Super Bowl Sunday Weather Highlights in New York City

 

 

 

Over the course of its 57-year history Super Bowl Sunday has slowly evolved to become, more or less, a national holiday.  Played in the midst of winter it has been scheduled as early as Jan. 9 (in the early years) and as late as Feb.15.  And while New York has had its share of cold temperatures on this day snow didn't have much of a presence until 2021 when 4.5" accumulated (and 1.6" fell the following year). 

 

Although most of the games have been played in the South or on the West Coast, the Super Bowl of 2014 was played in northern New Jersey.  And although that winter was cold and snowy, the day of the game had mild temperatures.  (But harsh winter weather returned the next day as eight inches of snow fell.)  

 

In addition to that Super Bowl, there have been six other Super Bowls of great interest to residents of New York City because of the participation of New York teams - and they won five of them.  The New York Jets were in one, Super Bowl III (1969), while the New York Giants have played in five between 1987 and 2012 (winning four).  None of these games had precipitation in NYC.  Coldest of the Giants/Jets Super Bowls in NYC was 1987's game (high/low of 25°/8°).  The mildest reading was 49°/33° in 2008.  

 

The 36 Super Bowls played in January had slightly colder than average temperatures in New York, averaging a high/low of 37°/24°, while the 21 played in February have been on days that were slightly above average, with a high/low of 44°/30°.

 

In terms of conditions in cities where the Super Bowl has been played, the coldest temperature for a Super Bowl occurred in 1972 when the game time temperature in New Orleans for Super Bowl VI was in the upper 30s (the coldest outside temperature for a game played in a domed stadium was 20° in Detroit in 1982).  Meanwhile, 1973's Super Bowl VII in LA was played with temperatures rising to 84° and thirty years later the game in Tampa saw a high of 82°.  Rain fell in Houston in for Super Bowl XVI in 2007 when Prince played in a steady rain during halftime.  The game played in Atlanta in 2000 had to contend with two ice storms during the week leading up to the game.  Finally, 1970's game in New Orleans had a threat of tornadoes while 1985's game in Stanford Stadium had to contend with foggy conditions.

 

 

The charts below focus on extreme weather conditions in New York on Super Bowl Sunday.

 

MILDEST

Four Super Bowl Sundays have had highs of 55° or milder.

• 59° on Jan. 12, 1975
• 58° on Jan. 28, 1990
• 56° on Feb. 2, 2014
• 55° on Feb. 5, 2006

 

COLDEST

Five Super Bowl Sundays had lows in the single digits, the last time being in 1987.  Eight Super Bowl Sundays have had highs of 25° or colder (the last time was also in 1987)

• 4° on Jan. 20, 1985
• 5° on Jan. 16, 1972 (also had the coldest high, 15°)

 

SNOWIEST

Nine Super Bowl Sundays have had measurable snowfall; five of them picked up an inch or more.  The most was 4.5" on Feb. 4, 2021 (during the daytime hours), the second most was the following year.

• 4.5" on Feb. 4, 2021
• 1.6" on Feb. 13, 2022
• 1.5" on Jan. 30, 2000
• 1.3" on Jan. 26, 1992
• 1.0" on Feb. 6, 2003

 

RAINIEST   

Three Super Bowl Sundays had an inch or more, and another had 0.96"

• 3.45" on Jan. 21, 1979 (before 7 AM)
• 2.19" on Jan, 26, 1986 (before 9 AM)
• 1.30" on Jan. 14, 1968
• 0.96" on Feb. 4, 2018

 

HIGHLIGHTS OF SELECTED SUPER BOWL SUNDAYS

Jan. 15, 1967 - The first Super Sunday had above average temperatures, with a high/low of 49°/37° in Central Park. Skies were a mix of sun and clouds.  (At the time, the game wasn't called the "Super Bowl".)

Jan. 16, 1972 - The morning low of 5° (coldest reading of the winter) came less than two days after the temperature reached 62° (at 10 PM on Jan. 14).  Combined with a high of only 15°, this was the coldest day of the winter.  (Only a handful of days have had a high temperature this cold.)

Jan. 9, 1977 - This was the first Super Bowl Sunday to receive measurable snow.  It began snowing at around 9 PM and by midnight 0.8" had been measured. 

Jan. 21, 1979 - 3.45" of rain fell, mostly before 7 AM.  This was the most rain to ever fall in a 24-hour period in the month of January.

Jan. 22, 1984 - High/low was 24°/9° and came at the end of an eight-day streak with highs of 32° or colder (and 11 of the past 12 days were 32° or colder).

Jan. 20, 1985 - This was the second year in a row in which the low was in the single digits, but this year it came after dark (on its way to a low of -2° the next morning).  The reading of 4° is the coldest reading NYC has had on the day of the Super Bowl.  Snow showers late in the morning produced a half-inch of snow.

