New York City Weather Archive

On This Day in New York Weather History: August 13

 

1896

1895's record for most days in the 90s, twenty-three, was broken today when the high reached 90°.  This number of hot days wouldn't be surpassed for 40 years. Today was also the last day of a ten-day heat wave, still one of the lengthiest on record.  (The average number of days in the 90s in the period 1870-1895 was just 10.)

 

1955

Although the most rain from Hurricane Connie fell yesterday (3.62"), the heaviest sustained period of rain occurred this morning from 3-9 AM when 2.50" poured down.  Overall 7.11" fell over the course of 39 hours, with the first band of heavy rain moving through late on 8/11.  This was New York's biggest rainstorm since the Great Hurricane of September 1944.  LaGuardia Airport picked up five inches more rain than NYC.

 

1990

Between Aug. 3 and today, a span of eleven days, the day's low temperatures fell in a narrow range between 68° and 71°.

1994

0.48" of rain fell in just ten minutes between 5:20-5:30 PM.

1996

Most of the month's 1.86" of rain fell in the five days between Aug. 9 and today.

2002

With a high of 98°, today was the hottest day all summer. 

 

2005

Today's high/low of 99°/80° made it the hottest day of the summer.  The high was the hottest temperature in New York in four years and was a record for the date. 

2011

Today was the 41st day in a row with a high in the 80s, tying the summer of 1943 for the second longest such streak on record (at the time, the longest was 59 days during the summer of 1944). 

2016

Today's high was 96° and the heat index reached an inferno-like 110°. By comparison, on 7/23 the high also reached 96° but because the humidity was at comfortable levels the heat index was two degrees below the air temperature.  Additionally, today's record of 99°, set in 2005, occurred in lower humidity than today, and the "feels like" temperature was 105°.

 

 

2019

Significant rainfall of one to two inches predicted for the afternoon and evening failed to materialize as just 0.07" was measured, and it fell in the morning.  (If this had been a snowstorm that fizzled, forecasters would have been lambasted by snow lovers, but rainstorms that don't deliver fail to spark outrage.)  A light cloud cover kept the temperature in the 70s all day for the third time this summer; all three days had a high/low of 79°/71°.  

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Central Park's Puzzling, Flawed Weather Station

This post has been a long time coming.  New York City, arguably the world's preeminent city, ironically, has a weather station in Central Park (serving as the official measurement site for NYC) that brings to mind that of a third world country.  There are regularly occurring instances of reporting glitches.  Last week, for instance, hourly sky conditions went missing.  (Looking out the window wasn't an option?).  This joined a host of other "irregularities": missing hourly precipitation/temperature reports (often during rainstorms); a five-month period in 2018-19 in which the anemometer was out of commission; a broken rain gauge that resulted in exaggerated amounts of rain for months in 1983; and flawed snowfall measurements in the winters of 2015 and 2016.

 

 

Central Park's weather station at Belvedere Castle

 

The rain gauge fiasco occurred during a year that may have been the wettest on record as 80.56" was reported (16 inches more than the previous wettest year, 1972).  But it turns out that besides rain entering the gauge's calibrated opening, a faulty weld was allowing extra water to seep in.  Because of this malfunction, designating 1983 as the wettest year is questionable.  Although some cities in the mid-Atlantic did report their wettest year in 1983, confidence about 1983's amount in Central Park is lacking.  Like Barry Bonds' home runs, 1983 should have an asterisk placed next to it.  Meanwhile, 2011, which had 72.81", may actually be the legitimate wettest year.   

 

The revision of winter 2016's snowfall came nearly three months after the blizzard of Jan. 23, 2016.  At the time, the National Weather Service reported that 26.8" of snow had accumulated, which made it the City's second biggest snowstorm, 0.1" behind the blizzard of February 2006.  Then, curiously, the amount was revised upward by 0.7" in late April.  The previous winter the NWS revised New York's winter snowfall upward by 3.3" for three snowfalls.  Specifically, snowfall was adjusted on three dates: Jan. 6 (from 0.5" to 1.0"); Jan. 24 (from 2.5" to 3.6"); and Feb. 2 (from 3.3" to 5.0").

