Today in New York Weather History: June 9

 

1915 (Wednesday)

Today's high/low of 81°/58° was preceded by two days with a high/low of 77°/60°, and would be followed by two days with highs/lows 77°/59° and 77°/60°.

1933 (Friday)

It was a hot and very humid day, with a high/low of 97°/76°.  The high was a record and the heat index reached 110° during lunchtime.

 

 

1973 (Saturday)

Today's high was 92°, the year's first day in the 90s and the first day of a four-day heat wave. 

1980 (Monday)

This morning's low of 47°, a record for the date, was the coolest reading in June in eight years - and there hasn't been a chillier reading since.

1984 (Saturday)

Today's high of 96° was the hottest reading of the summer, eighteen degrees above average.  It came in the midst of an early summer heat wave which lasted ten days (June 5-14).  The average high/low during these days was 91°/73°, twelve degrees hotter than average.  Six of the days were in the 90s.

 

 

1989 (Friday)

2.55" of rain fell today, with 0.75" of it pouring down between 11 AM-1 PM; another 1.15" fell between 8-11 PM.  This was a record amount for the date.  Furthermore, this was the sixth day in a row with rain, totaling 4.95". 

1997 (Monday)

Twenty of the past twenty-one days had below-average temperatures, resulting in temperatures that were six degrees below average.

2003 (Monday)

Four of the past five days had a low of 57°; the other day had a low of 58°.  Also, twenty-eight of the past thirty days were cooler than average.

2004 (Wednesday)

Today's high was 91°, which would be the hottest reading of the year, and the first of just two 90-degree days all summer (the other would be on Aug. 28).  2004 joined four other years that had 91° or 90° as their hottest reading: 1884, 1889, 1902 and 1960.  A typical New York summer has eighteen days with highs of 90+, and the hottest temperature is usually around 97°.

 

 

2008 (Monday)

Today was a scorcher, with a high/low of 96°/76°, sixteen degrees above average.  This was the third day in a row with highs in the 90s, and tomorrow would be the fourth.

2009 (Tuesday)

In just fifteen minutes time, in the wee hours of the morning, 0.75" of rain thundered down between 2:41-2:56 AM.  Rain continued until 8 AM and totaled 1.80".

 

 

2010 (Wednesday)

0.89" of rain fell, beginning early in the afternoon and continuing until a little past midnight, breaking a three-week dry spell in which only 0.11" of rain had fallen.

2011 (Thursday)

The day after a high of 93°, today's high reached a sizzling 95°.  Meanwhile, Newark, as usual, out-fried NYC, with highs of 99° and 102°, both which were records. 

2017 (Friday)

For the first time this month the high reached 80°, the deepest into June that the first 80°+ reading occurred since 2003, when it also happened on 6/9.  Additionally, this was the first reading in the 80s since the three-day heat wave of 5/17-19 ended.

2021 (Wednesday)

With a high of 90°, this was the fourth, and last, day of a four-day heat wave.  (And the day before the heat wave started, the high reached 89°.)  This was the first heat wave of this length in June since 2008.  And although that heat wave's average high was significantly hotter (95° vs. 91°), this June's heat wave had low temperatures that were significantly warmer (75° vs 70°).  It was also very humid, with dew points largely in the 68°-72° range, producing afternoon heat indices in the mid-90s.  With four days in the 90s through 6/9, this was the earliest date for that number of days since 2000, when the fourth reading in the 90s occurred on 6/2 (ironically, that year would have only seven in total). 

 

 

 

 

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May 2023 Weather Recap: Sunny & Dry Conditions Prevail

 

"Blue skies smilin' at me,
Nothin' but blue skies do I see"

- Willie Nelson

 

May 2023 in New York brought to mind Willie Nelson's song "Blue Skies" as there was an overabundance of sunny or clear skies.  After the month began damp, chilly, and overcast (thru 5/5), 24 of the next 26 days saw either sunny or clear skies.  

 

With just 1.28" of rain measured in Central Park, May 2023 was the driest May since 1964 and the 13th driest May overall.  It had the same amount of precipitation as February (which was the 10th driest February).  Much of the month's rain, 0.77", fell on 5/20.

 

May's 14 days with humidity levels of 25% or lower was the most of any month this century (passing April 2010 which had 13); 11 of these days were consecutive, between 5/7 and 5/17.  May's previous most days of low humidity was seven (in 2014 and 2007).

 

The month was slightly cooler than average (-0.5 degrees) due to the average low, which was 1.4 degrees below average.  This was the first month this year with a below average temperature.  (Thru April, 2023 was about five degrees warmer than average.)

 

There was a 10-day period that had temperatures five degrees above average (May 7-16).  The other days of the month were three degrees below average.

