Today in New York Weather History: October 15

 

 

October 15 is the date of New York's earliest measurable snowfall, which occurred in 1876 when 0.5" fell.  And although that was 145 years ago, NYC's earliest two-inch, four-inch and six-inch snowfalls occurred very recently - in 2011 (Oct. 29), 2012 (Nov. 7), and 2018 (Nov. 15), respectively.

 

1954 (Friday)

Powerful Hurricane Hazel (a 'category 4' when it made landfall in North Carolina) affected New York's weather as it moved through Pennsylvania, on its way to Ontario, Canada.  Although it produced minimal rain in the City, most of the 0.39” that fell poured down between 6-7 PM.  Winds gusted to 40 mph in Central Park, and 66 mph at La Guardia.  This was the fourth tropical system (three of them hurricanes) to impact the New York metro area this year (a tropical storm in June; Hurricane Carol on the last day of August, and Hurricane Edna in September).

 

1970 (Thursday)

Today's high was 70°, the tenth day in a row with a high of 70° or warmer.  The average high during this string of days was 74° - eight degrees above average.

 

1973 (Monday)

Thirteen of the first fifteen days of October had highs in the 70s.  Today's high was 76°, twelve degrees above average.

 

1974 (Tuesday)

Today had the first measurable rainfall of the month, 0.20", which moved in after 9 PM.

 

1975 (Wednesday)

Today was the second day in a row with sunny and unseasonably warm conditions.  Although today's high of 82° was one degree lower than yesterday, the morning low of 66° was eight degrees warmer. 

 

1985 (Tuesday)

Today's high was an unseasonably warm 80°, sixteen degrees above average.  This was the eighth month in a row to report a high in the 80s, joining 1945 as the only other year in which this occurred.  (These two years would later be joined by 1990.) 

 

1987 (Thursday)

Today was the 15th day in a row in which the daily mean temperature never rose above average.  During these days temperatures were nearly seven degrees chillier than average.

 

1990 (Monday)

Today was the tenth day in a row with a mean temperature 10 degrees or more warmer than average - the longest such streak in the years since 1970.  During this stretch, temperatures were 13 degrees above average.  This was also the thirteenth day in a row with a high in the 70s. 

 

 

2009 (Tuesday)

Today was raw, windy, rainy, and unseasonably cold (high of 48°/low of 37°).  Outlying suburbs of New Jersey picked up one to two inches of snow.  This came in the midst of an eight-day stretch (10/12-19) in which temperatures were 11 degrees below the norm for mid-October. 

 

2014 (Wednesday)

It appeared today was going to become the latest date on record with a low in the 70s, but it was not to be as the temperature fell to 69° shortly after 11 PM during a brief downpour.  So the record set on Oct. 7, 2005 remained intact (until 2017).

 

2021 (Friday)

Today’s high of 79° and low of 63° were the warmest of the month.  The low extended a 12-day streak in which the low temperatures were in the 60°-62 range°.  With 13 days with lows of 60+, this October tied October 1879 for the most lows this mild in October.

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Today in New York Weather History: October 14

 

1949 (Friday)

Today was the eleventh day in a row with a high of 70° or warmer (including four in a row in the 80s).  The average high/low during this extended period of unseasonable warmth was 78°/62°, eleven degrees warmer than average.  And a week later there would be a three-day period with an average high/low of 77°/57°.  This October would end up being the second warmest on record (now ranked fourth), two years after the warmest on record (now ranked second).   

 

1975 (Tuesday)

Today's high, under sunny skies, was a balmy 83°, just one degree shy of the record for the date.  This reading was warmer than any in September.  The last time it was warmer than today was seven weeks ago, on Aug. 27.

 

 

1981 (Wednesday)

This was the fourth day in a row with a chilly morning low of 43° - eight degrees chillier than average.  This came one month after four days in a row with a low of 66° (Sept. 4-7).

 

1988 (Friday)

Temperatures over the past nine days averaged 10 degrees below average (high of 58°/low of 42°).  Four of the days had lows of 37°, three of which were records for their respective dates.

 

1990 (Sunday)

Today was the seventh day in a row in which the day's low was 66° or warmer, 15 degrees above mid-October's norm.

 

1995 (Saturday)

Much of the evening's 1.76" of rain, a record for the date, fell between 7-11 PM. 

 

2005 (Friday)

8.55" of rain fell in the past three days (4.26" on 10/12; 2.75" on 10/13; and 1.54" today) - and 13.35" over the past eight days.

 

 

 

2008 (Tuesday)

The mildest low of the month was 58°, which happened today and on three previous days (all since 10/9).  This was the last year the mildest low in October failed to reach 60° or milder (thru 2023).

