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!

 

A Look At Mild Winter Months With the Most Snow & Cold Winter Months With Little Snow

 

 

January 2023 was the mildest on record and had just a trace of snow (on three days); the two seem to go hand in hand.  That said, I was curious about mild winter months with appreciable snowfall and cold winter months with relatively little.  Call it an analysis of counter-intuitives.

 

Nearly 40% of  months that are among the 10 mildest between December and March have had no snow or just a trace.  But of the mildest months to report snow, the snowiest was February 2017 (ranked as the second mildest February) which had 9.4" of snow.  This amount fell on one day, 2/9, and came after a high temperature of 62° the day before.  The second most snowfall was in Feb. 1991 with 9.1".  8.9" of that amount was from a storm near the end of the month.

 

On average, a top-10 coldest month in the winter (December thru March) averages 12 inches of snow.  The least snowy of these coldest months was December 1989 (ranked third coldest December) which reported just 1.4" of snow that fell during three non-consecutive days (0.1" on 12/13, 0.7" on 12/15 and 0.6" on 12/30).

 

   

FYI, the snowiest month among the 10 coldest of each winter month is March 1896 which had 30.5".  Much of the snow fell from two storms, one of 11 inches and another of 10 inches.

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

 

 

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").

 

 

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.)

 

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 low.  The 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

 

 

 

 

Marches of 19th Century Were Far More Wintry Than They Are Today

 

 

Of all the months of the year, March has warmed up the most since the 19th century (1869-1900).  While the average annual temperature so far this century (thru 2020) has been 3.6 degrees warmer than the average annual temperature in the late 19th century, March is 6.3 degrees warmer (April is next, at +5.2 degrees).  In the 19th century, March's average temperature was 36.5°, which would be considered quite cold for March of recent times (and more typical of what February's average is); the last time it was that cold in March was in 1984.  (March 2018 was a cold one by today's standards, with an average temperature of 40.1°). 

 

Eight of the coldest Marches on record are from the 19th century (and 18 of the 25 coldest).  Additionally, 16 current record lows in March are from the 19th century, as well as 15 record-low highs.  (One outlier is March 5, 1880, which had a record high that is still in place.)   Five of the six Marches with the the most highs of 32° or colder fell between 1875-1896.

 

Eleven daily snowfall records established in March during that century still stand today.  The first, third and tenth snowiest Marches occurred in 1896, 1888 and 1890.  But of all of the snowstorms of one foot or more that the City has had, just one was from the 19th century - the Great Blizzard of 1888 that buried the City under 21".  (And for nearly 60 years it was the biggest snowstorm of all time; it's now the City's fourth greatest snowfall).

 

 

Ten of the thirty-two Marches had at least one reading in the single digits (for a total of 16).  Since then, just five other years have had it happen.  The last time was in 1967.  The frequency of such frigid March readings dropped from once every three years, to once every generation (24 years). 

 

Here are wintry highlights of the cold Marches of the late 19th century:

March 1, 1869 - High/low of 26°/4°.

March 14, 1870 - This was the fourteenth day in a row with highs of 40° or colder (the average high was 34°); six of the days had highs of 32° or colder.  9.5" of snow fell during this two-week period.  And March 17 was the sixteenth day in a row with a low temperature in the teens or 20s.

March 5, 1872 - This morning's low was 3°, the coldest reading ever experienced in March.  This was the second of three days in a row with lows in the single digits, the most of any March.  This is the third coldest March on record.

March 21, 1872 - High/low of 27°/14° on the first full day of spring. 

March 20, 1875 - An ice storm on the first day of spring dropped 0.54" of liquid precipitation in temperatures that were below freezing all day (high/low was 31°/22°).

March 23, 1875 - Five of the past six days had highs of 32° or colder.  Average high/low during these six days was 31°/18°.

March 18-19, 1876 - Lows of 9° on both days.

March 10, 1877 - The day after the mildest reading of the month (57°), the temperature at daybreak was 21°.  This was the first of eleven days in a row in which there were no highs milder than 40°; four days in a row would see lows in the teens (coldest reading was 10° on 3/19).  The average high/low during this very cold outbreak was 32°/22°.

March 19, 1877 - Yesterday's and today's frigid highs and lows of 26°/12° and 22°/10° were comparable to the Arctic cold experienced on the same two dates the previous year (30°/9° and 27°/9°). 

