Today in New York Weather History: May 14

 

May 14 is the last date until Sept. 28 not to have a record high of 90° or hotter.  The record high on the date is 88°, set in 1900. 

 

1957 (Tuesday)

Although temperatures on 5/13 and 5/15 were unseasonably warm (mid-80s), today's temperatures were at seasonable levels.  Rain moved in as evening approached and it fell heavily between 9-11:00 when two inches was measured.  In total 2.55" fell, and it was over before midnight.  This rainstorm, which was a record for the date (until 1978), accounted for two-thirds of the month's rain. (Meanwhile, in Pittsburgh, I was born in the pre-dawn hours during a thunderstorm.)   

 

 

 

1978 (Sunday)

The biggest rainstorm of the year dumped 3.58" of rain thru 4 AM on 5/15.  It came down heaviest between 11:30 AM and 4 PM when 2.53" fell.  The 3.38" that fell today was a record amount for the date and the most to ever fall on Mother's Day.

 

 

1991 (Tuesday)

0.51" of rain thundered down in 20 minutes during a nighttime thunderstorm (10:25-10:45 PM).

 

1997 (Wednesday)

Sunny skies and pleasant temperatures were Mother Nature's gift to me on my 40th birthday (high/low of 70°/49°).

 

2002 (Tuesday)

The 0.05" of rain that fell between 1:00 and 2:30 AM was the first measurable precipitation on this date in 11 years.

 

2007 (Monday)

Today was my 50th birthday, and the high/low of 70°/49° was the same as it was on my 40th birthday.

 

2013 (Tuesday)

This morning's low of 42° was the chilliest reading of the month.  Today was also the eleventh day this year with a mean temperature ten degrees or more below average - one more than all of last year.

 

2019 (Tuesday)

Today was the third day in a row with gloomy, rainy and chilly conditions.  70% of the past 40 days reported measurable rainfall in Central Park, twice as many days as is typical (28 vs. 14).  However, seven of these days accounted for about three-fourths of the 8.55" of rain measured in this period.  During lunchtime today the temperature rose out of the 40s for the first time since daybreak on 5/12, a span of 56 hours.  Then after just a few hours, the mercury fell back into the 40s.

 

2023 (Sunday)

With a high/low of 74°/59° (four degrees above average) this was the mildest Mother's Day in eight years when the high/low was 83°/61° (eleven degrees above average).  Skies were clear and the humidity in the afternoon dropped to 20%.

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Comments

[William]

happy birthday Rob!! too bad the weather on your birthday hasn't been particularly eventful nor inspiring, including this year, but I guess this might as well sort of be a good thing though.

[Rob]

Ironic, isn't it, that the weather historian has a birthday with a history of mostly uneventful conditions? And never a 90-degree reading. But at least for a while my actual date of birth had record rainfall. Thanks for the birthday wishes

[William]

here's another ironic fact. Frank Sinatra died on your forty-first birthday, and at the time of his death, he was exactly double your age. are or were you a fan of any of his songs at all?

[Rob]

And not only did Sinatra die on that date in 1998, it was also the night that "Seinfeld's" last episode aired. (And in 1967, on my tenth birthday, Mickey Mantle hit his 500th home run.) Without thinking about it too much I'd say my favorite Sinatra songs are "Summer Wind" and "Strangers in the Night". Yours?

[Mike R.]

Unfortunately for the NY Knicks, your 40th birthday, a Wednesday, was marred by a fight between Charlie Ward and PJ Brown, who then played for the Miami Heat. Multiple Knicks, including Patrick Ewing and Allan Houston, left the bench and were suspended for 1-2 games. The Knicks, with their roster decimated, lost the next two games and the series. Although the weather was beautiful that day, your 40th birthday was certainly a sad day for Knicks fans in NYC.

[Harry]

Happy birthday Rob! As you note, your birthday was rather uneventful historically weather-wise, but my birthday (Oct 29).....

- Historic early snowstorm in 2011 (and it is the only date in October to have had at least a trace of snow multiple times, in 1952, 2000, and 2002....I remember the 2000 snow well and there actually were light coatings in the northern Bronx)

- Hurricane Sandy in 2012

[William]

why did you remove the option for readers to make comments on several posts in the blog?

[Rob]

The blog platform that hosts NYC Weather Archive allows for 2,500 "courtesy" comments before a charge is applied. The blog reached that limit last week and I have until the end of this week to either delete comments or to no longer accept comments, and I've chosen the second option.