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January 2024 Weather Recap: A One-Week Taste of Winter

 

One out of four

 

Historically, there has often been a period in late January referred to as the "January Thaw", when a brief respite from winter's cold took place.  This year, however, New York experienced the reverse, as there was a "January Freeze" between January 15 and 21.   The average high/low during this freeze was 30°/21°, with six of the seven days having a high of 32° or colder.  

 

This period was seven degrees below average; meanwhile, the rest of the month was seven degrees above average.  This produced a temperature for the entirety of the month that was 3.3 degrees above average, making January 2024 the 25th mildest January on record.  While the month's average high was 2.5 degrees above average, the average low was 4.0 degrees above average (ranked by average low, January 2024 was 17th mildest).

 

During the January freeze, Central Park had the winter's first day with a high of 32° or colder, the second latest date for this occurrence (behind the winter of 1987). 

 

Although it was on the mild side, this January was 6.5 degrees colder than last January (which was the mildest on record).  

 

With 5.28" of precipitation, January 2024 was the wettest January of the century (and 21st among all Januarys).  Two-thirds of its rain was from three storm systems: 1.95" on 1/9-10; 0.89" on 1/12-13, and 0.87" on 1/28-29.  The rainfall on 1/9 was a record amount for the date. 

 

Adding January's precipitation to that of December's 6.71" made this the wettest Dec/Jan combo since 1978-79, and the seventh wettest Dec/Jan on record (with an amount that was 50% above average).  

 

Clipart - Most Dec-Jan Rain

(Note: If the chart above excluded precipitation that was snow, Dec/Jan of 2023-24's rank would rise to fifth, passing 1948-49 and 1977-78 (which had 27.1" and 20.7" of snow, respectively, while 2023/24 had just 2.3".

 

January's mildest reading was 60° (on 1/13), coldest was 17° (on 1/17).  The Arctic high that delivered this frigid cold to the Rockies, Plains, Midwest, Great Lakes, and the South, gave New York just a glancing blow.  Nine days had readings of ten degrees or more above average, two were ten or more below average.

 

The biggest snowfall was 1.7" on Jan. 15-16.   The 0.2" of snow that fell on 1/6 was the first measurable snow this winter and one of the latest dates for the first such snowfall.  In total, 2.3" of snow fell in January, which was the amount of snow that fell during the entirety of last winter.

 

Finally, the last nine days of the month were all overcast.

 

Here are recaps of weather in January from previous years:

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2015

2014

 

 

 


Super Bowl Sunday Weather Highlights in New York City

 

 Super bowl party

 

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.

 

Prince at super bowl 2007

 

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.  

 

 Super bowl trophy

 


Old Man Winter A No-Show As January 2023 Becomes NYC's Mildest January

 

Warm january

 

You might say that January 2023 had a January thaw that lasted for the entirety of the month, resulting in New York's mildest January on record (0.3 degrees warmer than Jan. 1932).  Temperatures were 9.8 degrees above average, with every day being milder than average.  It joined December 2015 as the only two months to have this distinction.  Average high/low was 49°/38°.  (The high was comparable to Nashville's average high in January, the average low was comparable to Atlanta's.)

 

On average, January is 5.4 degrees colder than December, but about once every five years it's warmer than December - 2023  was one of these years as January was five degrees milder than December.  Only three other Januarys have been more than five degrees milder than the preceding December: Jan. 1990 was 15.5 degrees milder than Dec. 1989 (41.4° vs. 25.9°); Jan. 1911 was 6.3 degrees warmer (36.3° vs. 30.0°); and Jan. 2006 was 5.3 degrees milder (40.9° vs. 35.6°).

 

After December ended with three days in a row that were ten or more degrees above average, the streak continued for the first six days of January (the January portion of the streak was 17 degrees above average).  It wasn't until 1/14 that a reading of 32° or colder occurred; only Jan. 2005 had a later date for this first cold reading (occurring one day later).

 

Chart - longest streaks of above average temps
 

The month had 14 days with highs of 50° or warmer; and 15 days were ten or more degrees above average.  The mildest reading was 66° (the only day in the 60s).  And only three days had highs chillier than 40°, with the coldest high being 38°.  Just four days had lows of 32° or colder (21 days is the January average).  The coldest reading was 28°, which is the mildest reading to be the coldest for any January.  (The previous record was 25° in 1937.)

 

The most above average day was 1/4, twenty-three degrees above average (high/low of 66°/49°), and since there were no days below average, the least above average day was on 1/14, with a high/low of 38°/31°, two degrees above average.

 

Jan. 31 was the 35th consecutive day with an above average mean temperature, breaking the previous record of 34 days during the winter of 2015-16 (Dec. 1-Jan. 3). 

 

Besides the consistent above average readings, January had no measurable snow (average amount is about nine inches); but there were traces reported on three days.  It tied 2008 and 1933 for being the second least snowy January (Jan. 1890 reported no snow, not even a trace). 

 

With no measurable snow falling in either November or December, Central Park on 1/29 broke the 1973 record for the latest date in a winter without seeing any measurable snow (the first snow finally arrived in the pre-dawn hours of 2/1 when 0.4" accumulated).  

