New York Weather Highlights of 1994
7 - A frustrating day for snow lovers. Although today's high was 28° most of the 0.53" of precipitation that fell came down as freezing rain. (0.9" of sleet/snow was measured at Central Park.) This was the worst ice storm I can remember in the years I've lived in New York - luckily, the wires for electricity, telephones and cable TV for the City are largely underground. Freezing rain and sleet were an unusually common occurrence this winter; between Jan. 3 and March 10 this icy precipitation fell on nineteen occasions.
12 - Sleet and snow lashed the area during the day and accumulated 2.9" by 7 PM.
17 - A winter storm sucked in more mild air than expected, resulting in a mostly rain event (after starting as a brief period of snow that accumulated 1.3"). 1.34" of precipitation fell in total, a record for the date. The temperature rose from 12° at midnight to 47° by early afternoon and began tumbling later on as another Arctic air mass moved in.
19 - The morning low of 2° below zero was the coldest reading of the winter and a record for the date. This Arctic outbreak ranked with those of December 1989, January 1985, January 1982 and January 1977 for its widespread severity.
20 - This morning's low was zero degrees, a record for the date, but a two-degree "warm-up" from yesterday's low of minus 2°.
26 - 4.5" of snow fell during the morning, the largest snowfall of the month. It was followed by Arctic air which dropped the temperature from 32° to 5° by midnight.
27 - Since Jan. 6 temperatures averaged nine degrees colder than normal, with an average high/low of 30°/14° - more typical of January temperatures in Chicago.
28 - Today's high temperature leapt to 55° after yesterday's frigid low of zero degrees. 1.87" of rain fell, a record for the date.
29 - This was the only day between Jan. 3 and Feb. 17 that was completely above freezing (high/low of 42°/35°).
FEBRUARY
7 - For the first time since Jan. 3 there was less than an inch of snow on the ground in Central Park, a span of five weeks. But the ground would lay bare for little more than a day as two snowstorms were on the way.
8 - After January saw a large amount of sleet and freezing rain New York finally got a storm that brought snow as 7.2" fell. It came down especially heavy between 9 AM-1 PM, but snow predicted for the rest of the day didn't materialize as it came down as sleet instead. After midnight an additional 1.8" of snow fell to bring the 24-hour total to nine inches.
10 - Today was the 25th day this winter with a high temperature of 32° or colder, one day more than the previous three winters combined.
11 - 12.8" of snow fell during a snowstorm that began shortly before daybreak and continued into Friday evening. This was just three days after a nine-inch snowstorm and was New York's greatest accumulation since 1983, which also occurred on this date.
23 - Today's snowfall of 2.6" (0.3" of which fell in the wee hours of 2/24) was this winter's tenth snowfall of one inch or more. The last winter to have this many snowfalls was during 1966-67.
26 - The 1.4" of snow that fell at around daybreak was the 11th snowfall this winter of one inch or more, the most since the winter of 1963-64.
MARCH
2 - With today's four-inch snowfall (an additional inch fell the next day), New York's total snowfall for the winter passed fifty inches, the most since the winter of 1977-78 (when 50.7" was measured). Today's snow was the fifth that accumulated four inches or more this winter.
8 - Between Dec. 30 and today, a stretch of nearly ten weeks, there was at least one inch of snow on the ground in Central Park on all but three days.
17 - Today's high was just 37°, thirteen degrees colder than average and the fourth year in a row that was colder than the preceding St. Patrick's Day.
18 - 2.8" of snow fell during during the afternoon, the last snowfall of the winter. This brought the season's total snowfall to 53.2", making it the snowiest winter since that of of 1960-61. The day was a cold one, with a high/low of just 33°/25°, fourteen degrees below average.
APRIL
4 - The Yankees' home opener was played under ideal conditions as skies were clear and temperatures slightly milder than average (60°). And the Bronx Bombers triumphed over Texas, 5-3.
11 - The temperature rebounded from a morning low of 42° to 68° under clear skies (until later in the afternoon when clouds moved in). This was also the day of the Mets home opener which was played this afternoon. Unfortunately, they fell behind early (8-1 in the 3rd inning) and lost to the Cubs 9-5.
27 - 0.41" of rain fell during a twenty-minute thunderstorm later in the afternoon (4:27-4:47 PM). After a cool start (low of 50°) it turned into a warm day as the high reached 82°.
MAY
19 - It was a raw and damp day with a high of only 54°, eighteen degrees below average. The last time there was a high temperature this chilly was back on April 12 (when a high of 54° was just five degrees below average).
23 - After a low of 56°, the temperature rocketed to 91° under sunny skies - the first 90-degree day of the year. Today happened to be the funeral of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, which was held in Manhattan. Additionally, this was the tenth day this year with a diurnal temperature variation of 30 degrees or more, the greatest number of such days of any year (breaking a tie with 1939).
