New York City Weather Archive

Recap of June 2019's Weather in New York

June 2019, like June 2018, was 0.2 degrees above average (this followed a May that was 0.2 degrees below average).  However, this June's average high was 0.6 degrees cooler than last June while its average low was 0.6 milder.  The first half of the month was 0.7 degree cooler than average while the second half was 1.2 degrees warmer.  Similar to last June the warmest period came at the end of the month, with the four-day period between 6/26-29 six degrees above average (high/low of 89/72); this included the year's first high in the 90s (91° on 6/29, a month later than usual).  Although the month was average in the temperature department rainfall was an inch above average (5.46"), making this the rainiest June in six years.  The biggest daily rainfall was 0.86", which happened twice, on 6/2 and 6/25.  On both dates the rain poured down in less than an hour.  Here are a few other highlights:

 

• Besides the year's first reading in the 90s being a month behind schedule, the year's first low in the 70s, on 6/25, was three weeks later than usual.  It was the first of five days in a row with a low in the 70s (6/30 looked to be the sixth but the temperature dropped to 69° as midnight approached).

• Father's Day and Gay Pride Day both were seasonably warm (high/low of 80/65 and 83/69) but Gay Pride Day had more sunshine.  Both days saw a shower, but the shower that fell on Gay Pride Day (0.06") was more disruptive because it fell mid-afternoon during the parade (the first rain to fall during the parade in eleven years) while the shower on Father's Day (0.04") was shortly before daybreak. 

• May and June had 12.28" of rain, making this the 11th wettest May/June combo on record. The 10 years with more all occurred in the years since 1948.  (Greatest amounts were 19.03" in 1989, 18.10" in 2013 and 17.69" in 1972.)

• 2019 became the 36th year (since 1869) to have one or fewer days in the 90s thru June 30.  (The average number is four).  And of the fifteen years (excluding this year) that had one day in the 90s during this period the total number of such days for the year averaged eleven (with 1955 and 2015 having the most, 25 and 20, respectively).

• Although the coolest reading of the month, 54°, was on 6/2, the coolest day of the month was on 6/13, with a high/low of 65/55 (eleven degrees below average).  This was the coolest mean temperature in more than four weeks.

 

Here are recaps of the previous three Junes:

2018

2017

2016

 

May 2019 Continued April's Wet Trend, But With More Rain

Like the month preceding it, May 2019 was characterized by a surfeit of rainy days.  There were 19 with measurable rain, which tied December 1972 and May 1973 for the second greatest number for any month.  (The most days, 20, occurred in July 1871 and May 1888).  However, May 2019 distinguished itself by having more rain than those other months (see chart below).  The amount that fell, 6.82", made this May the 12th rainiest on record.  Although it had one more day of rain than April (its 18 days was a record for April), nearly two-and-a-half inches more rain fell.  But despite the high frequency of rain, much of it occurred on just five days: 1.31" on 5/5; 1.32" on 5/12; 0.70" on 5/13; 0.80" on 5/29; and 0.95" on 5/30.

 

 

In addition to the well above average number of rainy days, this May will also be remembered for the damp and unusually cool conditions on Mother's Day and the two days after.  2.32" of rain fell on these three days (1.32" of it on Mother's Day) and the average high/low of 53/43 was 14 degrees cooler than average.  By contrast, the Memorial Day weekend was mostly nice,  the exception being later in the afternoon on Sunday when clouds moved in and there was an hour of heavy showers.  The three-day weekend's average high/low was 79/60, four degrees above average, and featured the warmest reading of the month, 86° on Sunday.  (The warmest mean temperature, however, occurred on 5/20, one week before Memorial Day, with a high/low of 85/66).

 

Temperature-wise, the month was average (officially, 0.2 degrees below average), with the first half of May three degrees below average while the second half was two degrees above average.  (If the chilly three-day period from May 12-14 were taken out, the month would have been 1.3 degrees milder than average.)  Seven days were five or more degrees above average while six were five or more below average.  Four days with highs in the 80s were balanced by four days with lows in the 40s, both fewer than the month's average (of seven and six days, respectively). 