 

Finally, the month's total precipitation of 4.38" was very similar to January 2022's 4.29", about three-quarters of an inch above average.  (However, last January's precipitation included 15.3" of snow.)  Much of the rain, 3.13", fell in the eight-day period from the 19th to the 26th; the biggest rainstorm produced 1.34" on 1/25-26.

 

Chart - 5 mildest januarys in nyc-chart 1

 Chart - 5 mildest januarys in nyc-chart 2

 

One observation about the five mildest Januarys is that if Jan. 1932 didn't have a high/low of 33°/24° on the last day of the month it would likely still  be the mildest January as the first 30 days of the month had an average temperature of 43.7°, 0.2 degrees milder than Jan. 2023.  (January 2023 missed meeting the same fate as Jan. 1932 by one day as below average temperatures arrived on Feb. 1.)

 

Here are previous January recaps (no recap was published for Jan. 2016).

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2015

2014No winter


 


January 2022 Weather Recap - Coldest in 7 Years, Snowiest in 6

 


Winter cold and snow

 

After a December that was the third mildest on record, the first two days of January 2022 saw a continuation of these mild conditions, with highs of 56° and 59°.  Then the jet stream shifted, winter-like conditions arrived, and the month became the coldest January since 2015.  At 3.4 degrees colder than average, it was the most below average of any month in more than two years, since November 2019 (which was 4.1 degrees below average).  Subtracting the first two days of the month, which were 16 degrees milder than average, the rest of January was 4.5 degrees below average. 

 

Besides cold temperatures, snowfall was also above average, with 15.3" measured (after just 0.2" fell in December); most of it was produced by two snowstorms, as 5.8" fell on Jan. 7, and 8.3" was measured on Jan. 28-29.  This was the snowiest January since 2016 (which is the second snowiest January), and tied for 20th snowiest January overall.  Its snowfall was greater than the combined amount of the three preceding Januarys (5.5").

 

Chart - big jan snow after little in dec
 

January was 13.5 degrees colder than December.  Only three other Januarys have had a bigger drop in  temperature from December: Jan. 2016, Jan. 1912, and Jan. 1985.  (On average, January is five or six degrees colder than December.)

 

Chart - jan vs dec temperatures

January's average low of 23.5° was 4.4 degrees colder than average, while the high was 2.4 degrees colder.  January's average high of 37.1° was 1.2 degrees colder than December's average lowThe coldest reading was 10° on 1/15 and on 1/16.  The coldest day (based on mean temperature), was on 1/15, when the high/low was 21°/10° (17 degrees colder than average).  Overall, there were 12 days that were 8 degrees or more below average; half of them were 12 or more degrees below average.  

 

Finally, 11 days had highs of 32° or colder, including the last six days of the month, the longest streak since one of 14 days during the winter of 2017-18.  This streak's average high/low was 30°/19° (nine degrees below average).

 

Here are previous January recaps since 2014 (there was no recap published for Jan. 2016).

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2015

2014

 

 

 

 


Snow Creates Excitement, But Rain Gets No Love

 Sled riding in central park_time out ny

 

Pity the rain.  It doesn't generate anywhere near the levels of excitement accorded snow.  (In a Brady Bunch analogy, rain is Jan, snow is Marcia.)  Perhaps it's because snow is a seasonal treat confined mostly to four months of the year (in New York), while rain has a year-round presence.  Snow is also limited by geography, so persons from warm climates get a thrill when they encounter snow.  Sure, kids may enjoy jumping in puddles, and it can be comforting hearing the pitter-patter of rain on the roof, but rain never enthralls us the way snow does.  It possesses a certain "je ne sais quoi" that rain simply doesn't have.

 

Marcia-marcia-marcia

 

Perhaps the enthusiasm for snow comes from childhood memories, e.g., sled riding, making snow angels, building forts, school closings, Christmas.  And although rain may generate feelings of gratitude from farmers, it doesn't inspire the fevered anticipation of a snowstorm.  No sporting events have been inspired by rain, nor does anyone think back wistfully about rain that fell on someone's wedding day; or a downpour that washed out a summertime barbecue; or a deluge that rained out a baseball game (football games, by contrast, are rarely cancelled because of snow). 

 

There's also something magical about how a snowfall muffles the din of the City, and how its shimmering silver-white color scheme can light up a winter night.  Rain, on the other hand, leaves behind a muddy residue and litters the sidewalks with broken umbrellas.  (And when I was growing up in suburbia, worms would appear on the streets after a rainfall.)

 

Snow transforms the cityscape as it piles on top of railings, mailboxes and cars, and beautifully etches tree branches.  (I've always been amazed that snow is able to accumulate on Manhattan's busy streets.)  With rain, everything basically looks as it did before the rain started, except that surfaces take on a sheen when wet (especially at night).   Another contrast is that snow depths can be easily gauged by sight, but not so much with rain.  While it's easy to tell the difference between a few inches of snow and a foot of it, can you tell the difference between a quarter-inch rainfall and one of one inch?  (OK, perhaps there are more puddles.)

 

Winter 2017 - snow blindness

 

I can attest to the draw of snow since my most popular posts, by far, are those that analyze snowfall, with audience-traffic many times greater than posts about rain.  (I've written 30 posts about various aspects of snow, double the number I've penned about rain.)

