* 1960 *
February 11 - Heavy rain in the pre-dawn hours amounted to 1.63". In addition to the rain, very mild air was drawn up by the storm, and the high reached a record 65 ° during the morning before tumbling into the low 40s by midnight.
March 3 - A crippling snowstorm that dumped 14.5" of snow moved into the region at daybreak and continued for 24 hours (12.5" fell today). Near blizzard conditions were experienced as winds gusted between 30-35 mph. This was the second snowstorm of one foot or more this winter - a first (and it would happen again the following winter). Earlier in the winter 13.7" of snow fell on Dec. 21-22.
March 11 - This morning's low of 14° was the second coldest reading of the winter (coldest reading was 9° on 12/23).
March 13 - Today was the eleventh day in a row with a mean temperature of 10 degrees or more below average.
March 15 - Today was the first day this month to have a high temperature above 40°. Still, at 42°, this high was six degrees colder than average.
March 28 - This was the first day during a very cold month (colder than January or February) to have an above average mean temperature. And at 71°, this was the first day this year to reach the 70s.
April 15 - Today's summery high/low of 83°/66° (25 degrees warmer than average) made the harsh, wintry conditions of March (second coldest of the 20th century, with 18.5" of snow) seem like a bad dream.
April 25 - After a cool low of 48° the temperature rose sharply, to 87°. Meanwhile, yesterday and tomorrow had highs of 70°.
July 7- July 1960 became the only July (through 2024) in which every high temperature during the first week of the month was below 80°. Averaging 76°, this was seven degrees below average. The average high for the rest of the month would be 84°, with just three highs in the 70s.
July 12 - Today's high of 91° was the first in the 90s this year, the latest date for this occurrence since 1927 (when it was on 7/13). Typically the first 90-degree day occurs around Memorial Day.
July 18 - High temperatures over the past four days: 85° (today)-84°-83°-82° (7/15). And tomorrow's high/low would be the same as today's (85°/69°).
July 30 - Three days after 1.50" of rain fell, the biggest rainstorm in five years dumped 3.56" in a 12-hour period between 1 AM and 1 PM. This heavy rain was produced by tropical storm Brenda, which moved over NYC on its way to New England. At the time this was the second greatest daily amount in the month of July (it's now third).
August 30 - Although July 12 and Aug. 27 had hotter high temperatures (91°), today, with a high/low of 89°/76°, had the year's highest mean temperature. The temperature was prevented from getting into the 90s by a strong thunderstorm that dumped 1.05" of rain between 2-3 PM.
September 12 - Rain and high winds from hurricane Donna lashed the area during the morning through the first half of the afternoon. 2.36" of rain fell (heaviest between 11 AM and 2 PM) and winds gusted between 40-50 mph; at LaGuardia Airport winds gusted to 90 mph and 3.63" of rain fell.
December 12 - Snow that began late in the afternoon yesterday (accumulating 3.6") continued until shortly after 12:00 noon today, totaling 15.2". Blizzard conditions prevailed during much of the storm, with snow falling most furiously between the hours of 2-7 AM, when nearly seven inches piled up. A number of other snowstorms in December have had greater accumulations, but this storm produced the largest so early in the season. (A year earlier, there was another major December snowstorm that dumped 13.7" on 12/21-22.) The snow was also accompanied by wind and Arctic cold as the temperature fell slowly throughout the day, dropping from 21° to 9° by midnight.
* 1961 *
January 19 - As a snowstorm moved up the East Coast during the evening (dumping 10" of snow by noon on Jan. 20), an Arctic high was moving over the Northeast. This high pressure system would remain entrenched for more than two weeks,and result in sixteen consecutive days (thru Feb. 3) in which the temperature never rose above 29°. This was the same snowstorm that crippled DC the day before President Kennedy's inauguration.
January 31 - Today's high of 29° was the "warmest" temperature during an unprecedented 16-day cold wave that that began on Jan. 19 - and would continue for three more days. Since that date, temperatures were 15 degrees below average (high/low of 23°/10°).
February 2 - The morning low of -2° was the first below zero reading in Central Park since Feb. 1943.
February 3-4 - The third major snowstorm of the winter moved in this evening, and by midnight six inches had fallen; an additional 11.4" fell on 2/4, when the snow was driven by winds that gusted as high as 47 mph in the early morning hours. Temperatures rose from 7° at daybreak on the 3rd to the upper 20s by midnight.
This was the third major snowstorm of the winter, following 15.4" on Dec. 11-12 and 9.9" on Jan. 19-20. However, those storms were characterized by very cold temperatures, while this storm saw temperatures rise from the mid-20s at the onset to the mid-30s during the afternoon of the 4th, when snow mixed with rain, producing snow with a very high water content (17.6" was produced by 2.62" of liquid). This was the second winter in a row to have two snowstorms of one foot or more.
