New York Weather Highlights of 2013
JANUARY
1 - The new year began with rather uninspiring weather conditions as skies were overcast and temperatures seasonably cold.
3 - Today's high temperature was 32°, the first day this winter with a high of 32° or colder. In the past 40 years only four other winters had a later date for this occurrence. (The winter of 2007-08 also had its first freezing high on this date.)
11 - The first precipitation of the year fell today, a steady rain that fell between noon-midnight and amounted to 0.55".
14 - Today was the sixth day in a row in which the mean temperature was 10 degrees or more above average. During this streak the high and low averaged 49°/40°, 13 degrees above average. Today's high of 56° was the mildest reading during these six days. This was New York's longest such streak since one of eight days in March 2012.
15 - It was a dreary and raw day, with just three degrees separating the high (38°) and low (35°). A mix of rain and sleet moved in after 9 PM, while outlying suburbs in New Jersey, Westchester Co. and Connecticut had a sleet/snow mix.
17 - Today was the 14th, and last, day in a row with above average temperatures. During this two-week period the average high/low was 45°/36°, nine degrees above average. This followed an above average streak of 19 days in December.
23 - A high/low of 20°/11° made this the coldest day of the year, seventeen degrees below average.
25 - A fast-moving clipper system dropped 1.5" of snow during Friday evening's rush hour. Because the week had been quite cold, the snow quickly coated the streets and sidewalks, even in Midtown Manhattan. This was the first snow since 12/26, when 0.4" fell.
26 - Under clear skies the high temperature struggled to reach 27°, making this the sixth day in a row with a high temperature of 32° or colder. The last time the City experienced a cold streak of this length was six years ago. The average high/low during these six days was 25°/15°, twelve degrees colder than average.
31 - A ferocious rainstorm swept through the metro area overnight, with wind gusts of 45-60 mph common throughout the region. Besides wind and rain, very mild air surged ahead of the cold front that fueled the storm, pushing the temperature up to 61° shortly before 2:30 AM. Although the worst of the storm had moved out by 7 AM, high winds continued for the rest of the day, and by evening the temperature had fallen 25 degrees. The 0.94" of rain that fell in Central Park was the same amount that fell during Superstorm Sandy back on Oct. 29-30.
FEBRUARY
2 - Today's high was 29°, the first time in 13 years that New York reported a maximum temperature of 32° or colder on Groundhog Day.
3 - The 0.4" of snow that fell overnight was double the amount that fell during the entire month of February 2012.
8 - An intense winter storm developed off the Delmarva peninsula during the day and by nightfall near-blizzard conditions were common in New York and points north and east. An icy mix of light snow and wind blown sleet began at daybreak and fell throughout the day, becoming a steady and heavy snow after dark. By midnight, 6.3" had fallen in Central Park, and by the time the snow ended shortly before daybreak on 2/9, 11.4" had piled up. However, the City's total was manageable compared to that of Suffolk County and New England, where accumulations of 24 to 30 inches were common. Today's 1.15" of liquid precipitation measured in Central Park was a record for the date, and was the first time that an inch or more of precipitation fell on this date.
17 - After a week of pleasant conditions followed last weekend's snowstorm, a slap of winter reality returned with howling winds (40-50 mph gusts) and temperatures that fell through the 20s to 18° by midnight (along with a wind chill near zero). The one consolation was the clear skies, but snow lovers would beg to differ as an intense storm (the reason for the high winds) that dropped more than six inches of snow over Massachusetts was too far off the coast to produce snow in the City.
19 - The 0.15" of rain that fell during the afternoon was the first precipitation to fall on this date since 2000.
27 - A nor'easter moved through overnight and wind gusts of 40-50 mph were common throughout the area. By the time the storm moved out late in the AM, 1.54" of rain had poured down. This was a record amount for the date, breaking the old record from 100 years ago.
MARCH
4 - The morning low of 27° was the coldest reading of the entire month. This was the mildest temperature for March's coldest reading in 40 years (when the coldest temperature in March 1973 was 30°). Ironically, despite this "mild" coldest reading, March 2013 would be 2.4 degrees colder than average.