 

It should be noted that the love for snow doesn't extend to sleet.  And rain's attempts at a brand extension, i.e., freezing rain, gets even less love than rain.  Despite the accolades it receives, snow is by no means perfect.  Shoveling can bring on a heart-attack; flights are cancelled; plows push snow back onto recently shoveled sidewalks; eyeglasses get broken during snowball fights, and dogs whimper from the sting of rock salt on their paws.  But, like a favored child, these personality flaws are largely overlooked.  

 

The weather hobbyists among us pore over snowfall totals, fixating on every tenth of an inch of accumulation.  We become infuriated whenever a forecast doesn't deliver on its promise, and, oh, how we dread a changeover to sleet, or, God forbid, rain!  By comparison, there is very little grousing when a rainstorm "fizzles" out. 

 

Central Park's weather station is held in low regard by many because it seems to report lower snow totals than surrounding sites.  For some reason, it tends to have the least efficient water: snow ratio.  It may very well be a gross generalization (albeit based on years of observation), but it just seems that if Central Park and each of the area's three airports receive an inch of liquid precipitation, this amount will produce eight inches in the park, a foot at Newark, and and an amount somewhere in between at LaGuardia and JFK.  Who knows why?  (Detractors of Central Park's weather station suggest incompetence.)

 

One area in which rain and snow seem to get equal treatment is automobile advertising, where cars on rain-slicked streets seem to be featured just as often as those shown bounding through snow-covered country roads.

 

Car advertisement in rain

 Car ad in snow_audi

Finally, the snow experience in Manhattan is different from that of the suburbs.  The beauty of the snow lasts for just a day - two days max.  The sound of snowplows scraping the streets can be grating, and the transformation of snow into slush at street corners is dispiriting.  And be on the lookout for snow crashing down from the tops of buildings!  On the positive side, snow often results in suspension of alternate side of the street parking regulations, and those of us who are apartment dwellers aren't tasked with shoveling, so we can walk around taking selfies to our heart's content, or put on cross-country skies and pretend to be on a ski weekend.  And perhaps the best thing of all is that the hustle-bustle of the City is silenced for a brief time.

 

Snow selfie dec 2020

 

Snow vs rain

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 

 


January 2021 Weather Recap - Winter Makes Late Appearance

 

Late bloomer

 

If you're not a "winter person", then the first three weeks of January 2021 were tolerable, as temperatures were six degrees above average (with every day but two above average), and there was no snow (average high/low was 43°/33°).  Then, the jet stream shifted, and the last nine days of the month were five degrees colder than average (high/low of 33°/22°).  On the last day of the month conditions became even more wintry.  Up until the 31st, it appeared the month was going to be among the five least snowy Januarys on record, as just 0.1" had fallen.  But then, the opening volley of snow from a snowstorm that would bury the City on Feb. 1 dropped two inches between 6:00 and midnight - the most snow to fall on this date since 1898. 

 

Despite being 2.2 degrees above average, January's mildest reading was just 51° (on Jan. 2).  This was, by far, the mildest January to have its warmest reading this cool.  Previous Januarys with mildest readings that were either 50°, 51°, or 52°, had an average monthly temperature of 28.9°, which is is 5.9 degrees colder than January 2021 (34.8°). 

 

The coldest day of the month was the 29th, with a high/low of 25°/14° (thirteen degrees colder than average).  This was the coldest day in two years (since a high/low of 21°/11° on Feb. 1, 2019).  

 

With just 2.1" measured, this was the third consecutive January with snowfall that was well below average (January 2019, had 1.1", January 2020 had 2.3").  It was the fifth string of low-snow Januarys.

 

Chart - minimal snow consecutive januarys

 

With an average high of 39.7°, and an average low of 29.8°, January's diurnal variation was just 9.9 degrees, making this just the third January whose average high and low was less than ten degrees apart.  The two others were in 2017 and 1869 (variations of 9.4 and 9.8 degrees, respectively).  This narrow diurnal variation was largely due to the month's average low being notably more above average than the average high (+2.9 degrees vs. +1.4 degrees, respectively).

 

Here are previous January recaps:

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

 

 

 


The Coldest Day of New York Winters

 

Frozen bryant park fountain

 

Since 1900 the average high/low on the coldest day of each winter has been 19°/6° (in the last third of the 18th century it was 14°/2°; in the 21st century it's risen to a relatively temperate 20°/9°).  The coldest day has occurred as early as Nov. 30 (winter of 1875-76) and as late as March 15 (winter of 1931-32).  Nearly half of the coldest days of New York's winters have occurred in the four-week period between Jan. 9 and Feb. 6.  For this analysis "coldest day" is based on daily mean temperature (average of high/low), not just the low temperature.

 

Chart - warming of coldest winter day

 

THE SPECTRUM OF THE BIG CHILL

The dates of the most frigid coldest winter day and the mildest coldest winter day are, in their respective years, one day apart.  The coldest of them all fell on Dec. 30, 1917, when the high/low was 2°/-13°.  At the other end of the spectrum, the mildest reading to have the distinction of being the coldest day of a winter was 31°/20° in the winter of 2001-02 on Dec. 31, 2001January 18 is the date to see the most coldest days of winter - six.  Three dates in February have been the coldest for five winters each: Feb. 2, Feb. 5 and Feb. 17.

