Disputing Central Park's Last 1-Inch Snowfall

 

 

 

For the past month I've been scratching my head over the National Weather Service and The Weather Channel touting that Central Park hasn’t had a snowfall of an inch or more in nearly two years (since Feb. 13, 2022).  But that’s simply not true, and their observation appears to be based on a flawed understanding of what a "snowfall" is.

 

Last winter, Central Park had a snowfall of 1.8” on Feb. 27-28, with 0.9” falling on 2/27 (in the evening) and another 0.9” on 2/28 (in the wee hours of the morning).  As I see it, the entirety of the snow event determines a snowfall amount, not the confines of a calendar date.  (Snowflakes don’t abide by boundaries of calendar dates, as half of significant snowfalls since 1950 have begun on one date and ended the next day.)

 

Many of us are well aware that last winter was the least snowy on record, so scraping together an artificial factoid isn't needed for us to appreciate the lack of snow in New York. 

 

 

WRONG!

 

December 2023 Weather Recap: 2023 Ends with New York's 2nd Mildest & 9th Wettest December

 

 

December 2023 became New York's second mildest December on record and its ninth wettest.  But despite it being such a mild month (5.5 degrees above average), the warmest temperature of the month was just 62° (on 12/18), which is typical for December’s mildest reading.  However, the month’s coldest reading, 25° on 12/22, was seven degrees milder than the typical coldest reading.

 

 

December had 6.71” of rain, making it the fourth month of 2023 with 6.50” of rain or more, something that’s happened in just five other years (2018, 2007, 1989, 1983 and 1901). 

 

 

After the coldest reading of the month on 12/22, 25°, the rest of the month had no readings of 32° or colder.  The average low between 12/23-12/31 was 42°, eleven degrees above average.

 

There were ten days with a mean temperature 10 degrees or more above average.  The most above average day was 12/28 which was 16 degrees above average (high/low of 55°/49°).   Only six days were colder than average.  The chilliest day was 12/22, with a high/low of 37°/25° (six degrees below average).

 

Three rainstorms produced more than 1.50” of rain.  They accounted for 5.68” of the month’s 6.71” of rain.

• 1.67" fell on Dec. 10-11
• 2.47" fell on Dec. 17-18 (2.21" on 12/18 set a record for the date)
  
• 1.54" fell on Dec. 27-28

 

Like last year, November and December of this year had only a trace of snow in Central Park, joining the winters of 1971-2 and 1972-73 as the only back-to-back winters with no measurable snow in Nov/Dec.

 

March and December had the same average temperature, but December’s was 5.5 degrees above average while March’s was 1.8 degrees above average.  And while December 2023 was the second mildest on record, March was the 25^th mildest.  Finally, December had twice as much rain as March.

 

 

Here are recaps of previous Decembers:

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

November 2023 Weather Recap

 

November 2023 was 1.3 degrees chillier than average.  And while its average high was just 0.7 degree below average, the low was 2.0 degrees colder than average.

 

Almost all of the month's interesting aspects (i.e., biggest rain event, mildest and coldest temperature) occurred in the last ten days of the month.

 

Most of November’s 2.95” of rain (somewhat below average) fell during 11/21-22 when 2.52” poured down (much of it on the 22nd, which was the day before Thanksgiving).  This was the biggest November rainstorm in seven years.  It soaked the area after just 0.07” was measured in the first 20 days of the month.  This November’s total rainfall was close to last November, which had 3.15”.

 

 

The fall’s first low of 32° or colder occurred on 11/25, which was four days later than the average date for this occurrence.

 

The month’s coldest reading was 27° (on 11/29), which was also Nov. 2022’s coldest reading.  However, this November’s mildest reading of 67° was ten degrees cooler than last November.

 

Finally, temperatures on the Sunday of the NYC Marathon (11/6) and on Thanksgiving Day (11/23) were very similar, with highs and lows of 56°/44° and 52°/44°, respectively.  And neither day had any rain. 

 

Here are recaps of NYC's previous eight Novembers:

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

 

October 2023 Weather Recap: Warm Beginning & End

 

October 2023 was was 2.6 degrees warmer than average.  It was the fourth mildest October in the years since 2000 and the 20th mildest since records began in 1869.  The first week of the month was seven degrees above average; Oct. 27-30 was 14 degrees above average.  These 11 days were 10 degrees above average; the rest of the month was one degree below average. 