6 - It was a raw day with fierce winds under slate gray skies - but no precipitation fell. Winds gusted between 40-55 mph. This was part of a storm system to our south that brought heavy snow to the Midwest earlier in the week and was now producing significant accumulations in WV, MD and VA.
8 - Moderate-to-heavy snow fell all morning and accumulated four inches by noontime. This came four weeks after NYC's last measurable snow - 11.4" from the blizzard that buried New England with two to three feet of snow.
9 - Yesterday's wintry conditions were but a distant memory as today's temperatures soared into the mid-50s under bright blue skies.
13 - Today was the fifth day in a row with temperatures in the 50s. Although hardly an eye-popping occurrence (the average high during these days was just three degrees above average), it was the longest such streak in nearly four months (Nov. 20-24).
17 - A high/low of 38°/29°, nine degrees colder than average, made this the chilliest St. Paddy's Day since 2007 (when it was 38°/25°).
18 - A wintry mix of snow and sleet began in the late afternoon, and by midnight three inches had accumulated (the most snow on this date in more than 50 years). This was significantly more snow than had been forecast as a changeover to rain occurred much later than predicted. Also, with a high/low of 35°/28°, this was the coldest day this month - eleven degrees below average.
28 - Low temperatures during the past four days: 36°-37°-36°-37° (today). These were a few degrees colder than average.
29 - Today's mean temperature was one degree above average (high/low of 55°/40°), the first above-average day since March 13. This 15-day streak of below average days was nearly six degrees colder than average and was the longest such streak since one of fifteen days in July 2009.
30 - It was a very pretty day, the day before Easter, as the temperature topped out at 59° under sunny skies. This was the mildest reading of the month, and the first time since 2001 that the mildest temperature in March was cooler than 60 degrees.
APRIL
4 - For the third morning in a row the low temperature was 33°. This was also the fourth day in a row with a low in the 30s, the longest such streak in April since 2007, when there was an eight-day streak.
8 - With a high of 73°, today was the first day of the year with a temperature in the 70s, and the first 70-degree reading since Oct. 15, a span of 176 days, the third longest gap between 70-degree readings in the 1980-2024 period. The longest span was 196 days in 1983/84 (Nov. 14 - April 26), followed by 189 days in 2002/03 (Oct. 7-April 15). The typical number of days is 138 (Nov. 8 - March 25).
9 - One day after the year's first reading in the 70s, today saw the first reading in the 80s, as the high topped out at 82°. This was about two weeks earlier than average for this temperature level (while the first 70-degree reading was about two weeks later). The day had a desert-Southwest feel to it as the humidity in the afternoon was below 20%.
10 - What had been a beautiful spring day, with a high of 74°, came to a crashing end as a series of strong thunderstorms barreled through between 7-11 PM. What made these especially noteworthy was the fact that they occurred in early April. However, despite the storm's long duration, surprisingly little rain fell, with just 0.49" measured in Central Park. Still, this was the first rainfall of the month.
12 - It was a gray, windy, raw and wet day (0.63" of rain fell), with afternoon temperatures only in the low 40s. This was quite a contrast to the sunny and warm conditions three days earlier when the high reached 82°. Today's rain accounted for nearly half of the month's paltry total of 1.31".
17 - This was the 18th day in a row in which no high temperature was duplicated. During these days high temperatures ranged between 43° and 82°.
19 - 0.05" of rain fell this evening, a year after 0.04" fell on this date and two years after 0.03" fell.
30 - With a high/low of 68°/51°, today's mean temperature was two degrees above average, just enough to move the month's mean temperature from 0.1 degree below average to right at the average. Thus, it joined August 1999 and August 1985 as the only months since 1980 to have a mean temperature on par with the monthly average. April's high was 0.1 above average; the low was 0.1 below average. However, what was far from average was the month's precipitation, which amounted to just 1.31". This was 71% below the norm of 4.51", making it the fifth driest April on record (and the driest in 50 years).
MAY
8 - Nearly two-and-a-half inches of rain poured down during morning rush hour - twelve times the amount that fell in the previous twenty-five days (0.19"). Including additional showers that moved thru at lunchtime, 3.02" fell in total, equal to the amount measured during the previous eight weeks. Manhattan was the bulls-eye for this torrential rain - the biggest rain storm since September 2011, and the most rain to fall in a 24-hour period in May since 1978. Additionally, today's amount was a record for the date, breaking the previous one set in the 19th century.