February 13 - This was the 25th day in a row in which there was eight inches or more of snow on the ground in Central Park. During this period 27.8" of snow fell (on seven days).
February 24 - Today's high/low of 65°/46° was 22 degrees above average and came three weeks after a high/low of 20°/-2°, which was 23 degrees below average.
May 26 - After the day's high of 78° was reached at 12:30 PM, the temperature dropped quickly upon passage of a cold front and the arrival of rain. By 2:00 the temperature was down to 60° and by midnight it had fallen to 47°. 1.11" of rain fell, with 0.42" falling in the storm's initial hour between 1-2 PM. (An additional 0.61" fell the next day.)
May 27 - Today was one of the chilliest days on record for late May as the high was only 47°, twenty-seven degrees below average - more typical of the second week in March (the AM low was 41°). Conditions were raw and damp, with light rain falling throughout the day, amounting to 0.61". Before the cold and rain moved in yesterday afternoon, the temperature had risen to 78° at 12:30PM (and followed a high of 85° two days ago).
June 14 - The day after the hottest reading of the month (96°), the month's chilliest reading (53°) occurred just before midnight.
July 22 - Today was the hottest day of the year, with a high/low of 97°/76° degrees under clear skies.
August 24 - Today was the start of an extended late summer warm spell in which mean temperatures were above average for 22 consecutive days (thru Sept. 14). During this three-week period fifteen days would have highs of 88° or hotter, with nine in the 90s. Today, with a high of 85°/70° (four degrees above average), was one of the "cooler" days of this unseasonably warm stretch.
September 12 - Today's high was 94°, a record for the date, and the ninth 90-degree high in the past seventeen days (since Aug. 27). The average high during this two-and-a-half week period was 89°, eleven degrees above average.
September 14 - Today's high/low was 87°/72°, the 22nd day in a row with above average temperatures. With an average high/low of 89°/71° during these days, the mean temperature was nine degrees above average. Nine days had highs in the 90s, fourteen had highs of 88° or hotter; seventeen days had lows in the 70s.
Sept. 20-21 - Less than a week after a tropical storm brushed the City, bands of rain from Hurricane Esther moved in during the evening of 9/20 and continued through early afternoon on the 21st. 1.28” of rain fell, with 1.05" measured on the 21st; rain fell hardest between 2-4 AM and 10 AM-noon. (Before it made landfall in North Carolina a few days earlier, Esther was briefly a category 5 storm.) Tropical storm force winds lashed the City around daybreak.
The rain produced by the storm accounted for 75% of the month’s rain (1.70”).
September 22 - Today's high was 88°, the nineteenth day this year with a high of 88° or 89° - the most of any year in the 1950-2014 period (later tied in 2015; the average number is nine). Additionally, there were 29 days in the 90s (the 29th would occur on 9/23).
September 23 - Today's high was 90°, the eighth day this month with a high in the 90s - the most ever in the month of September.
December 23-24 - The biggest snowfall of the winter of 1961-62 began after dark on the 23rd, and continued off and on, occasionally mixing with sleet overnight, until midnight on Christmas Eve. All told 6.2" of snow accumulated. Temperatures ranged between upper 20s and mid-30s.
December 28 - The 0.35" of rain that fell this morning was the last day of measurable precipitation this month, and brought the month's total to 3.04" - the same amount as last December.
* 1962 *
January 6 - An all-day rain amounted to 1.57", much of which fell between 10 AM and 10 PM. This was the first time since 1953 that an inch or more of rain fell in one day in January.
March 6 - One of the most intense nor'easters of the century, known as the Ash Wednesday Nor'easter, raked the mid-Atlantic states (especially NJ and Delaware), but it produced very little precipitation in New York - just 0.05", 0.2" which was snow (the last snowfall of the winter). However, the storm made itself known with winds that howled between 40-55 mph from mid-afternoon today thru the morning of 3/7. With temperatures in the mid-30s these high winds produced wind chills in the upper teens.
March 9 - The winter's last low temperature of 32° or colder was today. Only the winter of 1942 had an earlier date (Feb. 28) for the last freezing temperature of the season (later joined by March 1, 2020).
March 12 - The lows for today and the previous three days were: 35°-34°-33°-32°. Today also featured a rainstorm that dumped 2.33" of rain, most which fell between 5 AM and 1 PM. This would be the year's biggest rainstorm, and was the greatest amount of precipitation from one storm since 2.62" fell on Feb. 3-4, 1961 (17.4" of the precipitation was snow).
March 18 - This was the end of a five-day period that started and ended with highs of 50° while the three days in the middle all had highs of 49°.