 

2011 (Friday)

Between 1:00 and 2:00 AM, a thunderstorm dumped 0.85" of rain, most of which poured down in a five-minute period.  Between 1:37-1:42 AM, 0.63" fell, making this the heaviest 5-minute downpour in the 1970-2015 period (topping the 0.54" which fell on June 2, 2006, but topped on July 30, 2016, when 0.81" poured down).

 

 

2021 (Thursday)

This was the twelfth day in a row with a low in the 60s, a record streak for the month of October (breaking a tie with October 2018).  Interestingly, the low temperatures during this streak were all in the narrow 60°-62° range (highs ranged between 65°-77°).  This streak's average high/low was not nearly as mild as the seven streaks preceding it.  Tomorrow would see this streak extended by one day.

 

2022 (Friday)

A hard rain that fell from last night into the wee hours of this morning amounted to 0.99”, bringing the month’s rainfall to 4.30”.  Although this was far from New York’s rainiest periods, this amount was more than what fell during six months this year, and not much less from what fell during April (4.53"), May (4.52"), and July (4.55").

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Today in New York Weather History: October 13

 

1885 (Tuesday)

A tropical storm moved northward through central Pennsylvania and dropped 1.50" of rain in Central Park. 

 

1930 (Monday)

This was the third day in a row with very similar, and well above average, highs/lows: 77°/59° (two days ago); 77°/58° (yesterday); and 78°/57° (today).  Skies were clear on all three days.

 

1975  (Monday)

The 0.11" of rain that fell during a late night thundershower was the first measurable rain to fall on this date in sixteen years. 

 

1983 (Thursday)

The morning low was 67°, sixteen degrees above average - and more typical of the average high for the date.  Mostly overcast skies and scattered showers in the afternoon prevented the temperature from rising very much, as it topped off at 74°. 

 

1990 (Saturday)

Nearly three inches of rain fell over the past six days.  These days were also unseasonably mild, 14 degrees warmer than normal.  And today's morning low was a summer-like 69°, eighteen degrees warmer than average.

 

 

1995 (Friday)

Today's high hit 86°, twenty degrees above the average high for the middle of October.

 

2005 (Thursday)

Following yesterday's record 4.26" rainfall, a record was set for this date as well as rain fell for much of the day, amounting to 2.75".

2012 (Saturday)

The AM low of 38° was the earliest occurrence of a temperature this chilly since 2000, when the mercury dropped to 38° on 10/9.  This was also the 16th day in a row in which no low temperature was duplicated.

 

2021 (Wednesday)

Today was the fourth day in a row with a low of 61° (and the seventh day with this low since 10/3).  It was also the sixth day this month with a high/low stuck in the 60s - the most on record for any month.  (On average,  October sees one of these days once every two years).  Persistent overcast skies were largely the reason for the temperature not rising much during the daytime hours. 

 

 

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Today in New York Weather History: October 12

 

1928 (Friday)

Today's high of 86°, a record for the date, was the warmest reading in six weeks (since the year's last 90-degree temperature on 8/30).

 

1970 (Monday)

For the fifth morning in a row the low temperature was a mild 61° - nine degrees above average.  The afternoon highs during these days, however, were all different (ranging between 71° to 79°).  This streak came one month after four mornings in a row had lows of 58°.

 

 

1979 (Friday)

Rain fell during nine of the past fourteen days, amounting to 4.45" - but then rain would fall on only one other occasion for the rest of the month.

 

  

 

1992 (Monday)

This was 15th day in a row in which no low temperature was duplicated.  During these days the lows ranged from 39° (16 degrees below average) to 60° (eight above). 

 

2002 (Saturday)

Rain fell for 51 consecutive hours, beginning the night of the 10th and continuing until 10:00 tonight.  In total, 4.51" fell, with 1.06" measured today.  

 

2005 (Wednesday)

Four days after 4.26" of rain fell, an identical amount flooded the area today.  Today's rainfall was a record for the date.  This was also the fifth time an inch or more of rain fell on 10/12 when it fell on a Wednesday.  The other times were: 1870 (1.91"); 1904 (1.41"); 1927 (1.96"); and 1983 (3.40").  This record would later be tied on Monday, April 28 (in 2008) and on Friday, Oct. 21 (in 2016).

 

2011 (Wednesday)

A thundershower between 11:30 PM and midnight dumped 0.43" of rain.  (It actually occurred between 12:30-1:00 AM on 10/13, but the National Weather Service uses Standard Time all year round, which occasionally results in this type of peculiarity during Daylight Saving Time.) 