11 - A strong thunderstorm during mid-afternoon dumped 0.87" of rain between 3-4 PM. Earlier in the day, the morning low of 61° was the first 60-degree low of the year, and was eight degrees milder than average.
14 - This morning's low of 42° was the chilliest reading of the month. Today was also the 11th day this year with a mean temperature ten degrees or more cooler than average - one more than all of last year.
21 - Today was just the second 80-degree day of the year, coming six weeks after our first high in the 80s (April 9). This was the greatest number of days between the first and second 80 in eight years, when 45 days elapsed. (The longest gap in the years since 1900 was 58 days, which occurred in 1928.)
23 - Strong thunderstorms between 3-7 PM dumped 1.81" of rain. This brought the month's rainfall to just over seven inches, making it the wettest May since 1990. It also made it New York's wettest month since September 2011.
25 - Today's high/low of 54°/45° made this the chilliest day of any day during a Memorial Day weekend in the 1970-2020 period (in 2021, the high/low on both Saturday and Sunday would be 51°/47°). Skies were mostly overcast, winds were howling, and light showers popped up throughout the morning and afternoon. The afternoon high was twenty degrees below average.
27 - Under crystal clear skies, and with afternoon temperatures in the mid-70s, it was a glorious Memorial Day. However, this was the first Memorial Day since 2005 not to have a high in the 80s.
28 - Today's 0.52" of rain was the last rainfall of the month, bringing the total to 8.00". This made it just the sixth month in the past 100 years to have with its total rainfall exactly at the inch mark.
30 - Today was the first 90-degree day of the year, coming one day after the average date for this occurrence.
JUNE
1 - For the third day in a row the afternoon high, under sunny skies, reached 90°. This was the earliest heat wave since another one of three days in April 2002. It was also the coolest 3-day heat wave on record (based on high temperature), tying similar 3-day heat waves in August 1939 and July 1873.
2 - A day that was very warm (upper 80s) and humid was capped off by a late night thunderstorm with vivid lightning that dumped a half-inch of rain in just fifteen minutes (10:25-10:40).
7 - A soaking rain fell throughout the day as the remnants of tropical storm Andrea moved up the coast. Rain came down especially hard after dark. The 4.16" that fell was a record for the date. Andrea was the second earliest tropical system to affect New York in the 1970-2015 period - the earliest was tropical storm Barry, which dumped nearly four inches of rain on June 3-4, 2007. Because of the rain and cloud cover, today's high only reached 63° degrees, thirteen degrees below average.
8 - The 33-hour deluge from tropical storm Andrea ended before daybreak. In total, 4.77" of rain fell (0.43" this morning), making this New York's second biggest June rainstorm on record. Additionally, since May 8, 14.49" of rain fell in Central Park, ten inches above average.
13 - The day was dreary, cool and wet, with two periods of heavy rain, one in the morning between 9:30 and 11:00 and the second in the evening. In total, a little more than an inch of rain was measured in Central Park, bringing the month's total rainfall to more than nine inches. Coming after eight inches of rain fell in May, this was only the seventh time New York experienced consecutive months with eight inches or more of precipitation. This was also the sixth rainstorm of an inch or more since May 8.
JULY
1 - Rain fell between 8:30 AM and 2:00 PM, but much of it fell at the end of morning rush hour as 0.52" poured down between 9:00 and 9:10. Cloud cover made this the only day between June 20 and July 11 not to see a high in the 80s.
3 - In less than two months, from May 8 thru today, 19.55" of rain fell in Central Park - more than twice the typical amount during these days (8.37"). Today's rainfall was 0.53"
11 - Low temperatures during the past four days: 73°-74°-75°-76° (today). Typical low for this time of month is 69°.
12 - For the first time since 6/22 the temperature fell into the 60s. It occurred during a drizzly, breezy evening. The nineteen consecutive days we had with low temperatures of 70° or warmer was the fourth longest such streak since 1950.
18 - Today's high was 98°, the hottest high temperature of the year (the same date as last year's hottest reading). (And it was the hottest reading until the summer of 2021, when a high of 98° occurred on 6/30.) It was also the fifth day in a row in the nineties, and the fourth year in a row in which the temperature rose into the nineties on this date.
