1977 Weather Highlights for New York
JANUARY
1 - For the sixth day in a row the high temperature was 32° or colder. The average high during these days was 26°, fourteen degrees below average. This morning's low was 15°, the coldest reading on New Year's Day since 1968 began with a low of 11°.
14 - The five inches of snow that fell this afternoon and evening was the biggest snowfall of the winter.
16 - This was the seventh day of the past ten to pick up measurable snow. A total of 11.0" fell on these days, but just 0.6" accumulated today. It fell upon passage of an Arctic front, which dropped the temperature to 7° midnight.
17 - With a frigid high of just 12° and a low of -2°, today was not only the coldest day of the year, but one of New York's coldest days in the second half of the 20th century.
25 - Although today's high/low of 37/28 was just one degree above average, it was the first day since Dec. 20 to have an above average mean temperature. Below average temperatures resumed tomorrow and would continue thru Feb. 3.
28 - Today's high of 44° was the mildest reading of this brutally cold month. The last time the temperature was this "mild" was on Dec. 20. However, this respite was a brief one as another Arctic front pushed through during the afternoon and by midnight the temperature had tumbled to 13°.
FEBRUARY
5 - This was the third year in a row in which two to three inches of snow fell on this date. 2.8" fell this year, all of it before daybreak. The day's temperature held steady between 31° and 32° until mid-afternoon when Arctic air moved in; by midnight the temperature had dropped to 13°.
7 - With a high of 28°, today was the thirty-fifth day of the past forty-three (since Dec. 27) that had a high of 32° or colder. During this frigid period, temperatures were ten degrees below average.
9 - With a high/low of 36°/21°, today marked the end of one of New York's most extended periods of very cold weather. Between Dec. 21 and today, a period of 51 days, every day but three was colder than average. This stretch of days was nearly nine degrees colder than average. Additionally, this was the 51st day in a row with a low temperature of 32° or colder, the longest such streak this century.
10 - Today's low of 33° was the first above freezing this year, the deepest into the year for this occurrence since 1881 (when it happened on the same date). Only 1875 had a later date (Feb. 23).
21 - Today's high was 32°, making this the only year in the 1970-2014 period to have a high of 32° or colder on this date. This was also the only date between Dec. 3 and March 3 with just one occurrence until 2015, when there was another high of 32° on this date.
MARCH
5 - Today's high of 63°, nineteen degrees above average, was the first 60-degree reading in more than three months (since Nov. 27).
18 - The last snowfall of the season, measuring 0.6", fell at daybreak before changing to rain. In total, the winter had 24.5" of snow, which was just about average. Still, it was the snowiest winter since 1969-70 (which had 25.6").
22 - A hard, cold rain fell, amounting to 3.44"; most of it poured down between 10AM-3PM. This was was the year's biggest rainmaker until the monster storm of Nov. 6-7 that flooded the area with nine inches of rain.
29 - Today's temperature shot from 46° to 81°.
APRIL
5 - The 2.94" of rain that fell between April 2 and today accounted for much of the month's rain. And tomorrow a 19-day period with no measurable rain would begin.
7 - The home opener for the Yankees was played in very chilly conditions. After a morning low of 31°, the game was played with temperatures in the mid-40s. At least skies were sunny.
12 - After a morning low of 50°, the temperature skyrocketed to 90°, the first 90-degree day of the year. This was just three days after the low temperature was 25° (the fourth year in a row in which April saw a low in the 20s). At the time this was the earliest date on record for a 90-degree temperature (since passed by April 8, 1991 and April 7, 2010). This happened to be the day of the home opener for the New York Mets.
13 - This was the second day in a row of summertime heat as the high reached a record-setting 88°.
23 - This was the 18th day in a row with no measurable rain. This followed a rainy four-day period (4/2-5) in which nearly three inches of rain fell.
MAY
6 - Today's 0.47" of rain, which fell during a thunderstorm between 3-4AM, made this the rainiest day of a relatively dry month (1.71" fell in total).
9 - It was a gray, damp and downright cold day, which felt more like early March. The high/low was only 44/36, twenty degrees below average (the high was 25 degrees colder than average and was 40 degrees colder than just three days ago). A trace of snow was reported late in the morning, the latest date on record for this occurrence. This is the last time a temperature in the 30s was reported this late in May.