 

 

2018 (Friday)

After the first eleven days of the month averaged a very mild high/low of 75°/65° (ten degrees above average), fall weather finally arrived as a cold front pushed out the remnants of hurricane Michael early in the morning, and the temperature dropped from 68° shortly after midnight to 51° twenty-four hours later (the chilliest reading since June 3 and 4).

 

2020 (Monday)

Moisture from the remnants of hurricane Delta moved into the area and produced a steady, but light, all-day rain that amounted to nearly one inch (0.96"); an additional 0.34" fell the following day.  Winds out of the northeast, gusting between 25-30 mph, kept the temperature unseasonably cool.  The high of 57° (shortly after midnight) was the first maximum reading in the 50s since 5/9.  

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Today in New York Weather History: October 11

 

1959 (Sunday)

This was the twenty-first consecutive day with above-average temperatures.  During this unseasonably warm three-week period temperatures were 10 degrees above average, with an average high/low of 81°/65° (more like the end of August); twelve days had highs in the 80s.  

 

2002 (Friday)

An all-day rain dumped 3.06" on the City, a record for the date (and the first time it rained on this date in 10 years).  This was part of a 56-hour "rain-athon" that began the previous night and ended in the wee hours of the 13th.  In total, 4.54" fell.

 

 

2007 (Thursday)

Today was the 22nd consecutive day with above-average temperatures, the longest such stretch during the autumn in the 1980-2022 period (and one day longer than the streak in the fall of 1959).  During these days temperatures were nine degrees milder than average.  A cold front moving through during the afternoon triggered storms that dumped nearly an inch-and-a-half of rain, with an inch of it falling in a two-hour period ending at 7:30 PM.

 

 

2010 (Monday)

1.13" of rain fell today, the fourth time in the past nine years that more than an inch of rain fell on this date.  It was mostly an evening rainfall, with 0.77" falling between 7:00 and 8:00.  The day's high of 75° was the mildest reading of the month (reached again on 10/27).

 

 

2017 (Wednesday)

This was the seventh day in a row with a mean temperature ten degrees or more above average, the longest such streak in October since 2007, when there were two seven-day streaks.  (Since 1980, only one October has had a longer streak - 10 days in October 1990).  During these seven days the average high/low was 80°/67°, which was 14 degrees above average.  Today, with a high/low of 77°/60°, was the "coolest" of the seven days. 

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Today in New York Weather History: October 10

 

1871 (Tuesday)

Just four days after the biggest rainstorm of the year (2.72" fell on 10/6), a low pressure system today brought nearly the same amount (2.65", of which 2.44" fell today).

 

1925 (Saturday)

It was a very chilly day (high/low of 43°/36°), with howling winds that gusted to 51 mph around mid-day, producing wind chills in the mid-20s.  The high of 43° set a record as the coldest high on Oct. 10, and the low was one degree shy of the 1888 record.

 

 

1939 (Tuesday)

One year after the latest date for a 90-degree reading occurred (on 10/17), the second latest date was set today, as the mercury soared to 91°, twenty-five degrees above average.

 

 

1979 (Wednesday)

Although the temperatures was above freezing (low of 37°), snow flurries fell during the morning - the earliest date on record for a trace of snow in Central Park.  Combined with an afternoon high of just 47°, the day was 19 degrees colder than average.

 

 

1990 (Wednesday)

Today was the fifth day in row with a high temperature in the 80s.  (And there would be one more on the 14th.)  This string of unseasonably warm weather was part of ten straight days between Oct. 6-15 that all had temperatures 10 degrees or more above average.  

 

1993 (Sunday)

One day after a balmy high of 78° (warmest temperature of the month), today's afternoon temperatures were only in the low 50s.  However, the cold front that moved through yesterday evening produced no rain and both days were sunny.

 

2011 (Monday)

Today's high of 81° was the latest date for a reading in the 80s since 1995, when it occurred on Oct. 14.

 

2018 (Wednesday)

Today's low of 71° made this the latest date for a daily minimum temperature in the 70s, eclipsing the previous record established just last year (on 10/9).  Additionally, today was the tenth day in a row with a low of 60° or milder, the longest such streak on record for October - and it would continue for another day (this record would be broken in 2021).  The average low of 64° during these days was eleven degrees above average.  Of these ten days, today was the only one to have a high in the 80s.  Finally, today was the 55th day this year with a low of 70° or warmer, the fourth most on record (tied with 2010).

 

 

2019 (Thursday)

A year after a record low of 71° was recorded, today's high was the same temperature.  Although this was quite a contrast compared to last year, this high was five degrees above average.    