 

 

What makes this situation more frustrating is the fact that the metro area's three airports (LaGuardia, Kennedy and Newark Liberty) experienced none of these issues.  So what does this say about the Central Park operation?  A lack of trained employees?  A lack of enthusiasm by those manning the site (perhaps they're hired from the same pool of applicants as the DMV)?  Or, is it due to a lack of funding?  Whatever the reason, a city with the cachet of New York deserves better.

 

 

 

 

 

 

July 2020 Is Seventh Hottest; Drought Eases Up

Following a June that was 2.3 degrees warmer than average, July 2020 was even more above average, +3.5 degrees, with an average high/low of 87.4°/72.6°.  The month's average temperature of 80.0° made it the seventh hottest July on record.  July records were set for mildest reading for coolest low temperature (67°) and the most lows in the 70s/80s (26).  Additionally, it joined eight other Julys with 14 or more highs of 90° or hotter.  Low temperatures were instrumental in placing the month so high in the rankings as it was third warmest in that category while the average high was ranked sixteenth.  Precipitation was also a significant story as the 6.58" that fell made this the wettest month of the year, so far, and the wettest of the 15 hottest Julys (July 2019 previously held that distinction).  Tropical storm Fay contributed a significant portion of the month's rainfall.

 

As mentioned above, July had 14 days with highs in the 90s, the most since 2010.  This included two five-day heat waves.  Despite the large number of hot days the heat wasn't overbearing as only one day had a high of 95° or hotter (96° on 7/6).  This was the fewest of any July among the 10 hottest.  However, there were nine days with lows of 75°+ (tied for fifth most of any July), including two in the 80s (the counterpart to high temperatures in the triple digits).  And of the six days with below average mean temperatures, just one of them had a low temperature that was cooler than average.

 

.

After an exceedingly dry May and June, with both months reporting less than two inches of rain, July had 6.58", making it the wettest month so far this year (nearly double the combined rainfall of the preceding two months).  More than half of the rain was from tropical storm Fay on 7/10 (2.54") and a severe thunderstorm the evening of 7/22 that dumped 1.23" in an hour.  (Newark Airport, just 20 miles to the west, was much rainier, with 11.17" measured - its wettest July on record).

 

 

Finally, June and July 2020 were the seventh warmest June-July combination.  And the number of lows of 70°+ in June and July (37) tied June-July 2010 for the greatest number.  (37 is the  average number for an entire year.)

 

 

Here are previous recaps of July from the past:

July 2019

July 2018

July 2017

July 2016

July 2015

July 2014

 

 

A Look at New York City's Hottest Weekends of All Time

On the one hand, if you work a Monday-Friday schedule and have access to a beach or pool, a hot weekend can be delightful.  On the other, if you don't have access to a body of water hot weather can be brutal, especcially if you have outdoor plans or a wedding to attend.  This summer, the weekend of July 18-19 had highs/lows of 91°/72° and 94°/77°.  Hot, yes, but far from the most torrid weekends of all time in New York.  This analysis looks at conditions in two ways - by mean temperatures and by high temperatures.  In order to qualify, both Saturday and Sunday had to have highs in the 90s or hotter and lows in the 70s or warmer. 

 

Looking at mean temperature, the two hottest weekends were Aug. 13-14, 1988 (highs/lows of 96°/79° and 99°/80°) and Aug. 8-9, 1896 (95°/79°, 98°/82°).   Last summer (2019) had the third hottest weekend, with highs/lows on July 20-21 of 95°/82° on Saturday and 95°/80° on Sunday.  Focusing on high temperatures reveals that the five hottest weekends are different from the top-five based on mean temperature, with the hottest occurring on July 3-4, 1966 (highs of 100° and 103°), followed by July 20-21, 1991 (100° and 102°).  These are the only weekends in which both days saw highs in the triple digits; four other weekends had one day of 100°+.

 

 

And here are a few other findings of note. 

• The earliest and latest scorching hot weekends occurred in the same year - 1895 (in the before-air conditioning era).  On June 1-2 the highs/lows were 96°/77° and 96°/76°; on Sept. 21-22 the highs/lows were 95°/77° and 95°/75°. 
• Besides 1895, 1953 also had two sizzling weekends. The most consecutive summers with a hot weekend were in 1943, 1944 and 1945.

