, 1920 - One of New York's most extended onslaughts of winter weather of all time brought 72 hours of snow, sleet and freezing rain (beginning after 2AM on 2/4 and ending around dawn on 2/7).  During this punishing storm, 4.41" of liquid precipitation fell, 17.5" of it in the form of snow (five to six inches of snow fell on 2/4, 2/5 and 2/6); the rest was sleet and freezing rain.  For much of the storm temperatures were in the 20s, and winds gusted between 35 and 45 mph, with wind chills in the single digits.

 

 

WINTER OF 1920-21

Feb. 20, 1921 - The winter's biggest snowfall amounted to 12.5".  Beginning shortly after midnight as rain, it quickly changed over to snow after 1AM and continued until early evening; it was a very wet snow, with 2.68" of liquid precipitation measured.  The temperature fell slowly through the day, from 35° to 22° (on the way to 14° by daybreak on the 21st).  Winds gusted to 41 mph.

 

WINTER OF 1921-22

Jan. 28-29, 1922 - New York was on the northern fringe of a winter storm that became known as the "Knickerbocker Snowstorm", named after a movie theater in Washington, DC whose roof collapsed from the weight of snow the night of 1/28, killing 98 moviegoers.  And although NYC escaped the paralyzing amounts of snow that piled up in Virginia, DC, Maryland and southeastern PA (6.5" fell in Central Park, the biggest snowfall of the winter), gale force winds clocked at between 35 and 50 mph howled for nearly 24 hours, beginning mid-day on the 28th.  Temperatures throughout the storm were in the 29° to 31° range, with chills in the low teens.

 

WINTER OF 1922-23

Jan. 3-4, 1923 - The biggest snowfall of the winter began this afternoon and continued until daybreak on the 4th, accumulating nine inches.  The temperature fell slowly through the storm, dropping from 33° to 29°.

Jan. 14, 1923 - Snow began falling after 10AM and by 5PM 7.8" had accumulated; then it changed to light rain for the next three hours as the temperature rose into the mid-30s.

 

 

March 6-7, 1923 - Snow began falling around 10AM and continued light and steady for the next 24 hours, accumulating 7.3" (along with a mix with sleet and freezing rain after 4PM). This was the tenth snowfall of three inches or more this winter.  Besides the snow/ice, winds gusted to 30-35 mph, and temperatures were very cold on the 6th, with a high/low of only 25/19.

 

WINTER OF 1923-24

April 1, 1924 - It was no April Fool's joke as 8.5" of heavy, wet snow fell from mid-afternoon through 9PM.  Interestingly, snow fell mostly with temperatures two or three degrees above freezing.  Besides the snow, gale force winds gusted to 35 mph.

 

WINTER OF 1924-25

Jan. 2, 1925 - A blizzard dumped close to a foot of snow (11.5").  Snow began falling around daybreak and lasted until 11PM.  In addition to snow there were also periods of heavy sleet in the early afternoon.  Temperatures throughout the storm were in the mid-20s, but howling winds gusting between 35-40 mph produced wind chills in the single digits.

 

 

Jan. 20, 1925 - A fierce storm dumped seven inches of snow and ice, with much of the snow falling between 1:00 and 8AM before it changed to sleet, which was driven by winds that gusted close to 40 mph. The sleet came down heaviest during the mid-day hours as the temperature rose above freezing briefly before falling back into the 20s.  Snow returned in the storm's last few hours. 

 

WINTER OF 1925-26

Feb. 10, 1926 - Less than a week after a fierce blizzard brought 10.4" of snow and sleet (accompanied by wind gusts of 40-45 mph) another snowstorm dumped a foot on the City, much of it falling this morning between 3:00 and 9:00 (light snow began last night and accumulated 1.6").  Winds from this storm gusted between 30 and 35 mph.  Temperatures in the morning held steady in the low 20s and then fell slowly during the afternoon, reaching 11° by midnight.  (In a similar fashion, two snowstorms of 9.2" and 12.8" occurred just three days apart in early February during the winter of 1994.)

 

 

WINTER OF 1926-27

Dec. 5, 1926 - 7.9" of snow fell on a very cold day, which had a high/low of just 24/11.  Snow fell heaviest from 1PM until 7PM.  This was the biggest snowfall of the winter and was the snowiest 12/5 until 2003, when 8.0" fell.

 

WINTER OF 1928-29

Feb. 21, 1929 - More than half of the winter's 13.8" of snow fell today as eight inches accumulated between 5AM and 2PM.  Temperatures were in the low-to-mid-twenties during the storm.

