Today in New York Weather History: January 19
1936 (Sunday)
A winter storm brought heavy snow, sleet, and gusty winds. After beginning as light rain late last night, nine inches of snow piled up this morning (mostly between 3:00-9:00), and the afternoon saw an onslaught of sleet that was propelled by winds that gusted between 25-35 mph, producing wind chills in the single digits (the air temperature was in the mid-20s). The sleet accumulated 2.5".
With 2.39" of liquid precipitation measured, this is the only year in which an inch or more of precipitation fell on this date (through 2024).
1961 (Thursday)
As a snowstorm moved up the East Coast during the evening (dumping 10" of snow by noon on Jan. 20), a mass of Arctic air was moving over the Northeast. This high pressure system would remain entrenched for more than two weeks and result in a record sixteen consecutive days (thru Feb. 3) in which the temperature never rose above 29°.
This was the same snowstorm that crippled Washington, DC the day before President Kennedy's inauguration.
1971 (Tuesday)
The morning low of 4° was the year's coldest reading. (However, the day with the coldest mean temperature would be Feb. 1, when the high/low was 12°/7°).
1978 (Thursday)
Snow began falling after 8 PM, and by midnight 2.5" had accumulated. By the time it ended in the early afternoon of 1/20, 13.6" had piled up, making this New York's biggest snowstorm in nine years (and there would be an even greater accumulation in two-and-a-half weeks).
1982 (Tuesday)
New York City's 18-month drought emergency was lifted today. Although 1981, with just 38 inches of precipitation, was the driest year since 1970, precipitation in December was above average (5.18") and January 1982 would receive 6.46".
1983 (Wednesday)
A high/low of 21°/12° made this coldest day of the winter, fifteen degrees below average.
1987 (Monday)
A cold rain during the afternoon (amounting to 0.71") changed to snow after 7 PM, and by 11:00 1.3" had accumulated - the winter's first snowfall one-inch or more.
1992 (Sunday)
This was the coldest day of a mild winter, with a high of 23°/low of 11°.
1994 (Wednesday)
The morning low of -2° was the coldest reading of the winter, and a record for the date. This Arctic outbreak ranked with those of Dec. 1989, Jan. 1985, Jan. 1982, and Jan. 1977 for its widespread severity across a large swath of the nation.
1996 (Friday)
0.86" of rain fell during the afternoon, with most of it (0.64") coming down in just an hour (3-4 PM). Rain throughout the Mid-Atlantic states produced serious flooding, as it fell on top of the deep snow pack left behind from the blizzard of two weeks ago.
1997 (Sunday)
Yesterday (high/low of 17°/7°) and today (20°/4°) had the coldest mean temperatures of the winter.
2002 (Saturday)
The typical snow season in New York lasts about three months (from mid-December to mid-March), but this winter it lasted less than two weeks. Today's three-inch snowfall was the last measurable snow of the season, and came twelve days after the first (when 0.5" fell). This would be the latest date for any winter's last snowfall until 2020 (when it happened on 1/18).
For the entire winter, just 3.5" fell, the second smallest amount of any winter (now ranked third).
2007 (Friday)
After four consecutive winters with 40+ inches of snow, this winter's first measurable accumulation fell this morning - one of the latest first snowfalls on record. Just 0.3" fell, shortly after sunrise.
2011 (Wednesday)
Today's and yesterday's high temperatures of 41° would be the mildest readings between Jan. 3 and Feb. 4.
2019 (Saturday)
Today was the tenth day in a row with highs in the 30s, the longest such streak since the winter of 2011 when there were streaks of 11 days (Jan. 25-Feb. 4) and 12 days (Jan. 5-16).