New York's Top 10 Weather Stories of 2016
A SNOWSTORM FOR THE AGES
The 27.5" of snow that piled up during a blizzard on 1/23 (0.2" of it fell late on 1/22) was the biggest snowfall on record, breaking the previous record set ten years earlier. This Saturday blizzard followed New York's mildest November and December on record. At the time of the storm the National Weather Service reported that 26.8" of snow had fallen, which put it 0.1" behind the 2006 storm, but, curiously, the amount was revised upward by 0.7" in late April.
FIRST BELOW-ZERO READING OF THE CENTURY
The low of -1° on Valentine's Day was the first below-zero reading since January 1994. It was also the first sub-zero reading in February since 1963 and the latest date for such a frigid reading since 1934. Later in the day a second record was set as the high of 15° was the coldest for the date. (Two days later the high rebounded to 54°.)
A TASTE OF SUMMER IN EARLY MARCH
On 3/9 the high soared to 77° followed by a high of 79° the next day, the earliest occurrences of such mild temperatures. The high/low of 79/63 on 3/10 was 31 degrees above average and came less than four weeks after the mean temperature on 2/14 was 28 degrees below average. (A month later the low on 4/5 fell to 26° - the coldest reading in April since 1995.)
A WET MEMORIAL DAY, BUT PARADES & PICNICS LARGELY UNAFFECTED
Moisture from tropical storm Bonnie produced a few periods of heavy rain before 9 AM that amounted to 1.65", making this the second rainiest Memorial Day on record (the rainiest was in 1948, when 2.49" fell). This amount was more than what fell in either March (1.17") or April (1.61").
A RARITY: LOW OF 79°, BUT HIGH FAILED TO REACH 90°
In the past 100 years there have been 32 days with lows of 79°; the average high on these days was 96°. The low on 7/15 was also 79°. However, with a high of 88°, it joined July 26, 1979 (high of 87°) as the only two days with lows of 79+ not to have a high in the 90s.
TWO FIVE-DAY HEAT WAVES
In the four-week period between 7/21 and 8/15 there were two five-day heat waves, the first time two heat waves of five days or more occurred in one summer since 2002 (when there were heat waves waves of eight and nine days).
A WEEK'S WORTH OF RAIN IN JUST 5 MINUTES!
On July 30, 0.81" of rain poured down in a five-minute period between 8:39 and 8:44 PM - the greatest five-minute deluge in the years since 1970. Additionally, three days during the last week of July each had an inch of rain that fell during strong thunderstorms.
EXTREMES IN APRIL, AUGUST HUMIDITY
Five days in a row in August had dew points in the 70s (during every hour of the day). This was four months after a two-week period with extremely low humidity (between 10% and 20% during the afternoon hours).
UNSEASONABLY WARM TEMPERATURES IN MID-SEPTEMBER & MID-OCTOBER
The high of 90° on 9/14 was the latest 90-degree reading since 1995. Then a month later, for just the third time in the past 100 years, there were three days in a row with highs in the 80s after 10/15.
RAINIEST DAY OF THE YEAR
The biggest rainfall of the year waited until 11/29 when 2.20" of rain that poured down on in a 12-hour period/ This was a record for the date and the greatest daily rainfall in nearly two years (since Dec. 9, 2014). Furthermore, this became the rainiest day on record for any of the last ten days of November.
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