 

WINTER OF 1932-33

Dec. 17, 1932 - Snow that began late in the morning continued through the early AM on 12/18 and amounted to 7.2".  It was also a very cold day, with a high/low of only 20/11.  (The snow was gone by Christmas Day, which had a high of 59°.)  The next measurable snowfall wouldn't be for another seven weeks (on 2/4).

Feb. 11, 1933 - In just eight hours (1-9:00 AM) ten inches of snow fell, the biggest snowstorm in seven years.  Sleet mixed in during the final few hours even though temperatures were in the low 20s.

 

 

WINTER OF 1933-34

Dec. 26, 1933 - A little more than 24 hours after temperatures were in the mid-50s, a snowstorm swept into the City shortly after daybreak and by early afternoon ten inches had fallen, and temperatures were in the mid-20s.  An additional inch of snow fell in the early evening, bringing the day's snowfall total to 11.2". (Much larger accumulations would later fall on this date in 1946 and 2010).

Feb. 25, 1934 - On a brutally cold day (high/low of 16/9) light snow began falling mid-afternoon and fell steadily thru the following afternoon, accumulating 9.3".  This was the third snowfall of 7.5" or more this month and brought February's total snowfall to 27.9" (the other major snowfalls were on 2/1 and 2/19-20).  At the time this was the second snowiest month on record (now ranked sixth) and the snowiest February (since topped by Feb. 2010 and 2014).

 

WINTER OF 1934-35

Jan. 22-23, 1935 - This was a two-stage storm.  On 1/22 precipitation began in the morning as rain which changed to snow around mid-day as the temperature fell from the low 40s into the upper 20s; five inches was measured.  Then after a 13-hour break, winds shifted from the northwest to northeast and heavy snow returned late on the morning of 1/23.  Between 1:00 and 7PM it fell at a rate of an inch or more per hour and accumulated nearly thirteen inches.  Flakes fell until the wee hours of the next day.  Temperatures fell slowly throughout the day, dropping from 26° to 18° (and they'd continue to fall slowly the following day).  This was the first snowstorm of a foot or more in nine years. 

 

 

 

WINTER OF 1935-36

Jan. 19, 1936 - A winter storm brought heavy snow, sleet and gusty winds.  After beginning as light rain late last night, nine inches of snow piled up in the morning (mostly between 3:00-9:00) and the afternoon saw an onslaught of sleet that was propelled by 25-35 mph winds, producing wind chills in the single digits (the air temperature was in the mid-20s).  The sleet accumulated 2.5".

 

 

WINTER OF 1937-38

April 6-9, 1938 - This was a sloppy four days of weather, with 6.4" of snow falling on April 6 and 7 (the biggest snowfall of the winter) and 0.95" of rain on April 8 and 9.  During these days temperatures were mostly in the 30s.  The low of 28° on 4/6 was the only April day in the 1930s with a low in the 20s.

 

WINTER OF 1938-39

Nov. 27, 1938 - Just six weeks after the latest 90-degree reading on record, back-to-back snowstorms dropped nearly 13 inches of snow in four days.  The first, on 11/24-25  measured 8.8" (3.9" on Thanksgiving Day, 4.9" the day after) while the snowfall that ended before dawn today (and began late last night) brought an additional four inches.  The high/low during these four days was 32/20, which was 18 degrees below average.  This was the snowiest month of the winter and the third snowiest November on record (after Nov. 1898 and 1882).

Jan. 13, 1939 - Beginning mid-afternoon, a snowfall of 8.8" (1.0" fell on 1/14) tied the Thanksgiving snowstorm of 11/24-25 as the biggest snowfall of the season.

 

WINTER OF 1939-40

Feb. 14, 1940 - It was a wintry day, as wind-blown sleet and snow fell throughout the day, accumulating 7.7" (an additional 1.3" fell overnight).  Late in the morning winds gusted to 50 mph.  Temperatures fell slowly, from the low-30s in the morning to low-20s by midnight.

 

WINTER OF 1940-41

March 8, 1941 - A fierce winter storm that began late last night brought heavy snow, sleet and high winds during the morning.  By 11AM 18.1" of snow had fallen (15.7" of it fell today); the precipitation then changed to light drizzle in the afternoon (the day's high was 33°).  At the time this tied with a snowstorm in January 1935 as New York's second biggest snowfall (it's now ranked tenth).

 

 

WINTER OF 1942-43

Jan. 28, 1943 - The winter's nastiest storm dropped 7.1" of snow and sleet, which was accompanied by northeasterly winds that gusted to 34 mph.  Precipitation began at daybreak and continued through early evening.