April 13 - After four years without a National League baseball team to call its own, the New York Mets played their first home opener in unseasonably cold conditions, with a high/low of 43°/38° (nine degrees below average). Windy and overcast, there were showers before daybreak, and again late in the afternoon, amounting to 0.13". As for the game, the Mets lost to the Pirates, 4-3.
April 25 - For the third year in a row a big jump in temperature occurred on this date. This year, the mercury jumped from 48° to 84°; in 1961 it rose from 49° to 82°; and in 1960 the high reached 87° after a low of 48°.
April 27 - In the span of 13 hours the temperature soared from 51° at 1:00 AM to 91° by 2:00 PM.
April 30 - After three days of summer-like warmth (highs of 91°-89°-80°), the temperature this afternoon was only in the mid-40s.
May 19 - The high temperature soared to 99°, making this the hottest reading every recorded in the month of May. (The temperature jumped 41 degrees in ten hours after the day's low at 5 AM.) May's previous hottest temperature was 96°, which occurred in three years - 1880, 1939 and 1941. Some relief occurred between 7-8 PM when a thundershower moved through, dropping the temperature from 87° to 70°.
August 7 - The day's low of 72° was the last low in the 70s this year, the third earliest date on record (after July 31, 1927 and Aug. 4, 1887). The typical date for the last 70-degree low is during the first week of September. In total there were eight days with lows in the seventies in 1962, tied for second fewest. (The typical number is 28.)
August 10 - Just two days after a high of 90°, this afternoon's temperatures were only in the upper 50s as winds were out of the northeast and skies were overcast. The high of 60°, which occurred just after midnight, was the chilliest high in August since 1911, when the high on 8/31 was 59° (later tied in August 2007).
Aug. 28-29 - Hurricane Alma brought rain that fell in three stages: in the pre-dawn hours of the morning of 8/28, when 1.35” fell (0.81” of it in a two-hour period), then lighter amounts between 7 PM-8 AM on the 29th, and then a mid-afternoon downpour (0.12”). In total, 1.95” of rain was measured.
October 26 - Periods of cold rain accompanied winter-like temperatures as the high/low was just 39°/34°. This high was 21 degrees below average - and it was the earliest date for a high in the 30s. In addition to rain in the morning and afternoon showers, a trace of snow was also picked up. (Next year on this date the high would be twice as warm, setting another record.)
November 30 - Today was the only day in November with a high in the 60s (62°), making this the only November to have just one such day (in the 1950-2023 period).
December 16 - Today was the seventh day in a row that saw highs of 32° or colder. The average high/low during this stretch of days was 27°/17°, fourteen degrees below average. Despite the cold conditions there was very little snow, just 0.3" today and 0.1" on the 10th.
December 30 - Arctic cold descended upon New York shortly after midnight and temperatures plunged from the mid-30s to single digits by 6 PM (it was 5° degrees just before midnight). Winds gusted between 35 and 45 mph throughout the day, producing nighttime wind chills between -15° and -20°.
December 31 - With a high/low of just 13°/4° (25 degrees below average) this was the second coldest New Year's Eve on record (1917 was the coldest). The cold was made even more bitter by high winds that gusted between 35-45 mph. When the ball dropped at midnight in Times Square the temperature was 11°, with a wind chill of around 15° below zero. This last day of 1962 was the coldest of the entire year, much colder than Feb. 11, which had a high/low of 25°/4°.
* 1963 *
January 26 - The biggest snowfall of the winter began tonight and was mostly over before daybreak the following day. In total, 4.2" accumulated, with three inches of the total falling tonight. This was the smallest amount for a winter's biggest snow since the winter of 1955 when the largest accumulation was 3.9".
February 8 - Arctic air swooped in overnight, dropping the temperature from 25° at midnight to -2° at 9 AM - the coldest reading of the winter. Winds gusting between 20-30 mph produced a wind chill of 25° below zero.
April 30 - Up until today just 0.39" of rain had fallen in April and it appeared it would become the driest on record. However, an all-day rain brought 0.89", and the month ended up tied for third driest April. Until 2014 (when 4.97" fell), today's rainfall was a record for the date, which is the second smallest amount for a daily record (Sept. 9th's daily record is 0.86", which occurred back in 1902).
May 24 - New York's latest date for a low temperature in the 30s occurred today. The low of 39°, which occurred shortly before daybreak, was 18 degrees below average. Under clear skies the temperature rebounded to 64°, which was still eight degrees below average.
July 29 - Today was the sixth day in a row with a high in the 90s, the third heat wave in the past five weeks. And although there were fifteen 90-degree days during this period (including a record 98° on the 27th, and eleven other days with highs of 94° or hotter) there was also a two-week period that was five degrees cooler than average (including a record low of 54° on 7/9).
September 6 - It was a chilly and showery day (0.32" fell), with a high/low of only 56°/49°. The high of 56° was 22 degrees below average and more typical for the first week of November. This was one of nine days in September that were ten degrees or more below average, a month that was the coolest September of the 20th century.