20 - Today, with a high of 93°, was the seventh day in row with a high in the 90s, making this the longest heat wave since 2002 (when there was one of eight days and another of nine days). Today was also the third day in a row with a low of 80° or warmer. Of New York's twenty-two major heat waves (seven days or longer), this one had the highest mean temperature. Although its average high of 94.6° ranked it 11th, it had the warmest low of any of them (79.0°). The resultant mean temperature of 86.8° put it 0.1 degree ahead of a heat wave in August 1988.
22 - Today was the eighth day in a row in which the low temperature was 75° or warmer, the longest such streak since 1896. It eclipsed two seven-day streaks in the summers of 2011 and 1953.
25 - Just four days after a torrid seven-day heat wave ended, today's high was only 68° (after a refreshing morning low of 64°). This was the first time in eight years that a day in July failed to get out of the 60s. It was the result of overcast skies and an easterly wind coming off the ocean as a nor'easter-like disturbance organized well off shore.
AUGUST
9 - The air had a very tropical feel to it, with a heat index of 91° in mid-afternoon. Under mostly cloudy skies, the day's high/low of 85°/74° was four degrees above average - the first day with an above-average mean temperature since 7/23.
21 - Today's high of 90°, under sunny skies, was the first 90-degree reading in a month, since the end of a seven-day heat wave between July 14-20.
25 - It was a beautiful late summer weekend, perhaps the nicest of the entire summer, as Saturday and Sunday both had mostly clear skies, low humidity and seasonably warm temperatures. (In 2024, 8/24 and 8/25 was also a weekend with similar fine conditions, but a few degrees warmer.)
SEPTEMBER
2 - For the first time in ten years rain fell on Labor Day, for a few hours during the middle of the afternoon (0.05" fell). Afterwards, skies cleared somewhat but muggy conditions of the weekend prevailed.
11 - Sunny, hot and humid, with a high of 96°, nineteen degrees above average. This was the hottest reading on this date in 30 years (when the mercury reached 99°) and the latest date for a 90-degree reading since 2005. The oppressive morning low of 77° made this the 50th day of the year with a low of 70° or warmer, just the eighth year to reach this level since records began in 1869. (Six more years have joined them since then, with 2022 being the most recent).
14 - Today's chilly high of 67° was nine degrees cooler than average and ten degrees cooler than yesterday, twenty degrees cooler than two days ago and twenty-nine degrees cooler than 9/11.
17 - It was a brisk day under clear skies, with temperatures more typical of mid-October. The morning low of 50° (eleven degrees below average) was the chilliest reading this early in September in six years and came just six days after a scorching high of 96°.
24 - Under clear skies the morning low fell to 47°, eleven degrees below average and the chilliest reading in September since 2000 when a low of 43° occurred on 9/29.
OCTOBER
1 - The sunny/dry weather that predominated during the second half of September continued into October. Under mostly clear skies the temperature rose into the low 80s - the first 80-degree reading in nearly three weeks (9/12).
4 - It was a warm and sultry day, with a high of 86° under partly cloudy skies. This was the third 80-degree day this month, the most in October since 2007, when there were five.
7 - A cold front produced showers during the afternoon (0.25" fell), ending a two-week dry spell. This would be the rainiest day of an extremely dry October, in which just 0.36" was measured.
9 - Although today's mean temperature was just one degree cooler than average (high/low of 62°/53°), it was the only below average day between Sept. 28 and Oct. 22 (25 days).
22 - In the past 30 days only 0.30" of rain was measured in Central Park. If this were a calendar month, it would be tied for ninth driest on record.
23 - Today was the first day this fall with a high temperature chillier than 60° - the second latest date for this occurrence in the 1970-2013 period (the average date is Oct. 7). The latest date was in 2007 when it occurred on Oct. 25.
31 - The 0.06" of rain that fell from showers during lunchtime and after 10 PM was just enough to keep this month from becoming one of the ten driest on record. With 0.36", October 2013 ranks 12th and was the driest month since August 1995 (0.18" was measured).
NOVEMBER
3 - The NYC Marathon was run in sunny and brisk conditions with temperatures stuck in the upper 40s throughout the race (10 AM thru 4 PM).