 

Finally, there was an eight-day streak of rainy days (May 10-17) that had 2.56" of rain.  This was just the thirteenth eight-day steak since 1900.  Coincidentally, last May had rain on seven of eight days around the same time of the month (May 12-19), which amounted to 2.14".  And Mother's Day both years was cool (59/43 this year, 54/52 in 2018).

 

Here are recaps of the previous four Mays:

2018

2017

2016

2015

 

 

April 2019 Weather Recap

As we headed into the last week of April it appeared the month had a good chance of becoming either the fifth, sixth or seventh mildest April on record.  But when the last five days of the month averaged five degrees cooler than average, it ended up as the 13th mildest, 2.5 degrees above average (still a noteworthy achievement as it was milder than 138 other Aprils).  Perhaps a bigger highlight was the month's 18 days with measurable precipitation, the most since May 2012.  This was also the most days of precipitation of any April.  However, despite the frequent rainfall, the 4.55" that was measured was just an average amount (the month's average is 4.50").  Despite being only average, this amount was enough to make April the wettest month so far this year. 

 

The five chilly days at the end of the month were immediately preceded by a two-week period with above average temperatures (six degrees above average); this was the longest streak of above average days since one of eighteen days in late December/early January.  This mild streak included the year's first reading in the 80's, 80° on 4/19, which was Good Friday (just the fifth Good Friday with a high in the 80s); Easter Sunday cooled down to a high of 66°.  The month's coldest reading, 33°, occurred on 4/1.  (Since 2000 April's warmest temperature has averaged 85°, its coldest reading has averaged 33°.)

 

Finally, 2019's mild April came a year after the coldest April in 40 years (which followed the second mildest April on record).  Despite the disparity between the two years, April 2018's warmest temperature was two degrees above this year's (82° vs. 80°) while its coldest reading was just one degree lower (32°).

 

Here are recaps of previous Aprils:

2018

2017

2016

 

March 2019 Weather Recap - Old Man Winter Makes a Memorable Exit

March began with a continuation of unseasonably cold temperatures that arrived in the last three days of February.  This extended Arctic outbreak persisted through the first eight days of the month; the average high/low during these days was 36/25, nine degrees colder than average.  This included three days in a row with highs of 32° or colder - the longest such stretch in March since 1984.  Besides the cold, an inch or more of snow fell on each of the first four days of the month - the longest streak of its kind.  The 10.4" that fell more than doubled the amount of snow from the previous four months (10.1"), making this the fourth winter of the past five in which March was the snowiest month. 

 

After March's harsh beginning, temperatures recovered and the rest of the month was two degrees above average, with the coldest reading being 32° (on two days) - and there was no measurable snowfall.  The month's mildest reading was 75° (26 degrees above average and two degrees shy of the record for the date), which occurred on 3/15.  A second day in the 70s came two weeks later (70° on 3/30).  Overall, the month was 0.8 degree below average, making it the sixth March of the past seven that was colder than average (but of the six years, 2019 was closest to average).

 

 

Like the temperature, the month's precipitation (3.87") was also slightly below average. The biggest rainfall of the month, and so far this year, occurred on 3/21-22 when 1.43" was measured.  This rainstorm was book-ended by three days before and five days after that had unusually low humidity; the lowest was reported on 3/24 and 3/26 when a few hours in the afternoon had readings of 13% and 14%, respectively. 

 

The 11-day stretch between Feb. 26 and March 8 saw the most wintry conditions of the winter.  The five-inch snowfall on March 3-4 was the second biggest on record to fall in temperatures that stayed above freezing (the greatest accumulation in above-freezing temperatures happened last year when 5.5" fell the morning of 4/2).

 

 

Of all the Marches since 1950, March 2019 ranks among the ten with the coldest starts.

 

 

Finally, although last March was colder than March 2019 (2.4 degrees below average vs. 0.8 below average) it had no days with temperatures colder than 27°, while this March had four such days (its coldest reading was 18°).  However, this March had eight days with highs of 55° or milder while last March had only three.