Jan. 26, 1986 - 2.19" of rain fell, a record for the date, with much of it falling before 9 AM, but a second round of rain, from another low pressure system, moved in after 10 PM. 

Jan. 26, 1992 - The winter's first snowfall of an inch or more fell in the wee hours of the morning, accumulating 1.3".  This was also the first time an inch or more of snow fell on Super Bowl Sunday.  The daylight hours were mostly sunny but cold, with a high/low of 31°/20°.

Feb. 6, 2011 - Although the day had above-freezing temperatures for its entirety (high/low of 45°/37°), there was still 15" of snow left on the ground in Central Park from the 32" of snow that fell since 1/11.

Feb. 2, 2014 - Today's high of 56° made this the mildest reading of the month.  And fears that today's outdoor Super Bowl in northern New Jersey would be played in cold and/or snowy conditions were allayed when the game time temperature was in the upper 40s.  The following day conditions reverted to the nasty winter of 2014 with a snowfall of eight inches.

Feb. 4, 2018 - Nearly an inch of rain fell tonight, mostly between 5-11 PM. 

Feb. 7, 2021 - Periods of heavy snow fell between 9 AM and 6 PM, accumulating 4.5".  Central Park was low man on the totem pole as most surrounding locations reported six to eight inches.  The temperature didn't fall to freezing until early afternoon which likely kept the City's accumulation down. 

Feb. 13, 2022 - 1.6" of snow fell the day after the high reached 59°.  This was the first time measurable snow fell on consecutive Super Bowl Sundays, and this year's amount was the second biggest accumulation, behind last year's.  

 

 

 

Weather Highlights of Presidents' Day

 

 

Since the Presidents' Day holiday was first observed on the third Monday of February in 1971, temperatures have ranged from 3° in 2015 to 64° in 2008.  There have been three consecutive Presidents' Days with highs of 32° or colder (1977-1979) and four in a row with highs of 50° or warmer (1981-1984).  The three coldest (based on mean temperature) were in 2015 (high/low of 21°/3°); 1987 (32°/7°); and 2003 (26°/14°).  The three warmest Presidents' Days were in 2023 (61°/47°); 2008 (64°/40°); and 1976 (60°/43°).  Here are some additional highlights:

 

• The biggest temperature difference between two consecutive Presidents' Days was in 2007 and 2008 when a high/low of 30°/12° in '07 was followed by a high/low of 64°/40°.  The closest in temperature were in 2009 and 2010, when the respective highs/lows were 40°/28° and 40°/27°, and in 1981 and 1982, when the highs/lows were 57°/34° and 56°/33°, respectively.

• The most years in a row with lows above freezing is five, from 1981 thru 1985.  Ironically, this streak was preceded by the coldest streak, the four-year period from 1977 thru 1980.  A five-year period from 2003 thru 2007 was also quite cold.

• Three of the coldest and two of the mildest readings on Presidents' Day have fallen on Feb. 16.  Additionally, five of the seven coldest readings have occurred during the 21st century.  Furthermore, three years in a row (2015-2017) had readings that were either among the coldest or mildest (2015, coldest on record; 2016, fourth coldest; and 2017, sixth mildest).  Lastly, the consecutive years 1981 and 1982 had two of the mildest high temperatures, while 2003 and 2004 had two of the coldest lows. (See chart below.)

• Measurable snow has fallen in just five years, but two of these snowfalls were major snowstorms.  In 2003 16.5" fell (and 3.5" fell the night before), while in 1979 12.7" fell.  The other three snowfalls were in 2005 (3.5"), 2011 (3.2") and 2016 (1.4").

• The most consecutive years with measurable precipitation on Presidents Day is only two, and it's happened three times: 2018 and 2019; 2010 and 2011; and 1975 and 1976.  The most years in a row with no precipitation is six, from 1980 to 1985.

• Looking at the three-day Presidents' Day weekends, 1979 was the coldest one, averaging a high/low of 19°/7° (along with a 12.7" snowstorm).  The two next coldest were in consecutive years: 24°/6° in 2016 and 26°/8° in 2015.  These were followed in 2017 by the mildest Prez Day weekend: 61°/42°; 1994 is second mildest, with a high/low of 59°/39°.  There have been six years in which the lows for each day of the weekend were all 32° or milder (most recently in 2017) and four in which the highs were all 32° or colder (most recently in 2015).

• Finally, Presidents' Day weekend 2018 has the distinction of being the only one that reported measurable precipitation on all three days.  At the other end of the spectrum, the most holiday weekends in a row with no measurable precipitation on any of its days is three, 1981-1983.

