Today in New York Weather History: May 21

 

1924 (Wednesday)

On a showery day, the high/low was only 50°/47°.  The high was 20 degrees below average.

 

1971 (Friday)

Although just 0.03" of rain fell (between 3-4 PM), it was the first measurable rainfall on this date in 17 years.  The day was gray and cool with a high of only 60°.

 

1985 (Tuesday)

Heavy rain fell between 5-11 PM, amounting to 1.60".  During one 15-minute period (between 6:55-7:10 PM), 0.48" of rain poured down.

 

1996 (Tuesday)

This was the second day in a row with a record high as the mercury topped out at 93°.  The next 90-degree day wouldn't be for another two months (and it would be the only other 90-degree day of the summer.) 

 

 

2002 (Tuesday)

This was the last of four consecutive days with morning lows in the chilly low 40s, well below the average of 55°.

 

2012 (Monday)

After four days in a row of sunny and mild weather, today was a gray, rainy Monday.  1.40" of rain fell, with a particularly heavy downpour occurring during AM rush hour, with 0.57" measured between 9-10:00.

 

2013 (Tuesday)

Today was just the second 80-degree day of the year, coming six weeks after the first (4/9).  This was the greatest number of days between the first and second 80-degree day in eight years, when there was a gap of 45 days.  (The longest gap in the years since 1900 was 58 days in 1928).  Today's high of 86° was the warmest reading since the first week of September 2012.

 

 

2022 (Saturday)

At long last the temperature reached the 80s for the first time this year, the latest date for this occurrence since 1988.  This is the tenth latest date on record.  And with a high of 90°, this was just the fourth year to have the first 80 and first 90 occur on the same date (joining 1918, 1927 and 2010).  This was the first reading in the 90s in May since 2018. 

Besides the heat, the air was oppressive, with afternoon dew points in the 68-70° range.  The morning low of 62° was the coolest on a day with a high in the 90s since 2010, when there was a low of low of 56° on 4/7 (the earliest date on record for a reading in the 90s).

 

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April 2022 Weather Recap - Rainy, Then Dry

 

April was 0.9 degrees chillier than average and somewhat rainier (despite there being practically no rainfall in the month's last 11 days).  The chilliest reading was 38° (on 4/2), the mildest was 79° (4/14).  The last time the chilliest reading was this mild was in 2012.  Only two other Aprils have had a milder reading for their coldest reading: in 1878 (42°) and 2010 (40°).  The month's temperature range was 41 degrees, well below the usual range of 50 degrees (since 1980, 32° to 82°).  On the day the high reached 79° in Central Park, the high at Newark Airport soared to 88° (but it was in the low 70s at LaGuardia and Kennedy airports).  

 

The month's rainfall of 4.53" was similar to that of April 2020 (4.49") and April 2019 (4.55").  Much of the rain fell from two storm systems that brought 1.15" on 4/7-8, and 2.09" on 4/18-19.  Just 0.02" of rain fell between 4/20-30, which was the least to fall in the last third of April since 1942, when no measurable rain fell after 4/11 (that April is the second driest on record).   

 

Six days had highs in the 70s, an average number, with five of them on consecutive days (4/12-4/16).  The average high of 73° during the streak was twelve degrees above average.  This was the lengthiest such streak in April in 11 years.  The streak ended the day before Easter Sunday, which, with a high/low of 51°/41°, was the chilliest since 2009.  

 

Finally, the last three days of the month had afternoon humidity levels that bottomed out at 11%, 9%, and 14%.  The 9% reading on 4/29 tied for the third lowest in the years since 2000.  This was the most arid three-day streak since March 28-30, 2007.  Very low humidity was also reported on the 15th and 22nd (13% and 15%, respectively).  

 

Here are April recaps of the past six years:

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016