 

Chart - coldest day jan 18
 

TWO MEASURES OF "COLDEST"

Although the coldest day is usually the same date as the coldest temperature, they've occasionally occurred on different dates (on average, in one out of four winters).  For instance, although the coldest reading of all time is -15°, the coldest day of all time, based on mean temperature, had a low of -13°.  Although this is two degrees "warmer" than the coldest reading, the day's high of 2° was six degrees colder than the high on Feb. 9, 1934, so it ended up with a mean of -5.5° compared to a -3.5° in 1934.  (The most recent instance was the winter of 2019-20 as its coldest day was on Dec. 19, with a high/low of 25°/16°, while the coldest reading was 14° on 2/15.)

 

SIMILAR DATES

A number of consecutive years, or a few years apart, have had their coldest day on practically the same date.  And in one interesting case the coldest day of winters one hundred years apart (1916 and 2016) occurred on the same date - Feb. 15.  And the coldest day of the winters of 1884 and 1984 were two days apart, on 12/23 and 12/25, respectively.

 

Chart - coldest day same date

Chart - coldest day same date - 2

Chart - coldest day same date 100 years apart 

FRIGID HOLIDAYS

The coldest day of some winters has fallen on a holiday.  The one exception is Christmas Eve day (but that may change in the winter of 2022-23 which had a Christmas Eve high/low of 15°/7°.) .

 

Chart - coldest winter day on holidays

 

"COLDEST COLDEST, MEET MILDEST COLDEST!"

Of course, the coldest winters have a lot of very cold days that that would easily qualify as the coldest dates of many of the winters with average or above average temperatures.

 

Chart - coldest coldest day of winter 
 Chart - mildest coldest day of winter

 

SOMETIMES IT SNOWS

Snow falls very infrequently on the coldest day of the winter - just six winters have had an inch or more of snow on this day.  However, a few were significant, with the stand out being the 12.5" accumulation on the coldest day of the winter of 1966-67 (Feb. 9, which had a high/low of 16°/7°).

 

Chart - snowy coldest days of winter

 

Finally, the coldest day of the winter of 1963-64 was preceded by a snowstorm that dumped 11.5" the day before, while three storms that followed the coldest day of winter by one day dumped more than ten inches.  The storm in February in 2003 dumped 16.3", but started on the coldest day of the winter, with 3.5" falling that evening.

 

Chart - snowy day before and after coldest day

   

 

Frigid

 

 

 

 

 


January 2020 Weather Recap: Mild, Dry, Largely Uneventful

Mild

 

January 2020 was the 11th mildest January on record (6.4 degrees above average).  Only six days had below average temperatures; just one had a high of 32° or colder, joining 10 other years with either no such days or one.  The month's highlight was the May-like temperatures during the second weekend of the month when record-setting highs of 69° and 68° were reached.  The coldest reading was 20°, which happened on three days (January's coldest temperature is typically around 9°).  Looking at precipitation, this was the driest January since 2002, with a little less than two inches measured (half the typical amount).  As for snowfall, only 2.3" was measured (but double last January's total).  

 

A typical January is five degrees colder than December, but January 2020 was 0.8 degrees warmer - the 31st time January has been milder than December; the previous time it happened was during the winter of 2006.  Besides being slightly milder than December, its snowfall was a touch less as well (2.3" vs. 2.5").  Although the month had a minimal amount of snow, there have been 36 Januarys with smaller amounts.  

 

Three consecutive Saturdays had very different conditions:  Saturday, Jan. 11 had the mildest reading of the month (69°); Saturday, Jan. 18 had the biggest snowfall (2.1"); and Saturday, Jan. 25 had the biggest rainfall (0.85").

 

Mild weekend in january
Basking in the springlike temperatures of Jan. 11
 
Record mild weekend january 2020
Temperature map during the very mild weekend of Jan. 11-12

 

The month began with a continuation of a streak of above-average temperatures that began on Dec. 22 and continued thru Jan. 8.  This 18-day streak equaled the longest above-average streak of 2018-19, which happened at roughly the same time of the year (12/20-1/6).  Then, after one day with below average temperatures, there were seven more consecutive days with above average temperatures.  The entire 26-day period from 12/22 thru 1/15 was ten degrees above average.

 

A streak of six days in a row with mean temperatures ten degrees or more above average (Jan. 10-15) was closely followed by six consecutive days with lows in the 20s (Jan. 17-22).  Although this was far from frigid, it equaled last winter's longest streak with lows colder than 30°. 

 

January continued the pattern of one month wet, the next month dry, a trend that started in September.

 

Chart - 5-month precip trend sept 2019-jan 2020

 

Finally, this January missed being among the ten mildest January's by the smallest of margins as it was 0.08° degrees chillier than January 1880 (39.15° vs. 39.23°).  And although January 1880 had two days with lows in the teens (both were 17° readings) and its warmest temperature was four degrees cooler than this year, it had five more days with highs of 50°+ (14 vs. 9).  Both years had nearly identical snowfall (2.3" in 2020, 2.5" in 1880) and precipitation (1.93" in 2020, 2.02" in 1880).

