New York City Weather Archive

March Madness: 80-Degree Weather in New York During March

The month of March is characterized by big swings in temperature, with most years experiencing at least a few highs in the 70s (sometimes coming a few days before or after temperatures were in the teens).  On average (since 1970), the mildest reading in March is around 70°, but on rare occasion highs in the 80s have occurred (average date of the first 80-degree reading is April 20).  In the years since 1960, this degree of warmth has been reported in March just ten times in five years: 1977, 1985, 1989, 1990 and 1998.  Details follow:

 

• On March 29, 1977 the high reached 81°, just four days after the coldest reading of the month, 24°.  This was the first 80-degree reading in March since 1945.  

• 1985's 80-degree day occurred on the same date as 1977's, but at 82°, it was one degree warmer.  However, neither year set a record because on that very same date in 1945 the temperature soared to 86° (FYI, March 1945 is the mildest on record).

 

 

• The high on March 28, 1989 soared to 82°.  Then it would then be more than seven weeks before Central Park recorded its next 80-degree high.

• One year later New York had two 80-degree days in March.  Unlike 1977, 1985 and 1989, they occurred in the middle of the month.  The first occurred on March 13, when the mercury soared to 85°, 36 degrees above average.  This is the earliest 80 on record, and it came just six days after a low of 13°.  Then three days later, on March 16, 80-degree temperatures returned, with a high of 82°.

  

 

• Finally, March 1998 ended with an extraordinary five days in a row of 80-degree weather.  Beginning on March 27, high temperatures reached 83°, 80°, 81°, 82° and 86°.  Just five days before the streak began five inches of snow had fallen.  Additionally, until this unprecedented streak, the month had been 1.3 degrees colder than average.  But after five days that averaged 26 degrees above average, the month ended up being three degrees above average.  (The Mets took a chance and scheduled their first game of the 1998 season on 3/31 and were greeted by temperatures in the mid-80s.)   The next 80-degree day wouldn't be until May 15. 

 

1998's five-day "heat wave" was the last time New York basked in 80-degree weather in March.  Interestingly, March 2012 was New York's second mildest on record, but there were no days in the 80s (but there were seven days in the 70s, including two with highs of 78°).  And March 2016 saw a high of 79° on 3/10. 

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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.

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

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 AM on 3/21.    

 

Remembering New York's Top Weather Stories of 2019

After pondering the various weather events that occurred in New York over the course of 2019, my choice as the year's biggest story is a sizzling hot day in October.  Although there had been 90-degree readings in October before, they were a long time ago - in 1927, 1938, 1939 and 1941.  (By comparison, April had fifteen readings in the 90s in the years after 1941.)  But on Oct. 2 the mercury soared to 93°.  It was somewhat ironic that this hot autumn day occurred in 2019 because the year's first 90-degree reading wasn't until the end of June, which was a month behind schedule, and there were no 90-degree readings in September.  What follows are the other meteorological highlights that were candidates for top story of 2019:

 

HOT & COLD

Two days in January had especially cold readings: 14°/4° on Jan. 21, 16°/2° on Jan. 31.  These were among the five coldest days in the past 25 years.  At the other end of the thermometer, the year's hottest reading was 95°, which happened during a July weekend, 7/20-21.  (LaGuardia, JFK and Newark topped out at 100°, 99° and 99°, respectively).  Both days also had lows in the 80s (and during the afternoon of 7/22 the dew point reached an absurdly high 79°, the highest in nearly 40 years.)  Although this reading was well below the hottest temperatures experienced in past summers, the month ended up being New York's 11th hottest July on record, due largely to consistent warmth throughout the month, not only during the daytime but at night as well (the month had July's fifth warmest average low).

 

SNOW DROUGHT

2019 wasn't a snowy year, with just 16.6" measured, the least snow since 2012 (the years 2013-2018 averaged 40 inches of snow).  Much of the year's snow was concentrated in the first four days of March, all which had an inch or more of snow - the first time a streak of this length occurred in any month of any year.  The 10.4" of snow that accumulated on these four days accounted for well over half of calendar year 2019's snowfall .

 

DAYS OF PRECIPITATION WELL ABOVE AVERAGE FOR SECOND YEAR IN A ROW

After 2018 established a new record for most days with measurable precipitation, 2019 followed with the fourth greatest number of days.  But while 2018 was the fourth wettest year on record 2019 ranked 28th.  May had 19 days of precipitation, which was the second most for any month (the most is 20 days, in July 1871 and May 1888); this followed 18 days of precipitation in April (most ever for that month).