• The weekend of July 20-21 has been very hot in three summers: 1957, 1991 and 2019.
• Finally, the first weekend with lows in the 80s on both days occurred in 2019 (82° and 80°).  However, the weekend of July 23-24, 2011 had the warmest low of these select weekends - 83° on Saturday.

 

 

 

 

Here are other heat-related posts:

Revisiting New York's Hottest Summers

"Super" Heat Waves (95°+)

Hot, Wet New York Summer

Low Temperatures of 70° or Warmer

The Heat is On: New York's "Hell Week"

June 2020: Warm & Dry

June's temperatures rebounded after a chilly April and May (2.7 and 2.1 degrees below average, respectively).  At 2.3 degrees above average it was the warmest June in 10 years (and 16th warmest overall).  Fourteen days were five degrees or more above average.  Besides being warmer than average, June was also on the dry side, with the least rainfall in 21 years (and 22nd driest overall).  The month had 1.76" of rain, which was very similar to May's 1.65" (like June, May was the 22nd driest).  This was just the sixth time (since 1869) that May and June both received less than two inches, and the first time that consecutive months had less than two inches of precipitation since April and May 2016 .  

 

Based on average temperature, June had the biggest warm-up following May since 2008.  And out of all of the years of measurement it was the 12th biggest warm-up after May (tied with two other years).

 

Although the number of days of 80°+ was close to average (18 days, including the final twelve days of the month), it was well above average for days of 85°+.   13 days had highs of 85° or warmer, with 11 between 85° and 89°.  The two other days had highs of 90° (on June 22 and 28).  At one point there was a streak of seven days in a row with highs of 85°+, the longest streak in June since 2010.  Furthermore, the month's 11 days with lows in the 70s was more than double the average for June.  Only three other Junes have had more lows of 70°+ (2010, 2005 and 1943 had 12; June 1895 had the same number as June 2020).

Through 6/26 it appeared the month would easily be among the ten driest Junes as just 0.98" had fallen.  Beginning 6/12 there were 15 days in a row with no measurable rainfall (the longest dry streak since the fall of 2017, which had a streak of 18 days).  Then 0.78" fell in the next three days.  The 0.58" that fell on 6/29 (in less than an hour) made it the rainiest day of June (and a wind gust of 47 mph was the highest of the month). 

 

Finally, the first half of 2020 was the driest since 1995 (16.15" was measured in Central Park, eight inches below average), and among all years it was the 17th driest first half of any year (tied with 1957).

 

 

Below are links for previous June recaps:

2019

2018

2017

2016

 

 

 

 

 

 

May 2020 Weather Recap - Chilly & Dry

May 2020 was 2.1 degrees below average and followed an April that was also cooler than average (-2.7 degrees).  The last time back-to-back months had below average temperatures was in March and April 2018.  This was the chilliest May since 2008.  What made the month cooler than average was the 10-day period between May 5-14, which was nine degrees colder than average.  (The month's other 21 days were slightly above average.) 

 

The brunt of the extended cold period mentioned above was May 9, when the high/low was just 48°/34° (nineteen degrees below average).  The day's low reading was the coldest reported in May since 1891.  Previous to this May, the last one with a reading in the 30s was in 1978 (38°).  Lows were in the 30s for three consecutive days, May 8-10 - just the fourth May with a cold streak of this length, joining 1891, 1923 and 1947.  Besides the chilly air, snow flurries fell before daybreak, tying May 9, 1977 for the latest date with a trace of snow.

 

 

May was also a dry month.  With just 1.65" rain measured this was the driest May since 2005 (and fourth driest since 1970, and 22nd driest among all Mays).  This amount was 60% below average (a deficit of two-and-a-half inches).  The wettest day was the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend when 0.65" was measured, with most of this amount pouring down between 11 AM and noon.  This was the rainiest Memorial Day Saturday since 1982.

 

Before the unseasonable Arctic outbreak of May 5-14, May began on the mild side, with the first four days four degrees above average.  5/1 snapped a 16-day streak of cooler than average temperatures; 5/2's high of 73° was the first reading in the 70s in more than six weeks; and May 3 saw the year's first reading of 80°+ - the first time since 2014 that a year's first 80 didn't occur in April. 

