The 1930s stand out in New York's weather history because it's the decade the City experienced its hottest and coldest readings - 106° on July 6, 1936, and -15° on Feb. 9, 1934. Other noteworthy occurrences include New York's coldest month on record (February 1934); the great New England hurricane, which brushed the City in September 1938; an 18.1" snowstorm on Jan. 22-23, 1935 which, for a while, was the second biggest of all time; October's coldest reading, in 1936 (28°), followed two years later by the same month's first 90-degree reading; and the biggest November snowfall (8.8"), in 1938, which began Thanksgiving evening.
1930
Feb. 25 - Today's high soared to 75°, the mildest reading ever recorded in February (duplicated in 1985, and later passed in 2018). Besides today's warmth, there were highs of 69° and 68° on 2/20 and 2/21 (both records), and 65° yesterday. (Average highs during this time of year are in the low 40s.)
April 24 - This was the second cold day in a row with temperatures that were more typical of the first week of March. Today's high/low of 44°/31° followed yesterday's 42°/32°. Both morning lows were records (which still stand). These were the coldest days of the month.
May 23 - After today's high of 91°, the next eight days all had highs of 65° or chillier.
July 3 - Between 7-8 PM a thunderstorm dumped 2.11" of rain in just 15 minutes (and 2.75" in half an hour), perhaps the most torrential downpour in NYC history. (A typical year before 1930 averaged four months with less than this 30-minute amount.) In the course of the storm, the temperature dropped from the upper 70s to the low 60s.
July 21 - Today's high reached 102°, which at the time was the hottest temperature ever reported in Central Park.
July 24 - A thunderstorm between 3-4 PM dumped 0.62" in 15 minutes.
July 29 - An early evening thunderstorm (6-7 PM) dumped 1.33" of rain in thirty minutes.
Aug. 16 - In just ten-minutes time a half-inch of rain poured down during a mid-afternoon thunderstorm.
Aug. 23 - A nor'easter dumped 3.03" of rain in less than 12 hours (3AM-2PM). Nearly half of this amount fell between 10 AM and noon. Temperatures were very cool, only in the upper 50s during the afternoon. Today's rainfall was a record for the date (which still stands).
Sept. 13-14 - A hurricane off the Outer Banks of North Carolina, pushed rain squalls into the area after 10 PM on the 13th that continued through the wee hours of the 14th. The 0.75" that fell (0.56" of it on the 14th) was half the rainfall of a dry September (at the time, the tenth driest September; now ranked 21st).
Oct. 13 - This was the third day in a row with very similar, and well above average, highs/lows: 77°/59° (two days ago); 77°/58° (yesterday); and 78°/57° (today).
Nov. 22 - After today's high of 63°, the next 60-degree reading wouldn't be for another four-and-a-half months (April 4).
Nov. 28 - Today would have been quite cold even by the standards of mid-winter as the high/low was only 27°/15°. During the morning, wind chills were in the single digits. Four days later would be equally cold, with a high of 26°/16° (winds gusting to 37 mph produced sub-zero wind chills).
Dec. 1 - This was the only day this month with temperatures in the 50s - and that lasted only until 5 AM. After reaching a high of 58° around 1 AM the temperature fell steadily throughout the day and was 26° by midnight (and 16° by mid-morning on 12/2).
Dec. 23-24 - 3.9" of snow, which ended late in the morning on the 24th, provided a mantle of white for Christmas Day. This would be the biggest snowfall of the winter.
1931
Jan. 2 - This was the last day of an 11-day period with highs that were between 33°-38°.
April 4 - Today's high of 61° was the first 60-degree reading in four-and-a-half months (since Nov. 22).
Aug. 30 - For the fourth day in a row 0.05" of rain fell.
Sept. 11 - The day after a high of 97°, today's high soared to 99° - both records for the date. (And in 1983 the same dates had the same high temperatures.)
Oct. 8 - The first eight days of the month had an average high of 81°, fourteen degrees above average. Highs ranged between 76° and 86°, with five of the days reporting highs in the 80s. Today's high was 86°, a record which lasted until 2007.
Oct. 31-Nov. 3 - Highs/lows of this four-day period were similar: 57°/43°, 56°/44°, 56°/44° and 57°/46°.