March 12, 1883 - This was the tenth day in a row with highs colder than 40°.  High/low during this time was 33°/17°.  Two snowfalls during this streak amounted to 5.5".

March 30, 1883 - A snowfall of 4.5" was the sixth snowfall of four inches or more this winter (none occurred in December).

March 1-5, 1884 - The month began with five days with highs of 30° or colder, with two reporting highs of 21°, and one, a high of 18°.  Average high/low during these days was 23°/12°.

March 30, 1884 - It was a very late date for a sub-freezing high temperature (31°) at a time of the month when the average high was around 50°.

March 18, 1885 - Today's low of 8° was the 18th in the single digits or colder this winter, breaking a tie with the winter of 1872-73 for most on record (later passed by the winter of 1918, which had 20 frigid lows).

March 24, 1885 - This was the eighth day in a row with lows in the teens or colder.  The average low during this stretch was just 13°.  (March 1885 is the second coldest on record).

March 21, 1887 - Today's high of 49° was the mildest reading this March - the only March with its mildest reading below 50° (it would happen a week later as well).  By comparison, January and February each had a reading in the low 60s.

March 29, 1887 - The temperature fell slowly throughout the day, from 29° shortly after midnight to 19° nearly 24 hours later.

March 2-25, 1888 - Thirteen of the days had highs of 35° or colder, and fourteen had lows in the teens or colder.

March 12, 1888 - The Blizzard of '88 (also known as the Great White Hurricane) roared into an unsuspecting New York during the morning and brought the City to a standstill for the next few days.  16.5" of snow fell today, with an additional 4.5" falling tomorrow into the early morning hours of the 14th.  This was New York's biggest snowstorm until Dec. 1947 (it's now ranked fourth).  In addition to the large amount of snow, the storm's danger was magnified by mountainous snow drifts created by winds that gusted between 45 and 55 mph, and extreme cold, as the temperature dropped from 33° to 8°.  

March 13, 1888 - A bit more snow (three inches) fell today from the blizzard that arrived yesterday, but what stood out  was the extreme cold (even by mid-winter standards), as the high/low was just 12°/6° - the second coldest day ever experienced in March (the high/low on March 5, 1872 was 10°/3°).  With gusty winds still prevalent, wind chills were below zero.  This was the fourth March in the 1872-1888 period to have two or three days with lows in the single digits; since then it's happened in just one other year (1916).

March 19, 1890 - A late-season snowfall of six inches was the largest accumulation of the winter, beating the snowfall of Dec. 14 by half an inch.  March 1891 had four snowfalls of three inches or more; they totaled 17.1", which is the tenth greatest accumulation for the month.

March 2, 1891 - The morning low of 9° was the coldest reading all winter.  This was similar to last year when the only reading in the single digits was also in March (7° on 3/7). 

March 18, 1892 - Snow that began falling late last night continued through this morning, accumulating eight inches (the 7.2" that fell today is the most to fall on 3/18).  This was the biggest snowfall of the winter (passing a six-inch snowfall on 1/16) and came in the midst of an unseasonably cold 12-day stretch (March 11-22),  in which the high low was a cold 34°/22°.

March 15-16, 1896 - Less than two weeks after a snowfall of ten inches on March 2, an even bigger snowstorm dumped a foot of snow.  (And in between these two storms, four inches fell on 3/12.)  It began early in the afternoon of the 15th, and by midnight 6.5" had accumulated; an additional 5.5" fell the next day through midday.  Then the snow changed to rain as the temperature rose into the mid-30s.  Then on 3/23, 4.5" fell, bringing the month's total snowfall to 30.5".  This would be Central Park's snowiest month until Feb. 2010, and is now ranked third (Jan. 2011 also had more).  High/lows were 28°/15° on 3/24 and 32°/23° on 3/27.

March 11-18, 1900 - Lows were 22° or colder for eight consecutive days.  The average for these days was 16°.

 

 

 

February 2021 Recap: New York Trudges Through One of Snowiest Februarys On Record

 

 

February 2021 was 1.1 degrees colder than average, and the eighth snowiest February on record, with 26.0” measured.  More than half of the snow fell on Feb. 1, when 14.8” piled up (in total, the storm produced 17.4”).  This was the largest accumulation ever reported on the first day of February.  Another highlight of the month was the severe Arctic outbreak in the middle of the month that plunged Texas, the southern Plains, Midwest and Ohio Valley into the deep-freeze, but barely brushed New York.  Although the month was colder than average, the coldest reading was just 17° (the month's only reading in the teens).  The month's colder than average status was driven by the average high, which was 2.7 degrees colder than average; meanwhile, the average low was slightly above average (+0.5 degree).  Finally, with 5.13" of precipitation, the month was among the ten wettest Februarys since 1930 (and 21^st wettest going back to 1869).