 

WINTER OF 1943-44

April 5, 1944 - Four days before Easter Sunday a late season snowstorm dumped 6.5".  Beginning as rain a little after midnight, it changed to snow around 2AM and mixed with sleet around lunchtime before ending in mid-afternoon.  The snow came down heaviest between 3-5AM when three inches accumulated.  The day's high/low was 34/29.

 

WINTER OF 1945-46

Dec. 19, 1945 - An afternoon/evening snowstorm dropped 8.3" (all but 0.3" fell today).  This would be the biggest snowfall of the winter (and since March 1941).  Besides the snow, temperatures were also quite cold, with a high/low of just 23/20 (fifteen degrees below average).

 

WINTER OF 1946-47

Feb. 21, 1947 - Snow that began yesterday evening (accumulating 4.2" by midnight) continued through this morning and piled up an additional 6.5".  This 10.7" snowfall was the biggest in six years.  Temperatures were very cold, with a high/low of 24/14, sixteen degrees below average.

 

 

 

WINTER OF 1947-48

Dec. 26, 1947 - Snow began falling around 3:30 AM on the 26th and fell steadily all day, at times at a rate of two inches per hour (the forecast at daybreak called for a five-inch accumulation).  Winds gusted as high as 36 mph during the evening and temperatures hovered around 29° for much of the storm.  By midnight 25.5" had piled up and an additional 0.9" fell after midnight, breaking the previous snowfall record of 21" set by the great blizzard of March 1888; it would remain the City's greatest snowfall of all time until 26.9" fell in February 2006 (it now ranks third).  This storm came three days after a snowfall of 2.5".

 

 

WINTER OF 1948-49

Dec. 19, 1948 - One year after the record-setting 26.4" snowstorm of Dec. 26 another formidable snowstorm crippled the City with 16.0".  At the time this was the shortest length of time between major snowstorms.  Since then there have been seven pairs of major snowstorms (of one foot or more) that have occurred with less than 12 months in between (the shortest time between being four weeks in January and February 1978.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Winters With Snow Droughts Rather Than Snowdrifts

A number of years ago I published an analysis about periods of cold winter weather that had little snow (Cold & Dry: A Snow Lover's Nightmare).  This new post focuses on the longest periods between snowfalls regardless of temperature.  And while I refer to these snowless periods as "droughts" that's somewhat of a misnomer since a typical winter in New York sees, on average, just twelve days with measurable snow, so it's not uncommon for many days to go by between snowfalls (however, "drought" was catchier than "extended number of days between snowfalls").  But as I was pulling the information together I realized there were variations on snow droughts so I've included them as well.

 

 

WINTER-LONG DROUGHTS

There have been nine winters with less than ten inches of snow, the most recent being the winter of 2012 (the average snowfall of winters since 2000 has been 34").  In the 1950s there were six consecutive winters, from 1950 thru 1955, with less than 20 inches; and there were five in a row with less than 15 inches, from 1928 thru 1932.  The least snow to fall in back-to-back winters occurred in 1997 and 1998, which had only 10.0" and 5.5", respectively.  (By contrast, there have been 18 snowstorms with greater accumulations than those two winters combined.)

 

 

WITHIN-SEASON DROUGHTS

Since the winter of 1870 there have been eleven snow-free periods that lasted seven weeks or longer.  Two were in the 19th century and were in consecutive winters; all of the others have been since the winter of 1950.  The winter of 1953-54 stand outs for having two droughts among the eleven (that winter had 15.1" of snow).  The winter with the second longest drought, (1983) had the most snow, 27.2" (nearly 2/3 of the snow came from the blizzard of Feb. 17-18).

 

 

WINTERS IN WHICH ONE MONTH DOMINATED THE SEASON'S SNOWFALL

A number of winters had sparse snowfall in all months but one.  The most recent was in 2016 when January had New York's biggest snowfall of all time.  And it also happened in the back-to-back winters of 1925 and 1926. 