 

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Today in New York Weather History: October 9

 

1903 (Friday)

After 4.30" of rain poured down yesterday even more fell today as it continued through mid-afternoon.  At the time, today's 7.33" was Central Park's second greatest daily amount (behind Sept. 23, 1882's 8.28"); it's now ranked fourth.  However, it remains the rainiest Friday on record.

 

1980 (Thursday)

High temperatures over the past six days were three pairs of the same reading: 64° on 10/4 and 10/5; 65° on 10/6 and 10/7; and 70° yesterday and today.

 

 

1982 (Saturday)

A cold front moved through during the morning, but before it did the temperature was in the 70s for a few hours after midnight, making this the ninth day in a row with a high in the 70s.  During this string of mild days (five of which had highs of 77° or warmer) the average high was 76°, eight degrees above average.

 

1990 (Tuesday)

Today was the warmest day of the month, with a high of 84° (after a very mild morning low of 68°).  Overall, the day was 16 degrees warmer than normal, and occurred in the midst of a streak of very mild days.  During this 10-day span, Oct. 6-15, temperatures were 13 degrees above average.  However, not every day saw sunny skies as rain fell six days in a row between Oct. 8-13, amounting to 2.88".  

 

2013 (Wednesday)

Although today's mean temperature was just one degree cooler than average (high/low of 62°/53°), this was the only below-average day between Sept. 28 and Oct. 22, a span of 25 days.

 

2015 (Friday)

After a warm day, with a high in the upper 70s, a cold front triggered a period of heavy rain just as the evening rush hour was getting underway.  0.89" poured down between 5-7:00, with much of it falling in the first hour.

 

2017 (Monday)

One day after the latest date for a low in the 70s happened, that record was broken as today's low was 71°.  And like yesterday, the high got no higher than 77°, as skies were overcast and dew points were in the muggy 70s throughout the day, a rare occurrence in October.

 

 

Today in New York Weather History: October 8

 

1903 (Thursday)

A stalled hurricane (which weakened to tropical storm status) and a low pressure system that formed along an approaching cold front, combined to create a tremendous rainstorm that produced 11.63" in the course of 26 hours.  The deluge started late this morning (4.30" was measured) and continued thru mid-afternoon on the 9th (when an additional 7.33" fell).  Rain fell at a rate of an inch every two hours for a large portion of the storm; at its most intense, 2.54" fell from 10 AM-noon on the 9th. 

 

1924 (Wednesday)

The only rain this month fell today, and it amounted to 0.28".  At the time this was the driest October and the second driest month on record.  (It's now the second driest October, behind October 1963, and the seventh driest of any month).

 

 

 

1931 (Thursday)

The first eight days of the month had an average high of 81°, fourteen degrees above average.  Highs ranged between 76° and 86°, with five of the days reporting highs in the 80s.  Today's high was 86°, a record which held until 2007.

 

1956 (Monday)

On the afternoon that the Yankees' Don Larsen pitched a perfect game in World Series Game 5 against the Brooklyn Dodgers at Yankee Stadium, skies were clear and temperatures were in the seasonable mid-to-upper 60s.

 

 

 

1971 (Friday)

This morning's low of 45° was the chilliest reading of the month, tying October 1946 as the mildest minimum temperature ever recorded in October.  (Later broken in October 2021 when its chilliest reading was 47°)

 

1988 (Saturday)

Since Oct. 2 low temperatures fell steadily: 63°-56°-55°-48°-45°-43°-37° (today), with the last three mornings well below average.

 

1996 (Tuesday)

1.89" of rain fell, beginning around noon and continuing thru midnight.

 

2005 (Saturday)

Rain that began last night continued for thirty-two consecutive hours, totaling 4.49" by midnight.  This was the first in a series of huge rainmakers that dumped nearly 17 inches of rain on the City in a two-and-a-half week period.

 

 

 

2007 (Monday)

Today's sultry high of 87° was a record for the date and the fifth day in a row with temperatures in the 80s - the longest such streak in October since 1990.

 

 

2017 (Sunday)

Today became the latest date for a low in the 70s, besting the previous record, set in 2005, by one day.  However, because of clouds and high humidity, the temperature never got out of the 70s (and the dew point was in the 70s from 8 AM onward).  Additionally, rain showers that fell between 8 AM and noon ended the City's 18-day streak with no measurable rain - the longest such streak in nearly two-and-a-half years.  By coincidence, the 0.22" of rain that fell today was the same amount that fell on the last day with rain before the streak began.  (Today's temperature record would last one day as the low was again in the 70s on 10/9.)