25 - An evening thunderstorm (including hail, a rarity in Manhattan) delayed by three hours my 8:15 flight to Pittsburgh, where I was going to help my family make arrangements for my father's funeral. (I finally arrived shortly before 1 AM.)
JUNE
15 - Today's high reached 96°. There hasn't been a reading in the 90s on this date since (through 2024).
19 - Not only was this the hottest day of the summer, but also the hottest Father's Day on record, as the high reached 98° (eighteen degrees above average) after a low of 75°. This tied June 22, 1988 for the highest temperature in June since 1966's 101°. And today's high broke the previous record (95°) set just last year. Similar to 6/15, this is the last time a reading in the 90s occurred on this date (through 2024).
24 - 0.70" of rain fell during a torrential downpour between 11:30-midnight.
25 - Tropical conditions through mid-afternoon made the high of 88° feel like mid-90s. Today was my brother's wedding out in north Jersey and I was his best man, so wearing a tux in this weather was a bit uncomfortable. However, the poor bridesmaids arrived at the church wilted because the air conditioning in their limo didn't work. Happily, drier air moved in just as the outdoor reception was getting underway.
29 - Afternoon thunderstorms dumped 0.66" of rain between noon-1 PM and 0.96" between noon-3 PM.
30 - Today was only the third day this month with below-average temperatures, a month that was the warmest June since 1966.
JULY
7 - One year after a high of 98°, today's high hit 97°.
9 - Today's high was 92°, the fifth year in a row in which the high reached 90°+ on this date.
18 - 0.60" of rain fell during the 30-minute period between 9:55-10:25 AM. Today was also the only day of the month in which the temperature failed to reach the 80s. The last time this happened in July was in 1983.
31 - Today was the 25th day this month with a high of 85° or warmer (average number is 15). Since then, two other years had 25 (in 2011 and 2022) and two others had 26 (2010 and 2016).
AUGUST
7 - For the second morning in a row the low was a chilly 57°, a record for the date, and twelve degrees cooler than is typical in early August.
13 - 0.48" of rain fell in just ten minutes between 4:20-4:30 PM.
14 - Today, with a high of 91°, was the last 90-degree day of the year. In total, there were nineteen days with highs in the 90s this year, one more than average (and half as many as last year).
17 - For the third year in a row an inch or more of rain fell on this date. Today's rainfall totaled 1.00".
21 - During a strong thunderstorm 0.51" of rain fell in just fifteen minutes between 4:15-4:30 PM. Then between 10 PM-midnight an additional 0.52" fell.
22 - The rain that began yesterday during the late afternoon continued for the entire day today and amounted to 3.02"; 1.85" fell today on top of yesterday's 1.17". This was New York's biggest rainstorm since last August when 3.20" fell on the 16th and 17th. It was also the first time rain fell on this date since 1977 (when 1.22" fell).
SEPTEMBER
3-5 - This was the coolest Labor Day weekend of the 1970-2023 period (later tied by 2002). It was also just one of two Labor Day weekends in which each day's morning low was in the 50s (the other was in 1986).
9 - 0.23" of rain fell in five minutes between 7:04-7:09 PM. And just 0.10" more fell for the rest of the evening.
OCTOBER
3 - This morning's low of 43° was the first reading in the 40s this fall, the latest date for this occurrence since 1982. This reading was eleven degrees below average.
30 - Today's high of 75° was the warmest reading of the month (and seventeen degrees above average). The last time it was this warm was five weeks earlier.
31 - Today's high of 73° made this the warmest Halloween since 1961 (when it was 76°), but it was eight degrees below the record of 81° set in 1946.
NOVEMBER
4 - Today's high of 76°/low of 58° was 15 degrees above average. This was the warmest reading in more than six weeks and came in the midst of a week-and-a-half of unseasonably mild weather (Oct. 30 to Nov. 9) in which temperatures were nine degrees above average.
28 - 1.05" of rain fell today, ending by 5 PM. This was the fifth time an inch or more of rain fell on this date since 1980. (It hasn't happened since.) And on Nov. 28, 1988, also a Monday, 1.05" of rain fell as well.
DECEMBER
6 - This was the fourth day in a row with a high in the 60s. During these days the high averaged 63°, 17 degrees above average, and more typical of mid-October. The average low was also milder than the typical high for this time of year (49° vs. 46°).
12 - With a high/low of 31°/24°, today was the first day of the winter completely below freezing. It was the only such day in December.
25 - Today's high of 59°/low of 41°, fifteen degrees above average, made this the mildest Christmas in twelve years. The high/low was on-par with this year's Easter Sunday (61°/43°).
29 - For those who get a kick out of numerical patterns, today's and the previous two days' highs were 33°, 44° and 55°.
To read highlights from other years between 1970 and 2023 double click here.
How could October 3 be the latest date for the first 40s when just last year it was October 18?
Posted by: Guttmana9 | 09/26/2022 at 08:02 PM
It was the latest date since 1982, not the latest date of all time.
Posted by: Rob | 10/03/2022 at 10:19 AM