Summer of 2015 Highlighted by Record Streak of Days Above 80 Degrees
The Arctic air that was entrenched over the Northeast during the harsh winter of 2015 became a distant memory later that summer when New York experienced 62 days in a row with high temperatures of 80° or warmer (July 10-Sept. 9). This was a record streak, besting the previous record from 1944 by three days. (On the day the streak ended the high was 79°.) Of course, summertime temperatures in the 80s or warmer aren't unusual; what was unusual is that for nine weeks there were no incursions of Canadian air or back-door cold fronts from New England. (These are responsible, on average, for twelve days with highs in the 70s or cooler in July and August.) The average high during these weeks was 87.5°, five degrees above average. Below are some other tidbits of interest:
- This year's streak joined ten others that were five weeks or longer. Among them, four have occurred since 2005.
- 2015's s streak included 19 days in the 90s, but 1944's and 1966's (second and fifth longest, respectively) had even more, 30 and 23. And among the ten longest streaks, the streak in 1966 was the hottest, with an average high temperature of 91°.
- 2015's streak was instrumental in making the August 2015 the third hottest on record and July/August the fifth hottest.
- Finally, this year's streak of warm days matched a streak of cold weather during the winter when another record was set - 61 days in a row with high temperatures that never went above 45°.
| LONGEST STREAKS OF 80-DEGREE+ HIGHS | |||||
| # of | Average | Days | Days |
||
| Days | Year | Dates | High | 90s | 80-81 |
| 62 | 2015 | July 10 - Sept 9 | 87.5 | 19 | 4 |
| 59 | 1944 | June 26 - Aug 23 | 89.7 | 30 | 5 |
| 41 | 2011 | July 4 - Aug 13 | 88.8 | 17 | 1 |
| 41 | 1943 | July 8 - Aug 17 | 87.4 | 14 | 1 |
| 40 | 1966 | June 20 - July 29 | 91.0 | 23 | 2 |
| 37 | 1917 | July 16 - Aug 21 | 86.1 | 5 | 3 |
| 36 | 1999 | July 15 - Aug 19 | 89.5 | 17 | 2 |
| 35 | 2008 | July 7 - Aug 10 | 86.4 | 7 | 7 |
| 35 | 2005 | Aug 20 - Sept 23 | 84.2 | 3 | 6 |
| 35 | 1998 | July 9 - Aug 12 | 85.5 | 3 | 3 |
| 35 | 1953 | June 18 - July 22 | 88.6 | 15 | 2 |
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