Nov. 23 - This was the third day in a row with a high of 72°, twenty degrees above average. Yesterday's and today's highs were records (that are still standing). And today and yesterday, each with a high/low of 72°/58°, was the tenth pair of days this year with the same high/low - the most of any year (later tied in 2010).
Nov. 27 - Light snow during the daylight hours accumulated 2.0", which would be the biggest snowfall of the winter, a winter that saw just 5.1" of snow. During the hours when the snow fell the temperature was in the low 30s. This was also the 1,000th time since record-keeping began in 1869 that measurable snow fell in Central Park.
1932
Jan. 15 - This was the third day in a row of extraordinarily mild temperatures. Today's high/low was 67°/48°, yesterday's was 70°/55°, and the day before that it was 68°/56° (the only three-day streak of highs of 65+ in January). Each day's high temperatures were records, thirty-one degrees above average, which are all still standing. These three days greatly contributed to the month becoming the mildest January on record (a record that still stands).
March 15 - Blustery and very cold, with a high/low of only 26°/16°, twenty-two degrees colder than average. And winds from the northwest gusting to 25-30 mph produced wind chills in the single digits. One week before the start of spring, today was colder than any day this winter.
March 16 - This was the tenth day in a row with low temperatures in the teens or twenties. During this stretch of days, lows averaged 21°, which was thirteen degrees below average. Despite the chill during these days, only 0.2" of snow fell, and it occurred today between 11 PM and midnight.
June 27 - On a sweltering day (high of 90°, heat index of 100°) strong thunderstorms moved through between 3:00 and 11 PM, dumping 2.11" of rain, most of which fell in the two hours between 7-9:00.
Sept. 2 - Today's high of 96° was the hottest temperature of the year, and the year's last 90-degree reading. (The preceding fourteen 90-degree days this summer were either 90°, 91°, or 92°.) The day, which was the Friday leading into Labor Day weekend, was also uncomfortably humid, with a heat index of 108° in the early afternoon.
Nov. 19 - Today saw the fourth rainstorm of an inch or more since Nov. 1. In addition to the 1.95" that fell today (a record for the date), 1.21" fell on 11/1; 1.83" on 11/6-7; and 2.06" fell 11/9-10, . (At the time, this was the second wettest November on record; it's now ranked eighth.)
Nov. 27 - The morning low of 12° at 6 AM was a 40-degree drop from 26 hours earlier. Winds gusting between 15-25 mph produced wind chills around -5°. This low tied Nov. 30, 1929 as the coldest reading reported in November during the 20th/21st centuries.
Dec. 17 - Snow that began late in the morning continued through the early morning on 12/18, amounting to 7.2". It was also a very cold day, with a high/low of only 20°/11°. (The snow was gone by Christmas Day, which had a high of 59°.) The next measurable snowfall wouldn't be for seven weeks (2/4).
Dec. 31 - After rising to 62° between 9:00 and 10:00 AM the temperature dropped steadily for the rest of the day, and when the new year came in the mercury was down to 27° (with wind chills in the low teens).
1933
Jan. 1 - The low of 13° was 49 degrees colder than the reading at 9:30 AM the day before. Despite today's cold start to the month (high/low of 28°/13°) this would be the third mildest January on record (following last January, which was the mildest on record).
Jan. 23 - This was the eighth day in a row with a high of 50° or warmer. The average high during this streak was 56°, at a time in the winter when the average high is in the upper 30s.
Jan. 30 - A trace of snow was reported for the fifth day in a row - the snowiest period in a month with no measurable snowfall. Only January 1890 had less snow - 0.0". This January was later joined by January 2008 as the only Januarys with a trace of snow.
Feb. 8 - The temperature fell from 60° in the early afternoon to 21° by midnight (on the way down to 12° at daybreak on 2/9).
Feb. 10 - This morning's low of 11° was the coldest reading of the winter, making this the third winter in a row with no readings in the single digits or colder - the longest streak of its kind. (By contrast, the next three winters would have 36 lows below 10°).
Feb. 11 - In just eight hours (1-9:00 AM) ten inches of snow fell. Sleet mixed in during the final few hours even though temperatures were in the low 20s.
June 9 - Hot and humid, with a high/low of 97°/76°. The high was a record, and the heat index reached 110° during lunchtime.