 

After having two days with highs in the 90s in April, May's warmest reading was 87° (5/12).  The chilliest reading, 43°, came six days later.  And May's mildest low reading of 66° was lower than April's (70°).  The two days with lows in the 60s were the fewest in May since 2005. 

 

The first 19 days of May had 0.42" of rain, which was similar to the 0.40" of rain that fell in the first 21 days of April.   

 

On average May is 9.5 degrees warmer than April.  This year it was 5.1 degrees milder.  Only six other Mays have been closer to April's average temperature: 1945 (3.6 degrees milder); 2005 (3.8 degrees milder); 2017 (3.9 degrees milder); 2002 (4.6 degrees milder); 1968 (4.6 degrees milder); and 1915 (4.6 degrees). 

 

Here are recaps of the previous eight Mays:

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

 

Recap of April 2023: 2nd Mildest, 7th Wettest

 

 

April 2023 was 3.9 degrees above average and rainfall was about three and a half  inches above the norm, making the month the second mildest and seventh wettest April on record. 

 

After temperatures nine degrees milder than average occurred in the first two-and-a-half weeks of the month (including back-to-back days in the 90s), the last week of the month was five degrees below average.  This cool period is what prevented April from becoming the mildest on record (finishing 0.3 degrees behind April 2010).

 

As for rainfall, despite the first three weeks of April receiving just 0.40”, which was the least amount of rain thru 4/21 since April 1968, incredibly, the month became one of the wettest Aprils as 7.30" of rain fell in the last nine days of the month.  This rain came from three storm systems that each produced more than two inches of rain:  2.19” on 4/22-23; 2.79” on 4/28-29; and 2.32” on 4/30.  

 

April 13 and 14 had highs of 90° and 91°, respectively.  Only three other Aprils have had 90s on earlier dates: April 7, 2010; April 8, 1991; and April 12, 1977.  This was the 13th April to have highs in the 90s and the sixth with two or more (the most is three in 1976 and 2002).

 

The low of 70° on the morning of 4/14 has the distinction of being the earliest reading of 70+ on record.

 

The month’s chilliest reading was 37°.  Only four other Aprils have had their chilliest reading above that (last April was one of them; mildest is 42° in 1878); five other Aprils also had a chilliest reading of 37°.

 

Finally, the six-days between 4/11 and 4/16 were all ten degrees or more above average, with the three-day period of 4/12-14 being 25 degrees above average.  Meanwhile, the last week of April had below average temperatures each day - the longest streak of below average temperatures since December.

 

 

Here are April recaps of the previous seven years:

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

 

 

March 2023 Weather Recap - Third Month In a Row With Above Average Temperatures

March 2023 was 1.8 degrees above average, continuing the year's streak of months with above average temperatures.  However, it wasn't nearly as above average as January (+9.8 degrees) or February (+5.2).  Sill, eleven days were five degrees or more above average (and three were five degrees or more below average).  Among all Marches  it was the 25th mildest.  The three previous Marches were all milder (2022 ranks #17, 2021 #13, and 2020 #7).

 

The mildest temperature in March was 63° (on 3/21 and 3/26), which was chillier than the mildest readings of February and January, which were 70° and 66°, respectively.  (On average the mildest reading in March is around 70°.)  This was just the ninth March to have its mildest reading chillier than January's or February's.  The previous time it happened was in 2008.  March 2023 had six days with highs in the 60s, all occurring between 3/17 and 3/27. 

 

 

 

The warmest reading of March was also the warmest reading in ten other Marches, making 63° the most frequent warmest reading in March.  The coldest reading was 29° (3/19), the mildest coldest reading in March since 2010.  (On average the coldest reading in March is around 20°.)

 

 

This March was only 1.1 degree milder than January (historically, it's about nine degrees milder).  Although this was one of the smallest temperature differences between the two months, there have been thirteen Marches that were colder than January.  (The last time this happened was in 1960.)

 

Twelve days had average mean temperatures (i.e., falling between one degree below average and one degree above average), which is the most to  be reported in March (in the years since 1960) and the most of any month since June 2014 (which had 13).  Seven of the days with average temperatures were consecutive (3/7-13). 

 

Twelve days also had humidity levels that dropped below 25%, the most in March this century.  (April 2010 had the most of any month, 13.)  They were concentrated in the 15-day period March 16-30, with ten of the days reporting very low humidity.  The lowest humidity level was 13% during the afternoon of 3/21. 

 

March's total precipitation was 3.32", nearly an inch below average.  Combined with February's 1.28", February/March was the 17th driest on record.  (The driest and second driest Feb/Mar were in 2012 and 2009.)  Besides this year, March 1975 also had 3.32" of rain, while March 2000 had 3.31" and March 1871 and March 1911 had 3.33".

 

Just 0.1" of snow was reported (on the morning of 3/7).  Twenty-two other Marches have had less.  (And three others had the same 0.1" as 2023.)  This brought the winter's snowfall to 2.3", making this the least snowy winter on record (0.5" less than the winter of 1972-73).