 

Three days had highs in the 80s: 10/3, 10/4, and 10/28.  The warmest reading of 83° on 10/4 was the warmest reading in October since 2019.  And the high of 80° on 10/28 was Central Park's latest reading in the 80s since 1993 when it occurred on 11/15.  (Average date of the last high of 80+ is 9/28.)

 

After 14.25" fell in September (the fourth rainiest month on record), October dried out and had about ten inches less.  Although the 3.90" that was measured was slightly below average this was the driest October since 2018.  Much of of the month's rain came from three storms between 10/14 and 10/30: 0.81" on 10/14;  1.51" on 10/20-21; and 1.06" on 10/29-30.

 

In addition to October 2023, October 1936 also had 3.90" of rain.  And five other Octobers had very similar amounts.  In 1987, October had 3.89"; October 2015 had 3.91"; October 1973 had 3.92"; October 1979 had 3.87"; and October 1980 had 3.86".  

 

Chilliest day of the month was on 10/31, with a high/low of 51°/45°.  Only October 2021 had a milder "chilliest" reading in October (47°).

 

Here are recaps of previous Octobers:

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

 

 

September 2023 Weather Recap: 2nd Rainiest September on Record

 

After a very warm and dry start, September 2023 ended cool and very wet.  The six-day period Sept. 3-8 all had highs of 88° or hotter, with an average high of 91° (eleven degrees above average).  Then the eight-day period Sept. 23-30 all had highs of 66° or cooler, with an average high of 64° (eight degrees below average).  Temperature-wise, the two periods balanced each other out and the month ended up with a close to average temperature (+0.2 degrees above average). 

 

After having no days in the 90s in August, September had four, the most in September since there were six in Sept. 2015.  The four days in the 90s were consecutive, making this the only heat wave of the year.  And with highs of 93°, Sept. 6 and 7 tied July 5 for hottest reading of the year.  (9/6, with a high/low of 93°/77° had the hottest mean temperature of the year.) 

 

Despite there being no measurable rain in the first week of the month, September 2023 ended up being the second rainiest September on record with 14.25" measured  (September 1882 had 16.85") - and the fourth wettest of any month.  More than half of the rain (8.90") fell in the last eight days of the month. (This amount alone would have made it the 10th wettest September.)

 

 

Five days had more than an inch of rain (and another had 0.96"), the most in one month since August 2011 which had six.   The rainstorm of 9/29 produced 5.48" of rain (much of it in a 3-hour period), the ninth greatest amount to fall on a calendar date.  Tropical storm Ophelia impacted NYC's weather for four days (9/22-9/25) and produced 3.00" of rain, close to what fell in just two hours on 9/29.

 

The last 16 days of the month all had below average mean temperatures, the longest below average streak since April 2020, which also had a 16-day streak in the month's last 16 days (a streak of 22 days, occurred in March 2018).  Additionally, the last eight days all had highs in the 60s, the longest such streak in September in the years since 1960 (the coolest reading of the month, 50°, was reported on 9/27).  For the entire month there were 10 days with sub-70 highs, which was the most in September since 2006.  

 

In total, there were 12 days with highs in the 90s in 2023, the fewest since 2014, which had eight.  The last time a summer had its hottest reading at 93° or cooler was in 2014 when it was 92°.

 

Of the 23 years in which August had no readings in the 90s, September 2023 had the second most highs in the 90s (Sept. 1915 had the most - five)

 

Here are recaps from nine previous Septembers:

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

August 2023 Weather Recap: Protective Bubble Keeps Searing Heat Away From NYC

 

 

Compared to other regions of the US, New York continued to be blessed by relatively mild summertime temperatures.  August was 1.1 degrees cooler than average and was the first August since 1986 not to have any reading in the 90s.  (By contrast, last August was the third hottest on record, with 11 days having highs in the 90s.)  It was the coolest August in six years (and the summer of 2023 was the coolest in six years as well).

 

The month's hottest reading was 88°, which occurred twice (on 8/13 and 8/21).  The last time the warmest temperature in August was 88° (or cooler) was in 1963 (the coolest warmest temperature of any August is 83° in 1927).  The warmest stretch this month was the four days between 8/11-14 with highs of 85°-85°-88°-87° (just slightly warmer than average).

 

This was the tenth year in a row in which August’s coolest temperature was 60° or milder (63°).  Only five Augusts have had their coolest reading milder than this August.  However, the ten days with lows of 70° or warmer was below the average of 14 for August.  (This was after July had 24 such lows, third most on record for that month.)