June 15 - Less than a week after a record high, this morning's low of 48° was half that temperature and also a record.
July 1 - A severe thunderstorm from 7:30-9:30 PM dumped 2.17" of rain. During the storm the temperature dropped from 88° to 72°.
July 3 - The high was only 65°, two days after a high of 94°.
Aug. 2 - This was the fifth day in a row of intense heat that saw highs of 95°, 98°, 102°, 100° and 98° (today). Four of these five highs set records.
Aug. 23 - A rainstorm of 2.37" came just two days after an even bigger rainstorm dumped 3.28". Much of today's rain fell between 3 PM-midnight.
Sept. 15 - Yesterday's all-day soaking rain, which totaled 2.84", continued unabated today and flooded the City with an additional 4.16" - and the rain would continue as showers through midday on 9/16. The day was also very chilly, with temperatures mostly in the mid-50s, nearly 20 degrees below average.
Oct. 31 - Today's high of 76° was the warmest reading since 10/1 and occurred less than a week after there were two days with morning lows of 32°.
Nov. 16 - The day after a winter-like high/low of 32°/21, today was even colder, with a high/low of 30°/17° (twenty degrees colder than average). Today's low, a record for the date that still stands, is the earliest reading in the teens. Also, this was the fourth November in the past five with a reading in the teens (the average coldest reading is in the mid-20s).
Nov. 30 - Today's high of 69° was not only Nov. 1933's mildest reading, it was the mildest reading of any Thanksgiving Day (a record that's still standing). Ironically, this touch of springtime occurred during the 10th coldest November on record (now ranked 11th).
Dec. 26 - A little more than 24 hours after temperatures were in the mid-50s, a snowstorm swept into the City shortly after daybreak, and by early afternoon ten inches had fallen, and temperatures were in the mid-20s. An additional inch of snow fell in the early evening, bringing the day's snowfall total to 11.2".
Dec. 30 - The morning low was six degrees below zero, the coldest reading since February 1918. Temperatures were sub-zero for ten hours (from 11 PM last night thru 9:00 this morning). And although this was one of New York's coldest readings, it would be topped six weeks later by a low of -15°, New York's coldest reading of all time.
1934
January 29 - The temperature at 9 AM was 6° above zero, eighteen hours after the 3:00 PM temperature on 1/28 had reached 58° - one of the greatest temperature drops in less than 24 hours in New York history (both readings were the extremes of the month). Winds gusting between 20-30 mph in the morning produced sub-zero wind chills. This incursion of Arctic air was accompanied by the only measurable snowfall of the month, but it was just 0.1". This was the fourth January in a row to have less than an inch of snowfall (the average amount back then was close to 10").
February 9 - New York's coldest reading of all-time, 15° below zero, was reported today (43 degrees below average). The mercury was at 10° below zero or colder for eight consecutive hours (and it was zero degrees or colder for 16 consecutive hours beginning at 9:00 PM the previous night). By 5:00 PM the temperature had "recovered" to 8° above zero. Today's reading usurped the previous all-time low, -13° on Dec. 30, 1917.
February 14 - The morning low of 4° was the eighth in the single digits since 1/29 - and there would be four more this month.
February 25 - On a brutally cold day (high/low of 16°/9°) light snow began falling mid-afternoon and fell steadily thru the following afternoon, accumulating 9.3". This was the third snowfall of 7.5" or more this month and brought February's total snowfall to 27.9" (the other significant snowfalls were on 2/1 and 2/19-20). At the time this was the second snowiest month on record (now ranked sixth) and the snowiest February (since topped by Feb. 2010 and 2014).
March 18 - After peaking at 71° in the early afternoon, the temperature plummeted to 30° by midnight (and 22° by sunrise on the 19th). This was one of the City's greatest temperature drops (and came less than two months after a drop of 52 degrees in an 18-hour period on Jan. 29-30).
March 23 - Today was very cold even by mid-winter standards as the high/low was only 25°/13°. Skies became overcast after sunrise, which kept the temperature from rebounding much. These readings were in the midst of a 40-hour stretch in which the temperature was below freezing. This cold day came five days after the high was 71°.