 

Finally, Jan-Feb-Mar 2023 became the mildest on record, just ahead of the first three months of 2012.

 

 

Here are previous March recaps: 

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

 

 

 

  

February 2023 Weather Recap: 3rd Mildest, 10th Driest

 

Following the mildest January on record, February 2023 was the third mildest February (behind Feb. 2018 and 2017).  One anomaly was an Arctic flash-freeze which saw the temperature drop to 3° on 2/4.  (By contrast, January’s coldest reading was 28°.)  Overall, the month was 5.2 degrees milder than average (January was 9.8 degrees above average), which was largely due to a 13-day period between Feb. 8-20 that had temperatures that were 12 degrees above average. 

 

The month was 2.4 degrees colder than January.  While the two months had similar average highs (48.6° in Feb., 48.7° in Jan.), February's average low was 4.6 degrees colder (33.6° vs. 38.2°)

 

The range in temperature during the month was 67 degrees (from 3° to 70°), which was the greatest range in February since 1961 (-2° to 65°).  Average range in February is 48 degrees (13° to 61°).  The reading of 70° on 2/16 was the twelfth time a reading of 70+ was reported in February and a year’s earliest date for a reading of 70+ since 2007.

 

Feb. 1 had the first measurable snow of the winter (0.4"), the latest date on record.  The next snowfall was nearly four weeks later (Feb. 27-28) when 1.8" fell.  32 other Februarys have had less snow than February 2023's 2.2", including last February and February 2020, which had 2.0" and a trace, respectively. 

 

1.28” of precipitation was reported, an amount that made it the tenth driest on record (0.01" less than February 1872, which was pushed out of the top 10).  The greatest amount from a storm was 0.55" on 2/27-28.  

 

The winter of 2023 was the third mildest on record (behind the winters of 2002 and 2016, but January and February 2023 became the mildest first two months of any year, easily beating Jan-Feb 1990.   Finally, the winter of 2023 was the 18th in which December was the coldest month.

 

 

 

 

Here are other February recaps:

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2015

Super Bowl Sunday Weather Highlights in New York City

 

 

 

Over the course of its 57-year history Super Bowl Sunday has slowly evolved to become, more or less, a national holiday.  Played in the midst of winter it has been scheduled as early as Jan. 9 (in the early years) and as late as Feb.15.  And while New York has had its share of cold temperatures on this day snow didn't have much of a presence until 2021 when 4.5" accumulated (and 1.6" fell the following year). 

 

Although most of the games have been played in the South or on the West Coast, the Super Bowl of 2014 was played in northern New Jersey.  And although that winter was cold and snowy, the day of the game had mild temperatures.  (But harsh winter weather returned the next day as eight inches of snow fell.)  

 

In addition to that Super Bowl, there have been six other Super Bowls of great interest to residents of New York City because of the participation of New York teams - and they won five of them.  The New York Jets were in one, Super Bowl III (1969), while the New York Giants have played in five between 1987 and 2012 (winning four).  None of these games had precipitation in NYC.  Coldest of the Giants/Jets Super Bowls in NYC was 1987's game (high/low of 25°/8°).  The mildest reading was 49°/33° in 2008.  

 

The 36 Super Bowls played in January had slightly colder than average temperatures in New York, averaging a high/low of 37°/24°, while the 21 played in February have been on days that were slightly above average, with a high/low of 44°/30°.

 

In terms of conditions in cities where the Super Bowl has been played, the coldest temperature for a Super Bowl occurred in 1972 when the game time temperature in New Orleans for Super Bowl VI was in the upper 30s (the coldest outside temperature for a game played in a domed stadium was 20° in Detroit in 1982).  Meanwhile, 1973's Super Bowl VII in LA was played with temperatures rising to 84° and thirty years later the game in Tampa saw a high of 82°.  Rain fell in Houston in for Super Bowl XVI in 2007 when Prince played in a steady rain during halftime.  The game played in Atlanta in 2000 had to contend with two ice storms during the week leading up to the game.  Finally, 1970's game in New Orleans had a threat of tornadoes while 1985's game in Stanford Stadium had to contend with foggy conditions.

 

 

The charts below focus on extreme weather conditions in New York on Super Bowl Sunday.

 

MILDEST

Four Super Bowl Sundays have had highs of 55° or milder.

• 59° on Jan. 12, 1975
• 58° on Jan. 28, 1990
• 56° on Feb. 2, 2014
• 55° on Feb. 5, 2006

 

COLDEST

Five Super Bowl Sundays had lows in the single digits, the last time being in 1987.  Eight Super Bowl Sundays have had highs of 25° or colder (the last time was also in 1987)

• 4° on Jan. 20, 1985
• 5° on Jan. 16, 1972 (also had the coldest high, 15°)

 

SNOWIEST

Nine Super Bowl Sundays have had measurable snowfall; five of them picked up an inch or more.  The most was 4.5" on Feb. 4, 2021 (during the daytime hours), the second most was the following year.