September 30 - Today's high of 65° was the 14th cooler than 70° this month, the most in September since 1913 (which had 15). However, this September had 13 days with highs of 65° or cooler, while Sept. 1913 had only three.
October 19 - Today was the eleventh day in a row in which skies were either clear or sunny. And for the fourth time this month the high reached 83°, the warmest reading of the month (today's high was 18 degrees above average).
October 27 - Today's high was a record 82° and followed three days that had highs in the upper 70s. The average high during these four days was 18 degrees above average. Today was the seventh day this month with a high in the 80s and the sixteenth day with a high of 75° or warmer.
October 28 - Today's 0.10" rainfall (during the morning and afternoon) made this the rainiest day of the month, a month that became the second driest on record (behind June 1949, which had 0.02"). Only one other day this month had rain and it was more than three weeks ago, when 0.04" fell on Oct. 3.
November 6-7 - Beginning late on Nov. 5, and continuing through early afternoon today, a nor'easter dumped 4.30" of rain, with nearly three inches falling on the 7th (a record amount for the date). The amount of rain from this storm was greater than what fell in any month in 1963. And it was what prevented this year from becoming the driest on record.
November 22 - The day of President Kennedy's assassination in Dallas was a mild one in New York, with a high/low of 64°/51° (13 degrees above average) under partly cloudy skies.
December 21 - This was the seventh day in a row with a sub-freezing high. The average high/low during this Arctic outbreak was 28°/17°, which was 13 degrees colder than average.
December 23 - Snow began falling shortly before 3 PM, and by midnight six inches had accumulated, with 0.3" added in the wee hours of 12/24. The temperature didn't vary much as the high/low was 32°/28°.
December 25 - With a high/low of 39°/33° this was the first Christmas since 1955 that was completely above freezing. And at two degrees above average, this was the first day since Dec. 9 to have an above average mean temperature. Despite these temperatures, the day dawned with a thick mantle of white left from the snowstorm of 12/23-24 that dumped 6.6" of snow on the City. This was the fourth Christmas of the past five to have an inch or more of snow on the ground.
* 1964 *
January 13 - Snow that began falling late on the 12th continued for most of today. By the time the snow ended around 11 PM, 12.5" had accumulated. Temperatures were very cold, ranging between 18° and 22°, then dropping into the frigid low teens in the last hours of the storm. Besides the cold and snow, there were also high winds that gusted over 40 mph, producing wind chills around zero degrees (and drifts of two to three feet). This blast of winter came after a week-and-a-half of mild temperatures to start the month.
February 20 - This was the ninth day since 2/8 to have measurable snow. The combined amount of 11.9" was comparable to the snowstorm on 1/12-13 that dumped 12.5". Today's snowfall was just 0.4", and was over by 4 AM. It was part of a wet snowfall that began late on 2/18 and amounted to 6.8".
March 21-22 - A heavy, wet snow fell between 9 PM on 3/21 and 4 AM on 3/22, accumulating 4.9". Temperatures during the snowfall ranged from 32° to 34°. The temperature then rose close to 50° later in the afternoon. This was the fourth snowfall of four inches or more this winter.
March 31 - The coldest reading of the month occurred this morning, 22°, and this temperature held steady for four hours. Normal low for the date is around 40°. Today's high/low of 38°/22° was half of what it was six days earlier (75°/46°).
April 19 - The day after the high reached 86° a "back-door" cold front moved through and by mid-afternoon the temperature dropped into the mid-50s. (And on 4/21 the high would be just 44°.)
April 22 - Conditions were hardly ideal for the opening day day of the 1964 World's Fair, as it was chilly, with a high/low of 47°/41° (11 degrees below average). And there were morning and evening showers that amounted to 0.15".
May 15 - Today and the previous two days were the only days to have measurable rain this month, which became the third driest May on record (0.57" fell).
July 1 - For the second day in a row, the high topped out at 99°. The morning low of 77° degrees, however, was eight degrees warmer than yesterday's low.
July 9 - The day was chilly, wet and windy as 1.09" rain fell, most of it before 6 AM. Although this wasn't a huge amount, it was enough to set a record for the date, breaking the previous record from 1935 by 0.06". Today's high of 63° was 21 degree below average and was just two degrees above the day's low temperature. Today's rainfall was nearly identical to the amount that fell yesterday in the PM hours (1.05").
July 21 - For the third year in a row 0.03" of rain fell on this date. However, each day's rain fell at different times of the day.
September 11 - This was the third day this month with a high/low of 92°/63°.
October 26 - Today's high of 78° tied the record set just one year ago, and came two days after a low of 33°. Skies were clear.