 

This was New York's coldest February since 2015 and the first colder-than-average month since May 2020. It was also the first year since 2015 in which neither January or February had any readings of 60° or milder.  The 15-day period between Feb. 7 and 21 was five degrees colder than average (high/low of 35°/25°), with all but one of the days colder than average (10.2" of snow fell during this period).  Temperatures rebounded during the last six days of the month, and were six degrees milder than average (high/low of 48°/38°); temperatures were above freezing for the entire period.

 

Like January, there was just a 37-degree range between February's coldest and mildest readings (17° and 54° in February, 14° and 51° in January).  Since 1950, the typical range has been 49 degrees (11° and 60°); during these year just six other Februarys have had a smaller range, most recently in 2010 (29 degrees).  Meanwhile, the month's average diurnal variation (the difference between the high and low temperature) was just 9.5 degrees (February's average is 13.5 degrees), making it just the fourth February with a diurnal variation less than 10 degrees.  (The others were in 2010, 1969 and 1869.)  This was only the second Jan./Feb. in which both months had diurnal variations less than ten degrees.  (The other time it happened was in 1869.)  Jan./Feb. 2021’s diurnal variation of 9.7 degrees beat out 1869's by 0.1 degree for smallest variation.

 

 

This winter’s December-February combo was the ninth snowiest on record.  It joined four other pairs from this century (the other five happened before the winter of 1962).

 

 

February 2021 joined sixteen other Februarys that had 20 inches or more of snow.  It was milder than all but two of them (February 1983 and 2006).

 

 

Looking at December thru March, February 2021 ranks as the fifteenth snowiest month, just 0.1" behind Feb. 2003, Jan. 1996 and Feb. 1894.  This February's hefty snow accumulation was quite a contrast to last February, which saw just a trace.

 

Here are other February recaps:

2020

2019

2018

2017

2015

 

 

Snow Creates Excitement, But Rain Gets No Love

 

 

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.

 

 

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.)

 

 

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.

 

 

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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Months With 20" or More of Snow

 

 

During the winter of 2021, February became the 36th month (since 1869) to have 20 inches or more of snow fall in Central Park.  This was the seventeenth February to gain this distinction, by far the most of any month (January's had eight occurrences; December's had six; and March, five).  Thirty winters have had one of these snowy months, and three have had two (winters of 1978, 1996, and 2011).  19 of the months with 20"+ had more than 25" (including Feb. 2021).  And four had 30" or more.  The snowiest month of them all is February 2010, which reported 36.9".  Below are more observations about these snow-choked months: 

• The first month with 20" or more snowfall was December 1872, when 27.0" was reported.  Despite February being the month most likely to have 20"+ snow, it didn't have its first overly snowy month until 1894, which was later than the first 20"+ occurrence for December, January or March.  (November and April have never had 20" or more; however, November 1898 came very close, with 19.0".  The most snow in April was in 1875, when 13.5" was measured.)
  

• The most consecutive winters to have a month with 20"+ snow is just two, which has happened five times, most recently during the winters of 2010 and 2011.  The most consecutive winters without one of these snowy months is twelve, from 1936 thru 1947.  And there have been three ten-year gaps.

 

• The most days of measurable snow during a month with 20"+ is eleven, which occurred in March 1916 (25.5" fell) and February 1920 (25.3").  The fewest days of measurable snow during a 20"+ month is two, in February 2006, when one storm accounted for all of the month's 26.9" (at the time, New York's biggest snowfall on record).  And in January 2016 there were three days of snow, with 27.5" of the month's 27.9" falling on two of the days (which supplanted February 2006's snowfall as New York's biggest of all time).

 

 

 

• Nine of the thirty-six excessively snowy months had no snowfalls of a foot or more; five had biggest snowfalls that were less than ten inches.   The smallest biggest snow was 7.0" in Dec. 1904, followed by March 1916, whose biggest accumulation was 7.6".
  