• 4.5" on Feb. 4, 2021
• 1.6" on Feb. 13, 2022
• 1.5" on Jan. 30, 2000
• 1.3" on Jan. 26, 1992
• 1.0" on Feb. 6, 2003

 

RAINIEST   

Three Super Bowl Sundays had an inch or more, and another had 0.96"

• 3.45" on Jan. 21, 1979 (before 7 AM)
• 2.19" on Jan, 26, 1986 (before 9 AM)
• 1.30" on Jan. 14, 1968
• 0.96" on Feb. 4, 2018

 

HIGHLIGHTS OF SELECTED SUPER BOWL SUNDAYS

Jan. 15, 1967 - The first Super Sunday had above average temperatures, with a high/low of 49°/37° in Central Park. Skies were a mix of sun and clouds.  (At the time, the game wasn't called the "Super Bowl".)

Jan. 16, 1972 - The morning low of 5° (coldest reading of the winter) came less than two days after the temperature reached 62° (at 10 PM on Jan. 14).  Combined with a high of only 15°, this was the coldest day of the winter.  (Only a handful of days have had a high temperature this cold.)

Jan. 9, 1977 - This was the first Super Bowl Sunday to receive measurable snow.  It began snowing at around 9 PM and by midnight 0.8" had been measured. 

Jan. 21, 1979 - 3.45" of rain fell, mostly before 7 AM.  This was the most rain to ever fall in a 24-hour period in the month of January.

Jan. 22, 1984 - High/low was 24°/9° and came at the end of an eight-day streak with highs of 32° or colder (and 11 of the past 12 days were 32° or colder).

Jan. 20, 1985 - This was the second year in a row in which the low was in the single digits, but this year it came after dark (on its way to a low of -2° the next morning).  The reading of 4° is the coldest reading NYC has had on the day of the Super Bowl.  Snow showers late in the morning produced a half-inch of snow.

Jan. 26, 1986 - 2.19" of rain fell, a record for the date, with much of it falling before 9 AM, but a second round of rain, from another low pressure system, moved in after 10 PM. 

Jan. 26, 1992 - The winter's first snowfall of an inch or more fell in the wee hours of the morning, accumulating 1.3".  This was also the first time an inch or more of snow fell on Super Bowl Sunday.  The daylight hours were mostly sunny but cold, with a high/low of 31°/20°.

Feb. 6, 2011 - Although the day had above-freezing temperatures for its entirety (high/low of 45°/37°), there was still 15" of snow left on the ground in Central Park from the 32" of snow that fell since 1/11.

Feb. 2, 2014 - Today's high of 56° made this the mildest reading of the month.  And fears that today's outdoor Super Bowl in northern New Jersey would be played in cold and/or snowy conditions were allayed when the game time temperature was in the upper 40s.  The following day conditions reverted to the nasty winter of 2014 with a snowfall of eight inches.

Feb. 4, 2018 - Nearly an inch of rain fell tonight, mostly between 5-11 PM. 

Feb. 7, 2021 - Periods of heavy snow fell between 9 AM and 6 PM, accumulating 4.5".  Central Park was low man on the totem pole as most surrounding locations reported six to eight inches.  The temperature didn't fall to freezing until early afternoon which likely kept the City's accumulation down. 

Feb. 13, 2022 - 1.6" of snow fell the day after the high reached 59°.  This was the first time measurable snow fell on consecutive Super Bowl Sundays, and this year's amount was the second biggest accumulation, behind last year's.  

 

 

 

A Look At Mild Winter Months With the Most Snow & Cold Winter Months With Little Snow

 

 

January 2023 was the mildest on record and had just a trace of snow (on three days); the two seem to go hand in hand.  That said, I was curious about mild winter months with appreciable snowfall and cold winter months with relatively little.  Call it an analysis of counter-intuitives.

 

Nearly 40% of  months that are among the 10 mildest between December and March have had no snow or just a trace.  But of the mildest months to report snow, the snowiest was February 2017 (ranked as the second mildest February) which had 9.4" of snow.  This amount fell on one day, 2/9, and came after a high temperature of 62° the day before.  The second most snowfall was in Feb. 1991 with 9.1".  8.9" of that amount was from a storm near the end of the month.

 

On average, a top-10 coldest month in the winter (December thru March) averages 12 inches of snow.  The least snowy of these coldest months was December 1989 (ranked third coldest December) which reported just 1.4" of snow that fell during three non-consecutive days (0.1" on 12/13, 0.7" on 12/15 and 0.6" on 12/30).