 

 

 

Comparing High Temperatures on Mother's Day and Father's Day

 

 

Since Father's Day is about five weeks later than Mother's Day its high temperature is, on average, about thirteen degrees warmer (82° vs. 69°).  However, in 2018 there was a huge disparity in the temperatures as Father's Day had a sizzling high of 91° while Mother's Day's was only 54°.  This 37-degree difference tied 2010 for the greatest difference in temperature between the two holidays (and there was a 36-degree difference in 1994). 

However, not every Father's Day has been warmer.  Since 1960 there have been eight Mother's Days with warmer highs (most recently in 2014), with the greatest difference being 28 degrees in 1970.  And sometimes the two holidays have similar readings; for example, in 2000 and 1974 they had the same high temperature.

 

 

 

Comparing Weather Conditions of Summer's Three Big Holidays

 

Previously, I've published separate posts about weather conditions over the Memorial Day and Labor Day weekends and for the 4th of July.  This post compares the three side-by-side, looking at them as single-day holidays (i.e., the Mondays of Memorial Day and Labor Day, and the 4th of July) for each year going back to 1970 (thru 2022).

 

   

 

Because of where they fall on the calendar, you'd expect the 4th of July to be the warmest of the three holidays and Memorial Day the coolest, but that's happened in just one-third of the summers.  (On average, the high on Memorial Day is 75°, on 4th of July it's 84°, and 81° on Labor Day.)  Memorial Day has actually been the warmest of the three holidays in five of the years (the last time was in 2014; and tied with 4th of July in two other years), while in fifteen years Labor Day was the warmest (including 2021 and 2022; and tied with 4th of July in two other years).  And July 4th had the coolest high temperature in six years (most recently in 2014 and 2015).

 

YEARS IN WHICH MEMORIAL DAY WAS THE  WARMEST SUMMER HOLIDAY
		High Temperature
		Mem Day	4th of July	Labor Day
2011		86°	86°	70°
2009		81°	79°	74°
2007		83°	71°	82°
2006		88°	87°	75°
1991		89°	82°	74°
1985		86°	86°	83°
1981		87°	75°	74°
YEARS IN WHICH  4TH OF JULY WAS COOLEST SUMMER HOLIDAY
		Mem Day	4th of July	Labor Day
2015		85°	75°	92°
2014		86°	74°	88°
2008		80°	78°	84°
2007		83°	71°	82°
1979		75°	71°	86°
1978		79°	62°	80°

     

The summer of 1999 has the distinction of having the warmest three-holiday average temperature, 10 degrees above average, while the summer of 1982 was the coolest, eight degrees below average (with 1992 close behind, at 7.5 degrees below average).

 

WARMEST 3-HOLIDAY AVERAGE TEMPERATURE
Summer of 1999
	High	Low	Mean
Memorial Day	89	68	78.5
4th of July	96	79	87.5
Labor Day	83	74	78.5
Average	89	74	81.5
COOLEST 3-HOLIDAY AVERAGE TEMPERATURE
Summer of 1982
	High	Low	Mean
Memorial Day	55	50	52.5
4th of July	77	60	68.5
Labor Day	82	60	71
Average	71	57	64

 

The holidays during four summers - 1972, 1986, and 2016 had nearly the same high temperatures.  In 1972 the high was 78° on Memorial Day, 79° on 4th of July and 77° on Labor Day, while in 1986 the highs were similar to 1972's, but in a different order (76-77-78).  And 2016's were all in the 80s, with a high of 82° on Memorial Day and 84° on both July 4 and Labor Day.  On the flip side, the greatest variations in high temperatures occurred in the summers of 1974 (55-95-73) and 2003 (56-92-69).

 

In the years covered by this analysis there has never been a summer in which all three holidays had highs in the 90s.  In fact, there has been only one year, 1983, in which two of the three holidays had 90-degree readings (95° on 4th of July, 91° on Labor Day).  Looking at cool temperatures, three summers saw all three holidays fail to reach 80° (1972, 1986 and 2001).

 

Labor Day 1986 has the distinction of having the "coolest" high temperature that was the warmest reading of the summer holidays of any year - 78°.  And in 1972 and 2001 the warmest reading of the three holidays was 79° on 4th of July in both years.

 

Fifteen summers (i.e., about one out of four) were rain-free across all three holidays.  The last time this happened was in 2021.  Conversely, just three years saw rain on each holiday, in 1979, 1984, and 1998.  Although in 1984, the 4th of July had just 0.01", but the other two holidays picked up ore than an inch. 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

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Comparing Weather Conditions of Yankees & Mets Home Openers (1970 - 2019)

 

 

In two previous posts I summarized game-day weather conditions for each Home Opener of New York's Yankees and Mets.  This post, however, brings the two teams together with a side-by-side comparison, found below, of each year's first home game, going back to 1970.  First, some key takeaways:

 

• Looking at average high temperature, there has been a three-degree difference between the home openers of the Mets (59°) and Yankees (56°).  For the Yankees it's ranged from 35° (twice) to 76°, while for the Mets the temperature range has been from 40° to 90° (twice).  However, over the five decades, there has been a shift.  In the '70s and '80s home openers of the Yankees were five degrees warmer than those of the Mets (60° vs. 55°), but the last three decades home openers were in favor of the Mets (61° vs. 53°)  

• Both teams have had to contend with precipitation during six of their home openers, about once every seven or eight years.  The Yankees, however, are the only team to play in snow.  It's happened three time, in 1982, 1996 and in 2003 (the 1982 opener was postponed because of a blizzard that dumped nearly ten inches of snow.)  For the Mets, snow fell during the morning on the day of their 1974 home opener but it was over long before the first pitch.