28 - Today's high was 92°, the ninth day in a row with a high of 80° or warmer (and twelfth of the past thirteen days). This was the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend and was one of only five days to have a high in the 90s during the years Memorial Day has been a Monday holiday (since 1971). During this warm spell, the mean temperature was 8.5 degrees above average.
JUNE
1 - Rain fell on this date for the sixth year in a row. This year's rain amounted to 0.16" and fell mostly between 10AM-noon.
28 - For the fifth year in a row rain fell on this date. This year's rain, amounting to 0.28", fell during a nighttime thunderstorm between 9:30-10PM.
JULY
13 - Today was the start of a nine-day heat wave. It was also the day that New York's infamous blackout occurred, beginning this evening. Discussions about the blackout mention the heat, but today, which had a high of 93°, was one of the "cooler" days of the heat wave.
21 - Today's high of 104° was a record for the date and the third day of the last four to have a high in the triple digits. Today was also the final day of a nine-day heat wave that saw afternoon highs average 97° (ten degrees above average).
27 - Six days after a high of 104°, this morning's low was 57°.
AUGUST
9 - This was the fifth day in a row with a high in the 90s. Highs during these days were 92, 93, 91, 90 and 90 (today). The average high of this five-day heat wave, 91.2°, was well below that of the brutal nine-day heat wave in July (97.1°).
21 - Highs between Aug. 18 and today were: 77, 76, 77 and 76 (today).
SEPTEMBER
2 - The Friday leading into Labor Day weekend was a scorcher, with a high/low of 94/75, thirteen degrees above average.
3 - On this Saturday of Labor Day weekend, today's high of 90° was the last 90-degree reading of the year. In total, the year had twenty-two days in the 90s, the most since 1966 when there were thirty-five (average is eighteen).
28 - This was the seventh day in a row in which some rain fell. Today's amount was just 0.03", which fell between 2-3 AM. (The first day of this streak also had 0.03" of rain.) In total, three inches of rain fell during the seven days.
OCTOBER
20 - The afternoon high reached 58° for the third day in a row. (However, each day had a different AM low.)
22 - Today was the only day from 10/2 to 10/24 with an above average mean temperature. During this period temperatures were eight degrees below average. And today's high of 70° was the first in the 70s since 10/1.
27 - Today's high of 70° was the mildest reading this month (it also occurred on 10/1 and 10/22), making it the coolest maximum temperature in October of any year in the years since 1900 (thru 2019). Typically the warmest reading in October is around 80°.
NOVEMBER
7 - One of New York's biggest rainstorms began this morning and continued through tomorrow afternoon. The first wave of rain that moved through today, largely between 9AM and 5PM, amounted to 1.79". However, the steady downpours that made this a historical storm would fall the next day.
8 - Five years to the date after one of NYC's largest daily rainfalls, an even bigger rainstorm flooded the area when 7.40" fell. And this wasn't even the entire amount from the storm, as 1.79" fell the day before. In total, rain fell for close to thirty-three hours, with the bulk of it pouring down today between 2AM-3PM. This created a nightmare for commuters during the AM rush. This is the most rain to fall in Central Park on a Tuesday.
14 - The morning low of 32° was the first reading of 32 or colder this fall, ten degrees colder than average.
27 - The first measurable snow of the winter, 0.2", fell between 9-10PM. It was also the coldest day of the month, with a high/low of 33/29, eleven degrees below average.
30 - Off and on showers amounted to 0.38", bringing the month's total precipitation to 12.26". However, this was 0.15" shy of the November record, set five years earlier. Still, it was enough to make it the fifth wettest month on record (it's since fallen to tenth).
DECEMBER
1 - This was the ninth day of the last eleven to have rain. The 0.73" that fell this morning, between midnight and 5:00, was the most to fall during these days. In total, 2.71" fell during this damp period.
3 - For the third day in a row the high temperature was 47°. And all three days had lows only in the low 40s.
13 - Today, with a high/low of 38/32 was the 32nd day in the past six weeks (beginning Nov. 2) to have a diurnal variation of less than ten degrees. During these days the average variation was eight degrees. The average high/low of 47/39 was a few degrees below average.
To read highlights from other years between 1970 and 2022 double click here.
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