 

   

FYI, the snowiest month among the 10 coldest of each winter month is March 1896 which had 30.5".  Much of the snow fell from two storms, one of 11 inches and another of 10 inches.

Old Man Winter A No-Show As January 2023 Becomes NYC's Mildest January

 

 

You might say that January 2023 had a January thaw that lasted for the entirety of the month, resulting in New York's mildest January on record (0.3 degrees warmer than Jan. 1932).  Temperatures were 9.8 degrees above average, with every day being milder than average.  It joined December 2015 as the only two months to have this distinction.  Average high/low was 49°/38°.  (The high was comparable to Nashville's average high in January, the average low was comparable to Atlanta's.)

 

On average, January is 5.4 degrees colder than December, but about once every five years it's warmer than December - 2023  was one of these years as January was five degrees milder than December.  Only three other Januarys have been more than five degrees milder than the preceding December: Jan. 1990 was 15.5 degrees milder than Dec. 1989 (41.4° vs. 25.9°); Jan. 1911 was 6.3 degrees warmer (36.3° vs. 30.0°); and Jan. 2006 was 5.3 degrees milder (40.9° vs. 35.6°).

 

After December ended with three days in a row that were ten or more degrees above average, the streak continued for the first six days of January (the January portion of the streak was 17 degrees above average).  It wasn't until 1/14 that a reading of 32° or colder occurred; only Jan. 2005 had a later date for this first cold reading (occurring one day later).

 

 

The month had 14 days with highs of 50° or warmer; and 15 days were ten or more degrees above average.  The mildest reading was 66° (the only day in the 60s).  And only three days had highs chillier than 40°, with the coldest high being 38°.  Just four days had lows of 32° or colder (21 days is the January average).  The coldest reading was 28°, which is the mildest reading to be the coldest for any January.  (The previous record was 25° in 1937.)

 

The most above average day was 1/4, twenty-three degrees above average (high/low of 66°/49°), and since there were no days below average, the least above average day was on 1/14, with a high/low of 38°/31°, two degrees above average.

 

Jan. 31 was the 35th consecutive day with an above average mean temperature, breaking the previous record of 34 days during the winter of 2015-16 (Dec. 1-Jan. 3). 

 

Besides the consistent above average readings, January had no measurable snow (average amount is about nine inches); but there were traces reported on three days.  It tied 2008 and 1933 for being the second least snowy January (Jan. 1890 reported no snow, not even a trace). 

 

With no measurable snow falling in either November or December, Central Park on 1/29 broke the 1973 record for the latest date in a winter without seeing any measurable snow (the first snow finally arrived in the pre-dawn hours of 2/1 when 0.4" accumulated).  

 

Finally, the month's total precipitation of 4.38" was very similar to January 2022's 4.29", about three-quarters of an inch above average.  (However, last January's precipitation included 15.3" of snow.)  Much of the rain, 3.13", fell in the eight-day period from the 19th to the 26th; the biggest rainstorm produced 1.34" on 1/25-26.

 

 

 

One observation about the five mildest Januarys is that if Jan. 1932 didn't have a high/low of 33°/24° on the last day of the month it would likely still  be the mildest January as the first 30 days of the month had an average temperature of 43.7°, 0.2 degrees milder than Jan. 2023.  (January 2023 missed meeting the same fate as Jan. 1932 by one day as below average temperatures arrived on Feb. 1.)

 

Here are previous January recaps (no recap was published for Jan. 2016).

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2015

2014


 

2023 Weather Highlights in New York

 

 

JANUARY

1 - Temperatures were nearly as mild as a year ago (high/low of 55°/49°) but this year differed as the day featured sunny skies. 

6 - This was the ninth day in a row with a mean temperature 10 degrees or more above average, the longest such streak since another one of nine days in December 2015 (there was a 10-day streak in October 1990).  The average high/low during this streak was 56°/46°,  sixteen degrees above average.  And although  this was the last day of the streak, tomorrow would still be well above average (+7 degrees).

14 - For the first time this year the temperature fell to 32°.  Only 2005 started with a longer streak, with its first reading of 32° or colder happening on 1/15.  This was also the 18th day in a row with above average temperatures.

16 - This morning's low of 28° would be the coldest reading of the month -  the mildest coldest reading of any January on record, breaking the previous record of 25° in January 1937.  (January 2023 would become the mildest January on record.)

29 - The winter of 1973's record for latest date of the first measurable snowfall was broken today - and it would continue to be broken into February.  (The average winter in Central Park has 14.2" of snowfall by the end of January.)

 

FEBRUARY

1 - At long last Central Park had its first measurable snow of the winter as 0.4" accumulated in the pre-dawn hours.  This is the longest NYC had to wait for this event (the previous record was 1/29 during the winter of 1973).  Not only was today the end of the City's record snowless streak, it was also the end of its record 35-day streak with above average mean temperatures. Today was 2 degrees colder than average (high/low of 38°/26°).  And, finally, this morning's low was the coldest reading since the day after Christmas.