 

Here are analyses of the previous six Januarys:

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014


In a Rut: Temperatures Stuck in the 30s

 

30s

 

This post was inspired by the first four days of December 2019, all which reported highs and lows in the 30s.  The last time there was a streak of this length was in January 1998, when there was one of five days.  Although days "stuck in the 30s" aren't rare, as a typical year sees a half dozen of them (including 2023), strings of three days or longer happen infrequently, about once very five years.  Not surprisingly, nine out of ten of these days have occurred from December thru March, with December having the most. (They've occurred as early as Oct. 26 and as late as April 11).

 

Chart - days in 30s by month

 

More than half of these days have reported measurable precipitation (57% to be exact); one in four have reported measurable snow.  Since many of these days have temperatures around freezing (two-thirds have a reading of 32° or colder for at least part of the day) the type of precipitation that falls is a mixed bag (i.e., rain, freezing rain, sleet, and wet snow).  Often the type of snow that falls doesn't readily accumulate on paved surfaces if the temperature is above freezing.  And although temperatures in the 30s are far from frigid, the fact that they're often accompanied by overcast skies or precipitation makes these days feel raw and colder than the air temperature. 

 

Snow and rain

 

The most precipitation to fall on one of these "stuck" days was 2.03" on March 29, 1984 (high/low of 36°/34°); 1.8" of the precipitation was snow.  Additionally, there have been four other storms that produced two+ inches of liquid precipitation that crossed over to other days - in Jan. 1987, March 1967, Dec. 1930 and Dec. 1914 (all days were in the 30s).  The biggest of them all produced 3.49" of precipitation and lasted three days during the first week of March 1967; two inches of snow fell on the first day of the storm. 

 

Speaking of snow, the most to fall on a day with temperatures in the 30s for its entirety was ten inches on Feb. 10, 2010 (high/low was 34°/30°).  And 11.8" fell from a storm that crossed over into a second day on March 21-22, 1956.  In addition to these snowfalls, there have been nine others that dropped six to ten inches (most recently on March 21, 2018 when 8.2" fell on a day in which the high/low was 39°/31°). 

 

Shoveling slust

 

In the years since 1900, the longest streak of days stuck in the 30s is five, which has happened three times: in Jan. 1998, Dec. 1970 and in Dec. 1914.  The most days in one winter was 20, which occurred in the winter of 1997-98.  Every winter except one, 1924, has had two or more days stuck in the 30s. (The winter of 1924 had one day.)  Finally, the most in one month is eight, which has happened twice - in January 1987 and January 1998.  (December 2019 had seven.)

 

Chart - stuck in the 30s

Chart - stuck in 30s by winter

 

If this analysis leaves you cold, I also posted one last year about days stuck in the 70s.

 

Stuck in a rut

 

 

 


Snowstorms From Back in "The Good Old Days" (1900 - 1949)

 

1910s snowstorm in newyrok_XXHistoricSnow-AST-8-superJumbo

 

By far the most popular posts on this site are about snowstorms.  And after reading a recent photo essay in the New York Times about snowstorms of the distant past I was inspired to write another - this one about those that crippled New York in the first half of the 20th century.  It's worth noting that back then snow removal was on the primitive side, largely dependent upon on manual labor, so relatively modest accumulations created problems that might happen nowadays with significantly greater accumulations (i.e., six inches in 1910 might be comparable in inconvenience to what a foot or more of snow creates today).  Furthermore, since the work ethos of that era was different than what it is today, employers weren't as forgiving when treacherous weather conditions made it difficult for workers to get to their jobs.

 

WINTER OF 1901-02

Feb. 17, 1902 - This storm dropped 10".  (Similar to a few other winter storms in the first decade of the century, I was unable to find details about when the snow fell, what the hourly amounts were or what the wind speed and direction were for each hour of the day.)

 

WINTER OF 1902-03

Dec. 25, 1902- This was the second significant snowfall in the past two weeks.  After 6.4" fell on Dec. 12-14 (most of it falling on the 13th), 6.5" fell today. 

Feb. 15-17, 1903 - This was a snow and sleet storm, which began mid-day on the 15th, continued through much of the 16th, and ended mid-day on the 17th.  In total 9.8" accumulated (accounting for all of February's snow).  During the first two days temperatures ranged between 28° and 30° then fell into the teens around daybreak on the 17th.

 

WINTER OF 1903-04

Jan. 2-3, 1904 - All but a half-inch of the storm's eight inches fell today during the afternoon and evening.  Temperatures fell slowly thru the day, dropping from 26° to 13°. 

 

WINTER OF 1904-05

Dec. 17-18, 1904 - Bringing to mind December 1902, two significant snowfalls fell in the course of a week as seven inches fell on Dec. 12-13 and a half foot fell today.  Snowfall from both was pretty evenly split between the two days of each snowfall. 

Jan. 3-4, 1905 - Seven inches of snow fell between mid-afternoon on 1/3 and mid-morning the following day.  After passage of a cold front mid-morning on the 3rd (with winds shifting from the northeast to the northwest) temperatures fell from the low-40s to mid-20s, when snow began falling, and were in the mid-teens when the snow came to an end.  The snow was blown around by winds gusting between 25-30 mph. 

Jan. 24-25, 1905 - Snow began falling after 9PM and continued for 24 hours, accumulating 11".  It was a fluffy snow with just 0.54" of water content.  During the course of the storm the temperature dropped from mid-20s to low teens.  Snow fell heaviest between 8AM and noon on the 25th when an Arctic front moved through.  Besides the cold and snow, the afternoon also featured gusty winds (25-30 mph).