4 - With a high/low of 46°/35° (ten degrees below average), today was the coldest day since April 3, when it was 46°/33°.
11 - For the past 50 days less than an inch of rain was measured - just the sixth time since 1950 that a streak of this length has occurred (the lengthiest streak was 81 days during the summer of 1999). During these 50 days (since Sept. 23) 0.62" of rain was measured; the average amount is about seven inches.
12 - It was a windy and overcast day, with temperatures in the upper 30s during the afternoon. A period of snow flurries occurred between 7 and 8 AM but there was no accumulation in Central Park (but one to two inches fell in some northern suburbs). By midnight the mercury had fallen to 31°, making this the first day of the autumn with a low at freezing or below - nine days ahead of schedule.
18 - Although 0.25" of rain fell overnight (most of it after midnight) the total rainfall since Sept. 23 remained below one inch, a span of 57 days - the third longest such streak since 1950. Today's rainfall was the first on this date in eleven years.
22 - Light showers in the morning measured 0.07", ending a streak of 60 days in which less than an inch of rain fell. This was one day less than the longest streak (since 1950) in 1964.
24 - Arctic air moved in overnight and temperatures were below freezing all day, making this a cold day even by the standards of mid-winter. Today's high/low of 30°/23°, eighteen degrees below average, was the coldest November day in five years. Howling winds throughout the day of 25-40 mph made it feel like it was between 10° and 20°.
27 - The 2.49" of rain that poured down from a nor'easter that moved in last night (when 0.51" of the storm's total fell) was more rain than what fell in the previous 11 weeks (since Sept. 12). Winds gusted between 30 and 40 mph. The high temperature of 62° occurred shortly after daybreak and fell steadily throughout the day.
28 - This was the third consecutive Thanksgiving to fall on Nov. 28 that had a subfreezing temperature at the start of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. This year it was 30° at 9 AM; in 2002 it was 27°; and in 1996 it was 26°.
DECEMBER
7 - For the second year in a row 0.14" of rain fell on this date.
8 - It was gray and raw day with a high/low of 33°/29°. The first measurable snow fell late in the afternoon and amounted to 0.7". Although areas in central and south Jersey, as well as southeastern PA, DE, MD and northern Virginia saw significant accumulations (generally three to six inches), the moisture hit a wall of cold/dry air as it moved in our direction.
10 - 1.4" of snow fell during the morning, the most to ever fall on this date. This was the first snowfall of one inch or more this winter, a little more than two weeks ahead of the average date for this occurrence.
14- It was a snowy day with five inches on the ground when the snow changed over to freezing rain around 9 PM and to plain rain by midnight. The transition occurred as the temperature rose from 22° at 8:30 PM (the day's low) to 34° at midnight (day's high). This storm was somewhat similar to the one on this date 10 years earlier (but that year's storm was in the morning).
17 - Light snow, occasionally mixed with sleet, fell throughout the daylight hours and amounted to 1.5". This was the fourth snowfall of the past ten days; they amounted to 8.6". Three of these snow "events" delivered one-inch+ - the most such snowfalls in December since 2005. Besides being snowy, the ten days since Dec. 8 were also quite cold, with the average high/low of 35°/26° close to eight degrees below the norm.
21 - One week after a five-inch snowfall, today saw a record high of 65° - on the first day of winter. This temperature was reached shortly after 8 PM. The previous record was set just two years ago.
22 - On the first full day of winter today's high, despite mostly overcast skies, soared to 71° - eight degrees above the previous record. This was just the ninth time a reading in the 70s was reported in December (the previous time was in 2006). And the AM low of 61° was milder than the warmest high temperature of five Decembers since 2000. Overall, the day's mean temperature was 30 degrees above average.
24 - For the second day in a row temperatures fell throughout the day. Yesterday it fell from 64° to 42° by midnight. Today it fell from 42° to 26°. It was also windy (gusts to 30 mph) so temperatures in the afternoon and evening felt like they were only in the low and mid-teens.
25 - With a high of 31°/19°, this was the coldest Christmas Day since 2000. This was quite a contrast from three days earlier when the high low was 71°/61°.
To read highlights from other years between 1970 and 2023 double click here.
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