December 27 - For the third day in a row the high temperature was 60°. However, today's high occurred shortly after midnight and then temperatures fell steadily for the rest of the day, bottoming out at 36° twenty-four hours later. The day was also a rainy one, with 0.72" measured.
December 28 - The year's last measurable precipitation fell just after midnight. The year's total of 32.99", ten inches below average, made this the driest year on record. The record, however, would last just one year as 1965 was even drier, with just 26.09" measured in Central Park.
* 1965 *
January 10 - Today had the biggest snowfall of the winter as 6.3" of snow fell between 9 AM and 11 PM. This came one day after the high was 55°, the mildest reading of January. Today, temperatures fell from 40° at midnight into the upper 20s by the time the snow began falling, and held steady for the rest of the day.
January 16 - It was quite a wintry day, with wind-blown snow and temperatures that stayed in the teens throughout the day. Snow fell during the daylight hours and by evening 4.6" had accumulated. Winds gusting between 25-30 mph produced sub-zero wind chills.
January 17 - For the third day in a row the high was colder than 20°. At 16°, today's high was the coldest of the three days (following highs of 17° and 19° the previous two days).
February 7 - The biggest rainstorm of the year began this evening and continued thru the early hours of the next day, amounting to 1.79". In what would be New York's driest year on record, this amount was more than the rainfall of six of the months this year.
May 5 - The day after the high reached 90° (the first 90-degree reading of the year, and 23 degrees above average) today's was 62° (five below average).
June 29 - A high/low of 95°/72° made this the hottest day of the year.
August 15 - More than 55,000 fans saw the Beatles arrive at Shea Stadium via helicopter from Manhattan on a warm, sticky summer evening that featured clear skies and a dew point of 70°. Earlier in the afternoon the high reached 87° and the heat index was in the low 90s.
September 17 - For the third year of the past four, temperatures were stuck in the 60s on this date (68°/61° this year, 65°/60° in 1963, and 69°/63° in 1962). Sept. 17 is also the date with the most instances of temperatures stuck in the 60s (eight through 1965, and one more in 1981).
October 7 - Today's rainfall of 1.15", which fell during the evening, was the third, and last, day this year to receive an inch or more of precipitation - the fewest of any year on record (a record that still stands). A typical year has eleven such days.
November 9 - When the power went out in New York City at around 5:30 PM, skies were clear, a full moon was shining, and the temperature was in the mid-40s.
December 25 - One year after the high reached 60° on Christmas Day, today's high was 59°. It was also rainy, with 0.65" falling between 11 AM and 9 PM. Today's high was seven degrees warmer than Easter Sunday's. Today's rain was the last precipitation to fall this year, which was by far the driest year on record - just 26.09" was measured at Central Park, nearly seven inches less than the previous driest year, which was just last year.
* 1966 *
January 1 - The year began very mild with a high/low of 62°/52°, 23 degrees above average. Today's high was a record for the date and wouldn't be topped for another 11 weeks (3/18). Overcast skies kept the temperature from rising even higher.
January 30 - The biggest snowfall of the winter began late last night and continued through early afternoon today as a nor'easter moved up the coast. In total 6.8" fell and winds gusted to 40 mph when snow was falling heaviest. The temperature rose sharply from 25° around daybreak to 38° before noon, and dropped sharply a few hours later and was down to 20° by midnight. The City got off relatively easy as inland areas in the Mid-Atlantic states all the way to the Ohio Valley had more than a foot of snow.
January 31 - The last week of the month was 11 degrees colder than average, the complete opposite of the first week, which was 12 degrees above average. Today's high/low was 28°/14° (by contrast, New Year's Day had a high/low of 62°/52°).
February 3 - Today was the eighth day to have measurable snow since 1/20. Total accumulation for these eight days was 14.7". Today's snowfall amounted to just 0.3", and fell in the wee hours of the morning. It was the smallest accumulation of these eight days.
February 13 - The 2.42" of rain that fell today (largely between 10 A-5 P) was the biggest rainstorm since November 1963.
April 14 - This was the fourth day in a row with a low of 39° (five degrees below average). However, all of the days had different highs, with three in the 57°-60° range, and one with a high of only 44°.
April 28 - It was a dreary, raw and damp day with light rain in the morning. With a high/low of only 42°/39°, today had the coldest mean temperature of the month; the high was 23 degrees below average. This was the eighth day of the past nine to have rain. 1.71" fell during these days, with the most falling today (0.53").
June 27 - Today, with a high of 101°, was only the third time that a high in triple digits occurred in June (through 2024). The other occurrences were on June 26, 1952 (100°) and June 29, 1934 (101°). This was the first of sixteen days with highs of 90° or hotter in the next eighteen days. (Yesterday's high was a comfortable 82°.)
June 30 - Today's high of 94° was the tenth 90-degree reading of the month, the second most in June (the most was in 1943, when there were eleven).