4 - This morning's frigid low of +3° was Central Park's coldest reading in four years (+2° on 1/31/19) and the coldest reading in February in seven years (-1° on 2/14/16).  And from 3-7 AM howling winds gusting between 25-35 mph produced wind chills between -10° and -15°.  Today's reading was in sharp contrast to January's coldest of 28° (the mildest coldest reading in January on record).  Finally, although today's reading was the coldest of the winter, the coldest day of the winter (based on average temperature) remained 12/24, with a high/low of 15°/7° (today's high reached 27° shortly before midnight).

Today's low was the ninth time since 2000 that a reading of 3° or colder occurred (and the fourth time it's happened in February). 

14 - Through today, just 0.05" of precipitation fell in Central Park this month, making this the second driest first half of February on record.  Only February 1980 had a smaller amount.

16 - The day after a high of 67° today was even milder as the high reached 70°, one degree shy of tying the record for the date.  This was the mildest reading in February since 2018, when the warmest reading of any February, 78°, occurred on 2/21.  And it was the earliest date for a year's first reading of 70+ since 2007 (when it occurred on 1/6).  Showers in the afternoon produced a rather meager 0.07" of rain, but it was more than what fell in the first 15 days of the month (0.05").  

Finally, this was the ninth day in a row in which the temperature remained above freezing, a period that was 14 degrees above average (average high/low of 56°/44°).

20 - Although the warmest high temperature on Presidents' Day is 64° in 2008, President's Day 2023 has the distinction of having the mildest mean temperature, with a high/low of 61°/47° (2008's low was 40°), 17 degrees above average. 

23 - A new winter record (meteorological winter) was established as Central Park had its 59th frost-free day, surpassing the 58 days experienced during the winters of 2012 and 1998.  Average number is 35 days.

27 - The second measurable snowfall of the winter (the first was on 2/1) began this evening and brought 1.8" of snow (half of it fell today, the other half in the overnight hours).  Three to six inches fell in outlying suburbs, where temperatures were colder.  This would be the biggest snowfall of a winter that would be the least snowiest on record.

 

MARCH

7 - after daybreak, light precipitation that began briefly as snow accumulated 0.1" and would be the last measurable snowfall of a winter that was the least snowy on record with just 2.3" reported (all but today's fell in February); this was 0.5" less than the previous least snowiest winter (1972-73).

30 - It was a chilly home opener for the Yankees with game time temperatures only in the mid-40s, ten degrees colder than average, along with breezy conditions.  However, the game was played under sunny skies.  The day's low of 31° was one of only four days with a low of 32° or colder in March (the average number is ten).

 

APRIL

6 - Afternoon temperatures were more than 30 degrees warmer than 24 hours earlier; today's high of 80°, a record for the date, was the warmest reading in Central Park since 9/21.  This would have been one of the Mets' nicest home openers, weatherwise, but the team postponed today's game yesterday based on a forecast of showers and thunderstorms, which ended up staying well to the south of NYC.

7 - The Mets home opener, delayed by one day, was played in seasonable temperatures (mid-50s) and under mostly sunny skies.  Similar to last year's home opener, afternoon humidity was very low and dipped to 16% as the game was getting under way.  As for the game, the Mets easily topped Miami, 9-3.

9 - Easter Sunday featured brilliant sunshine and low humidity; temperatures were a few degrees below average (high/low of 57°/40°).  In the early afternoon the humidity dropped to 15%.  This was the 23rd day this year to have humidity fall to 25% or lower, something that didn't happen last year until 8/12.  

13 - The temperature reached a sizzling 90°, which not only was a record for the date but the hottest reading in April since 2010 (when it occurred on 4/7, the earliest reading in the 90s on record).  This was just the fourth 90+ day in the first half of April.  (Typically, the first 90+ is around Memorial Day.)  

Today was also the seventh day in a row with very low humidity (25% or lower), the longest streak of its kind this century.  Over these seven days the humidity dropped to between 12% and 21% on each day.  Because of the low humidity this afternoon's feels-like temperature was five degrees lower than the day's high.  (An even longer streak, one of 11 days, would occur in May.)

14 - For the second day in a row a record high was set.  Today's high of 91° (thirty degrees above average) was one degree hotter than yesterday.  This was just the third time in April to have two or more consecutive days with highs in the 90s.  (The average date for a year's second high in the 90s is 6/9.)  Finally, this was the seventh day in a row with sunny skies (and thirteenth in a row with no measurable rain).

Additionally, today's low of 70° was the earliest low of 70° or milder on record, besting the former record by three days (74° on April 17, 2002).  Only two other dates have had lows in the 70s in April (70° on April 18, 1976 and 76° April 18, 2002).