 

MOTHER'S DAY HAD WORST WEATHER OF ANY HOLIDAY

A nor'easter brought a cold, all-day rain that amounted to 1.32".  Temperatures fell into the 40s around daybreak and stayed there for the rest of the day; this meant afternoon readings were 25 degrees colder than average.

 

JULY RAINSTORMS BROUGHT BIGGEST RAIN TOTALS

The year's two biggest rainstorms came five days apart in July as 2.33" poured down on July 17-18 (from tropical storm Barry) and 2.19" fell on July 22-23.

 

THANKSGIVING WEATHER

Blustery conditions on Thanksgiving Day (winds gusted between 25-37 mph) forced officials in charge of Macy's Thanksgiving Parade to order its famous balloons be flown much lower than usual, with some nearly scraping the pavement.  (For most parade goers, however, the wind was more bearable than the previous year's frigid temperatures.)

 

DRY MOMENTS

Despite all of the days of precipitation, and three months with more than six inches of rain, there were moments when the air dried out.  For instance, September was among the ten driest on record, with just 0.95" measured - the first month with less than an inch of rain in six years.  Then there were a number of days with extremely low afternoon humidity levels: March 24 and 26 (13% and 14%), Sept. 19 (15%) and Nov. 16 (13%).  Lastly, despite December being one of the ten wettest, it also had a ten-day period with no rain or snow, tying a ten-day period in September for longest precipitation-free streak of the year.

 

YEAR ENDS WITH WET DECEMBER FOR SECOND YEAR IN A ROW

Finally, December was the wettest month of the year (7.09"), just the third December to gain this distinction.  The first two weeks were particularly soggy, with five inches measured - the third greatest amount to fall in the first two weeks of December. 

 

Here are other annual recaps:

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

(For more detailed information about each month's weather, choose Monthly Recaps in the Categories box in the left margin.)

December 2019 Repeats December 2018's Wet Conditions

December 2019 was the wettest month of the year and fifth wettest December on record (7.09" was measured).  Much of its precipitation fell in the first two weeks of the month.  In fact, the 5.05" that was measured during this period was the third greatest amount to fall in the first two weeks of any December.   Looking at temperature, the month was slightly above average (+0.8°).  Although Dec. 1-22 was 2.5 degrees colder than average, the rest of the month was mild enough (+9 degrees), to push the entire month into the above average column.  The mildest reading of the month was 58° (on 12/10), making this the first December since 2005 not to have any readings of 60° or warmer.  The coldest reading, 16° on 12/19, was three degrees colder than the typical coldest reading of December.  The 19th was also the only day that had a high of 32° or colder (25°).

 

Despite the month's surplus precipitation there were ten consecutive days with no measurable precipitation (Dec. 19-28).  This matched a 10-day stretch in September - the longest dry spells of the year.  (September 2019 had just 0.95" of rain, making it the eighth driest September on record).  Coincidentally, last year's wet December (ninth wettest) also had a ten-day stretch with no precipitation.

 

Being the wettest month of a year is rare for December.  Before 2019 only two other years had December as their wettest month - in 1957 (when 5.26" was reported) and in 1973 (9.98" was measured).  Another distinction for Dec. 2019 is that it was just the 13th month to have more than seven inches of rain as well as a streak of 10 or more days without any measurable precipitation.  (The longest streak during one of these months was thirteen days in June 2006).

 

 

In addition to the soggy first two weeks, other December highlights included the season's first measurable snowfall on 12/2 (1.3" fell) and an out of the ordinary snow squall of 10-15 minutes during the afternoon of 12/18 that ushered in the coldest weather of December (0.4" accumulated, and an additional 0.3" fell from a snow shower a few hours later).  Additionally, the first four days of the month had highs/lows stuck in the 30s, just the sixth time there's been a streak of this length or longer.

 

 

Finally, December 2018 and 2019 joined December 2008 and 2009 as the second pair of consecutive years to be among the ten wettest Decembers (2008 is #4; 2019 is #5; 2008 is #9; and 2018 is in tenth place). 

 

Previous December recaps:

2018

2017

2016

2015

 

 

In a Rut: Temperatures Stuck in the 30s

This post was inspired by the first four days of December 2019, all which reported highs & lows in the 30s.  The last time there was a streak of this length was in January 1998, when there was one of five days.  Although days "stuck in the 30s" aren't rare, as a typical year sees a half dozen of them, strings of three days or longer happen infrequently, about once very five years.  Not surprisingly, nine out of ten of these days have occurred from December thru March, with December having the most. (They've occurred as early as Oct. 26 and as late as April 11).