July 4 - Today's high of 98° was somewhat of a cool-down from yesterday's 103° and July 2's 100° (both records that still stand). This was also the fifth day in a row with clear skies and low humidity. With an average high temperature of 100.3°, this is New York's hottest three-day heat wave on record.
July 13 - For the fourth time in the past two-and-a-half weeks the temperature rose into the triple digits, making this and the summer of 1953 the only summers with that many.
July 14 - This was the end of nine-day heat wave, and the sixteenth day of the past eighteen (since June 27) to have have a high of 90° or hotter (six were 98° or hotter).
July 26 - Today's high of 97° was the twentieth day of the past thirty to have a high of 90° or hotter (four highs were in triple digits).
July 30 - Today, with a high of 77°, was the only day this month to have a high below 80° (on average,, July has six such days). It was also the first day with a high in the 70s in six weeks, a period in which highs averaged 91°, eight degrees above average. Twenty-three of the days had highs of 90° or hotter. Besides the heat, there was very little rain, with just 1.29" measured.
September 2 - Today was the 35th, and last, day this year with a high of 90° or hotter, more than double the average number (17). These hot days fell between June 4 and today. Additionally, there were a dozen days with highs of 88° or 89°. This torrid summer passed 1949's to become the hottest on record, a distinction it would hold until 2010.
September 21 - The rainfall record for this date, set in 1938 (during the 'Long Island Express' hurricane), was easily eclipsed when a powerful nor'easter dumped 5.54", most of it in the 12 hours between 11 AM-11 PM. At the time, this was the third greatest daily rainfall on record (it's now ranked eighth). What made this rainfall even more notable was the fact that it came in the sixth year of a drought. The amount of rain that fell today was greater than any month's total since November 1963.
October 1 - In less than three weeks (since 9/14), 9.59" of rain fell, putting a big dent in the City's six-year drought. A cold rain (high/low was 58°/44°, thirteen degrees below average) fell today from 10 AM-10 PM, amounting to 1.13".
December 24 - Snow and sleet began falling around noon, and by the time it ended in the wee hours of Christmas morning, 7.1" had fallen (6.7" fell today). There were two heavy periods of snowfall, one between noon and 3:00 PM, and the second one between 6-9:00 PM. Temperatures were quite cold, with a high/low of 26°/22°. More than a foot of snow fell in eastern PA, western New Jersey and throughout the Hudson Valley in New York.
December 25 - Yesterday's snowstorm ended in the wee hours of Christmas morning, leaving seven inches on the ground at daybreak. Skies cleared in the morning and temperatures were cold, with a high/low of 32°/23°.
* 1967 *
February 7 - A blizzard buried the City under 12.5" of snow in a 12-hour period (5 AM-5 PM). Besides the heavy snow (which fell at a rate of an inch or more for six consecutive hours), what made this Tuesday blizzard even more noteworthy was the extreme cold, as the day's high/low was just 16°/9° (the day's low occurred at 1PM). Winds gusting between 25-35 mph produced wind chills between -5° and -15°.
February 15 - Two days after the coldest reading of the winter, 4° above zero, today's high reached 60°, melting the last of the snow on the ground from the snowstorm of Feb. 6-7.
March 18 - Hard to believe, but today's high/low was a frigid 20°/10°, twenty-seven degrees below average, and bitterly cold even by the standards of mid-winter. Temperatures were last above freezing shortly before noon on 3/15 (and would stay below freezing for two more days).
March 19 - The morning low was an extraordinarily cold 8° above zero, 27 degrees below average - the latest date on record for a single-digit reading in New York.
March 20 - The temperature rose above freezing shortly before noon for the first time since late afternoon on March 15. During the four full days when temperatures were at freezing or colder (3/16-3/19) the high/low averaged 27°/13°, twenty-one degrees below average.
March 22 - One of New York's latest snowstorms dumped 9.8" thru mid-afternoon (0.8" of it fell late last night). The day's high of 32° was 20 degrees below average. This storm came three days after a morning low of 8°. Additionally, in the past 45 days (since Feb. 6) 41.0" of snow fell, with accumulating snow on twelve of the days (including 12.5" on Feb. 7).
April 2 - After today's low of 61° (twenty degrees above average), there wouldn't be a low of 50° or milder until 5/19, and no low in the 60s until 6/3.
May 25 - It was a raw and damp day with a high/low of only 46°/42°. Winds from the northeast gusted between 25-30 mph, producing wind chills close to 32°. Light showers and drizzle fell throughout the day. The day's high, 26 degrees below average, was more typical of the second week of March.
May 30 - Today was the tenth day this month with a low of 48°. While this reading was close to average at the beginning of the month, it was ten degrees cooler than the average for the end of the month. (However, today's high rebounded to 74°, which was average for the date.)