 

Vintage-snow-removal-in-the-new-york-city-late-19th-century-05

 

WINTER OF 1905-06

Feb. 8-9, 1906 - Six inches of snow fell, much of it during the morning of the 9th.  Temperatures were mostly in the 31° to 33° range.  Snow changed to sleet and freezing rain shortly after daybreak on the 9th and continued through mid-day. 

March 15, 1906 - This cold, late winter storm had temperatures that were only in the mid-20s (typical high for mid-March is mid-40s) as a half-foot of snow piled up.  Snow began falling shortly before daybreak and continued until 10PM.  Despite the cold temperatures it was a wet snow, with 1.09" of liquid measured.

 

WINTER OF 1906-07

Jan. 17, 1907 - It was very cold during this quick-moving six-inch snowfall, with temperatures in the mid-teens when the snow began, rising into the low 20s during the afternoon.  The snow fell during the daylight hours, coming down heaviest in the early afternoon.

Feb. 4-5, 1907 - Snow began around noon and continued for nearly 24 hours, accumulating 11".  It fell heaviest between 8PM and 4AM.  Temperatures stayed in a narrow range of 19° to 22°.  This storm followed a snowfall of four inches on the first two days of the month.

 

Snowy central park 1910s

 

Feb. 24, 1907 - Six inches of snow piled up between 1PM and 10PM.  Temperatures rose steadily, from low 20s when the snow started, to the mid-30s when it changed to rain and sleet in the final few hours.

March 10, 1907 - Much of today's six-inch accumulation fell between 1:00 and 5PM.  Temperatures ranged between 27° and 30°.  This was the winter's fourth snowfall of six inches or more since mid-January.

 

WINTER OF 1907-08

Jan. 23-24, 1908 - A 10-inch snowstorm began after dark on the 23rd, with three inches measured thru midnight, and an additional seven inches during the morning of the 24th.

 

Snowstorm 1908 by-9-E-14th-St-Jan-24-1908-300x214

 

Feb. 5-6, 1908 - The day began bitterly cold with a low of 1° above zero (the coldest reading of the winter).  Then the temperature rose all day and was 32° by midnight.  Snow began falling in the afternoon and continued into the next day with four inches falling on each day.  After 8" had fallen the snow changed to rain as the temperature rose to 40° (it tumbled back to 29° by midnight).  This snowstorm came almost one year to the day of an 11-inch snowstorm.

 

WINTER OF 1909-10

Dec. 25-26, 1909 - Snow began mid-afternoon on Christmas Day and fell for nearly 24 hours, accumulating eight inches.  Much of the snow fell on the 25th, and in above-freezing temperatures.

Jan. 14, 1910 - The biggest snowfall of the winter blanketed the City with 10" (0.5" of it fell on 1/15).  This came three weeks after a snowfall of eight inches.  Snow began falling shortly after midnight and fell steadily through late afternoon.  After the temperature rose to 33° late in the morning it fell steadily until 9PM when it was 20°.

 

WINTER OF 1911-12  

Dec. 4, 1911 - A morning snowfall of seven inches ended up being the biggest snowfall of the winter.  Precipitation began yesterday evening as rain but changed to snow overnight. The day's high/low of 33/19 made this the coldest day of the month.

 

WINTER OF 1912-13

Dec. 24, 1912 - A morning snowstorm dumped 11.4", making this Christmas Eve's biggest snowfall on record.  Snow fell heaviest between 4-9AM, when it fell at a rate of 1.5" per hour.

 

Snowstorm_NYCApril1915

 

WINTER OF 1913-14

Feb. 13-14, 1914 - On the 13th the temperature rose from -1° to the mid-20s by midnight.  Snow began falling after 7PM, fell heavily through the overnight hours and then changed to sleet around daybreak as the temperature rose into the low 30s.  9.7" accumulated.  Then on 2/16 there was a five-inch snowfall during the morning in temperatures that were in the teens.

March 1, 1914 - Rain in the morning changed to snow around lunchtime and by midnight 13.5" had accumulated (an additional inch fell after midnight on 3/2).  It was a very heavy, wet snow with a high water content (2.65") until around 9PM when Arctic air moved in.  This was the century's first snowstorm of a foot or more, and the first since February 1899, when 16 inches piled up.  This remains the longest period between snowstorms of 12 inches or more.

 

January 13 snowstorm in nyc

 

WINTER OF 1914-15

April 3, 1915 - The biggest snowfall of the "winter" blanketed the City on what was Easter Saturday as ten inches of heavy snow fell between 9AM and 11PM (eight inches fell between 11AM and 6PM).  During the storm winds from out of the north gusted to 25 mph and temperatures hovered around 30°, producing wind chills in the teens.

 

Weather - NYC snowstorm April1915

 

WINTER OF 1916-17

Dec. 15, 1916 - A snowstorm dumped 12.7" of snow between 7AM-9PM, with nearly ten inches on the ground by mid-afternoon.  The snow was very powdery, produced from just 0.59" of water (and by daybreak on 12/16 it had packed down to nine inches on the ground).  The day's high was 28°, the first of five days in a row with highs in the 20s.