March 31 - A nor'easter brought heavy rain between noon and midnight. The 2.20" that poured down was almost as much as what fell during the first 30 days of March (2.27"). It was a cold rain, with the temperature hovering around 40° during the afternoon and evening. (However, tomorrow's high would warm up to 65°, and the day after that would have the warmest reading of April 1934, 77°).
May 6 - This was the second day in a row with a high of 89° (average high is in the upper 60s); however, today's low of 68° was fourteen degrees milder than yesterday's. And today was sunnier.
May 24 - After a a low of 59° the high jumped to 90°, making this the sixth consecutive May with a high in the 90s, the longest such streak on record.
June 29 - Today's high soared to 101° after a low of 68°. At the time this was the earliest date for a triple-digit high (later passed in 1952 and 1966), but the AM low remains the coolest for a day with a high of 100+.
June 30-July 3 - High temperatures during these hot four days (albeit cooler than 6/29): 91°-92°-93°-94°.
July 31 - Today had the last 90-degree reading of the year, the earliest date for this occurrence since 1904, when it was also on 7/31 (in 1903 it was on 7/30).
Sept. 8 - The strongest hurricane of the season brought heavy rain when it crossed over the eastern end of Long Island. There were two periods of heavy rain, the first between 6-10 AM, when 1.23" fell, and then much heavier rain fell from 5-11 PM when 3.26" poured down. (An additional 0.37" fell at other times during the day, bringing the day's total rainfall to 4.86".) During the early evening winds gusted between 45-50 mph. This hurricane came four days after remnants of a tropical system brought 0.68” on 9/3-4.
Sept. 24-27 - High temperatures over this four-day period: 80°-81°-82°-83°.
Oct. 6 - Today saw the fifth rainstorm of 1.50" or more in the past 30 days: 5.48" on 9/7-8; 2.01" on 9/16-17; 1.54" on 9/22; 1.51" on 9/29-30 and 1.93" on 10/5-6 (most of it fell today). During this period nearly 14 inches of rain was measured. Then less than an inch of rain fell for the next four weeks.
Dec. 12 - This was the last day of a six-day cold wave that had temperatures that were 18 degrees below average (high/low of 26º/14°). Three of the days had morning lows of 11°. However, despite the cold there was no measurable snowfall.
1935
Jan. 1 - Morning rain (that started out briefly as snow, with an accumulation of 0.8") amounted to 1.09", making this the fourth year to have an inch or more of precipitation on New Year's Day. Ironically, despite the wet start, 1935 would be, at the time, the second driest year on record, with just 33.85" measured (it's now ranked fourth).
Jan. 23 - One day after a winter storm produced 5.1" of snow, a much bigger snowstorm today dumped thirteen inches. Yesterday's storm began as rain in the morning and changed over to snow around mid-day as the temperature fell from the low 40s into the upper 20s. Then, after a 13-hour break, winds shifted from the northwest to northeast and heavy snow returned late this morning. Between 1:00 and 7:00 PM it fell at a rate of an inch or more per hour. Flakes fell until the wee hours of the next day. Temperatures fell slowly throughout the day, dropping from 26° to 18° (and they'd continue to fall slowly throughout the following day). This was the first snowstorm of a foot or more in nine years.
Feb. 1 - Today, with a high/low of 26°/4°, was the ninth day of the past ten with a sub-freezing high temperature (and seven days had lows in the single digits or colder). The average high/low during these ten days was 23°/7°, sixteen degrees below average.
March 16 - After a low of 39°, the high temperature soared to 77° (thirty degrees above average), the day after the high was just 43° (and two days after today the high was back down to 44°). It would be six weeks before a warmer high occurred.
July 6 - Today had the first 90-degree reading of the year, the latest date for this occurrence since 1927. (Each of the previous six years had their first 90 in May.)
July 19-20 - For the fourth year in a row, the high was in the 90s on these two dates. And on the 20th, 1.07" of rain thundered down in just ten minutes during a severe thunderstorm from 1:50-2:00 PM. And during the storm the temperature tumbled from 85° to 68°.
Sept. 5 - The remnants of what was the Great Labor Day hurricane that obliterated the Florida Keys (killing nearly 500) brought heavy rain this morning, with 1.60” measured between 2-10 AM (most of it falling between 4-8 AM). The previous three days also had significant rainfall (2.44") but it wasn't associated with the hurricane. The four days from 9/3 to 9/6 all had highs only in the low 70s.
