Today in New York Weather History: February 16
1958 (Sunday)
Snow that began falling yesterday evening continued through this evening, for a total accumulation of 7.9” (2.1” yesterday, 5.8” today). It was a wind-blown snow produced by an intense winter storm moving up the coast that was fueled by Arctic air overtaking the northeast. (By midnight, the temperature had fallen to 10°.) While gusty winds of 25-35 mph buffeted Central Park, LaGuardia Airport (which reported 10.1” of snow) had winds that gusted between 50-65 mph. South of the City, DC had more than a foot of snow, while to the north, Boston was buried by two feet. This storm’s accumulation just missed tying a snowfall of 8.0” on 12/3-4 as the winter’s biggest accumulation (but both would be topped by the snowstorm of March 20-21 that dumped 11.8”).
1993 (Tuesday)
Today's low of 33° was the only above-freezing low temperature of the month (and between Jan. 25 and March 1). Still, an inch of sleet/snow fell during the evening upon passage of a cold front.
1996 (Friday)
Snow fell throughout the day, with 10.7" piling up (9.9" of it today, the rest after midnight). This was the fourth snowstorm this winter of 7.5" or more.
2003 (Sunday)
This was the coldest day of the winter, with a high/low of just 15°/8°, twenty-two degrees below average. Then a fierce blizzard moved up the coast tonight, and by midnight 3.5" of snow had accumulated. Winds gusted over 40 mph, producing below-zero wind chills. And a lot more snow fell the next day (16.3"), which was Presidents' Day.
2010 (Tuesday)
It was a snowy day as five inches of wet snow fell, more than predicted. The afternoon high was 31°.
2015 (Monday)
Today was Presidents' Day, and with a high/low of 21°/3° it was the coldest day of the winter (23 degrees below average) - for a few days. The low was the coldest reading since the winter of 2004 (when two days had lows of 1° above zero). Since 1960 only the winter of 1979 had a colder low so late in the season (0° on Feb. 18). And here I am being asked to comment about the bitter cold (in front of my apartment) for PIX11's evening newscast.
2016 (Tuesday)
Just two days after a record low of -1°, and one day after 1.4" of snow fell, today's temperature jumped to 54° as a storm system moved up from the southeast, bringing with it occasional downpours (1.01" of rain fell) and culminating in a squall line that moved through at around 2:30 in the afternoon, with winds gusting between 40 and 50 mph.
2021 (Tuesday)
While the Southern Plains, Midwest, and Ohio Valley were subjected to severe cold, snow, and ice, New York, under sunny skies during the afternoon, "basked" in temperatures that rose to 51°, the first reading in the 50s since Jan. 2 (when the high was also 51°). This respite broke a nine-day streak with colder than average temperatures (but below average temperatures would return tomorrow). Before dawn, a period of heavy rain fell, amounting to 0.82".
2023 (Thursday)
The day after a high of 67°, today was even milder as the high reached 70°, one degree shy of tying the record for the date. This was the mildest reading in February since 2018, when the warmest reading of any February, 78°, occurred on 2/21. And it was the earliest date for a year's first reading of 70+ since 2007 (when it occurred on 1/6). Showers in the afternoon produced a rather meager 0.07" of rain, but it was more than what fell in the first 15 days of the month (0.05").
Finally, this was the ninth day in a row in which the temperature remained above freezing, a period that was 14 degrees above average (average high/low of 56°/44°).
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