 

May's warmest reading, 84°, came six days after 5/9's frosty reading of 34°.  This was the first May since 2008 to have no readings of 85° or warmer.  (A typical May's warmest reading is in the upper 80s.)  The warmest mean temperature was on 5/29 and 5/30, both with a high/low of 81°/67° (eight degrees above average). 

 

Finally, there were a dozen days with lows cooler than 50°, double the average amount (since 2000) and the most in May since 2008. 

 

Here are recaps of the previous five Mays:

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

 

 

 

April 2020 Weather Review: First Cooler Than Average Month of the Year

April was 2.7 degrees below average, making it the first month this year to be chillier than average.  It was also the fourth chilliest April of the past 40 years.  Even more interesting, this was the first April since 1940 to have no days with highs of 70° or warmer (after three such days in March).  In the years since 2000 the warmest reading in April has averaged 85°, but this April's mildest reading was just 68° .  Despite this cool warmest reading, the nights weren't as cold as might be expected as the coldest reading, 36°, was three degrees milder than a typical April's coldest temperature.  The 32-degree difference between the month's coldest and warmest readings was 20 degrees less than the average difference between the two extremes - the smallest gap of any April on record.

 

The last sixteen days of the month all had below average mean temperatures, the longest below average streak since March 2018's streak of 22 days.  These 16 days were seven degrees below average (seven of the days were ten or more degrees below average).  Before this streak started April had been two degrees milder than average (with April 4-8 seven above average).

 

Although it was the fourth coldest April of the past 40 years, it ranked 63rd among all Aprils going back to 1869.  This was due to the fact that Aprils before 1940 were much chillier.

 

 

Although April's rainfall, at 4.49", was an average amount, it was enough to make it the rainiest month so far this year.  The month also had the year's biggest rainstorm - 1.92" on 4/13 (the day after Easter).

 

A typical April is 10 to 11 degrees warmer than March, but April 2020 was just 2.4 degrees milder - the third closest of any year.  Additionally, April's mildest reading was nine degrees cooler than March's (68° vs. 77°) and its mildest low temperature was one degree cooler than March's (53° vs. 54°).

 

 

2020 is just the seventh year in which April, March and February had more precipitation than the month preceding it. This year April had 4.49"; March, 3.78"; February 2.54"; and January 1.93".

 

Here are April recaps of previous years:

2019

2018

2017

2016

 

     

March 2020 Weather Recap - 8th Mildest on Record

March 2020 was 5.5 degrees milder than average, becoming the eighth mildest March on record.  By coincidence, this  followed an eighth place ranking for February 2020.  Only one day had a low of 32° or colder (a typical March has twelve such days), occurring on the first day of the month when the mercury fell to 25°.  The month's warmest reading was 77° on 3/20.  For the third month in a row precipitation was below average, but the 3.78" that was measured was the most of the three months.  The year's rainiest and second rainiest days, so far, occurred on March 23 (1.19") and March 19 (0.93").  Like February, just a trace of snow was reported, only the second winter in which this occurred (the other winter was in 2002).

 

 

 

 

Here are previous March recaps:

2019

2018

2017

2016

 

 

 

February 2020 Weather Recap - Mild & Snow-Free

After a January that was the eleventh mildest on record, February ranked even higher, at #8 (and it was the third mildest Leap Year February, behind 2012 and 1984).  This was the third February of the past four to rank among the ten mildest.  But despite it being the mildest of this winter's months it had the coldest temperature of winter, 14° on 2/15.  (However, the coldest day of winter continued to be Dec. 19, which had a high/low of 25°/16°.)  In addition to being the seventh mildest February (4.8° degrees above average) it was the sixth February with no measurable snow (the last time was in 2002).  Other observations:

 

• Similar to December and January, February had just one day with a high of 32° or colder (and each month had four days with highs of 35° or colder).  By comparison, a typical meteorological winter has a sixteen days with highs of 32° or colder.  Speaking of the winter, winter 2020 was the sixteenth to have December as the coldest of the three months.  And this was despite December's average temperature being slightly above average.
• Three-quarters of the month's 2.54" of rain fell between Feb. 6-13.
• After being nine degrees above average during the first thirteen days of the month, the rest of February had temperatures closer to the norm - two degrees above average.
• Although it was milder, February had one more day with a low of 32° or colder than January.  Despite the month's mild temperatures just two days were in the 60s.  The highs on these days, 61° (on 2/4) and 62° (2/24), were not nearly as mild as January's mildest highs of 69° and 68°.
• This was the driest January-February since 2009.  (February was the driest in three years, January was the driest in eighteen years.)  Jan-Feb 2020 ranks among the twenty driest first two months of a year.
• After January missed by a small margin being the tenth mildest, February missed by an even tinier margin of being seventh mildest.