• In a winter with a month of 20"+ snow, the least total snowfall for the entire winter was the winter of 1979, which had 29.4"; the 20.1" that fell during February of that winter comprised slightly more than two-thirds of the winter's total.  And in the winter of 1925,  29.6" of snow fell, of which January 1925 accounted for all but 2.2".

• Two of New York's ten snowiest winters had no months with 20" or more: 1874-75 is ranked seventh,  and 1960-61 is the City's ninth snowiest winter.

 

 

• All but five of the thirty-six months were colder than average, including the coldest month on record, February 1934 (which had 27.9" of snow), the coldest March on record (1888, 22.3"), and fifth coldest December (1872, 27.0") and March (1916, 25.5").   The most above-average month to have more than twenty inches of snow is December 1948 (+3.9 degrees), followed by February 1983 (+3.0 degrees); January 2016 (+1.9 degrees);  February 2006 (+0.4 degrees); and February 1994 (+0.2 degrees).

• Finally, "honorable mentions" go to December 2003, which had 19.8", and January 2014, which had 19.7".

 

 

Here are a number of other posts I've written which discuss snowstorms in New York:

Comparing New York's Three Biggest Snowstorms

A History of Back-to-Back Snowstorms

New York's Snowiest 30-Day Periods

Remembering New York's "Snowmageddon" of Winter 2011

Survey of New York Snowstorms by Winter (1950-2021)

 

Today in New York Weather History: December 17

 

 

Dec. 17 is the average date of the first high temperature of 32° or colder (based on the period 1970-2020).  It's happened as early as Nov. 22 (in 2008) and Nov. 23 (1989), and as late as Jan. 20 (1986).  In more than half of the years the first high of 32° or colder was 31° or 32°, but it's been as cold as 20° (which happened in the winter of 2007-08, when it occurred late, on Jan 3).   

 

1904 (Saturday)

A snowfall of six inches (three inches this evening, three inches tomorrow morning) came four days after a snowfall of seven inches.

 

1919 (Wednesday)

Four days after the temperature reached 61°,  tonight, shortly before midnight, the mercury dropped to one degree above zero.  This was the first of fifteen days this winter with lows in the single digits or colder.

 

 

1932 (Saturday)

Snow that began late in the morning continued through early morning on 12/18, amounting to 7.2".  Today's temperatures were also very cold, with a high/low of only 21°/10°.  (The snow was gone by Christmas Day, which had a high of 59°.)  The next measurable snowfall wouldn't be for another seven weeks (2/4).

 

1951 (Monday)

Today's frigid high/low of 20°/8° (22 degrees below average) would be the coldest day of the winter.  Skies were clear.

 

1971 (Friday)

This was the twelfth day in a row with above average temperatures.  During these dozen days temperatures were ten degrees above average.  Even after passage of a cold front early this morning, and temperatures falling throughout the day, the mean temperature was five degrees above the norm.  This stretch of mild weather followed a two-week period of colder than average weather. 

 

1973 (Monday)

The epic ice storm that began yesterday afternoon continued through this morning.  Conditions were worse than yesterday as sleet and freezing rain fell at an even heavier rate.  In total, 1.46" of precipitation fell - all in the form of sleet or freezing rain.  The temperature stayed below freezing all day, and by midnight had fallen to 17°. 

 

 

1996 (Tuesday)

Light showers through early afternoon amounted to 0.12".  This was the 146th day this year with measurable precipitation, establishing 1996 as the year with the most days of precipitation in the 20th century, passing 1972, the previous crown holder.  And there would be six additional days of precipitation before the year ended.  (The average number days of precipitation per year is 121.)

 

1998 (Thursday)

Today was the 25th day in a row with above-average temperatures.  During this stretch of mild days temperatures were ten degrees above normal.  (This would be the mildest December since 1984.)

 

 

 

2000 (Sunday)

Today's high of 62° was a record for the date, just one of five days with above-average temperatures during a December that was quite cold (5.5 degrees below average) - the coldest since 1989. 

 

2001 (Monday)

This was the 18th day in a row in which no low temperature was duplicated.  During these days (beginning on Nov. 30) they ranged between 32° and 58° - all above average.

 

2012 (Monday)

Only three degrees separated the day's high (43°) and low (40°) on a raw, "gloomy Gus" kind of day. 