 

 

 

• Temperatures have been in the 70s for the Yankees six times; they all occurred between 1976 and 1988.  The Mets had the last home opener with temperatures in the 70s, back in 2010. 

• The 1970s was a decade of cold home openers for the Mets.  Afternoon temperatures were in the 40s for seven of them between 1970 and 1978.  The Yankees had consistently chilly/raw conditions between 1996-2005.

• There have been six seasons in which the two teams' home openers were played in very different weather conditions.  The greatest contrast was in 1977 when the temperature was in the mid-40s for the Yankees while the mercury climbed to 90° for the Mets five days later.  Not far behind was 1991 when the Mets once again started the season on a day the temperature soared to 90°; a week later the Yankees home opener was played in rainy conditions with a temperature of 50°.

 

• Six seasons have had home openers with bad weather for both teams while five had good conditions for both, the most recent being last year (when both teams played on the same day, April 1).

 

 

 

 

 

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Today in New York Weather History: Father's Day (1970 - 2023)

 

 

1970 (June 21)

A cool day (high/low of 65°/58°) with 0.45" of rain between 1-4 PM.

1971 (June 20)

Under a mix of sun and clouds the high temperature reached 84°, four degrees above average.

1972 (June 18)

It was a very soggy day with steady rain falling from noon onward, amounting to 1.37".  Temperatures stayed in the 60s all day. 

1974 (June 16)

A late morning thunderstorm between 11 AM and noon dumped 0.42" of rain.  The rest of the day was overcast and the afternoon high rose only into the low 70s.

 

 

1977 (June 19)

Warm and humid with a high/low of 88°/74°, eight degrees above average.

1985 (June 16)

Rain fell overnight until 7 AM, and then a thunderstorm moved through between 7-8 PM.  In total, 1.19" of rain fell, making this the rainiest Father's Day since 1972.

1987 (June 21)

An inch of rain fell between 4-5 AM and then the daylight hours were overcast, foggy and oppressive.  Meanwhile, LaGuardia Airport picked up nearly four inches of rain while JFK had very little.  The overcast skies kept the temperature nearly 20 degrees cooler than yesterday's torrid high of 96°. 

 

 

1991 (June 16)

The day was miserably hot under hazy sunshine.  Today's sweltering high/low of 94°/76° was fifteen degrees above average.

1993 (June 20)

Warm and humid with a high of 85°.  Thunderstorms after 10 PM produced 0.50" of rain, making this the rainiest day of a dry June.

1994 (June 19)

Not only was this the hottest day of the summer, but also the hottest Father's Day on record, as the high reached 98° (eighteen degrees above average), after a low of 75°.  This tied June 22, 1988 for the highest temperature in June since 1966's 101°.

1995 (June 18)

Sunny and hot, with the first reading in the 90s of the year.

2001 (June 17)

A lot of rain fell overnight and throughout the morning, totaling 1.53".  This was a record amount for the date (broken 10 years later) and the rainiest Father's Day in the 1970-2023 period (topping 1972).  Then skies cleared quickly in the afternoon.

 

 

2004 (June 20)

The morning low of 57° was the same as that on Father's Day 1997 and 1992, the coolest readings on the holiday in the 1970-2021 period.

2006 (June 18)

Today's high of 91° was the first reading in the 90s this year. 

2014 (June 15)

If you forgot to buy Dad a necktie there was no need to fret since the weather was gift enough as skies were mostly clear and the afternoon temperature rose to a seasonable 80°.

2015 (June 21)

Significant rain that had been predicted from the remnants of tropical storm Bill didn't materialize as just 0.25" fell overnight (1.50" had been forecast).  However, with this storm being a dud, Father's Day turned out to be nice and summery, with temperatures in the upper 80s under partly cloudy skies.  Then a quick downpour between 6:00 and 6:20 PM dumped more rain than what fell in the wee hours of the morning.

2016 (June 19)

It was a beautiful, beautiful Father's Day, with a high/low of 88°/66° under deep blue skies.

2017 (June 18)

It was a sultry day, with the dew point in the low 70s throughout the day, peaking at 74° early in the afternoon.  Combined with a high of 85°, the heat index reached the low 90s.