April 9, 1917 - One of April's biggest snowstorms dumped 6.5" (0.1" of it fell late last night).  This brought the winter's total snowfall to 50.7" for the second year in a row.  The snow was over by 7AM and by noon the temperature was in the upper 30s, where it stayed for the remainder of the afternoon.  Combined with sunny skies, substantial melting took place and by nightfall there was less than two inches on the ground in Central Park.

 

WINTER OF 1917-18

Dec. 13, 1917 - The biggest snowfall of the winter began late in the afternoon and by the time the snow ended in the early hours of 12/14 9.5" had accumulated (eight inches fell today).  The temperature rose into the mid-30s as midnight approached, making it a very wet snow, with rain mixed in at times. 

 

1917-snowstorm-New-York-cars-trapped-833x900
 

WINTER OF 1919-20

Feb. 4-7, 1920 - One of New York's most extended onslaughts of winter weather of all time brought 72 hours of snow, sleet and freezing rain (beginning after 2AM on 2/4 and ending around dawn on 2/7).  During this punishing storm, 4.41" of liquid precipitation fell, 17.5" of it in the form of snow (five to six inches of snow fell on 2/4, 2/5 and 2/6); the rest was sleet and freezing rain.  For much of the storm temperatures were in the 20s, and winds gusted between 35 and 45 mph, with wind chills in the single digits.

 

February1920_XXHistoricSnow-AST-6-superJumbo

 

WINTER OF 1920-21

Feb. 20, 1921 - The winter's biggest snowfall amounted to 12.5".  Beginning shortly after midnight as rain, it quickly changed over to snow after 1AM and continued until early evening; it was a very wet snow, with 2.68" of liquid precipitation measured.  The temperature fell slowly through the day, from 35° to 22° (on the way to 14° by daybreak on the 21st).  Winds gusted to 41 mph.

 

WINTER OF 1921-22

Jan. 28-29, 1922 - New York was on the northern fringe of a winter storm that became known as the "Knickerbocker Snowstorm", named after a movie theater in Washington, DC whose roof collapsed from the weight of snow the night of 1/28, killing 98 moviegoers.  And although NYC escaped the paralyzing amounts of snow that piled up in Virginia, DC, Maryland and southeastern PA (6.5" fell in Central Park, the biggest snowfall of the winter), gale force winds clocked at between 35 and 50 mph howled for nearly 24 hours, beginning mid-day on the 28th.  Temperatures throughout the storm were in the 29° to 31° range, with chills in the low teens.

 

WINTER OF 1922-23

Jan. 3-4, 1923 - The biggest snowfall of the winter began this afternoon and continued until daybreak on the 4th, accumulating nine inches.  The temperature fell slowly through the storm, dropping from 33° to 29°.

Jan. 14, 1923 - Snow began falling after 10AM and by 5PM 7.8" had accumulated; then it changed to light rain for the next three hours as the temperature rose into the mid-30s.

 

Snowy street in nyc_1923

 

March 6-7, 1923 - Snow began falling around 10AM and continued light and steady for the next 24 hours, accumulating 7.3" (along with a mix with sleet and freezing rain after 4PM). This was the tenth snowfall of three inches or more this winter.  Besides the snow/ice, winds gusted to 30-35 mph, and temperatures were very cold on the 6th, with a high/low of only 25/19.

 

WINTER OF 1923-24

April 1, 1924 - It was no April Fool's joke as 8.5" of heavy, wet snow fell from mid-afternoon through 9PM.  Interestingly, snow fell mostly with temperatures two or three degrees above freezing.  Besides the snow, gale force winds gusted to 35 mph.

 

WINTER OF 1924-25

Jan. 2, 1925 - A blizzard dumped close to a foot of snow (11.5").  Snow began falling around daybreak and lasted until 11PM.  In addition to snow there were also periods of heavy sleet in the early afternoon.  Temperatures throughout the storm were in the mid-20s, but howling winds gusting between 35-40 mph produced wind chills in the single digits.

 

Trolley-stuck-in-snow-1925-photo-Acme

 

Jan. 20, 1925 - A fierce storm dumped seven inches of snow and ice, with much of the snow falling between 1:00 and 8AM before it changed to sleet, which was driven by winds that gusted close to 40 mph. The sleet came down heaviest during the mid-day hours as the temperature rose above freezing briefly before falling back into the 20s.  Snow returned in the storm's last few hours. 

 

WINTER OF 1925-26

Feb. 10, 1926 - Less than a week after a fierce blizzard brought 10.4" of snow and sleet (accompanied by wind gusts of 40-45 mph) another snowstorm dumped a foot on the City, much of it falling this morning between 3:00 and 9:00 (light snow began last night and accumulated 1.6").  Winds from this storm gusted between 30 and 35 mph.  Temperatures in the morning held steady in the low 20s and then fell slowly during the afternoon, reaching 11° by midnight.  (In a similar fashion, two snowstorms of 9.2" and 12.8" occurred just three days apart in early February during the winter of 1994.)

 

Snowstorm in 1926

 

WINTER OF 1926-27

Dec. 5, 1926 - 7.9" of snow fell on a very cold day, which had a high/low of just 24/11.  Snow fell heaviest from 1PM until 7PM.  This was the biggest snowfall of the winter and was the snowiest 12/5 until 2003, when 8.0" fell.