 

2013 (Tuesday)

Light snow, occasionally mixed with sleet, fell throughout the daytime hours and amounted to 1.5".  This was the fourth snowfall of the past ten days, totaling 8.6".  Three of these snow "events" delivered one-inch+ - the most such snowfalls in December since 2005.  Besides being snowy, the ten days since 12/8 were also quite cold, with the average high/low of 35°/26° nearly eight degrees below the norm.  

 

 

2015 (Thursday)

It was a mild and rainy day.  The 1.25" of rain that was measured in Central Park fell mostly between 11 AM and 4 PM.  This was the eighth day in a row that had a mean temperature more than 10° degrees above average.  The average high/low during these days was 63°/52° - nineteen degrees above average.

 

2016 (Saturday)

Six days after the first measurable snow of the winter (0.4"), today saw the first snowfall of one inch or more as 2.8" accumulated between 4-8 AM.  Then it changed to sleet, then to freezing rain, all of which was over by noon.  (By contrast, last winter's first one-inch snowfall wasn't until 1/23 - the blizzard that buried the City under its biggest snowfall on record.)

 

 

2018 (Monday)

Light wraparound showers in the wee hours of the morning (amounting to just 0.03"), remnants from yesterday's rainstorm, made this the 152nd day this year with measurable precipitation, tying 1996 for the all-time record.  What distinguishes 2018 from 1996 is that its total precipitation for the year was more than five inches above 1996's (with two weeks remaining in 2018).

 

2021 (Friday)

Just three days after Central Park registered its lowest humidity level in December this century (20% later in the afternoon), today had an even lower humidity level - 14% (also during late afternoon).  As low as this was, it was twice as high as the 7%  humidity reported on 4/6 of this year.

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In a Rut: Temperatures Stuck in the 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).

 

 

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. 

 

 

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°). 

 

 

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.)

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

Winters With Snow Droughts Rather Than Snowdrifts

 

 

A number of years ago I published an analysis about periods of cold winter weather that had little snow (Cold & Dry: A Snow Lover's Nightmare).  This new post focuses on the longest periods between snowfalls regardless of temperature.  And while I refer to these snowless periods as "droughts" that's somewhat of a misnomer since a typical winter in New York sees, on average, just twelve days with measurable snow, so it's not uncommon for many days to go by between snowfalls (however, "drought" was catchier than "extended number of days between snowfalls").  But as I was pulling the information together I realized there were variations on snow droughts so I've included them as well.

 

WINTER-LONG DROUGHTS

There have been ten winters with less than ten inches of snow, the most recent being the winter of 2020 (the average snowfall of winters since 2000 has been 33").  In the 1950s there were six consecutive winters, from 1950 thru 1955, with less than 20 inches; and there were five in a row with less than 15 inches, from 1928 thru 1932.  The least snow to fall in back-to-back winters occurred in 1997 and 1998, which had only 10.0" and 5.5", respectively.  (By contrast, there have been 18 snowstorms with greater accumulations than those two winters combined.)

 

 

WITHIN-SEASON DROUGHTS

Since the winter of 1870 there have been eleven snow-free periods that lasted seven weeks or longer.  Two were in the 19th century and were in consecutive winters; all of the others have been since the winter of 1950.  The winter of 1953-54 stand outs for having two droughts among the eleven (that winter had 15.1" of snow).  The winter with the second longest drought, (1983) had the most snow, 27.2" (nearly two-thirds of the snow came from the blizzard of Feb. 17-18).

 

 

WINTERS IN WHICH ONE MONTH DOMINATED THE SEASON'S SNOWFALL

A number of winters had sparse snowfall in all months but one.  The most recent was in 2016 when January had New York's biggest snowfall of all time.  And it also happened in the back-to-back winters of 1925 and 1926. 

 

 

BIG SNOWFALLS FOLLOWED BY LENGTHY HIATUS

• It appeared the blizzard of Feb. 11-12, 1983 (17.6") would be the last snowfall of the winter, but then more than nine weeks later 0.8" fell on April 18.
• In the winter of 1892 an eight-inch snowfall at the end of February was followed by 44 days until the next snowfall.  Two winters prior to 1892 there was another eight-inch snowfall, this one followed by 27 days with no snow.
• On Dec. 27, 1934 11.2" fell and then the next snowfall wasn't for nearly five weeks (but the snow that fell on Jan. 28 amounted to just 0.1").
• A snowfall of 8.9" on Feb. 26-27, 1991 was followed by 30 snow-free days.
• On the first day of December in 1882 there was a nine-inch snowfall and then the rest of  the month was snow free.  The streak ended on New Year's Day when 0.3" was measured. 
• A snowfall of 7.9" on Valentine's Day 1975 was followed by four weeks with no measurable snow.