 

 

More than half of these days have reported measurable precipitation (57% to be exact); one in four have reported measurable snow.  Since many of these days have temperatures around freezing (two-thirds have a reading of 32° or colder for at least part of the day) the type of precipitation that falls is a mixed bag (i.e., rain, freezing rain, sleet and wet snow).  Often the type of snow that falls doesn't readily accumulate on paved surfaces if the temperature is above freezing.  And although temperatures in the 30s are far from frigid, the fact that they're often accompanied by overcast skies or precipitation makes these days feel raw and colder than the air temperature. 

 

 

The most precipitation to fall on one of these "stuck" days was 2.03" on March 29, 1984 (high/low of 36/34); 1.8" of the precipitation was snow.  Additionally, there have been four other storms that produced two+ inches of liquid precipitation that crossed over to other days - in Jan. 1987, March 1967, Dec. 1930 and Dec. 1914 (all days were in the 30s).  The biggest of them all produced 3.49" of precipitation and lasted three days during the first week of March 1967; two inches of snow fell on the first day of the storm. 

 

Speaking of snow, the most to fall on a day with temperatures in the 30s for its entirety was ten inches on Feb. 10, 2010 (high/low was 34/30).  And 11.8" fell from a storm that crossed over into a second day on March 21-22, 1956.  In addition to these snowfalls there have been nine others that dropped six to ten inches (most recently on March 21, 2018 when 8.2" fell on a day in which the high/low was 39/31). 

 

 

In the years since 1900, the longest streak of days stuck in the 30s is five, which has happened three times: in Jan. 1998, Dec. 1970 and in Dec. 1914.  The most in one winter was 20, which occurred in the winter of 1997-98.  Every winter except one, 1924, has had two or more days stuck in the 30s. (The winter of 1924 had one day.)  Finally, the most in one month is eight, which has happened twice - in January 1987 and January 1998.  (December 2019, thru 12/19, has had seven.)

 

 

If this analysis leaves you cold, I also posted one last year about days stuck in the 70s.

 

 

 

 

November 2019 - Cold & Dry

November 2019 was the 31st coldest November and 32nd driest (going back to 1869).  It tied November 2012 as coldest November of this century.  Nine days had lows of 32° or colder, the most since 2013 and well above the 21st century average of three.  Looking at precipitation, the first 17 days of the month had just 0.25" of rain.  1.95" was measured for the entire month (more than two inches below average), with much of the rain concentrated during the seven days between 11/18-24.  Despite the cold temperatures no snow fell.  Other interesting aspects:

 

• The 11-day period between 11/8-18 was ten degrees below average (six days had mean temperatures that were 10-20 degrees below average).  The month's other nineteen days had temperatures that were close to average, resulting in the month being 3.8 degrees colder than average overall (its average low was 4.5 degrees below average).  This was the most below average of any month since March 2015 (-4.4 degrees).

• Half of the Novembers that were colder than Nov. 2019 occurred in the 19th century (1869-1899).  Looking at the past 100 years Nov. 2019 tied for ninth coldest.

• The mildest reading of the month was 71° in the early hours of 11/1; the coldest reading was 23° on 11/13.  That reading was a record for the date and followed a record low of 25° the day before that. 

• Since 1970 November's mildest reading has averaged 71°, which was the same as this November.  However, the second mildest reading has averaged 69°, but this year's was only 62°, which was the chilliest second mildest reading since November 1977.

• Gusty winds on Thanksgiving Day somewhat marred Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.  Up until a few hours before the parade started it was uncertain whether its famous balloons would be permitted to float high above the streets of Midtown Manhattan, but it was decided to let them participate at a much lower height than usual.  Wind was the only issue as temperatures were at seasonable levels and there was no rain.

 

 

• On 11/13 the relative humidity at mid-day fell to an exceptionally low 13%, the lowest humidity reported in November in the years of the 21st century.  It was also the only date outside of March and April with a humidity level this low.

• Last November, 3.3 degrees colder than average, seemed more wintry than this November because it featured a 6.4" snowstorm and had one of the coldest readings ever reported in November, 15°.  It also was one of the wettest Novembers.  While its average high was 0.9 degree colder than this November, it's average low was 1.9 degrees milder.  Like Nov. 2019, the equally cold Nov. 2012 was dry (1.81").  However, a big difference was that Nov. 2012 had a snowfall of 4.7" on 11/7-8 (the earliest accumulation of four inches or more).

 

 

Other November recaps:

2018

2017

2016

2015

 

 

 

 

A Reading in the 90s Makes October 2019 Memorable in New York

Although above average rainfall characterized October 2019, a day of sizzling heat at the beginning of the month is likely what many New Yorkers will remember.  After having no days in the 90s in September, the high on 10/2 was a torrid 93°, 24 degrees above average - and the first 90-degree reading in October since 1941.  (The high the next day, however, was thirty degrees chillier.)  As for the rain, 6.15" was measured, the most in October since 2006, and the second rainiest month of the year (May had 6.77").  A little more than half of the month's rain fell on two days: on 10/16, when 1.83" fell, and 10/27 (1.38").