Nov. 28 - For the third year in a row Thanksgiving Day was very mild. Today's high/low was 62°/50°, and followed a high/low of 69°/50° in 1933 and 60°/54° last year. All are still among the ten mildest Thanksgivings.
Dec. 31 - This was the eleventh day in a row with a sub-freezing high temperature. The average high/low during these days was 26°/16°, fourteen degrees below average. About six inches of snow fell from three snowfalls.
1936
Jan. 19 - It was a day of heavy snow, sleet and gusty winds. After beginning as light rain late last night, nine inches of snow piled up in the morning (mostly between 3-9:00), and then the afternoon saw an onslaught of sleet that was propelled by 25-35 mph winds, which produced wind chills in the single digits (the air temperature was in the mid-20s). 2.5" of sleet accumulated. With 2.39" of liquid precipitation measured, this is the only year (thru 2023) in which an inch or more of precipitation fell on this date.
Jan. 23 - The temperature plummeted from 41° at 10:00 last night to -3° by 7:00 this morning. This was the third winter in a row to have a sub-zero reading, the longest such streak.
Feb. 3 - Today was the twelfth day in a row with a high colder than 32° (and the fourteenth of fifteen days since 1/20). The average high/low during this streak was a teeth-chattering 22°/9° (sixteen degrees below average). No day had a high above 26°. This came one month after a streak of eleven sub-freeing days at the end of December, and a year after nine of ten days were 32° or colder.
Feb. 19 - Although 1/23 had the coldest reading of the winter, at -3°, today, with a high/low of 18°/1°, had the coldest mean temperature (0.5 degree colder than 1/24, which had a high/low of 16°/4°).
Feb. 20 - This morning's low of 9° was the twelfth, and last, low in the single digits or colder of the winter - the last winter with ten or more such frigid lows (thru the winter of 2021). In total, there have been fourteen winters with ten or more days with lows of 10° or colder (with more than half concentrated between 1873 and 1888).
April 6 - Today's high of 68° was the only day with a high warmer than 50° in the first thirteen days of the month. Except for this day, the average high during the other twelve days was 47°, nine degrees colder than average.
July 9 - The temperature at 4 PM reached 106°, New York's hottest temperature of all time. (The previous record was 104° in August 1918.) When the temperature reached 106° at 4 PM, the relative humidity was 36% - producing a heat index of 119°. The temperature was in triple digits for seven hours but then tumbled from 103° to 94° between 6:00 and 7:00. Tomorrow would also be very hot, with a high of 102°.
Aug. 25 - Today's high of 92° was the 25th 90-degree+ day of the year, the most of any year, surpassing 1896's total (and there would be one more 90-degree day on 9/8). Since then, however, seventeen years have had more 90+ days, led by 1991 and 1993, both which had 39.
Sept. 7 - Today, Labor Day, was the fourth day in a row with a low of 60°, which was a few degrees below average. The highs, however, were different each day.
Sept. 18 - After receiving just 0.08" of rain in the first two-and-a-half weeks of the month, a weakening hurricane to the southeast dumped nearly four inches, with most of it falling between 2 PM and midnight. It was also a chilly day, with temperatures falling into the upper 50s during the afternoon. This was the City's biggest rainstorm since 5.48" fell on Sept. 7-8, 1934 from a hurricane that made landfall on Long Island.
Oct. 27 - The morning low of 28° was the coldest temperature ever recorded in October (a record that still stands). And for ten consecutive hours the temperature was 32° or colder (from 11 PM on 10/26 thru 9 AM today). Under clear skies the afternoon high struggled to get to 43°, producing a daily mean temperature that was 16 degrees below average.
Nov. 3 - Today's unseasonably warm high/low of 75°/64° made this the mildest presidential Election Day on record (a record that still stands).
Dec. 1 - The morning low of 13° would be the coldest reading of the winter.
Dec. 20 - Today's rainstorm was the third in the past three weeks to produce more than an inch of rain, and the sixth with more than half-an-inch. Beginning last night, more than half of the 2.08" that fell poured down between 1-4 AM today. In total, seven inches of rain fell during these three weeks, making this, at the time, the wettest December on record (it's now ranked third).
