1976 Weather Highlights for New York
JANUARY
23 - This morning's low was one below zero, the first sub-zero reading in New York in eight years. This was the second time a sub-zero reading occurred on this date, the first being 40 years earlier when the low was -3°.
27 - Four days after a morning low of -1°, the temperature at daybreak today was 56°. It was also a rain-soaked day, with nearly two inches falling (the 1.94" that fell was a record for the date). After peaking this morning, the temperature slowly fell throughout the day.
FEBRUARY
2 - An incoming mass of Arctic air caused a flash freeze at around 4 AM as the temperature fell from 45° shortly after midnight to 17° at 7 AM, and 10° by 11 AM. Half an inch rain fell before changing to snow which accumulated one inch in Central Park between 6-8 AM (Newark Airport reported 2.4"). Although the accumulation wasn't significant, when combined with the icing over of rain-soaked pavement and the gusty winds (clocked at 35-50 mph) forced area airports to shut down during the morning.
This sharp drop in temperature happened 100 years to the date of another 35-degree drop in temperature (46° to 11°).
25 - Today's high reached a springlike 70°, just two days after the high was 33°. Although this was twenty-five degrees above average, it fell five degrees short of the 1930 record.
29 - After the first nine days of February averaged four degrees below average, the rest of the month had temperatures 11 degrees above average. And the final five days of the month, under mostly clear skies, had highs that averaged 22 degrees above average: 70°-62°-67°-67°-66° (today).
MARCH
1 - March came in like a lamb as the high reached 59° under sunny skies - more typical of mid-April.
5 - Despite mostly cloudy skies the temperature soared to 70°, 23 degrees above average. This was nine days after another high of 70°. In both instances, these warm temperatures followed by two days highs in the 30s.
9 - The winter's last snowfall of an inch or more fell today. Beginning this afternoon and continuing until a little past midnight, 4.2" fell, making it the season's largest accumulation - 0.2" more than the snowfall of Feb. 5-6.
16 - The last measurable snow of the winter, 0.2", fell between 9-11PM after an all-day rain (which amounted to 0.81") changed to wet snow as the temperature fell into the mid-30s.
27 - A shower brought 0.03" of rain between 7-8:00 PM, the first measurable precipitation on this date since 1963.
APRIL
1 - More than half of April's 2.80" of rain fell today between midnight-10 AM when 1.51" was measured in Central Park.
15 - It was a stunning day for the Yankees' home opener as skies were sunny and afternoon temperatures warmed to 76° degrees, sixteen above average.
17 - Today was the beginning of a 4-day heat wave in which high temperatures averaged 31 degrees above average: 9°1 (today)-96°-92°-89°. This was unprecedented for so early in the year until 2002, when there was another almost identical heat wave.
18 - It was a sizzling Easter Sunday as the high soared to 96° under clear skies. This was 35 degrees above average and the hottest temperature every reported in April (later tied in 2002).
21 - This was the 19th day in a row with no measurable precipitation, the longest stretch of dry weather since one of 26 days in October 1973. It was also the 13th consecutive day with sunny skies.
25 - Five days after the unprecedented four-day heat wave ended (with highs of 91°-96°-92°-89°), today was the first of three days in a row with highs only in the 40s (49°-46°-49°).
MAY
1 - Similar to April, more than half of the month's precipitation fell on this first day of May, as 2.48" of rain poured down between 3-8PM. This was a record amount for the date.
19 - It was a raw and chilly day, more like March 19, with a high/low of only 52°/38°. This was eighteen degrees below average. Morning showers made the day feel even colder.
JUNE
27 - This was the first Gay Pride Day in which the temperature hit 90°. There have since been seven other parades marched in 90-degree weather (the last was in 2021)
28 - Today's high reached 92°, ten degrees above average. It was the hottest day of the month and also the 14th day in a row with above average temperatures. Also, this was the fifth year in a row in which rain fell on this date. The 0.53" which fell was produced by thunderstorms between midnight and daybreak.