 

 

BIG SNOWFALLS FOLLOWED BY LENGTHY HIATUS

• It appeared the blizzard of Feb. 11-12, 1983 (17.6") would be the last snowfall of the winter, but then more than nine weeks later 0.8" fell on April 18.
• In the winter of 1892 an eight-inch snowfall at the end of February was followed by 44 days until the next snowfall.  Two winters prior to 1892 there was another eight-inch snowfall, this one followed by 27 days with no snow.
• On Dec. 27, 1934 11.2" fell and then the next snowfall wasn't for nearly five weeks (but the snow that fell on Jan. 28 amounted to just 0.1").
• A snowfall of 8.9" on Feb. 26-27, 1991 was followed by 30 snow-free days.
• On the first day of December in 1882 there was a nine-inch snowfall and then the rest of  the month was snow free.  The streak ended on New Year's Day when 0.3" was measured. 
• A snowfall of 7.9" on Valentine's Day 1975 was followed by four weeks with no measurable snow.

 

BIG SNOWFALLS AFTER A LENGTHY HIATUS

• NYC's second biggest snowfall of all-time, 26.9" on Feb. 11-12, 2006, came nearly four weeks after the previous snowfall (two inches on Jan. 16)
• 15.3" fell during the "Lindsay snowstorm" of Feb. 9-10, 1969, breaking a string of 32 snowless days.
• During the winter of 1995 a snowstorm of 10.8" on Feb. 4 came 23 days after the previous snowfall, which amounted to just 0.2".  (The Feb. 4 snowfall accounted for almost all of the winter's accumulation of 11.8".)
• During the winter of 1908 a snowfall of ten inches on Jan. 23-24 broke a string of 39 days without snow.
• The April blizzard of 1982 dumped 9.6" of snow 32 days after the previous snowfall on March 4 (of just 0.7"). 
• In March 1981 a snowfall of 8.6" on the 5th broke a snow-free streak of nearly seven weeks.

 

MINIMAL SNOWFALL AT BEGINNING/END OF DROUGHTS

An argument can be made that qualifying a drought as ended when snowfall is less than an inch doesn't really mean a drought has ended since it's an insignificant amount.  There have been sixteen hiatuses of four weeks or longer in which a half-inch or less of snow fell at both ends.  The smallest amounts were dustings of 0.1" at the beginning and end of a 36-day streak in the winter of 1901; this was matched in the winter of 1975 when amounts of 0.1" were separated by 29 days.  Additionally, snowfalls of 0.2/0.1 bracketed 29 days in between during the winter of 1943, and two 0.2" snowfalls were separated by streaks of 44, 34 and 28 days in the winters of 1992, 1918 and 1934, respectively.

 

SIGNIFICANT SNOWFALLS BEFORE/AFTER SNOW DROUGHTS

Most recently, the winter of 2013 had a 26-day period with no snow that was book-ended by snowfalls of 11.4" (Feb. 8-9) and 4.0" (March 8).  And during the winter of 2009 a snowfall of 4.3" on Feb. 3 was followed by 25 days with no snow which ended when 8.3" fell on March 1-2.

In winter of 1915 a snowfall of 7.7" on March 6-7 was followed by 26 days with no snow and then there was a snowfall of 10.2" on April 3-4.  And earlier that winter snowfalls of 4.4" and 7.7" were separated by 30 snowless days.

The longest drought bracketed by significant snowfalls occurred during the winter of 1906 when a snowless period of 32 days began after a snowfall of 6.0" on Feb. 9 and ended when 6.5" fell on March 14-15.

The winter of 1875 had a four-week period with no snow, with a snowfall of ten inches five days before Christmas on one end and five inches on Jan. 18.

 

SNOW-FREE DAYS BETWEEN WINTERS

The average number of snow-free days between winters is 264 days (or 38 weeks, about the length of a full-term pregnancy).  The longest number of days with no measurable snow was 320 between the winter of 1972 and 1973 (Mar. 15, 1972 - Jan. 28, 1973), followed very closely by the 319-day respite in 2002 (Jan. 20 thru Dec. 4). 

Seventeen winters had their last snowfalls before March 1.  The winter of 2002's last snowfall was on Jan. 19 and came just twelve days after the first snowfall.  Although the period between the two snowfalls was minimal, the fact that there was no measurable snow in November, December, February, March or April, makes this winter the title holder of the "Greatest Snow Drought" competition.

Finally, there have been six winters to go out with a bang, so to speak, with their last snowfalls amounting to more than nine inches.  Three were in February, the other three were after the spring equinox.  By far the greatest of these accumulations was the winter of 2010's final snowfall, a monster of a snowstorm, on Feb. 25-26, that buried the City under 20.9" (NYC's fifth biggest snowstorm of all time). The other five winters: winter of 1979 (12.7" on Feb. 19); 1915 (10.2" on April 3-4); 1967 (9.8" on March 21-22); 1903 (9.8" on Feb. 15-17) and 1982 (9.6" on April 6).