 

WINTER OF 1928-29

Feb. 21, 1929 - More than half of the winter's 13.8" of snow fell today as eight inches accumulated between 5AM and 2PM.  Temperatures were in the low-to-mid-twenties during the storm.

 

WINTER OF 1932-33

Dec. 17, 1932 - Snow that began late in the morning continued through the early AM on 12/18 and amounted 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 another seven weeks (on 2/4).

Feb. 11, 1933 - In just eight hours (1-9:00 AM) ten inches of snow fell, the biggest snowstorm in seven years.  Sleet mixed in during the final few hours even though temperatures were in the low 20s.

 

Snow in new york 1933

 

WINTER OF 1933-34

Dec. 26, 1933 - 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". (Much larger accumulations would later fall on this date in 1946 and 2010).

Feb. 25, 1934 - 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 major 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).

 

WINTER OF 1934-35

Jan. 22-23, 1935 - This was a two-stage storm.  On 1/22 precipitation began in the morning as rain which changed to snow around mid-day as the temperature fell from the low 40s into the upper 20s; five inches was measured.  Then after a 13-hour break, winds shifted from the northwest to northeast and heavy snow returned late on the morning of 1/23.  Between 1:00 and 7PM it fell at a rate of an inch or more per hour and accumulated nearly thirteen inches.  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 the following day).  This was the first snowstorm of a foot or more in nine years. 

 

Weather - winter-storm-1935 

 

WINTER OF 1935-36

Jan. 19, 1936 - A winter storm brought 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 3:00-9:00) and the afternoon saw an onslaught of sleet that was propelled by 25-35 mph winds, producing wind chills in the single digits (the air temperature was in the mid-20s).  The sleet accumulated 2.5".

 

Snow storm before 1950s

 

WINTER OF 1937-38

April 6-9, 1938 - 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 4/6 was the only April day in the 1930s with a low in the 20s.

 

WINTER OF 1938-39

Nov. 27, 1938 - 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" (3.9" on Thanksgiving Day, 4.9" the day after) 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).

Jan. 13, 1939 - 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.

 

WINTER OF 1939-40

Feb. 14, 1940 - It was a wintry day, as wind-blown sleet and snow fell throughout the day, accumulating 7.7" (an additional 1.3" fell overnight).  Late in the morning winds gusted to 50 mph.  Temperatures fell slowly, from the low-30s in the morning to low-20s by midnight.

 

WINTER OF 1940-41

March 8, 1941 - A fierce winter storm that began late last night brought heavy snow, sleet and high winds during the morning.  By 11AM 18.1" of snow had fallen (15.7" of it fell today); the precipitation then changed to light drizzle in the afternoon (the day's high was 33°).  At the time this tied with a snowstorm in January 1935 as New York's second biggest snowfall (it's now ranked tenth).

 

Weather.1941marchsnowstorm

 

WINTER OF 1942-43

Jan. 28, 1943 - The winter's nastiest storm dropped 7.1" of snow and sleet, which was accompanied by northeasterly winds that gusted to 34 mph.  Precipitation began at daybreak and continued through early evening.

 

WINTER OF 1943-44

April 5, 1944 - Four days before Easter Sunday a late season snowstorm dumped 6.5".  Beginning as rain a little after midnight, it changed to snow around 2AM and mixed with sleet around lunchtime before ending in mid-afternoon.  The snow came down heaviest between 3-5AM when three inches accumulated.  The day's high/low was 34/29.

 

WINTER OF 1945-46

Dec. 19, 1945 - An afternoon/evening snowstorm dropped 8.3" (all but 0.3" fell today).  This would be the biggest snowfall of the winter (and since March 1941).  Besides the snow, temperatures were also quite cold, with a high/low of just 23/20 (fifteen degrees below average).

 

WINTER OF 1946-47

Feb. 21, 1947 - Snow that began yesterday evening (accumulating 4.2" by midnight) continued through this morning and piled up an additional 6.5".  This 10.7" snowfall was the biggest in six years.  Temperatures were very cold, with a high/low of 24/14, sixteen degrees below average.

 

Nyc snow fort 1940s 

 

WINTER OF 1947-48

Dec. 26, 1947 - Snow began falling around 3:30 AM on the 26th and fell steadily all day, at times at a rate of two inches per hour (the forecast at daybreak called for a five-inch accumulation).  Winds gusted as high as 36 mph during the evening and temperatures hovered around 29° for much of the storm.  By midnight 25.5" had piled up and an additional 0.9" fell after midnight, breaking the previous snowfall record of 21" set by the great blizzard of March 1888; it would remain the City's greatest snowfall of all time until 26.9" fell in February 2006 (it now ranks third).  This storm came three days after a snowfall of 2.5".

 

Blizzard of 1947-time magazine

 

WINTER OF 1948-49

Dec. 19, 1948 - One year after the record-setting 26.4" snowstorm of Dec. 26 another formidable snowstorm crippled the City with 16.0".  At the time this was the shortest length of time between major snowstorms.  Since then there have been seven pairs of major snowstorms (of one foot or more) that have occurred with less than 12 months in between (the shortest time between being four weeks in January and February 1978.)

 

Weather - 1948 snowstorm