 

The month was three degrees warmer than average and was the 24th mildest October on record (but it ranked 12th for average low).  And although it had just a few days with highs of 70° or warmer or lows in the 60s, the month also had very few days with highs in the 50s or lows in the 40s (the chilliest reading was 43° on the 19th).  Similar to September, October ended with 11 days in a row with above average readings (averaging six degrees above average).  Temperatures between 10/3-20 were average while the other 13 days of the month were seven degrees above average.

 

In the years since 1900 three out of four Octobers have had their chilliest readings in the 30s or 20s.  October 2019 joined only five other Octobers whose chilliest lows were 43° or milder.  (The mildest reading to be the chilliest October low is 45°, which happened in 1945 and again in 1971.)  The typical chilliest October temperature is around 38° (fourteen Octobers since 1900 had chilliest readings of 32° or colder; the last time it occurred was in 1988).

 

 

The low on Halloween was 60°, 15 degrees above average.  It joined 10/1 and 10/2 as the only days in October with lows in the 60s.  The high of 71° on 10/31 was the warmest reading on the holiday in ten years, when the high was also 71°.  It was also the mildest reading since 10/14.  (And although 10/31's high of 71° was 22 degrees cooler than 10/2's, its low was just three degrees lower.)

 

 

Finally, October's plentiful rainfall followed a very dry September, in which just 0.95" was measured.  And while this was a decided contrast, it wasn't nearly as extreme as Sept/Oct 2005 when  October saw 16.73" after a paltry 0.48"; April/May 2007, when April had 13.05" and May had just 1.88"; and Aug/Sept 1882, when September had 16.85" and August only 1.14".

Here are links to other October recaps:

2018

2017

2016

 

 

 

September 2019 - One of 10 Driest Septembers On Record

September 2019 was the first month since October 2013 to have less than an inch of rain; it was the eighth driest September on record (0.95" was measured).  Thru 9/20 the month had average temperatures; then the last ten days were eight degrees warmer than average, resulting in the month being 2.4 degrees above average (24th warmest since 1869).  Although it was warmer than average, the month had just one low of 70º+, the fewest in September in ten years (there were none in 2009).  It was also the first September since 2011 not to have any highs of 90° or hotter. 

 

This September added to the record set last year when last September was the fourth in a row with an average temperature of 70.0 degrees or warmer.  September 2019, however, was the "coolest" of the five.  However, a record that was tied last September, the sixth September in a row with a high in the 90s, wasn't broken this year as the hottest temperature this September was 89°.  (It occurred on 9/23 - the same date as the month's only low in the 70s).

 

 

Two-thirds of September's paltry amount of rain fell in the first six days of the month, split mostly between Labor Day (when 0.30" fell mid-day, the most to fall on the holiday in sixteen years) and 9/6, when the most northernmost band of hurricane Dorian dropped 0.27" in less than an hour during mid-afternoon.

 

 

Finally, humidity of 15% or lower occurs very infrequently in New York, and when it has happened it's been confined to March and April (in the years since 2000) - until 9/19, when it dropped to 15% for a few hours that afternoon.  The last time the humidity was this low in September was on Sept. 11, 2001, when it bottomed out at 16%.

 

Here are recaps of the five previous Septembers:

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

 

 

 

 

One Word Sums Up New York's Weather in August 2019: 'Uninspiring'

August, much like June, had close to average temperatures (+0.3 degrees).  Perhaps the most interesting story during this month of uneventful conditions was the twelve-day period from Aug. 17 thru 28 in which the first six days were very warm (average high/low of 89°/73°, including the month's three days in the 90s) followed by six days that were pleasantly cool (high/low of 75°/64°).  The month's three days in the 90s went no higher than 90° (something which has occurred just once before, in August 2014).  Finally, this was the sixth consecutive August with no readings in the 50s.

 

The month had somewhat below average rainfall.  The 3.70" that was measured was the least precipitation since February's 3.14".  Much of it fell on three days: 1.18" on 8/7, 0.64" on 8/18 and 1.01" on 8/22.  (Although August 2019 had less than average rainfall there were six drier Augusts in the 2010s.)  There were ten thunderstorms or brief periods of heavy rain in the three weeks between 8/3 and 8/22.  They occurred mostly in the afternoon and evening and were responsible for the day's lows occurring in the evening rather than at around daybreak.  Without these cool downs there would have been five days with lows of 75° or warmer rather than one.

 

Here are recaps of the four previous Augusts:

2018

2017

2016

2015