JULY
4 - New York's Bicentennial celebration (which included the parade of Tall Ships in New York Harbor) took place under partly skies and with temperatures a bit cooler than average (high of 82°/low of 63°). A brief thunderstorm put a slight damper on festivities during mid-afternoon, but it produced very little rainfall (0.01").
AUGUST
9 - Hurricane Belle approached during the day, a Sunday, and made landfall as a Category 1 storm near Jones Beach shortly after midnight. Nearly four inches of rain fell, much of it between 10 PM and midnight when 2.37" poured down. The 3.94" that fell in total was just shy of the record for the date (4.10" in 1941). This deluge is memorable for me because it happened on the evening that my brother and I drove from Pittsburgh to New York for my first visit to the Big Apple - and we were clueless about the storm.
22 - Although April 18 had the year's hottest high temperature (96°), today, with a high/low of 94°/74°, had the year's warmest mean temperature - 84°.
23 - Today's high was 90°, the last 90-degree day of the year. This came two days before NYC's typical date of this occurrence. In total, the year had fifteen 90-degree days, three fewer than average.
26 - This was the seventh day in a row with a high of 85° or warmer. Average high during these days was 89°, seven degrees above average. Three of the days were in the 90s.
31 - The morning low was a chilly 50°, fifteen degrees below average and a record for the date. The last time it was this chilly was on June 3, at the beginning of meteorological summer.
SEPTEMBER
7 - For the ninth day in a row he low was in the chilly 50s. During this streak lows averaged 55°, nine below average.
22 - The past six days had three matching pairs of high temperatures: 78° on the 17th and 18th; 81° on the 19th and 20th; and 68° today and yesterday.
OCTOBER
19 - The high temperature was a chilly 50° for the third day in a row - thirteen degrees below average.
24 - It was a raw, gray and damp day for the seventh New York City Marathon. At race time the temperature was in the upper 40s and light showers moved in after 2:00 PM. This was the first race to go through each of the City's five boroughs - and the first time the race was held in late October.
28 - For the second morning in a row the low was 29°. Today's low was a record. This was also the end of a 12-day period in which temperatures averaged 10 degrees below average. This streak was instrumental in making this the coldest October since 1925.
NOVEMBER
4 - Although the day's mean temperature was only one degree above average (high/low of 59°/46°), this was the only day between Oct. 10 and Nov. 18 that was above average.
9 - In contrast to last year's warm conditions, when the high reached a record 75°, today was biting cold, with a high/low of 41°/24°, seventeen degrees below average. The day's low was a record for the date. This would be the coldest day of the month until Nov. 30 (see below).
10 - Although just 0.02" of rain fell, it was the only measurable rain to fall during the first four weeks of November.
27 - With a high/low of 61°/54°, today was the mildest day of the month (18 degrees above average). The high of 61° was the coolest maximum reading in the month of November since 1947 (also 61°). This would also be the last 60-degree day for more than three months (until March 5).
29 - 0.32" of the month's 0.34" of precipitation fell this morning (the only other day with rain was Nov. 10). This became the driest November on record (breaking the 1930 record of 0.60") and the ninth driest month overall (now ranked eleventh). It was also the first time since November of two years ago that any month had less than an inch of precipitation. Temperatures today fell throughout the day, going from 48° to 26°. This was the beginning of 10-week period of unrelenting cold in which temperatures averaged eight degrees below average.
30 - November ended on a very cold note as the high/low of 27°/17° was nineteen degrees colder than average. The morning low was the coldest reported in November since 1955 (when a low of 16° was reported on Nov. 29).
DECEMBER
3 - The morning low of 9° was the earliest date for a single-digit temperature in this century (earliest on record was in 1875).
7 - The 1.32" of rain that fell today (mostly between 8AM-noon) accounted for more than half of the month's precipitation. And today's high of 55° was the mildest reading of December.
25 - The winter's first snow arrived on Christmas night, and by daybreak on Dec. 26, 3.1" had fallen. This was the third year in a row in which measurable snow fell on Christmas Day, the only time snow has fallen in three consecutive years (but none of the years had an inch or more of accumulation).
To read highlights from other years between 1970 and 2019 double click here.
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