 

Other March recaps:

2018

2017

2016

 

 

 

February 2019 Weather Review: Largely Uninspiring

February 2019 was one of the least interesting months, weather-wise, in a while.  In fact, it was so uneventful I was tempted to not even bother with a monthly recap.  Although its average temperature was slightly above average (+0.9 degree) it was the coldest February since 2015.  Just 2.6" of snow was measured, the smallest amount in February in seven years (ironically, the milder February's preceding it all had more snow).  And although the amount of snow was well below the average of 9.2", the month's total precipitation (3.14") was an average amount (which is 3.09").  The coldest and mildest readings of the month occurred during the first week: 11° on 2/1, 65° on 2/5. 

 

Although the month wasn't too far from average, just three days had mean temperatures that were average.  Nineteen days were five or more degrees above or below average.  There were half a dozen days with highs of 35° or colder (three were 32° or colder) and four with highs of 55° or warmer.  The mildest stretch was the six days from 2/3 thru 2/8, which were 12 degrees above average (high/low of 54/37).  The coldest temperatures were experienced at the beginning and end of the month, with the first two days 13 degrees below average (28/14), and the final three days eight degrees colder than average (35/25). 

 

 

Although only 2.6" of snow fell (during what, on average, is the snowiest month of the winter) an amount this small isn't all that rare, happening about once every four or five years.  However, the last time a February as chilly as this year's had less snow was in 2004, which was 0.4 degrees above average and had just 0.7" of snow.  Finally, the only excitement about snow this February was the 1.2" snowfall on the 12th, which was the first snowfall of an inch or more in nearly three months (since the snowstorm of 11/15).  And it fell on the date most likely to have a snowfall of one-inch+.

Previous February recaps:

2018

2017

2015

January 2019 Weather Recap: Average ... But With a Few Flourishes

January 2019 was average in terms of temperature and precipitation, but this masked the fact that it had two of the five coldest days of the past 25 years, as well as being one of the least snowy Januarys on record.  After the first nine days of the month averaged seven degrees above average, the rest of January was three degrees colder than average, with respective highs/lows of 45/35 and 37/23.  (The month began with a high/low of 58/39 and ended with a high/low of 16/2.)  Despite the month being average overall, the month's high temperature was 0.7 degree above average while the low was 0.9 below average. 

 

Barely any snow fell in January, with just 1.1" measured from three snowfalls (if you can call them that), making this the least snowy January since 2008.  Furthermore, January tied January 1870 as the 16th least snowy January on record.  But what made this year's paltry amount somewhat unique is that past Januarys with little snow tended to be on the mild side, but January 2019 was 4.4 degrees colder than these months. (Fun fact: The four Januarys between 1930 and 1933 each had less than an inch of snow.)

 

 

The month's two wickedly cold days, Jan. 21 and Jan. 31, had highs/lows of 14/4 and 16/2, respectively.  And although January had three days with lows in the single digits, only five days had highs of 32° or colder (there were also seven days with highs between 33° and 35°).  Typically, Januarys with two to four days with lows in the single digits average 11 days with highs this cold, while it's the months with no lows in the single digits that average five days with highs of 32° or colder.

 

 

70% of January's 3.58" of precipitation fell during two rainstorms that occurred less than a week apart: 1.17" fell on Jan. 18-19 and 1.33" fell on 1/24 (which also had the mildest reading of the month - 59°).  The rest of the month had just a little over one inch of precipitation. 

 

When 0.5" of snow fell on 1/18 (the month's "biggest" snowfall) it was the first snowfall since the "surprise" snowstorm of Nov. 15.  This was the second longest hiatus between a first and second snowfall (lengthiest was 12 weeks in 2011-12).  Furthermore, December/January was the fifth least snowy on record, with just 1.1" measured in Central Park (no measurable snow fell in December).  Perhaps Old Man Winter took pity on us after his surprise 6.4" snowfall back in November.  Interestingly, the winter of 1918-19, one hundred years ago, had even less snow in Dec/Jan.

 

 

Aggressive salting of streets, steps and sidewalks somewhat substituted for the lack of snow in January.

Previous January Recaps:

2018

2017

2016

2014

Very Wet 2018 Ends With Very Wet December

2018 was New York's fourth wettest year on record (third if the disputed 1983 is excluded) and the final month of the year followed that theme.  December was the year's fifth month with six inches or more of precipitation (all of them occurring in the second half of the year).  The month ended with the wettest New Year's Eve since 1948, and for the first time since 1994 rain fell during the ball drop in Times Square (pictured).  Most of the month's 6.51" of rain (the ninth wettest December on record) fell after 12/13.  This followed a ten-day dry spell, which was the longest in more than a year.  Four days had an inch or more of rain, all occurring in the second half of the month. 