2018 (June 17)

Mostly clear and hot, with a high of 91°, the first Father's Day in the 90s in twelve years. This high was 37 degrees hotter than Mother's Day.  Today's heat was somewhat mitigated by low humidity (24% during mid-afternoon), which produced a "feels like" temperature three degrees cooler than the air temperature.  

2022 (June 19)

It was a beautiful Father’s Day despite it being ten degrees cooler than average (high/low of 73°/54°), along with a stiff breeze that persisted throughout the day (but not as windy as yesterday, which had wind gusts of 30-40 mph).  This was the first Father’s Day since 2012 not to have a high of 80° or warmer (when the high was also 73°).  And the last time the low temperature was this chilly on Father’s Day was in 1958.  Furthermore, humidity late in the afternoon dropped to 25%, which was comparable to the humidity level on Father's Day 2018.    

 

 Me and my dad, winter 1960

 

 

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Weather Highlights of Past Memorial Day Weekends

 

 

Chances are good that rain will fall on at least one of the days of the three-day Memorial Day weekend, with Memorial Day (Monday) being the day most likely to receive significant rain; however, one-third of the weekends have been completely rain-free.  Weekends averaging a high of 85° or warmer have occurred in six years: 1981, 1985, 1988, 1991, 1999 and 2016.  Readings in the 90s have been rare, occurring six times on Saturday, but never on Sunday or on Memorial Day (observed on Monday since 1971).  On the flip side of the coin, Memorial Day weekends in 2003 and 2021 were the dreariest and chilliest, with the average high temperature only in the upper 50s over the three days. 

What follow are weather highlights from more than 30 Memorial Day weekends:

 

• 1971 (May 29-31) - Conditions during the first three-day Memorial Day weekend were not very good.  Rain fell on Sunday and Monday mornings, and Sunday saw a high/low of just 62°/54°, nine degrees below average.

• 1972 (May 27-29) - The weekend started off chilly with a low of 47°, but Sunday and Monday were five degrees warmer than average, with highs of 81° and 78°, under sunny skies.

• 1973 (May 26-28) - Skies were overcast all three days and temperatures well below average.  The weekend's average high/low of 63°/51° was nine degrees below average and would be the chilliest Memorial Day weekend until 2003.  And the morning of Memorial Day was rainy, with 0.59" measured.

• 1974 (May 25-27) - Memorial Day had a high of only 55°, nineteen degrees below average, and the chilliest high temperature on Memorial Day in the Monday holiday period.

• 1975 (May 24-26) - The high on Saturday was a sizzling 93°, but a cold front moved through during the evening and Sunday afternoon's temperatures were only in the upper 50s.

• 1977 (May 28-30) - After a high of 92° on Saturday, temperatures were twenty degrees cooler on Sunday and Monday.  Showers fell for three hours at around daybreak on Memorial Day.

• 1980 (May 24-26) - After a hot Friday (high of 90°) the weekend gradually cooled down, but afternoon temperatures were still warmer than average: 86°-84°-76°.   

• 1981 (May 23-25) - Sunny and summery all three days, with highs of 78°-86°-87°. 

 

 

• 1984 (May 26-28) - For the second year in a row more than an inch of rain fell on Memorial Day (Monday).  Last year it fell in the early morning and evening.  This year it fell in the afternoon.  The weekend started out summery as the high of 85° was the warmest reading of the month.

• 1987 (May 23-25) - Memorial Day was very cool, with a high of just 63°, eleven degrees cooler than average.  The holiday came one week too early as the following weekend had temperatures in the 90s.

• 1991 (May 25-27) - Highs of 93°-81°-89° made this the warmest Memorial Day weekend (until 1999), eleven degrees above average.  At 93°, Saturday's afternoon high tied 1975 as the hottest temperature during any Memorial Day weekend in the 1971-2020 period.  And Monday's high of 89° made it the hottest Memorial Day since 1969 (before it was a Monday holiday).  Finally, an inch of rain fell Monday night between 11 PM and 3 AM, the first rain in two weeks.

• 1992 (May 23-25) - A real Jekyl & Hyde weekend.  Saturday had mid-summer conditions with a high of 92°.  Then Sunday was the transition day as a strong cold front pushed through in early afternoon and temperatures plummeted from the low 80s to 45° by midnight.  Monday felt more like October with overcast skies and a high of just 61°.  The AM low of 44° was the second chilliest reading on Memorial Day (only 1880 was colder, at 42°).  In the course of the weekend highs went from 19 above average to 13 below average.

• 1999 (May 29-31) - One of the all-time great holiday weekends, and the warmest Memorial Day weekend on record.  Each day had a high in the upper 80s under clear skies and with low humidity.  Monday's high of 89° tied 1991 for the warmest Memorial Day of the 1971-2020 period.      