June 1 - Today's high jumped 30 degrees, from 48° to 78°. This is the warmest reading for any day in June with a low in the 40s (there have been just 45 such days through 2015).
June 2 - Like yesterday, today's diurnal variation was 30 degrees, but today's high/low of 88°/58° was ten degrees warmer. Both days, however, had clear skies.
June 12 - This was the eleventh day in a row with highs of 80° or warmer. Today was the hottest of these days, with a high of 92° (the previous two days were also in the 90s). The average high during this warm streak was close to 86°, nine degrees above average. But perhaps even more impressive was the fact that today was the fourteenth day in a row in which skies were clear or mostly clear.
June 16 - With a high of 96°/71°, today was the hottest day of the year. The high was one degree shy of the 1891 record. This was the fifth June in a row to have a high of 95° or hotter - the longest such June streak on record.
June 18 - Today was Father's Day, and after a seasonably warm and dry day, flooding rains dumped 1.83" of rain in the two hours between 8-10 PM. Rain continued through mid-afternoon tomorrow, at much lower rates, totaling 3.18". Although the rain came after dark, it broke a string of nine consecutive Father's Days with no measurable rain. This heavy rain was attributed to a tropical depression that moved up the coast.
July 3 - Similar to June 18, flooding rains of nearly two inches poured down in less than two hours, between 3:00 and 4:30 AM.
July 4 - Showers moved in during the early evening and put a damper on fireworks exhibitions, when 0.18" fell between 7-9:00 PM. Then the skies really opened up between 11 and midnight, with 0.90" pouring down.
November 15 - Three days after the temperature reached 65°, it dropped to 20° shortly before midnight tonight. This was the coldest reading so early in the season since 1933, when the low was 17° on 11/16.
November 30 - Snow moved in during early afternoon and by midnight 3.2" had accumulated. Before the snow began the temperature rose to 38° late in the morning, then dropped to freezing once the flakes began flying, and into the upper 20s by late afternoon. This was the biggest November snowfall since 1938. (Although this would be the last time a snowfall of an inch or more occurred on this date, thru 2020, 11/30 remains the day most likely to see an inch or more of snow in November.)
December 31 - December ended much like November, with light snow falling from mid-afternoon to a little past midnight on January 1. In total 3.3" fell, with three inches of it accumulating today.
* 1968 *
January 1 - It was a bone-chilling first day of the year as the temperature fell from 32° just after midnight to 11° twenty-four hours later.
January 9 - This was the fourteenth day since Dec. 22 to have measurable precipitation. And on nine of the days the precipitation fell as accumulating snow, which amounted to 9.1". Today, with a nighttime snowfall of 0.4", also had the coldest reading of the winter, one below zero. (Today's light snow would be the last to fall until the last day of February.) This was one of eight days this winter with a low colder than 10°. The high of 14° was one degree higher than yesterday's.
January 12 - This was the fifth consecutive day with a mean temperature that was more than 20 degrees colder than average. One of the coldest Arctic outbreaks in in New York history, the average high/low during these five days was 16°/2°. In addition to these five frigid days, the first thirteen days of January were 16 degrees below average.
February 21 - A frigid day, with a high/low of only 21°/5°. The day's mean temperature was 20 degrees below average, joining five other days this winter that were 20 degrees or more colder than average (which occurred on five consecutive days between Jan. 8-12).
February 22 - Between Feb. 10 and today temperatures were 10 degrees below average (32°/14°), but there was no measurable snow.
February 29 - The month of February would have had no measurable snowfall if not for this extra day, as a winter storm moved in during the afternoon. Precipitation began as rain (more than a half-inch was measured) and changed over to snow after 11 PM, accumulating 1.1". The temperature stayed above freezing all day, with a high/low of 39°/33°. Heavy, wet snow would continue through daybreak on 3/1, accumulating an additional 5.5". Today was the first day since 2/3 to have any measurable precipitation.
May 29 - After starting last night at around 9:00, heavy rain continued thru this morning. By the time it ended, shortly before 11 AM, 4.88" had flooded the City, snarling the Wednesday morning commute. The 3.99" that fell today set the daily record for the month of May (breaking the previous record of 3.82" on May 9, 1908).
June 28 - In the past six weeks (since May 18) nearly twelve inches of rain fell, with measurable rain falling on 23 of the 42 days.
July 1 - Today's high/low of 97°/77° was quite a contrast from the high/low of 61°/57° four days earlier (and 68°/58° three days earlier).
July 17 - After a torrid high/low of 97°/75° yesterday, today's high/low of 98°/78° made this the hottest day of the summer. Not only was today hotter than yesterday, it was also hotter than July 1's scorching 97°/77°.