 

December was 2.6 degrees milder than average.  The month started out colder than average, with Dec. 1-13 averaging three degrees below average, then a shift occurred and the rest of the month was nearly six degrees above average.  The final twelve days of the month all had above average temperatures (as did sixteen of the last eighteen).  The range in temperatures was rather narrow, from 24° to 61° (the coldest reading in December is typically in the upper teens while the mildest reading is in the low 60s).

 

November 2018 was snowier and had colder readings than December (two days had lows in the teens).  Typically December is ten degrees colder than November but this year it was only four degrees colder.  Just ten other Decembers have been closer to November's average temperature.

 

 

After 6.4" of snow fell in November (all on 11/15) there was just a trace of snow in December.  This was the twentieth December on record with a trace of snow or less (nine of them have been in the past 25 years).  And it joined a handful of Decembers with much less snow than November. 

 

 

Finally, December had the same average temperature as March (40.1°).  December is typically about five degrees colder.  However, while the overall temperature was the same as March's, December's average high was about a degree colder than March while its average low was about one degree milder.  And while both month's had above average precipitation, March was much snowier, with 11.6" measured.

 

 

Other December recaps:

2017

2016

2015

 

November 2018 Characterized By An Early Taste of Winter

After a mild start, with highs of 70°, 72° and 65° during the first three days of the month, the rest of November contended with unseasonably cold temperatures.  Overall, the month was 3.3 degrees below average, making it the coldest November in six years and the fifth coldest since 1960.  (Excluding the mild readings of Nov. 1-3, which were 11 degrees above average, the rest of the month was nearly five degrees colder than average.)

 

In addition to the unseasonable cold, November 2018 was also unusually wet, with half of its days reporting measurable precipitation.  With 7.62" measured this was the wettest November in 30 years - and the seventh wettest on record.  It was also the third month of 2018 to have more than seven inches of precipitation (the other two months were July and August), joining eight other years that have had three or more months with this much precipitation.  The crowning achievement of the month's rainfall occurred on 11/26 when the day's rainfall was enough to place 2018 among New York's ten wettest years (going back to 1869).  

 

Besides this excessive rainfall, the month will also be remembered for two other weather events: 1) the surprise afternoon/evening snowstorm of 11/15, which dumped 6.4" of snow, and 2) the bone-chilling cold on Thanksgiving Day and the day after. 

• The snowstorm of 11/15, the earliest date on record for a snowfall of six inches or more, snarled the evening rush hour in a big way for most commuters.  This was the greatest snowfall in November since 1938 (when 8.8 inches fell on Nov. 24-25).

• One week after the snowstorm Arctic air descended upon the region.  The high/low of 28/17 on Thanksgiving Day made it the coldest holiday since 1901.  And the following day the low fell to 15°, the coldest reading in November since 1932.  These cold readings, which would be well below average even during mid-winter, came near the end of a sixteen-day streak (Nov. 9-24) with below average readings that were nearly nine degrees colder than average.

 

Other November recaps:

2017

2016

2015

 

 

October 2018: Started Out Like September, Ended Like It Was November

Although October wasn't far from average in terms of its overall temperature, few would think of it as average as the first eleven days of the month had temperatures comparable to the start of September followed by nearly three weeks of temperature more like early November.  Through the 11th temperatures were ten degrees above average (high/low of 75/65), then the rest of the month was about twenty degrees colder (57/45), and four degrees below average.  Another contrast was between the departure from normal of the month's average high, which was a titch below average (-0.3 degrees), and the average low, which was nearly two degrees milder than average (+1.9 degrees).  Despite it being 0.8 degrees above average, this was the chilliest October in seven years.

 

Additional points of interest:

• Similar to August and September, the difference between October's average high and low (i.e., diurnal variation) was one of the smallest on record for October - 11.6 degrees (the average is 15.4 degrees).  In the past 100 years only October 2012 had a smaller variation.