 

(If Leap Year Day hadn't been so chilly, with a high/low of 35°/25°, February 2020 would have finished as seventh mildest rather than eighth.)

 

Previous February recaps:

2019

2018

2017

2015

 

 

 

 

 

January 2020 Weather Recap: Mild, Dry, Largely Uneventful

January 2020 was the 11th mildest January on record (6.4 degrees above average).  Only six days had below average temperatures; just one had a high of 32° or colder, joining 10 other years with either no such days or one.  The month's highlight was the May-like temperatures during the second weekend of the month when record-setting highs of 69° and 68° were reached.  The coldest reading was 20°, which happened on three days (January's coldest temperature is typically around 9°).  Looking at precipitation, this was the driest January since 2002, with a little less than two inches measured (half the typical amount).  As for snowfall, only 2.3" was measured (but double last January's total).  

 

A typical January is five degrees colder than December, but January 2020 was 0.8 degrees warmer - the 31st time January has been milder than December; the previous time it happened was during the winter of 2006.  Besides being slightly milder than December, its snowfall was a touch less as well (2.3" vs. 2.5").  Although the month had a minimal amount of snow, there have been 36 Januarys with smaller amounts.  

 

Three consecutive Saturdays had very different conditions:  Saturday, Jan. 11 had the mildest reading of the month (69°); Saturday, Jan. 18 had the biggest snowfall (2.1"); and Saturday, Jan. 25 had the biggest rainfall (0.85").

 

Basking in the springlike temperatures of Jan. 11

 

Temperature map during the very mild weekend of Jan. 11-12

 

The month began with a continuation of a streak of above-average temperatures that began on Dec. 22 and continued thru Jan. 8.  This 18-day streak equaled the longest above-average streak of 2018-19, which happened at roughly the same time of the year (12/20-1/6).  Then, after one day with below average temperatures, there were seven more consecutive days with above average temperatures.  The entire 26-day period from 12/22 thru 1/15 was ten degrees above average.

 

A streak of six days in a row with mean temperatures ten degrees or more above average (Jan. 10-15) was closely followed by six consecutive days with lows in the 20s (Jan. 17-22).  Although this was far from frigid, it equaled last winter's longest streak with lows colder than 30°. 

 

January continued the pattern of one month wet, the next month dry, a trend that started in September.

 

 

Finally, this January missed being among the ten mildest January's by the smallest of margins as it was 0.08° degrees chillier than January 1880 (39.15° vs. 39.23°).  And although January 1880 had two days with lows in the teens (both were 17° readings) and its warmest temperature was four degrees cooler than this year, it had five more days with highs of 50°+ (14 vs. 9).  Both years had nearly identical snowfall (2.3" in 2020, 2.5" in 1880) and precipitation (1.93" in 2020, 2.02" in 1880).

 

Here are analyses of the previous six Januarys:

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

2020's Weather Highlights

 

JANUARY

1 - It was a raw and overcast first day of the year with the mercury mostly stuck at a seasonably cold 38° during the daylight hours.  This was similar to conditions two days ago, except that day had rain. 

8 - This was the last day of an 18-day streak with above average temperatures (based on mean temperature).  It was the longest such streak since last winter, which was of similar length during practically the same date range (12/20-1/6).  And the average high/low of the two streaks was nearly identical: 47°/37° this winter vs. 48°/37° last winter.  The mildest reading of this recent streak was 57°, the coldest was 28°, which occurred tonight as midnight approached.

9 - With a high/low of 34°/23°, three degrees below average, this was the only day between Dec. 22 and Jan. 16 that was colder than average.  The other 25 days were ten degrees above average (high/low of 50°/37°).