15 - Four streaks ended today: 13 days in a row with no measurable rain (0.02" fell today during the evening); eight consecutive days with very low humidity (ranging from 13% to 21%); eight days in a row with sunny skies; and three consecutive days with highs in the 80s or 90s.  (However, a streak of days with highs of 75° or warmer reached five days.)

21 - With just 0.40" of rain measured through today this was the driest first three weeks in April since April 1968 (when 0.18" was reported).  And since 4/2 just 0.02" of rain fell (and less than an inch since 3/15).

22-23 - A frontal system produced thunderstorms and heavy rain tonight that lasted thru tomorrow morning.  The 0.68" of rain that fell thru midnight was the most to fall in one day in seven weeks.  And between 10-11 PM the 0.40" of rain that poured down was equal to the amount that fell in the first three weeks of April (which was the driest first three weeks of April since April 1968).  An additional 1.51" of rain would fall on 4/23 during the morning, making the storm total of 2.19" the greatest amount from a storm since the first week of October.

29 - For the first time (going back to 1869) more than an inch of rain fell on this date.  Today's rainfall of 2.46" broke the previous record of 0.91" in 1909.  (This leaves  Sept. 9 as the only date to never have had a rainfall of an inch or more.)  The previous ten years in which rain fell on 4/29 the amounts were all less than 0.10".

30 - After drying out overnight from yesterday’s deluge, more rain moved in after 11 AM and it turned heavy between 3-7 PM when 1.57" poured down; by midnight 2.32” had fallen.  This brought April’s total rainfall to 7.70”, making it the seventh wettest April on record.  This was quite an accomplishment considering that in the first three weeks of the month just 0.40” had fallen.  Then three storm systems dropped more than two inches of rain in the last nine days of the month. 

Finally, despite this being the seventh day in a row with below average temperatures (averaging five degrees chillier than average) the month ended up being the second mildest April on record, behind April 2010.  This followed January being the mildest on record, February the third mildest, and March the 25th.

 

MAY

6 -Today’s mean temperature was average for the date which meant the end of a 12-day streak with below average temperatures, which was the longest such streak since one of 16 days in April 2020.  During this 12-day streak temperatures were six degrees below average.  With that streak ended, today was the first day of a 14-day streak with sunny or clear skies.

7 - Today’s high of 78° was the warmest since the high reached 91° on 4/14.  Today was also the 29^th day this year in which the humidity dropped to 25% or lower.  This was one more day than all of last year and the most annual days since 2010 which had 33.   

19 - Today was the last day of a 14-day streak with sunny or clear skies.   Temperatures were 2.5 degrees above average during this streak.  Embedded in this two-week period was a 12-day streak in which humidity during the afternoon dropped to 25% or lower.

20 - The extended streak with sunny or clear skies ended today as rain soaked the City mostly during the afternoon.  The 0.77" that was measured in Central Park was nearly double the amount that fell in the first 19 days of the month.  Rain totals on Long Island, Westchester Co. and in Connecticut were much higher than NYC's, with many town receiving between 1.50" and 2.50". 

29 - It was a beautiful Memorial Day, with sunny skies and a high/low that was identical to yesterday's (79°/59°).  

 

JUNE

1 - The first day of meteorological summer fit the bill as the high jumped to 87° under clear skies.  The last time it was this warm was three weeks ago.  Today's sunshine continued the near monopoly of fair skies experienced since 5/6.   

3 - After yesterday's sunny and hot conditions (high of 91°) today was overcast and cool with afternoon temperatures only in the mid-60s after winds shifted to an easterly-northeasterly direction. 

4 - The morning low of 49° was the first low in the 40s in June since 2000.  This reading came less than 48 hours after a high of 91°, and seven weeks after the earliest low in the 70s on record (on 4/14).

7 - A northerly wind drove smoke from major wildfires in Quebec into the area, producing a thick, orange haze that kept visibility below 2 miles during the afternoon and evening.  The daily average Air Quality Index was the highest since recording in New York began in 1999. (The second-highest level was yesterday.)  One saving grace was that the choking smoke wasn't accompanied by searing heat as the haze and overcast skies kept the temperature in the 60s during the afternoon. The poor air quality forced the Yankees to postpone today's game, and my late afternoon flight from Pittsburgh to LaGuardia was dealyed two-and-a-half hours because of visibility issues.

 

 

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December 2022 Weather Recap: Rainy Month Ends With Wild Temperature Swings

 

 

December 2022 was the rainiest month of the year and also featured the coldest reading of all of 2022; this reading of 7° was the coldest temperature in December since 1989.  The month's s other stand-out weather story unfolded during its last nine days when there were wild swings in temperature.  Overall, the month's average temperature was 0.6 degrees below average (average high was just about average, while the average low was a degree below average.).