 

The most above and below average daily mean temperatures were in a narrow range of just +/- five degrees.  The coolest and warmest temperatures in August were just 25 degrees apart (63° and 88°), which is the narrowest range on record for the month of August (average is 34 degrees, 60° and 94°).  This followed July, which had the third smallest temperature range for that month (66° and 93°).  

 

6.56" of rain fell in Central Park, making this the 29^th rainiest August (this was after no measurable rain fell in the first six days of the month).  This was the second greatest amount this year (behind April's 7.70").  Much of the month’s rain (nearly five inches) fell during relatively brief downpours between 1 AM and sunrise on six days.  The biggest deluge was 1.25" that fell between 3:30-5 AM on 8/16.

 

Here are monthly recaps for past Augusts:

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

 

July 2023 Weather Recap: Consistently Warm Rather Than Excessively Hot

 

 

 

This post may be one of the few weather-related articles that doesn't hyperventilate about hot weather in the middle of summer.  And despite New York's news media hyping the term "heat dome" any time the local forecast called for a high approaching 90°, just five days in July had highs in the 90s in NYC, and there were no heat waves; the hottest reading was just 93°.  Globally, July was the hottest month on record, but that wasn't the case in Central Park as it was the 20th warmest July (average high/low was 86.4°/71.7°, 1.5 degrees above average).  

 

Every day but one had a high of 80° or warmer (the typical number of days in July with highs cooler than 80° is six), comparable to last July which had no such days.  As for low temperatures, this July and July 2022 both reported 24 days with lows in the 70s, tying three other Julys for third most (July 2020 had 26, 2010 had 25).  Although it had a below average number of days in the 90s (five versus seven), July 2023 had an above average concentration of highs that were 88° or 89°, with ten counted.

 

July was slightly wetter than average, with 5.34" measured.  This was almost double the amount that fell in May and June combined (which had 1.29" and 1.62", respectively).  More rain fell in the first four days of July (1.66") than what fell in all of June.  This included 0.63" of rain that fell on 7/4, the most on Independence Day since 1981 (when 1.76" fell).   

 

The month's greatest daily rainfall was 1.32" on 7/16 (0.91" of it fell between 11 AM and 1 PM); this daily total was more than what fell in all of April.  On that day, which had a low of 74°, the high reached just 78°, which is the coolest high temperature ever reported with a low this warm.   

 

Only five days had below average temperatures, all of which occurred in the second half of the month.  Meanwhile, seven days were five or more degrees above average.

 

July's temperature range was only 27 degrees, from 66° to 93°.  This compares to an average range of 34 degrees (62° to 96°).  Only one other July has had a smaller range (2004's 24-degree range).

 

Although there were no heat waves, there was a streak of eight days with highs of 85° or warmer (July 22-29).  Finally, high dew points were a consistent feature of July as two-thirds of the days in July experienced dew points of 70° or warmer, giving the air an uncomfortable, tropical feel. 

 

Here are July recaps from previous years:

July 2022

July 2021

July 2020

July 2019

July 2018

July 2017

July 2016

July 2015

July 2014

June 2023 Weather Recap: Dry, Below Average Temperatures ... and Smoky Conditions

 

 

After a May characterized by consistent sunny skies, June 2023 will likely be remembered for the one day, 6/7, when smoke from Canadian wildfires shrouded the City in an otherworldly orange haze.  This overshadowed the fact that June was the driest since 1999 (with 1.62" measured it became the 19^th driest June overall) and was the coolest June since 2009 (two degrees below average).  Besides 6/7 there were other days that experienced low visibility because of the wildfires including the last three days of the month.   Other June highlights included:

 

• The first two days of June were hot and sunny (with highs of 87° and 91°) but then the rest of the month was 2.6 degrees cooler than average, with only five days having above average temperatures. 
  

• Less than 48 hours after a high of 91° on 6/2, the low on 6/4 was 49° - the first reading in the 40s in June since 2000.

• There were just nine days with highs of 80° or warmer, about half the average number of days (17).  This was the fewest since 1985 which also had nine days (June 1958 had eight).

• June's first day with a low in the 70s was on 6/25 and came more than two months after the year's first such low on 4/14 (the earliest date for a low this warm).

• June and May were both cooler than average, the first time back to back months were below average since April and May 2020.  This was also the second month in a row with less than two inches of rainfall (and it was the fourth year in a row in which June had less than three inches of rain).  June 2023's rainfall was nearly three inches below average.