11 - The mercury soared to 69°, easily breaking the previous record from 1975 by six degrees.  Today's high was twice as warm as two days ago (34°) and was the warmest reading in January since a high of 72° on Jan. 6, 2007 (like today, it was also a Saturday).  Today's reading was 31 degrees above average, the most above average for a daily high since Feb. 21, 2018's high of 78°, 35 degrees above average.  Today's high/low of 69°/51° was more typical of the temperature split on May 5.  Lastly, after rising to 60° at around 9:00 AM the temperature stayed in the 60s for the rest of the day.

12 - It was a beautiful May weekend in January as today's record high of 68° followed yesterday's record-setting 69°.  Today was the better of the two days because skies turned clear by mid-morning  while yesterday was a mix of dim sun and light overcast.  This was just the third time in January that Central Park reported back-to-back highs of 65°+.  (And January 1932 is the only case of three consecutive days.)

18 - One week after a record-setting high of 69°, today had quintessentially wintry conditions as a steady light snow fell during the afternoon, amounting to 2.1"; this was seven weeks after the winter's previous biggest snowfall of 1.6".  The temperature was in the 20s during the daytime hours but rose above freezing after 6:00 PM (peaking at 37° as midnight approached), changing the snow to sleet and then rain for a few hours.  This was the last measurable snowfall of the winter, the earliest date on record (one day earlier than the previous latest date, in 2002).

20 - With a high/low of 31°/20°, today was just the second day this winter with a high of 32° or colder.  It came nearly five weeks after the first such occurrence, on 12/19 (when the high/low was 25°/16°).  For comparison purposes, a typical year has nine days with highs this cold by 1/20.  Since 1980 four winters had just one day with a high of 32° or colder by this date, most recently in 2013. (and like this winter, there was one winter with two). 

 

FEBRUARY

7 - The previous record high for this date, 54° in 1938, was the coolest reading to be a record, but it was broken today during lunchtime; however, at 56° it was still the coolest reading to be a record.  And one of just four record highs to be in the 50s; the others are: Jan. 16 (58°); Feb. 2 (59°); and Dec. 19 (58°).  A vigorous cold front moved thru early in the afternoon, dropping the temperature to 33° by midnight (a peak wind gust of 46 mph was clocked at dusk in Central Park).  This was the coldest reading so far this month, making it just the second February on record to have no lows of 32° or colder in the first week (the other occurrence was in 1877).  

15 - This morning's low of 14° was the coldest reading so far this winter, passing the low of 16° back on Dec. 19.  However, the day with the winter's coldest daily mean temperature continued to be 12/19 as today's was two degrees warmer (high/low of 25°/16° vs. 31°/14°). 

24 - This was the fourth day in a row with very low humidity levels during the afternoon, i.e., in the 15%-19% range for a number of hours each day.  The last time there was such an extended number of days with such low humidity in February was in 2004 (Feb. 25-March 1).  Today's high of 62° was the mildest of the month.

 

MARCH

1 - Today's low was 25°, the coldest reading of March and the last reading of 32° or colder this winter (average date of the last freezing or colder temperature is 3/31).  A typical March has twelve days with lows this cold.  Only March 1942 had fewer days (i.e., zero).

9 - After getting very close on 1/11 (high of 69°), today had the year's first high in the 70s.  Under sunny skies the mercury rose to 72° (twenty-five degrees above average).  This was two weeks ahead of schedule and the warmest reading since mid-October.  Today's low of 47° was what the typical high should be on this date.

20 - After a foggy start the sun broke through during the afternoon and the temperature jumped from the mid-50s at noon to 77° shortly before 5:30 (26 degrees above average).  The day's 30-degree jump in temperature from the morning low of 47° at daybreak was the biggest rise in temperature since a 32-degree rise on May 2, 2018 (from 48° to 80°).  The temperature stayed in the 70s until after 11 PM, then a cold front moved through overnight and the mercury fell to 42° by 9:00 AM on 3/21.  The City's next reading in the 70s wouldn't occur until May 2.  

 

APRIL

7 - Today's high of 68° was the mildest reading of the month.  This became the first April since 1940 to have no readings in the 70s or warmer.  (Since 2000 the average warmest reading in April has been 85°.)

