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.