• 2001 (May 26-28) - For the first time since 1990 rain fell on Saturday of the holiday weekend.  And although very little rain fell, this year's holiday was distinguished as being the only one of the 1971-2020 period to report rain on each day: 0.06" on Saturday, 0.08" on Sunday and 0.05" on Monday. 

• 2003 (May 24-26) - Quite a dismal weekend, the coolest in the years since 1971 (until 2021), and the second rainiest Memorial Day on record (1.28").  All three days had gray skies and cool temperatures, ten degrees below average.  The high on Monday was just 56°, eighteen degrees below average, making it the second chilliest Memorial Day (one degree above 1974).

• 2006 (May 27-29) - For the first time in seven years the temperature on Memorial Day was in the 80s.   

• 2010 (May 29-31) - This was the third year in a row in which no rain fell on any day of the three-day weekend.  High temperatures were warmer each day: 77° on Saturday; 84° on Sunday; 86° on Monday.

• 2011 (May 28-30) - For the sixth year in a row, the holiday weekend was a warm one.  It was also the sixth year in a row in which the high on Memorial Day rose into the 80s.  The average high during these six years was 84°, ten degrees above average.   

• 2012 (May 26-28) - For the seventh consecutive year Memorial Day had a high in the 80s.  This year's high of 89° tied that of 1999 and 1991 for the hottest reading on Memorial Day since 1969's 91° (when it was not a Monday holiday, but fell on 5/30).  The entire weekend was eleven degrees warmer than average.  Memorial Day also had the year's first low in the 70s, one week earlier than average and the earliest since 2007 (when it occurred on May 26).

• 2013 (May 25-27) - After starting raw and damp on Saturday (high of just 55°), conditions steadily improved, with Sunday being ten degrees warmer (mid-60s) under partly cloudy skies; and then Memorial Day saw the temperature rise another seven degrees under clear skies.  However, because of Saturday's chill (the coldest day of any Memorial Day weekend), the 3-day weekend ended up as the second chilliest since Memorial Day became a Monday holiday in 1971.   

• 2015 (May 23-25) - It was a mostly sunny and dry weekend with temperatures warming each day: 70°/49° on Saturday, 81°/56° on Sunday and 85°/64° on Monday.  This was the ninth year of the last ten to have temperatures in the 80s on Memorial Day.  Memorial Day this year was nearly identical to that of last year except for the fact that the high was one degree cooler.

• 2016 (May 28-30) - Conditions all weekend were summer-like, with highs of 92°, 87° and 82°.  Based on the average high temperature, this was the third warmest Memorial Day weekend, after 1999 and 1991.  However, based on mean temperature this was the warmest of them all as morning lows were four degrees milder than the other two years.  And although Memorial Day was the second wettest on record, the 1.65" of rain that poured down (from remnants of tropical storm Bonnie) came before daybreak, but the daylight hours were dry (but sticky, with a dew point around 70°), with a mix of sun and clouds.

 

 

• 2017 (May 27-29) - High temperatures were below average each day, but especially on Memorial Day (71°-71°-61°).  This was the coolest high on the holiday since 2003 (the high actually occurred shortly after midnight, with afternoon temperatures only in the upper 50s).  The cool conditions were accompanied by showers in the morning.

• 2018 (May 26-28) - Saturday was sunny and hot, with a high of 89°, but was followed by fall-like conditions on Sunday and Monday, with a breeze out of the northeast, overcast skies and afternoon temperatures in the 50s on 5/27 and the 60s on Memorial Day.

• 2019 (May 25-27) - Both Saturday and Sunday had sunny skies through mid-afternoon, then clouds gathered; Sunday's clouds produced heavy showers between 5:30-6:30 (0.20" was measured).  Before Sunday's showers the day had the warmest reading of the year so far; its high of 86° was fifteen degrees warmer than Saturday's.  Memorial Day had optimal conditions, with wall-to-wall sunshine, comfortable humidity and a high of 80°.  (This was the first time this year with back-to-back highs in the 80s.)

 

 

 

• 2020 (May 23-25) - The weekend began with a hard rain late in the morning on Saturday.  The 0.65" that fell (most of it between 11 AM and noon), not only made it the rainiest day of the month, but the rainiest Saturday of Memorial Day weekend in nearly 40 years (when 0.68" fell in 1982).  The three-day weekend nearly became the third to have every day with a high below 70°, but the temperature rose to 71° on Memorial Day.

• 2021 (May 29-31) - This was the chilliest three-day Memorial Day weekend on record.  Although Memorial Day was eight degrees cooler than average (high/low of 70°/49°), it felt summer-like compared to Saturday and Sunday, which were overcast, rainy and very cool, with each day having a high/low of just 51°/47°.  (And the sun broke out Monday afternoon.)  This was just the second Memorial Day weekend to report measurable rain on each day (joining 2001), as 0.46” fell on Saturday, 0.89” on Sunday, and 0.02” fell in the wee hours of Monday morning.