 

BIG SNOWFALLS AFTER A LENGTHY HIATUS

• NYC's second biggest snowfall of all-time, 26.9" on Feb. 11-12, 2006, came nearly four weeks after the previous snowfall (two inches on Jan. 16)
• 15.3" fell during the "Lindsay snowstorm" of Feb. 9-10, 1969, breaking a string of 32 snowless days.
• During the winter of 1995 a snowstorm of 10.8" on Feb. 4 came 23 days after the previous snowfall, which amounted to just 0.2".  (The Feb. 4 snowfall accounted for almost all of the winter's accumulation of 11.8".)
• During the winter of 1908 a snowfall of ten inches on Jan. 23-24 broke a string of 39 days without snow.
• The April blizzard of 1982 dumped 9.6" of snow 32 days after the previous snowfall on March 4 (of just 0.7"). 
• In March 1981 a snowfall of 8.6" on the 5th broke a snow-free streak of nearly seven weeks.

 

MINIMAL SNOWFALL AT BEGINNING/END OF DROUGHTS

An argument can be made that qualifying a drought as ended when snowfall is less than an inch doesn't really mean a drought has ended since it's an insignificant amount.  There have been sixteen hiatuses of four weeks or longer in which a half-inch or less of snow fell at both ends.  The smallest amounts were dustings of 0.1" at the beginning and end of a 36-day streak in the winter of 1901; this was matched in the winter of 1975 when amounts of 0.1" were separated by 29 days.  Additionally, snowfalls of 0.2"/0.1" bracketed 29 days in between during the winter of 1943, and two 0.2" snowfalls were separated by streaks of 44, 34 and 28 days in the winters of 1992, 1918 and 1934, respectively.

 

SIGNIFICANT SNOWFALLS BEFORE/AFTER SNOW DROUGHTS

Most recently, the winter of 2013 had a 26-day period with no snow that was book-ended by snowfalls of 11.4" (Feb. 8-9) and 4.0" (March 8).  And during the winter of 2009 a snowfall of 4.3" on Feb. 3 was followed by 25 days with no snow which ended when 8.3" fell on March 1-2.

In winter of 1915 a snowfall of 7.7" on March 6-7 was followed by 26 days with no snow and then there was a snowfall of 10.2" on April 3-4.  And earlier that winter snowfalls of 4.4" and 7.7" were separated by 30 snowless days.

The longest drought bracketed by significant snowfalls occurred during the winter of 1906 when a snowless period of 32 days began after a snowfall of 6.0" on Feb. 9 and ended when 6.5" fell on March 14-15.

The winter of 1875 had a four-week period with no snow, with a snowfall of ten inches five days before Christmas on one end and five inches on Jan. 18.

 

SNOW-FREE DAYS BETWEEN WINTERS

The average number of snow-free days between winters is 264 days (or 38 weeks, about the length of a full-term pregnancy).  The longest number of days with no measurable snow was 320 between the winter of 1972 and 1973 (Mar. 15, 1972 - Jan. 28, 1973), followed very closely by the 319-day respite in 2002 (Jan. 20 thru Dec. 4). 

Eighteen winters had their last snowfalls before March 1, the most recent being the winter of 2020, which had its last snowfall on Jan. 18 (2.1" fell).  The winter of 2002's last snowfall (3.0" was measured) happened one day later than 2020's and came just twelve days after the first snowfall.  Although the period between the two snowfalls was minimal, the fact that there was no measurable snow in November, December, February, March or April, makes this winter the title holder of the "Greatest Snow Drought" competition.

Finally, there have been six winters to go out with a bang, so to speak, with their last snowfalls amounting to more than nine inches.  Three were in February, the other three were after the spring equinox.  By far the greatest of these accumulations was the winter of 2010's final snowfall, a monster of a snowstorm, on Feb. 25-26, that buried the City under 20.9" (New York's fifth biggest snowstorm of all time). The other five winters: Winter of 1979 (12.7" on Feb. 19); 1915 (10.2" on April 3-4); 1967 (9.8" on March 21-22); 1903 (9.8" on Feb. 15-17) and 1982 (9.6" on April 6).