• 2023 became the 11th year in which three of the years' first six months had less than two inches of rain.

 

Here are June recaps from the previous seven years:

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

New York's Top Weather Stories of 2022

After 2020 and 2021 were among the ten mildest years on record in NYC (ranked second and eighth, respectively) 2022 was somewhat "cooler" as it ranked 16th (out of 154 years).  And it was significantly drier, with 13 inches less precipitation than 2021 (but it was an average amount).

 

Perhaps the biggest weather story of 2022 was the heat of the summer. Despite having a very late date for the first high in the 80s (5/21) the year had 25 days with highs in the 90s, which was the most since 2010.  For just the 12th time, July and August each had 10 or more days with highs in the 90s.  Every day in July had a high of 80° or warmer, and a six-day heat wave that month (7/19-24) was the longest one in ten years.  Nighttime temperatures were also balmy as July-August had the most lows in the 70s on record (46, compared to an average of 29).  Finally, a seven-day streak with lows of 75° or warmer in August was that month's second longest streak of its kind.  

 

As the year came to a close a "flash" cold snap at Christmastime came close to eclipsing July and August's heat as the year's top weather story.  This incursion of Arctic cold produced 1) the biggest temperature drop in one day (50 degrees); 2) the coldest reading since January 2019; 3) the coldest reading in December since 1989; and 4) the coldest reading on 12/24 since 1983.  As the Arctic air approached it was preceded by the year's biggest rainstorm on 12/23-24 when 2.05" of rain fell (1.33" fell in a one-hour period).  Other highlights of 2022:

 

• The year began with a cold and snowy January (3.4 degrees below average, 15.3" of snow). 
• Four months were well above average: August (+3.2 degrees); November (+2.9 degrees); March (+2.5 degrees); and July (+2.0 degrees). 
• 2022's coldest reading was 7° on 12/24, hottest was 97° on 8/9.
• A high/low of 33°/23° on 3/28 was one of the coldest days so late in the season since 1982.
• A high of 77° on 11/7 was the mildest reading in November since 2003.  And the three days with lows in the 60s was the most in November since 1982.
• The temperature on the day of the NYC Marathon (high/low of 75°/66°) was the warmest of the races run in November (since 1990). 
• There was no measurable snow in November-December, joining just 14 other years with no measurable snow in those two months. 

 

Here are recaps of previous years:

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

 

 

 

May 2023 Weather Recap: Sunny & Dry Conditions Prevail

 

"Blue skies smilin' at me,
Nothin' but blue skies do I see"

- Willie Nelson

 

May 2023 in New York brought to mind Willie Nelson's song "Blue Skies" as there was an overabundance of sunny or clear skies.  After the month began damp, chilly, and overcast (thru 5/5), 24 of the next 26 days saw either sunny or clear skies.  

 

With just 1.28" of rain measured in Central Park, May 2023 was the driest May since 1964 and the 13th driest May overall.  It had the same amount of precipitation as February (which was the 10th driest February).  Much of the month's rain, 0.77", fell on 5/20.

 

May's 14 days with humidity levels of 25% or lower was the most of any month this century (passing April 2010 which had 13); 11 of these days were consecutive, between 5/7 and 5/17.  May's previous most days of low humidity was seven (in 2014 and 2007).

 

The month was slightly cooler than average (-0.5 degrees) due to the average low, which was 1.4 degrees below average.  This was the first month this year with a below average temperature.  (Thru April, 2023 was about five degrees warmer than average.)

 

There was a 10-day period that had temperatures five degrees above average (May 7-16).  The other days of the month were three degrees below average.

 

After having two days with highs in the 90s in April, May's warmest reading was 87° (5/12).  The chilliest reading, 43°, came six days later.  And May's mildest low reading of 66° was lower than April's (70°).  The two days with lows in the 60s were the fewest in May since 2005. 

 

The first 19 days of May had 0.42" of rain, which was similar to the 0.40" of rain that fell in the first 21 days of April.   

 

On average May is 9.5 degrees warmer than April.  This year it was 5.1 degrees milder.  Only six other Mays have been closer to April's average temperature: 1945 (3.6 degrees milder); 2005 (3.8 degrees milder); 2017 (3.9 degrees milder); 2002 (4.6 degrees milder); 1968 (4.6 degrees milder); and 1915 (4.6 degrees). 

 

Here are recaps of the previous eight Mays:

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015