May 2022 Weather Recap - Late First 80, Followed by Early First 90 & First 70
May 2022 was 0.8 degrees milder than average and rainfall was somewhat above average (4.52"). The coolest reading was 45° on 5/7 and 5/8, the hottest was 93° on the last day of the month. The last time the temperature was this hot in May was in 2000 (on 5/7); the last time it was hotter was in 1996 (96° on 5/20).
The first 20 days of the month were about a degree below average, but then from May 21 onward temperatures were four degrees milder than average. For the entire month, eight days were five degrees or more warmer than average, four were five degrees or more cooler than average. The most above average day was 5/22, with a high/low of 89°/72° (16 degrees above average); the most below average day was 5/7, with a high/low of 50°/45° (13 degrees below average).
The year's first reading of 80°+ occurred very late, on 5/21, the latest since 1988 and tenth latest on record; that date also had the year's first reading in the 90s, (90°), just the fourth time that the first 80 and first 90 shared the same date. Regarding days in the 90s, since 1960 Mays with two or more days with highs in the 90s occur about once every three years. (Before 1960, it happened once every seven years.)
The day after the first 80/90, Central Park had its first low in the 70s (72°), which was about two weeks ahead of schedule (the first 90 was about a week ahead of schedule).
May's rainfall of 4.52" was 0.01" less than what fell in April. This was the tenth time there was a 0.01" difference between consecutive months. The previous time it occurred was in January and February 2016 when 4.41" and 4.40" was measured. There have been five pairs of consecutive months with the same amount of precipitation (the last time it happened was in September and October 1997).
Finally, Memorial Day's high of 84° was the warmest reading on the holiday since 2015 (when it was 85°), while the high of 58° on Mother's Day (5/8), was the chilliest since 2018 (when it was 54°).
Here are recaps of the previous seven Mays:
It surprised me when I found the average warmest reading in April is 83 degrees. I thought it was mid 70s the whole time.
I thought February usually is always below 50. The average warmest in Jan and Feb, 60s, shocked me. I thought winters are very cold and harsh.
The average hottest reading is a lot warmer than people think (especially in winter and spring), every season except the summer, the humidity makes it much hotter, making people think summers are so hot in NY
Posted by: hello there! | 06/03/2022 at 12:09 PM