13 - Nearly two inches of rain fell from an intense storm system that had produced deadly tornadoes in the Southeast the day before.  The 1.92" of rain that was measured was a record for the date, easily breaking the old record from 100 years ago.  Besides rain (which fell largely between 1 AM and 6 PM) gale force winds raked the area, gusting close to 40 mph in Central Park and between 50-60 mph in many suburbs.  Temperatures rose into the 60s as the storm departed in the early evening, and the day's high (67°) was reached after dark.   

 

MAY

1 - Although today' high/low of 66°/53° was just one degree above average this broke a 16-day streak with below average mean temperatures.  The average high/low during this streak was 56°/42°, seven degrees below average.  This was the longest below average streak since March 2018, when there was a streak of 22 days. 

2 - Usually a high of 73° in early May doesn't warrant attention, but this year it did because this was the first reading in the 70s in more than six weeks (since 3/20).  

3 - Under sunny skies, today reported the year's first reading in the 80s (80°).  This was the first year since 2014 to have its first 80 in May rather than in April (average date of the first 80°+ reading is 4/22).  The last time the temperature was this warm was on 10/2 last year when the mercury soared to 93°.

7 - Today was the the second day of the past three to have humidity that dropped to 16% during the afternoon.  The last time humidity was this low in May was in 2007.  And back then it also happened on two days (5/3 and 5/13).

8 - A rare springtime incursion of Arctic air moved through during the afternoon and by midnight the mercury had fallen to 36°.  This was a record for the date, the first May reading in the 30s since 1978 (38° on 5/1), and the coldest reading in May since 1966 (36° on 5/10).  Light rain fell during the PM hours, amounting to 0.45".  (It should be noted that the reading of 36° credited to today actually occurred shortly before 1 AM Daylight Saving Time on 5/9, but the NWS uses Standard Time year-round for its records.)

9 - This morning's record low of 34° (with wind chill in the mid-20s) was Central Park's coldest reading in May since 1891.  And snow flurries that fell before daybreak tied May 9, 1977 as the latest date for a trace of snow.  This morning's reading was colder than April's coldest reading by two degrees.

10 - For the third year in a row Mother's Day had well below average temperatures.  This year, the low of 39° was the chilliest reading on Mother's Day since 1977 (low of 38°).  However, unlike the previous two years skies were clear and the temperature rose to 64°.  Although this was five degrees cooler than average, last year's afternoon temperatures were only in the mid-40s, and the year before that they were in the mid-50s. 

12 - Last week, on 5/5 and 5/7, the humidity in Central Park dropped to 16%, which was the lowest in May since 2007.  This afternoon it dropped to 15%, which is the lowest reported in May this century.  Despite sunny skies it was a chilly day, with a high of 59° (average high for the date is 70°).

23 - Much of today's 0.65" rainfall, the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend, poured down between 11 AM and noon.  Up until today less than an inch of rain had fallen this month (0.95").  Today's rain was 0.03" shy of the most to fall on the Saturday of the three-day Memorial Day weekend, which was in 1982.

30 - Today and yesterday both had a high/low of 81/67 (eight degrees above average).  But whereas yesterday was on the sticky side, with afternoon dew points in the upper 60s, today was noticeably more comfortable, with dew points in the afternoon down into the upper 40s.  And it also had a lot more sunshine.  Yesterday and today were also the first back-to-back days with highs in the 80s, about three weeks later than usual, and the latest since 2013.

 

JUNE

6 - Warm and uncomfortably humid with a high of 86°; the dew point was in the 68°-70° range all morning thru mid-afternoon. This was the first reading of 85° or warmer this year, the latest date for this occurrence since 2008 (when it happened on 6/7).  Today also had the year's first low of 70°+, which was just a few days later than the average date.  The humidity dropped sharply after a mid-afternoon shower.  Meanwhile, Newark and LaGuardia airports had their first readings in the 90s.

22 - Today's high of 90° was the first reading of 90+ this year.  And although it was about four weeks later than the average date of the first 90+ (5/28), it came a week earlier than last year.  Skies were partly cloudy and it was on the humid side.