• Just a year after the latest date for a low in the 70s occurred (on 10/9) a new mark was set this year when a low of 71° (five degrees warmer than the average high for the date) was reported on the 10th.

• The month was well above average in terms of days with lows of 60° or milder (eleven).  Only October 1879 (thirteen), 2012 (warmest October on record) and 2007 had more lows of 60+.  And this October's eleven days were consecutive (Oct. 1-11), which set a new October record and included five days in a row with mean temperatures that were ten or more degrees above average.  However, despite these balmy conditions just one day, 10/10, had a high in the 80s (80°).

• During the chilly portion of the month there were a dozen days with highs in the 50s, the most since 2009 (the typical number is eight).  And the number of lows in the 30s was three, the most since 2011 (the chilliest reading was 38°).

• The high of 64° on Halloween (five degrees above average) was the month's mildest reading since 10/15 and the first Halloween to have temperatures in the 60s in five years.

• Finally, much of October's 3.59" of rain (the smallest amount in five years) came from the remnants of catastrophic hurricane Michael on 10/11-12, which brought 1.27", and a nor'easter on 10/27 that produced 1.29".  On 10/20 the year's total precipitation passed 50 inches, and by the end of the month 51.42" had been measured, which is close to two inches more than what falls in a typical year.  This ranks as the the ninth greatest amount of precipitation (since 1869) through the end of October.

Here are recaps of previous Octobers:

2017

2016

August 2018 Weather Recap: Unusually Wet, With Unusually Warm Nights

July's rainy and warm conditions carried over into August, which was even warmer and wetter, ending up as the ninth warmest August on record and the twelfth wettest.  It was 2.9 degrees above average and warmer than July (something that's happened in 22% of the years since records began in 1869).  Despite August being warmer than July (by 0.5 degrees), July's average high was slightly higher (84.9 vs 84.3); it was August's average low that made it warmer overall (72.0 vs. 70.4).  In terms of rainfall, August's 8.59" was about an inch more than what was measured in July (7.45"), with much of it falling during heavy downpours during thunderstorms.  Here are additional observations worth noting:

 

• There were seven days in the 90s, which occurred during two heat waves - one was four days in length (8/5-8) and one lasted three days (8/28-30).  The four-day heat wave was one of the least impressive among those of this length. The hottest reading of the month was 94° on 8/28.  The coolest reading of the month, which was reported twice, was 65°, which tied August 2005 and 1906 for the mildest minimum temperature in the month of August.  The typical coolest low temperature in August is 59° (in the years since 1980).

• This was the thirty-second warmest August in terms of average high, but it had the fourth warmest average low.  (The low was 4.2 degrees above average, the high was 1.7 degrees above.)  This produced the ninth warmest August overall (tied with Aug. 1955, which was even rainier than this August, with nearly eleven inches measured).  Three of the past four Augusts have now placed among the ten warmest.

 

 

• Twenty-three days had lows in the 70s, tying August 1980 and 2005 for the most in the month of August (the typical number of such days is 13).  The month's first 18 days all had lows in the 70s, only the second time it's occurred, joining August 1988.  It appeared the City was going to set an August record for most lows of 70 or warmer, but it was not to be as the mercury fell to 69° the evening of 8/31.  On 8/29 the low of 81° established a new record for the latest date for a low in the 80s, smashing the previous record by two weeks (which occurred in 1985 and 1988).  This summer was just the eighth in which both July and August had average lows above 70° (two of the other summers were in 2015 and 2016).

• The month's diurnal variation (i.e., the difference between the high and low) was just 12.3 degrees, which was the smallest in August since 2000 (also 12.3 degrees).  The only variations smaller than this occurred more than 100 years ago, when eight Augusts in the years before 1911 had variances between 10.4 and 11.7 degrees (at the other end of the spectrum, the greatest diurnal variation in August is 20.4 degrees, which occurred in both 1964 and 1944.)

• This year has had the twelfth wettest August, the fourth wettest July-August, and the twelfth wettest summer.  Almost all of July and August's rain fell in a soggy six-week period (July 12 - Aug. 22).  Ironically, while August is the year's wettest month (so far), it also had the longest streak with no measurable rainfall - eight days, from the 23rd to the 30th.

 

 

Here are previous August recaps:

2017

2016

2015