1937
Jan. 20 - A winter storm with snow, sleet and freezing rain produced 5.7" of snow, which fell mostly during the afternoon - it was the biggest snowfall of the winter. During the evening the snow changed to freezing rain. This winter storm followed three days with highs in the 50s. (And the next two days would have highs in the upper 40s.)
Jan. 28 - The morning low of 25°, a seasonably cold reading, was the coldest temperature of the month, making it the mildest coldest reading on record for the month of January (until January 2023 when the month's coldest reading was 28°).
March 31 - The low today and the previous three days: 31°-30°-29°-28° - all well below average (37°).
April 23-26 - This four-day period had very similar, and unseasonably cool, highs/lows: 54°/39°, 54°/40°, 53°/39° and 54°/40°.
May 6 - The crash of the Hindenburg occurred this evening in Lakehurst, NJ, about 75 miles southwest of New York. It's never been determined what exactly caused the explosion, but thunderstorms were in the area at the time (7:30 PM) so there is speculation it was lightning that ignited the helium. A few hours earlier a severe thunderstorm moved through New York between 4-5:00, dumping nearly half an inch of rain.
July 9 - For the second year in a row the high reached triple digits on 7/9, the first time a high in the 100s occurred on the same date in back-to-back years (and it would be repeated tomorrow - the last time it happened). Although today's high was six degrees lower than last year's 106°, its low of 79° was two degrees warmer.
July 11 - Both this summer and last summer had five-day heat waves that ended on this date. Each year's heat wave also had two days in the triple digits on July 9 and 10. Last year's were highs of 106° (hottest reading on record) and 102° while this year's were both 100°. Today's high was a relatively bearable 91°.
July 12 - In less than an hour (2:06-2:51 PM) an afternoon thunderstorm drenched the City with 2.18" of rain. This was on top of half an inch of rain that fell between 8-9 AM, bringing the day's total to 2.68", which was a record for the date (a record that still stands).
Sept. 4 - This was the last day of the summer's second five-day heat wave (and the year's last reading in the 90s). The first one was between July 7-11, and was hotter, with an average high of 96.6° vs. 91.2° for this most recent one. There were also two heat waves of this length in 1936.
Sept. 12 - This was the fourth day in a row with a low of 60° and it came one year after another four-day streak of lows at 60° in September (9/4-9/7). High temperatures on all four days were in the upper 70s.
September 13 - It was a very rainy Monday as the biggest rainstorm of the year (and in three years) dumped 3.07" of rain in just ten hours, from daybreak to late afternoon.
November 28 - For the second time in the past fifteen days the City had a rainstorm of two-inches+. (And the two days' high/lows were nearly identical, at 61°/49° and 61°/50°.) These two storms accounted for 4.52" of the month's 4.73" in precipitation.
1938
Feb. 7 - Today's high of 54° was a record for the date, the coolest reading to become a record high (the record stood until 2020, when the high reached 56°, which is still the coolest reading for a record high). It is one of just four record highs to be in the 50s; the others are: Jan. 16 (58°); Feb. 2 (59°); and Dec. 19 (58°).
March 3 - The temperature fell throughout the day, from 49° shortly after midnight to 11° twenty-four hours later (a record that still stands). And it would fall two more degrees by sunrise on 3/4.
March 5 - The 0.5" of snow that fell in the pre-dawn hours (before changing to rain) was the first measurable snow since 1/21.
March 23 - Three weeks after a low of 9°, today and the previous two days had highs in the mid-70s: 75°-77°-74° (today) - twenty degrees above average.
April 6-9 - This was a sloppy four days of weather, with 6.4" of snow falling on April 6 and 7 (the biggest snowfall of the winter), and 0.95" of rain on April 8 and 9. During these days temperatures were mostly in the 30s. The low of 28 °on April 6 was the only April day in the 1930s with a low in the 20s.
April 28 - Today's high of 89° came eight days after a high of 85°, which came five days after a high of 84° (average highs in the second half of April are in the 60°-65° range). At the time, the highs on 4/28 and 4/15 were records, later broken.
June 28 - Rain that fell over the past three days amounted to 3.70". Today's amount, 1.69", was a record for the date (which still stands). Besides the rain, today was unseasonably cool, with a high/low of just 60°/57°.