27 - A 15-day streak with no measurable ended today when 0.09" of rain fell in the early afternoon.  (This was the longest such streak since one of 18 days in the fall of 2017.)  And a 7-day streak with highs of 85° or warmer (the longest such streak since a 10-day streak in June 2010) ended when the high, due to clouds and showers, got no higher than 80°.  Despite the slightly cooler temperatures the dew point in the middle of the afternoon reached an uncomfortable 73°.

 

JULY

1 - This morning's low of 67° would be the coolest reading of July, setting a new record for mildest "coolest" reading in any month (breaking the previous record of 66° in July 2008).  It would also be the only day this month with a low that was below average (and it was just one degree cooler than average). 

6 - The mercury soared to 96°, the hottest reading in two summers when it reached 96° on 7/1 (a hotter temperature, 97°, occurred in Sept. 2015).  Fortunately, the humidity was very low (30-35%).  Relief arrived late in the afternoon when strong thunderstorms dropped a little more than a half inch of rain, mostly between 4-5 PM, cooling the temperature to 70°.

10 - Tropical storm Fay zipped from North Carolina to the Jersey Shore, soaking Central Park with 2.54" of rain, with most of it pouring down between 1:30-4:30 PM.  This amount was 1) a record for the date; the greatest one-day rainfall since May 2018; and 3) the first measurable rain on this date since 2003.  The temperature and dew point were both in the 70s all day, giving the air a pronounced tropical feel.  (With a high of 77°, a streak of 21 days with highs of 80° or warmer was snapped, the longest such streak in four summers.)   This was the fourth "F"-named tropical system to affect NYC since 1970, but it was the only one that didn't strike in September. 

11 - Following yesterday oppressive conditions, today was even more uncomfortable as afternoon dew points rose from low 70s to 74°-77°.  Additionally, today's afternoon air temperature was 8-10 degrees warmer (low 80s vs. mid-70s).  Two heavy downpours in mid-afternoon and evening produced 0.75" of rain, one day after 2.54" poured down from tropical storm Fay. 

22 - Today was very similar to last year as it was the fifth day in a row with a high in the 90s (it reached 92° today) and then a severe thunderstorm dumped 1.23" of rain between 7-8 PM.  The night's rain brought July's rainfall to 5.53", making it the wettest month of the year (so far).  

24 - Due to nationwide closures caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Mets didn't play their home opener until today.  And although it was played in mid-summer, it didn't have the warmest reading of any home opener.  Under mostly cloudy skies, the temperature during the game was in the the upper 70s (average high is 84°), which was cooler than home openers in 1977 (90°), 1991 (90°) and 1998 (86°); however, it was on the humid side, with dew points hovering around 70°. 

31 - A new record for July was established this morning when the day's low temperature of 70° was the 26th day this month with a low of 70° or warmer, breaking the previous record from ten years ago.  However, for a while the record seemed like it might be in jeopardy when the temperature dropped from 74° to 70° during heavy rain showers after 1 AM.

 

AUGUST

4 - Four weeks after the City was lashed by tropical storm Fay, an intense tropical storm, Isaias, blew through the area today, packing quite a punch.  Because the center of the storm moved further inland than anticipated, NYC was spared heavy rain, but winds gusted to 48 mph in Central Park and 78 mph at Battery Park City in lower Manhattan (and 68, 69 and 70 mph at Newark, LaGuardia and JFK airports, respectively).  While just 0.55" of rain fell from daybreak thru lunchtime in Central Park (much of it between 11 AM-noon), four inches+ flooded eastern Pennsylvania.  Although it wasn't associated with Isaias, a severe thunderstorm late last night dumped practically the same amount of rain in about 30 minutes as fell this morning.

7 - Rain that began around daybreak cooled the temperature to below 70° for the first time since July 17.  This 20-day streak was the fourth longest of its kind, just two days shy of the record set in the summers of 1980 and 2010 (and a streak of 21 days occurred in 1988).  The mercury sunk to 66°, which was the coolest reading since a low of 65° on June 29. (The day's forecast low had been for the low 70s.)

12 - Very tropical conditions brought heat (high of 90°), stifling humidity (the dew point reached 77°, producing a heat index around 100°), and then a severe thunderstorm during the late afternoon.  The 1.76" of rain that poured down (almost all between 4-5 PM) was more than triple the 0.55" that fell last week from tropical storm Isaias.