July 24 - There were just three days of measurable rain in July, and today, the third day, accounted for most of the month's rain, as afternoon thunderstorms dumped 2.02", most of which fell between 12:30-1:30. At the time, this was a record for the date (later broken in 1997).
November 2 - Partly cloudy and warm, with a high of 77°.
November 12 - An intense nor'easter lashed the area with winds up to 51 mph during the morning and an all-day rain that amounted to 1.27". There was also some snow mixed in as the temperatures were in the 30s for much of the storm. This storm followed two other nor'easters on 11/7 and 11/9-10 that produced 1.38" and 1.34" of rain, respectively.
November 18 - This was the fourth day since Nov. 7 to receive more than an inch of rain: 1.38" fell on 11/7, 1.22" on 11/10, 1.27" on 11/12 and 1.09" today.
December 1 - The 0.07" of rain that fell tonight between 10 PM and midnight was the first measurable precipitation to fall on this date in 26 years - the longest precipitation-free streak of any calendar date (other than Feb. 29).
December 15 - A storm that moved in yesterday in the late morning with rain saw a change over to snow just after midnight today as the temperature dropped from mid-30s to the low 20s. 5.2" accumulated by 12:00 noon.
December 22 - Low temperatures of today and the previous three days were 35°-34°-33°-32° (today). There was no similar pattern with high temperatures of these four days.
December 25 - Under clear skies it was windy and very cold, with a high/low of 23°/13° (sixteen degrees below average). Wind chills were between zero and 5° above zero for much of the day.
December 28 - Today's high of 56° (reached after dark) would be the last 50-degree reading until March 16.
* 1969 *
February 9 - A Sunday snowstorm that lasted for 26 hours dumped 15.3" of snow (14.0" today, 1.3" in the wee hours of 2/10). Winds that gusted between 25-30 mph created snowdrifts of two to three feet. This storm is forever known as the "Lindsay Snowstorm" after the outer boroughs went unplowed for days, neglect that nearly toppled mayor John Lindsay in his re-election bid later in the year. Central Park had snow cover from this storm for the rest of the month.
February 23 - Just one degree separated today's high (35°) and low (34°) - the first time this happened in 27 years. During the afternoon an inch of wet snow fell before changing to light rain. The City was on the western edge of a monster winter storm that dumped 25.8" of snow on Boston (at the time, its biggest snowstorm).
March 16 - Today's high of 50° was the first 50-degree reading since Dec. 28.
May 29 - Today was not only the first 90-degree of the year but, with a high of 97°, it was also the hottest reading of the year (there would be highs of 96° on June 28 and July 17).
July 17 - An evening thundershower that dropped 0.11" of rain was the first measurable rain on this date since 1952. Also, with a high/low of 96°/76°, this was the hottest day of the year, based on mean daily temperature. Although 5/29 had a high of 97°, its low was two degrees milder than today's.
July 20 - The day that Man landed on the Moon was overcast and damp in New York, with winds out of the east, 0.32" of rain and a high/low of 71°/66°. Most the of the day's rain fell between 8-10 PM. This was the first day of a ten-day streak in which every day but one had highs in the 70s. The average high during this stretch was 76°, eight degrees cooler than average. Rain would fall on seven of the days, totaling 3.29".
September 3 - Heavy rain began falling just as the AM rush hour was beginning, dumping 1.60" of rain between 8-11 AM. Lighter rain fell for the rest of the day and then more heavy rain moved in at around midnight and continued overnight. In total, 3.32" of rain fell today, a record for the date.
September 4 - The rainstorm that moved in yesterday and dumped a record amount of rain continued today and dumped an additional 2.96", which was another record amount. Although today's rain continued through 11 PM, much of it came down between midnight and 6 AM, snarling the AM commute for a second day in a row. At its most intense, 1.08" poured down in the hour between 1:00 and 2:00 AM. This was the most rain to fall from one storm since 7.76" fell in September 1944 during the Great Atlantic Hurricane.
October 16 - The "Miracle Mets" won the World Series at Shea Stadium, and afternoon temperatures for Game 5 (the Mets beat the Orioles four games to one) were in the seasonable mid-60s under skies that were a mix of sun and clouds.
October 23 - Three days after a record high of 80°, this morning's low was a record 32°, and the high recovered to just 41°. Tomorrow would see another record established, with a low of 31°. (All three records are still standing.)
December 25 - The day started off sunny, but as an intense winter storm approached, clouds moved in during the afternoon and light snow began falling after dark, with 2.1" on the ground by midnight. Temperatures were quite cold, with a high/low of 29°/14°. (The worst of the storm would be on the 26th, with the City getting an additional 4.2" of snow, and then a lashing of rain accompanied by winds gusting over 40 mph.)
And here are recaps from earlier decades:
Late 19th Century (1869-1899)
First Decade of 20th Century
1910s
1920s
1930s
1940s
1950s
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