Today in New York Weather History: February 12

 

Going all the way back to 1869, Feb. 12 and Feb. 5 are the two dates that have been most likely to have had a snowfall of one inch or more (one of these Feb. 12 snowfalls, in 2006, was part of New York's second largest on record).  Through February 2024, it's happened in nineteen years, or once every eight years.  The last time it happened was in 2019 (when it caught up with Feb. 5).  And Feb. 12, alone, is the date most likely to have had snowfalls of three inches or more (ten times, most recently in 2006). 

 

1897 (Friday) 

Today's snowfall of 8.5" was the fourth of six inches or more this winter.  Snow started falling shortly before daybreak and was mostly over by mid-afternoon.  The snow fell heaviest between 11 AM and 1PM, when three inches accumulated.  Temperatures were mostly in the mid-20s.

 

1899 (Sunday)

For the third day in a row the temperature failed to rise above 9°.  Highs/lows on these days were 7°/-6° (2/10); 9°/-2° (yesterday); and 9°/4° (today).  Today was also on the snowy side, with snow falling most of the day; by midnight 5.3" was on the ground (and 10.7" more snow would pile up the following day as conditions turned blizzard-like).

 

 

1914 (Thursday)

One month after a frigid high/low of 9°/-3° (on 1/13), today was a near repeat, with a high/low of 10°/-3°.  Both lows set records for their respective dates that still stand.  And both days were followed by another below zero reading.

 

1917 (Monday)

With a high/low of  12°/3°, today was the coldest day of the winter, and nearly identical to last winter's coldest day, which had a high/low of 12°/2° on 2/14.   (Although tomorrow's low of  0° would be the coldest reading of the winter, the high of 24° made the day's mean temperature "warmer" than today's.)

 

1923 (Monday)

For the third day in a row three inches of snow fell, all from different low pressure systems.  These contributed to the 44.2" of snow that fell in the past seven weeks.  (60.4" fell for the entire winter, making it, at the time, the snowiest winter on record).

 

1925 (Thursday)

This was the fourth year in a row in which an inch or more of snow fell on this date.  This year 1.3" fell; last year an inch accumulated; in 1923, 3.1" was measured; and in 1922 an inch was reported in Central Park. 

 

1971 (Friday)

Today's high of 52° was the mildest reading in ten weeks (since Dec. 4).

 

1974 (Tuesday)

After an unusually mild second half of January, that saw temperatures average fifteen degrees above average, the eleven days between Feb. 2 and today were eight degrees colder than average.

 

1975 (Wednesday)

A quick-moving snowstorm delivered the biggest snowfall of the winter, with 7.8" accumulating, mostly between 9 AM-2 PM.

 

1999 (Friday)

The past four weeks averaged ten degrees milder than average.  And today's high of 62° was a record for the date.

 

2001 (Monday)

The morning low of 16° would be  the coldest reading of the winter.  Two days earlier the numbers were reversed, when the high reached 61°.

 

2006 (Sunday)

New York was the bulls-eye for a record-setting amount of snow.  Beginning last night (2.8" fell by midnight), the snow turned heavy after midnight and between 4-10 AM it fell at a rate of two inches/hour (between 8:30-9:30, nearly four inches piled up.)  When it was over, 26.9" had fallen, a half inch more than the City's previous record on Dec. 26-27, 1947. 

Snowfall totals outside of the City were also impressive but not nearly as much as what was measured in Central Park.  This storm accounted for two-thirds of the winter's total snowfall.  And only 1.3" more would fall for the rest of the winter.  (This storm lost its crown as NYC's biggest snowfall 10 years later when 27.5" fell on Jan. 22-23, 2016.)

 

 

 

2007 (Monday)

Today's seasonably cold high of 40° was the mildest reading in the three-week period between Jan. 29 and Feb. 19.  During these days temperatures were eight degrees colder than average.

 

2008 (Tuesday)

Snow began during the afternoon, and after 2.8" accumulated, it changed to sleet and freezing rain during the evening.  The next day the storm continued as a big rainmaker.

 

2012 (Sunday)

Today's high/low of 32°/20° was nine degrees below average and was the only day this month with colder than average temperatures.  Going back to 1950, no other February had its coldest temperature as "mild" as 20°. 

Today was also the only day of the month with measurable snow.  The amount was a paltry 0.2", making this the least snowy February since 2002, when just a trace was reported.  This was also the last measurable snow of the winter, a winter in which just 7.4" fell, making it the least snowy winter in ten years and the seventh least snowy on record (now ranked eighth).   

 

2014 (Wednesday)

With a high/low of 25°/13°, this was the seventh day in a row with a high temperature of 32° or colder, making it the longest such streak since one of nine days in January 2005.  This week-long period was 10 degrees colder than average.  It was also the longest streak of cold weather in February since 1979, when there was one of 11 days. 

 

2018 (Monday)

For the second day in a row the high reached 62°, but while yesterday's high occurred in the early evening, today's was reached around 1:30 AM (24 hours later the temperature dropped to 30°).  Today's high also tied the record for the date.  Lastly, these were the first back-to-back readings in the 60s since the first week of November. 

 

2019 (Tuesday)

Light snow began falling shortly before 9 AM and then turned mostly to sleet in the afternoon before changing to a mix of snow and rain by evening.  An accumulation of 1.2" was reported in Central Park, the first accumulation of an inch or more in three months (since the "surprise" snowstorm of Nov. 15).  During the first few hours of snow the temperature dropped from 30° to 26°, then slowly rebounded and was above freezing by 6 PM.  

 

 

Save

Save

Save

Save

Comments

[William]

2017 - today's high of 40° would be the only day with this high temperature this year, joining 1870 (March 10) as the only two years to have just one day with a high temperature of forty degrees.

[Henry]

On the snow showery afternoon on this date in 1924, my great grandfather attended the concert at Aeolian Hall in which Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue was premiered. It was no doubt a miserable day, quite the opposite of the summer mood in which I often hear the piece, and the generic jazz music before Gershwin’s entrance was so boring that the crowd was ready to leave. The famous clarinet line at the beginning of the piece managed to draw the crowd back into their seats, and the piece was the bright happy moment that saved the whole day. My great grandfather told me that was one of the most memorable days of the 1920s.

[Harry]

2012 is one of only two Feburarys to not have a day with a low in the teens or colder. The other one is 1927, in which the coldest low temperature of the month was 22, on the 5th of the month.