 

From 12/24 to 12/30 temperatures swung from 25 degrees below average (7° on 12/24) to 21 degrees above average (62° on 12/30).  But the wildest swing was on 12/23 when the mercury plunged 50 degrees between 4 AM and midnight, from 58° to 8°.  This was the greatest daily change in temperature on record (breaking a 101-year record, of 48 degrees in March 1921).

 

This was just the fourth December to be the wettest month of a year (the other years were 1957 <5.26">; 1973 <"9.98">; and 2019 <7.09">).  Although the amount of precipitation measured, 5.83", was 1.45" above average (making it the 20th wettest December on record), it was about three inches less than the average amount of a year's wettest month. 

 

Three rainstorms in December produced more than an inch of rain.  The last of them, on 12/22-23, produced the most, with 2.06" measured.  Much of the rain (1.33") came down in an hour when a blast of Arctic air collided with a fast-moving coastal storm in the pre-dawn hours of 12/23. 

 

Although a typical December averages nearly five inches of snow, this December had no measurable snow (LGA and Newark, however, had 0.4" and 0.1", respectively).  This was the 21st December with no snow and the 14th in which neither November or October had measurable snow (the previous time this happened was in 2015).

 

December had two days with lows in the 50s, which was the most such days since Dec. 2015 (the mildest December on record), which had 11.  This December also had seven days with highs of 55° or warmer, which was one less than Dec. 2021 (which was 4.3 degrees above average) and one more than 2020 (which was 1.7 above average).

 

Christmas Eve was sunny and bitterly cold (high/low of 15°/7°, with sub-zero wind chill) while one week later New Years Eve was mild (high/low of 55°/50°) and foggy with showers.  Christmas Day was sunny and cold (28°/14°) but relatively bearable compared to Christmas Eve.

 

Here are December recaps from the previous seven years:

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

 

 

 

 

       

A History of Biggest & Smallest Swings in Daily Temperatures in New York City

 

 

The range in daily temperature in Central Park, also known as diurnal variation, is typically 14 degrees, and ranges from 11 degrees in December and January, to 17 degrees in May.  However, variations by individual days generally range between five and thirty degrees.  Variations are affected by atmospheric conditions such as humidity, cloud cover, passage of cold/warm fronts, wind direction, and precipitation.

 

On Dec. 23, 2022 mild air drawn up the coast by a fast-moving coastal storm crashed into a strong Arctic front moving southeastward, resulting in a drop in temperature from 58° to 8°.  This 50-degree plunge established a new record for greatest temperature drop of any calendar date, breaking the previous record of a 48-degree nosedive more than 100 years earlier, on March 28, 1921.  (That drop, however, is more impressive because it happened in just 10 hours while 2022’s drop took twice as long.)

 

Drops in temperature of 40 degrees or more in a day are infrequent, with just 19 such instances reported since 1869 (about once every seven years).  However, this year’s was the first drop of 40+ degrees of the century; the previous occurrence was on Dec. 22, 1998.  (Oddly enough, 1962 and 1990 each experienced two of these drops.)

 

At the other end of the spectrum are daily variations of, one, two, or three degrees.  There have been only seven instances of days with a one-degree change (in other words, happening once every generation).  The last time was on Dec. 14, 1996 (the high/low was 40°/39°).  Days with variances of two degrees occur, on average, once every two years (most recently on May 13, 2018 when the high/low was 54°/52°).  And an average year sees one or two days with three-degree variations (most recently on Jan. 28, 2022 when the high/low was 32°/29°).

 

Most of the big daily swings in temperature have occurred between January and May. For the purposes of this analysis I chose changes of 33 degrees or more as the qualifier.  Swings of this magnitude have occurred nearly 200 times (thru 2022), an average of 1.3 days per year.  1990 has had the most - seven days.  (Sixteen years have had no such days, including three in a row from 1982 to 1984.)

 

By month, the smallest difference between the average high and low occurred in November 1977, when it was only 8.4 degrees (high of 51.5°/low of 43.1°).  The greatest difference between the high/low was 21.6 degrees in May 1941 (high of 75.5°/low of 53.9°).

 

Half of the months with variations less than 11 degrees have occurred since 2001, while just 20% of variations greater than 18 degrees have occurred in this century (the last time was in May 2015 when there was a 19.8 degree variation). This is likely a function of global warming, as overnight temperatures have risen at a faster rather than high temperatures.

 

Although daily temperature variations of two or three degrees occur just a couple of times each year, in 1970 there were five such occurrences in a fifteen-day period, between Dec. 11-25.

 

Finally, the most instances of a variation of 33+ degrees by date have occurred on April 19 and April 25, both which have had it happen six times.  April 25th's include the consecutive years of 1960, 1961 and 1962.