 

 

• 2022 (May 28-30) - Despite receiving buckets of rain in less than an hour from a severe thunderstorm in the early afternoon on Saturday, the weekend , overall, had very pleasant conditions, with plentiful sunshine beginning mid-afternoon on Saturday and then wall-to-wall sun on Sunday and Monday.  Weekend temperatures were slightly above average, with the weekend's high/low averaging 78°/62°.  Memorial Day's high of 84° was the warmest high temperature on the holiday in seven years.  And it was the fifth year in a row in which no rain fell.

• 2023 (May 27-29) - It was a beautiful weekend with each day having sunny skies and similar, slightly above average temperatures.  The high/low on Saturday was 78°/56° and was followed by identical highs/lows of 79°/59° on Sunday and Monday.  Memorial Day differed from Sat/Sun by having breezy conditions.  

•  2024 (May 25-27) - After a summery Saturday and Sunday, with highs/lows of 81°/66° and 82°/65° (both days were eight degrees warmer than average), Memorial Day was rainy with three periods of downpours, one in the morning, one in the afternoon, and one at night.  The 0.96" that was measured made it the rainiest day of the month (and the rainiest Memorial Day since 2016).    

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Today in New York City Weather History: St. Patrick's Day (March 17)

 

In the years since 1970 St. Patrick's Day has been the average date of the winter's last measurable snow in Central Park.  However, it's occurred as early as Jan. 18 (in 2020) and as late as April 19 (in 1983).   

 

 

 

1870 (Thursday)

This was the sixteenth day in a row with a low in the teens or 20s.  The average was 25°, with readings ranging from 19° (today) and 29°.

 

1916 (Friday)

What was already a very cold day (high of 26°) became even colder when a reinforcement of Arctic air moved in after dark, and by 11 PM the temperature had fallen to 9°.  This was the first single-digit reading in March in the 20th century (there were 15 occurrences between 1872 and 1891).  There have been five more since then (the most recent in 1967).  Winds gusting close to 30 mph at night produced sub-zero wind chill readings. 

 

1926 (Wednesday)

This was the seventh day in a row with highs in the 30s.  The average high during these days was 36°, ten degrees colder than average.

 

1973 (Saturday)

Today, with a high of 60°/low of 40°, was the seventeenth day in a row with above average temperatures.  During this two-and-a-half week period, temperatures were nearly ten degrees above average.  (At the time this would be the fifth mildest March on record; it's since fallen to twelfth.)

 

1989 (Friday)

Today's high of 70° made this the mildest St. Paddy's Day since 1945 (when the temperature reached 75°, the warmest on record).  This was also the seventh year in a row in which no precipitation fell on the date - a record streak.

 

1990 (Saturday)

Since records began, the high has reached 70°+ just three times on St. Patrick's Day - and two of those times occurred this year and last.  Today's high was 72° - ten degrees cooler than yesterday (but still 23 degrees above average).  Rain moved in mid-afternoon and amounted to 0.67".

 

 

 

1993 (Wednesday)

The 0.75" of precipitation that fell today was the most on St. Patrick's Day since 1972  (when 1.20" was measured).  Then the rain changed to snow and 0.8" accumulated - the most snow to fall on the holiday since 1967's three inches (the most for the date).  This wintry mix came less than a week after the "Storm of the Century" dumped 10.6" on the City.  This would be the last measurable snowfall of the winter.

 

 

1994 (Thursday)

Today's high was just 37°, thirteen degrees colder than average and the fourth year in a row that was colder than the preceding St. Patrick's Day.

 

2004 (Wednesday)

Today's high of 31° (nineteen degrees colder than average) was the first time since 1967 that the high temperature stayed below freezing on St. Patrick's Day.  (By contrast, last year's St. Paddy's Day was 38 degrees warmer.)  In addition to the chill, 0.5" of snow fell - the eleventh time measurable snow fell on the holiday (since 1869).  It came the day after a winter storm dumped 3.5" of snow on the City. 

 

2007 (Saturday)

The morning low of 25° was the coldest reading on the holiday since 1994's 21°.   

 

2012 (Saturday)

For the third year in a row the high temperature went above 60° on the holiday, the first time it happened on St. Patrick's Day in more than 20 years (1989 thru 1991).  It was also the fourth year in a row with above average temperatures, something that hadn't happened since the 1930s.

 

 

2013 (Sunday)

A high of 38°/low of 29°, nine degrees colder than average, made this the chilliest St. Paddy's Day since 2007, when it was 38°/25°.

2014 (Monday)

Today was even colder than last year, with a high/low of 35°/23°, making it the coldest St. Patrick's Day in ten years.   A winter storm, which dumped 6" of snow on DC, stayed just to our south for the second time this month.