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Today in New York Weather History: October 7

 

1944 (Saturday)

Today's high soared to a record 88°, breaking the previous record set the previous year (83°).  This reading was seventeen degrees warmer than yesterday's high and was the first reading in the 80s in three weeks. 

 

 

 

1965 (Thursday)

Today's rainfall of 1.15", which soaked the City during the evening, was the third, and last, day this year to receive an inch or more of precipitation - the fewest days on record (a record that still stands).  A typical year has twelve such days.

 

1972 (Saturday)

4.09" of rain fell today, a record for the date.  Most of it fell between 2-11 AM.  (An even greater rainfall would occur a month from now.)

 

1973 (Sunday)

With a high of 69°, today was the only day between Sept. 26 and Oct. 10 not to have a high of 70° or warmer.  The average high during these 15 days was 75°, seven degrees above average.

 

1984 (Sunday)

Today was the sixth day of the past nine to have a high of 66°, slightly cooler than the seasonal average.  Three of these days were consecutive (Oct. 3-5).

 

 

1995 (Saturday)

Today's high tumbled to a brisk 62° after yesterday's summer-like 86°.

 

1999 (Thursday)

This morning's low of 39°, a record for the date, was the earliest reading in the chilly 30s in 25 years.

 

2005 (Friday)

This morning's low of 70° was latest date for a low in the 70s on record, breaking the previous record from 1910 (2005's record would be broken in 2017, and that year's record was broken the following year).  This was also the year's sixtieth 70°+ low, the second most on record, one less than in 1906.  (The average number, based on 1970-2004, was 34 days.)  Despite the day's mild low, the temperature rose only six degrees due to overcast skies. 

 

 

2013 (Monday)

A cold front produced showers during the afternoon (0.25" fell), ending a two-week dry spell.

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Today in New York Weather History: October 6

 

 

Since 1960, Oct. 6 has the distinction of being the date least likely to have reported measurable rain.  (Going back to 1869, Sept. 5 has been the date least likely to see rain.)  On this date, rain has fallen in just twelve years.  And there was a recent 17-year streak with no rain between 2002-2018. 

 

1910 (Thursday)

Today was the twenty-seventh day in a row with no measurable rain.  At the time this was the longest rain-free streak on record, and would continue to be until 1924 (1924 is now ranked third, behind dry spells in 1965 and 1964).  The day was also unseasonably warm, with a high/low of 84°/71°.  At the time, this was the latest date for a low in the 70s (and would remain so for nearly 100 years, until 2005, when there was a low of 70° on 10/7).

 

1924 (Monday)

This morning's low of 58° was the mildest of October, and the second year in a row in which the mildest reading failed to reach 60° or milder.  This was the third, and last, time (thru 2024) this occurred in back-to-back years.

 

1934 (Saturday)

Today had the fifth rainstorm of 1.50" or more in the past 30 days: 5.48" fell on 9/7-8; 2.01" on 9/16-17; 1.54" on 9/22; 1.51" on 9/29-30 and 1.93" on 10/5-6 (most of it fell today).  During this period, nearly 14 inches of rain was measured.  (Then less than an inch of rain would fall in the next four weeks.)

 

1941 (Monday)

For the second day in a row the high got into the 90s (yesterday's high was a blistering 94°).  This is the only October to have more than one day in the 90s, and it was also the last time the temperature reached the 90s in October for nearly 80 years (until Oct. 2, 2019).

 

 

1959 (Tuesday)

Under mostly clear skies today's high soared to 88°, twenty degrees above average, as the unseasonable warmth of August and September continued into October.

 

1995 (Friday)

One day after two inches of rain fell the afternoon high was an unseasonably warm 86° (eighteen degrees above average).  A week later the mercury would once again top out at 86°.

 

 

2001 (Saturday)

The 0.12" of rain that fell this morning, mostly between 10-11:00, was the last time measurable rain fell on this date until 2019 (when 0.01" fell).  This was one of just five days with rain this month, which ended up as the fifth driest October on record (with 0.01" less rain than October 2000). 

 

2003 (Monday)

The first six days of the month all had chilly highs in the 57° to 60° range, which is more typical of the last few days of October/first week of November (average highs in the first week of October range from 67° to 69°).

 

2019 (Sunday)

Although a brief evening shower amounted to just 0.01", this was the first measurable rain to fall on this date since 2001.

 

2022 (Thursday)

After five consecutive days with overcast skies, showers, and chilly temperatures (highs averaged 58°, 11 degrees below average), today was sunny and warm with a high of 74° (six degrees above average).  The last time it was this mild was on 9/26. 

 

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