Today in New York Weather History: December 19
1910 (Monday)
Today was the first day this month with a low temperature above 32°.
1919 (Friday)
Today's 1.9" of snow brought the season's snowfall to 4.0", which exceeded last winter's total of 3.8" (the least snowy winter until 1973). Besides the snow it was also very cold, with a high/low of 20°/10° - but this was bearable compared to yesterday's 11°/-1°.
1945 (Wednesday)
An afternoon/nighttime snowstorm dropped 8.3" (all but 0.3" fell today). This would be the biggest snowfall of the winter (and since March 1941). Besides the snow, temperatures were also quite cold, with a high/low of just 23°/20° (fifteen degrees below average).
1948 (Sunday)
One year after the huge 26.4" snowstorm of Dec. 26, another formidable snowstorm crippled the City with 16.0". At the time, this was the shortest time between major snowstorms. Since then there have been seven pairs of major snowstorms (of a foot or more) that have occurred with less than 12 months in between (the shortest hiatus being four weeks, in January and February 1978.)
1973 (Wednesday)
For the second day in a row the high/low was the same frigid 25°/17°, the coldest days of the month. The sub-freezing cold prevented the layer of thick ice from the ice storm of 12/16-17 from melting quickly.
1979 (Wednesday)
3.5" of snow fell, the first measurable snowfall of the winter. It would be the winter's largest accumulation until mid-March. Today was also the coldest day of the month, with a high of 26° after a low of 20°.
1981 (Saturday)
Today was the first day of the winter that had temperatures completely below freezing, with a high of 28°/low of 21°.
1985 (Thursday)
With a high of 30°, today was the first day of the winter with a maximum temperature of 32° or colder.
1991 (Thursday)
With a high/low of 27°/13°, today was the first day of the winter completely below freezing.
1995 (Tuesday)
Beginning today and continuing into tomorrow Central Park had its biggest December snowfall since 1960 as 7.7" fell (10-12" had been predicted). Less than 10 miles away, LaGuardia Airport was buried by 14.9" (8.0" today, 6.9" tomorrow).
2004 (Sunday)
After an Arctic front moved through late in the afternoon the temperature plunged from 47° to 21° by midnight. The season's first measurable snow fell between 9 PM-3 AM, but it was just 0.6".
2008 (Friday)
Four inches of wet snow fell (an additional 0.5" fell overnight). This would be the biggest snowfall of the winter until March 1-2, when 8.3" fell.
2009 (Saturday)
The first snowfall of the winter was a snowstorm that moved in late in the afternoon. By the time it ended at around 4 AM on Sunday, 10.9" had piled up. Long Island received considerably more, with parts of Suffolk County buried by more than 20". (Photo taken in the NYC suburb of Bronxville.)
2015 (Saturday)
Although today had the chilliest mean temperature since the end of March, the high/low of 40°/35° was still two degrees above average. This ended a nine-day streak in which the mean temperature was ten degrees or more above average. The last time there was a streak of this many days was in January 2002.
2019 (Thursday)
With a high/low of 25°/16° (fourteen degrees colder than average) today was the first day this winter with a high of 32° or colder. This was close to the average date of this occurrence, but it was the latest date since the winter of 2015-16 when it didn't occur until Jan. 5. Wind chills during the morning were in the single digits. This would be the coldest day of the winter of 2019-20 - the first winter since 2005-06 to have its coldest day occur in December.
2020 (Saturday)
Today and the previous three days had very similar, cold temperatures: 31°/24° (on 12/16); 33°/24°; 32°/24°; and 32°/20° (today). These four days were nine degrees below average. Coincidentally, last December had a an equally cold four-day period at about the same time (Dec. 18-21), with an average high/low of 32°/21°.
going back to 1950, only the winters of 2005 and 2008 have had a colder first high temperature of 32° or colder for the season than 2019. in 2005, the first such high actually happened in December when the high was 21° on the twentieth. in 2008, the first such high was 20° on January third.
Posted by: William | 12/23/2019 at 10:54 AM
2020 - this was the first time Central Park had consecutive days with a high of 32° or colder since March fifth, sixth and seventh of 2019. interestingly, just like this month, those three days in March 2019 also followed 10.5” of snow that fell earlier that month.
Posted by: William | 12/19/2020 at 11:42 PM
What was coldest temperature last winter??
Posted by: Jeff Hirschman | 12/20/2020 at 05:17 PM
The coldest reading was 14 degrees on Feb. 15.
Posted by: Rob | 12/20/2020 at 05:29 PM
2021 - 0.02” of rain fell in the pre dawn hours today. this was the first time measurable precipitation fell on this date since 2007, 2008 (which fell as 4” of snow) and 2009 (which fell as 9” of snow).
Posted by: William | 12/19/2021 at 05:55 PM
2021 - today’s low of 29° (which happened just before midnight) was the first reading under 30° this season. this was the fifth latest ever date for this occurrence, behind the winters of 1991, 1999, 2002 and 2016. a season’s first reading under 30° usually happens in the last week of November.
Posted by: William | 12/20/2021 at 01:23 AM
2021 - 0.02" of rain fell overnight, making this the first time since 2009 that measurable precipitation fell on 12/19
Posted by: Lucas | 12/20/2021 at 10:02 AM