July 23 - 2.40" of rain fell today, which was a record (later broken in 1953 when 2.41" fell). There were three periods of heavy rain that accounted for more than half of the day's total: 0.53" from 8-9 AM; 0.46" from 11 AM-noon; and 0.63" from 4-5 PM.
Aug. 8 - Three beach goers were killed by a lightning strike at Brooklyn's Riis Park, a year and one day after three were killed by lightning at the same beach. A severe thunderstorm moved through the City between 5-7:00 PM, dumping 1.43" in Central Park.
September 21 - New York was spared the ravages of the history-making hurricane known as the Long Island Express, which made landfall mid-afternoon 65 miles to the east. Still, the City had to contend with near hurricane-force winds that gusted to 60-70 mph, and four inches of rain, half of which fell between 1-4:00 PM. Besides the wind and rain, it was also chilly, with the temperature dropping slowly all day, from the low-60s to low-50s. Today's deluge followed two days of steady rain that amounted to 3.45".
Oct. 17 - Today's high was a sizzling 90°, the latest date on record for a 90-degree reading - a record that still stands. This high was 27 degrees above average.
Nov. 7 - This was the third day in a row with very mild temperatures, with highs/lows of 74°/63°, 70°/64° and 78°/63°. Today's high of 78° was a record (which still stands).
Nov. 15 - Today's low of 37° was the first low in the 30s ths fall and the latest date for this occurrence on record (a record that still stands).
Nov. 24 - It was a raw, cold and windy Thanksgiving Day (high/low of 34°/21°), with snow and sleet moving in late in the afternoon and continuing into the following day. 3.9" accumulated today and 4.9" the following morning.
Nov. 27 - Just six weeks after the latest 90-degree reading on record, back-to-back snowstorms dropped nearly 13 inches of snow in four days. The first, on 11/24-25 measured 8.8", while the snowfall that ended before dawn today (and began late last night) brought an additional four inches. The high/low during these four days was 32°/20°, which was 18 degrees below average. This was the snowiest month of the winter and the third snowiest November on record (after Nov. 1898 and 1882).
1939
Jan. 13 - Beginning mid-afternoon, a snowfall of 8.8" (1.0" fell on 1/14) tied the Thanksgiving snowstorm of 11/24-25 as the biggest snowfall of the season.
Feb. 15 - The temperature dropped from 62° late in the afternoon to 29° by midnight. And by 8 AM on 2/16 it was 15°.
Feb. 23 - Today's high of 29° came three days after a high of 69°.
March 27 - Today's high/low of 73°/39° followed one of 72°/39° three days earlier. However, while the low on 3/24 was in the pre-dawn hours, the low today was at midnight after winds shifted to the northeast in the PM hours.
April 25 - After rising from 53° at 4 AM to 86° in the early afternoon, the temperature dropped back to 52° by 11 PM. And then three days later the high would would be only 46° (20 degrees below average).
July 23 - With a high/low of 89°/59°, today was the ninth day with a diurnal variation of 30 degrees or more, the most of any year (until 1994).
July 31 - This July and the previous two all had the same average temperature - 76.6°. However, 1936 had eight 90-degree days (two in the triple digits), 1937 had three and this year had four. Also, this July had just 0.99" of rain (at the time the fourth driest July) while the previous two had more than five inches.
Aug. 19 - The biggest rainfall of the year occurred today, with 2.31" falling between noon and midnight. It fell heaviest after 8 PM when more than half of the rain fell. The rain was produced by the remnants of the season's second hurricane, which had made a first landfall on the east coast of Florida, and a second along the state's Panhandle.
Aug. 23 - Seven of the past eleven days had highs in the 90s, with six of them, like today, having a high of 90°.
Oct. 10 - One year after the latest date for a 90-degree reading occurred (on 10/17), the second latest date was set today as the mercury soared to 91°, twenty-five degrees above average.
Nov. 5 - The only measurable rain in November fell today from a nor'easter that produced 1.40" of rain between 9 AM and 10 PM. Temperatures were chilly, mostly in the low-40s (average high is in the mid-50s).
Here are recaps from other decades:
Late 19th Century (1869-1899)
First Decade of 20th Century
1910s
1920s
1940s
1950s
1960s
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