Today in New York Weather History: September 23
1882 (Saturday)
Less than two weeks after heavy rains from a tropical storm soaked the City, another tropical system brought more flooding rains and drenched New York with its greatest rainfall for any calendar date - 8.28". (And in the preceding two days 3.52" of rain had fallen.) With a total of 16.85" of rain for the entirety of September (most of which fell between the 11th and 23rd), this would be the wettest month on record for more than 125 years - until August 2011 (when 18.95" was measured).
1895 (Monday)
A four-day heat wave, the latest on record, ended today, with a high of 97°. This is the hottest reading ever reported in the second half of September.
1914 (Wednesday)
This was the last day of an out-of-season three-day heat wave that saw highs of 94°-95°-92° (23 degrees above average). This came a week after an eight-day period of very cool weather that averaged a high/low of 68°/51°.
1961 (Saturday)
Today's high was 90°, the eighth day this month with a high in the 90s - the most ever in the month of September.
1970 (Wednesday)
Although the hottest temperature of the year was 94° (reached three times), today, with a high/low of 93°/77°, had the year's highest mean temperature. At 85°, it was 20 degrees above average.
1973 (Sunday)
The 0.24" of rain that fell in the pre-dawn hours was the first to fall on this date in sixteen years.
1989 (Saturday)
In less than 12 hours the temperature dropped from 81° (9 degrees above average) to 47° (11 below average). The air mass that ushered in this chilly air was responsible for steering the remnants of Hurricane Hugo away from the Mid-Atlantic states.
2005 (Friday)
Today's afternoon high reached a summer-like 87°, the 35th day in a row in which the temperature rose into the 80s. During this five-week stretch temperatures averaged six degrees above the norm.
2011 (Friday)
Heavy rain fell mostly in the afternoon, totaling 2.62". Since Aug. 3 more than twenty-seven inches of rain fell. This was more than what fell during the entire drought-stricken year of 1965, when just 26.09" was measured.
2021 (Thursday)
Chilly air moving into air that was warm and humid (dew points were around 70°) produced periods of heavy rain that began in the evening and continued until sunrise the following day. 2.03” fell in total (1.36” of it today), with much of it, 0.86”, pouring down between 7-8 PM (and 0.51” between 3-5 AM). The rainstorm brought the month’s total to 9.76”, making this the rainiest September since 2004 (11.51”), and the sixth wettest on record (following July and August, which were the third and fifth wettest of their respective months).
This was also the first time on record that three months in a row had more than nine inches of rain (totaling a little more than 31 inches). With a little more than three months left to 2021, 51.69" of precipitation had been measured, which is more than what an entire year averages (a little under 50 inches).
2022 (Friday)
It was a brisk fall day, with clear skies, gusty winds (25-30 mph), and temperatures more typical of mid-October (high/low of 63°/51°). The day's low was the chilliest since 5/10, the high was the chilliest since 5/8, and at ten degrees below average, the mean temperature was the most below average since 5/7, when the high/low was 50°/45° (13 degrees below average). Tomorrow's low would be even chillier (49°) but the high would be close to 70°.
2024 (Monday)
A 15-day streak with no rain ended today when light showers in the late afternoon and later tonight produced 0.04" of rain in Central Park. This was the longest streak with no measurable rain in three-and-a-half years (since a streak of 16 days in March 2021). Under overcast skies, the high of 67° was the coolest since mid-May.
35 in a row what'd ya know...good stuff fry.
Posted by: Wax | 09/23/2012 at 03:41 PM
I remember going to Riis Park Beach during the 1970 September Heat Wave. The college crowd used to hang out at one of the beaches ( I forget the beach number) and we were enjoying the irony of being at the beach in late September.
Posted by: Ken K. in NJ | 09/23/2018 at 11:41 AM
2021 was only the third year to have at least fifty inches of precipitation through this date. the first year was 1989, which had 53.21” through this date and the second year was 2011, which had 58.44” through this date.
Posted by: William | 09/25/2021 at 12:18 AM