 

2018 (Saturday)

Although today's high of 48° was close to average, the morning low was a nippy 27°.  This broke a twelve-day string of days that had lows that ranged from 30° to 33°.  It was also the first low colder than 30° in a month (since 2/17), the coldest since 2/13 (26°), and the coldest reading of March. 

 

2021 (Wednesday)

This was the 16th day in a row with no measurable precipitation, matching last year's longest dry streak in September; these were the longest dry spells since an 18-day streak in the fall of 2017.  Save

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Today in New York Weather History: Valentine's Day (February 14)

 

1912 (Wednesday)

After having no high of 32° or colder this winter until 1/4, today was the thirty-first day in the six weeks since then to have a high that cold (three-fourths of the days).  Today was the end of a seven-day streak with highs of 32° or colder (and the eleventh day of the past twelve).  It would be followed fifteen days later by another seven-day streak.

 

1914 (Saturday)

Snow that began falling last night, accumulating 1.6", continued falling heavily this morning, accumulating an additional 8.1".  Until this snowstorm just 2.1" had fallen this winter.  Then 5.2" would fall two days later and 14.5" would bury the City on March 1-2. 

 

1934 (Wednesday)

The morning low of 4° was the eighth low in the single digits since 1/29 - and there would be four more this month.

 

1940 (Wednesday)

It was a wintry day as wind-blown sleet and snow fell throughout the day, accumulating 7.7" (and an additional 1.3" fell overnight).  Late in the morning winds gusted to 50 mph.  Temperatures fell from the low-30s in the morning to low 20s by midnight.

 

1943 (Sunday)

The temperature fell steadily through the day, from 30° to 5° (on its way to -8° tomorrow morning).

 

1948 (Saturday)

Today's high of 54° was the first high warmer than 45° in two months (since Dec. 13).

 

1958 (Friday)

Today's high/low of 25°/13° came in the midst of an 11-day streak (which began on 2/8) in which high temperatures failed to get above 32°.

 

1979 (Wednesday)

This morning's low temperature of 3° was the sixth consecutive day with a low in the single digits.  During these days the average low was 5°, twenty-two degrees colder than average.

 

 

 

1986 (Friday)

The 0.3" of snow that fell today was the last snowfall of the winter, a winter in which just thirteen inches fell, half of the typical amount.  

 

2005 (Monday)

Rain fell throughout the afternoon and evening, amounting to 0.95", putting somewhat of a damper on  romantic plans of New Yorkers. 

 

2007 (Wednesday)

A nasty sleet storm during the morning and afternoon hampered traffic and snarled air travel.  (Jet Blue was crippled, as its fleet at JFK was incapacitated for a number of days.)  0.94" of liquid precipitation was measured at Central Park, and two inches of sleet accumulated.  The day's precipitation represented half of February's total.  Despite a high of 29°, little of the day's precipitation fell as snow.  Another severe sleet storm would hit the area in March. 

 

 

 

2016 (Sunday)

The morning low of 1° below zero broke the record from 100 years ago.  This was: 1) the first below-zero reading since January 1994; 2) the first sub-zero reading in February since 1963; and 3) the latest date for such a frigid reading since 1943 (when a sub-zero low occurred on 2/15). 

Until today, the coldest temperature this century was 1° above zero, which occurred twice in the winter of 2004.  Later today, a second record was set as the high of 15° was the coldest for the date.  The day's mean temperature was 28 degrees below average, the most below average day in New York in the years since 1950.  Ironically, this would be the last day of the winter with a high of 32° or colder.  

 

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2023 (Tuesday)

Through today, just 0.05" of precipitation had fallen in Central Park this month, making this the second driest first half of February on record.  Only February 1980 had a smaller amount.

 

 

2024 (Wednesday)

With a high/low of 38°/29°, today's mean temperature was slightly below average, breaking a 22-day streak of above average temperatures.  In this century, only the winters of 2023, 2016, and 2007 have had longer streaks (36, 34, and 32 days, respectively).

 

Highlights of Holiday Weather in New York City

Below are links to twenty-one holidays, providing recaps of their respective weather highlights (holidays include the home openers of the Mets and Yankees, the NYC Marathon, Leap Year Day and Gay Pride Day).  Double click on any hyperlink and you'll be taken to the appropriate page for each holiday.   

 

New Year's Day

Valentine's Day

Presidents' Day

Leap Year Day

St. Patrick's Day

New York Mets Home Opener

New York Yankees Home Opener

Easter Sunday

Mother's Day

Memorial Day Weekend

Father's Day

Gay Pride Day

4th of July

Labor Day Weekend

Yom Kippur

Halloween

NYC Marathon

Thanksgiving Day

Christmas Eve

Christmas Day

New Year's Eve