New York City Weather Archive

Today in New York Weather History: May 30

 

• 1984 - 2.19" of rain fell today, the third day in a row in which more than an inch of rain fell.

 

• 1986 - Today's high/low of 94/73 made this the hottest day of the month.  The high was twenty degrees above average and wouldn't be topped for more than five weeks.

 

• 1987 - Today was the hottest day of the year, with a high/low of 97/74.  This was the hottest temperature in May in twenty-five years, since May 19, 1962 when the high reached 99 degrees.

 

 

• 2003 - Today's high of 79 degrees was the warmest temperature of the month and only the second time in twenty-five years that May had no readings of 80 or higher.  (It would happen again in 2005.)

 

• 2011 - For the sixth year in a row Memorial Day (Monday) had an afternoon high in the 80's.  However, a quick downpour at daybreak was the first rain to fall on this Monday holiday in six years.     

Today in New York Weather History: May 29

May 29 is the average date of New York's first 90-degree temperature.  Since 1979 it's happened as early as April 7 (in 2010) and as late as July 14 (in 1985). 

 

• 1990 - Beginning at 8AM and continuing for the rest of the day 2.40" of rain fell.  This was a little less than two weeks after 2.32" fell and brought the month's rainfall up to nine inches.  Today's heavy rain kept the temperature well below average as the high was only 60, fourteen degrees below average.

 

• 1995 - During a severe nighttime thunderstorm on Memorial Day 0.50" of rain fell in just 30 minutes (9:40-10:10 PM).  The storm was also accompanied by hail.   

 

• 1999 - Memorial Day weekend began today and all three days were marked by sunny skies and high temperatures in the upper 80's (87-88-89). 

 

• 2001 - Including today's 0.18" of rain nearly all of the month's 2.03" rainfall came in the past nine days.

 

• 2006 - Today was Memorial Day and for the first time in six years the temperature rose into the 80's.  The afternoon high of 88 was fourteen degrees above average.  

Today in New York Weather History: May 28

 

• 1984 - For the second year in a row more than an inch of rain fell on Memorial Day (Monday).  Last year it fell in the early morning and evening.  This year it fell during the afternoon.

 

• 1985 - 0.54" of rain fell in 30 minutes between 4:41-5:11 PM.  0.93" fell during the entire evening.

 

• 2012 - Today was Memorial Day and for the seventh consecutive year the holiday had a high in the in the 80's.  Today's high was 89, tying 1999 and 1991 for the warmest reading on Memorial Day since 1969's 91 degrees.  Today also had the year's first 70-degree low, one week earlier than average and the earliest since 2007 (when it occurred on May 26).

 

 

Looking Back at New York's Weather: May 27

 

• 1991 - Today was Memorial Day and the high of 89 was the hottest reading on the holiday since 1969 (later tied in 1999).  Well after dark thunderstorms between 10AM-2AM dropped one inch of rain, the first rain in two weeks.  

 

• 2001 - Although just 0.08" of rain fell it was the first rain on the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend in eleven years.

Today in New York Weather History: Memorial Day Weekend (1979 - 2011)

Chances are that rain will fall during one of the days of the three-day Memorial Day weekend, with Memorial Day (Monday) being the day most likely to receive significant rain; however, one-third of the weekends have been completely rain-free.  Highs of 85 degrees or warmer during the holiday weekend have been concentrated in five years: 1981, 1985, 1988, 1991 and 1999.  Conversely, Memorial Day weekend 2003 was the dreariest and coolest as the afternoon temperature got no higher than the mid-50's.  

 

• 1980 (May 24-26) - After a hot Friday (high of 90) the weekend gradually cooled down, but temperatures were still warmer than average: 86-84-76.   

 

• 1981 (May 23-25) - Sunny and summery all three days with highs of 78-86-87. 

 

• 1984 (May 26-28) - For the second year in a row more than an inch of rain fell on Memorial Day (Monday).  Last year it fell in the early morning and evening.  This year it fell in the afternoon.

 

• 1987 (May 23-25) - Memorial Day was very cool, with a high of just 63, eleven degrees cooler than average.  The holiday came one week too early as the following weekend had temperatures in the 90's.

 

• 1991 (May 25-27) - Highs of 93-81-89 made this the second warmest Memorial Day weekend of the 1979-2011 period, eleven degrees above average.  At 93 degrees, Saturday's afternoon high was the hottest day of any Memorial Day weekend in the 1979-2011 period.  And Monday's high of 89 made it the hottest Memorial Day since 1969.  Finally, an inch of rain fell Monday night between 10PM and 2AM, the first rain in two weeks.

 

• 1992 (May 23-25) - A real Jekyl & Hyde weekend.  Saturday had mid-summer conditions with a high of 92.  Then Sunday was the transition day as a strong cold front pushed through in early afternoon and temperatures plummeted from the low 80's to 45 by midnight.  Monday felt more like October with overcast skies and a high of just 61 degrees.  The AM low of 44 was the second chilliest reading on Memorial Day (only 1880 was colder, at 42 degrees).  In the course of the weekend highs went from 19 above average to 13 below average.

 

• 1999 (May 29-31) - One of the all-time great holiday weekends, and the warmest (just passing 1991).  Each day had a high in the upper 80's under clear skies and with low humidity.  Monday's high of 89 tied 1991 for the warmest Memorial Day of the 1979-2011 period.      

 

• 2001 (May 26-28) - For the first time since 1990 rain fell on Saturday of the holiday weekend.  And although very little rain fell, this year's holiday is distinguished as being the only one of the 1979-2011 period to report rain on each day: 0.06" on Saturday, 0.08" on Sunday and 0.05" on Monday. 

 

• 2003 (May 24-26) - Quite a dismal weekend, the coolest in the 1979-2011 period and the second rainiest Memorial Day ever (1.28").  All three days had gray skies and cool temperatures, ten degrees below average.  The high on Monday was just 56 degrees, eighteen degrees below average, the chilliest Memorial Day in more than 30 years.

 

• 2006 (May 27-29) - For the first time in seven years the temperature on Memorial Day was in the 80's.   

 

• 2010 (May 29-31) - This was the third year in a row in which no rain fell throughout the three-day weekend.  High temperatures rose each day: 77 on Saturday; 84 on Sunday; 86 on Monday.

 

• 2011 (May 28-30) - For the sixth year in a row Memorial Day weekend was a warm one.  It was also the sixth year in a row in which the high on Memorial Day rose into the 80's.  The average high during these six years was 84, ten degrees above average.   

 

• 2012 (May 26-28) - For the seventh consecutive year Memorial Day had a high in the in the 80's.  The high of 89 tied that of 1999 and 1991 for the warmest reading on Memorial Day since 1969's 91 degrees.  The entire weekend was eleven degrees warmer than average.  Memorial Day also had the year's first 70-degree low, one week earlier than average and the earliest since 2007 (when it occurred on May 26).

Looking Back at New York City Weather: May 26

 

• 1984 - A brief but severe thunderstorm struck in the early evening on what was the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend.  Just 0.11" of rain fell but there was extensive tree damage.  Before the storm struck it was warm and humid and the warmest day of the month (high of 85/low of 66).

 

• 2001 - This was the seventh day in a row in which the high temperature failed to reach 70.  Average high during this week was just 61, thirteen degrees cooler than average - quite a contrast from the first four days of the month which had an average high of 90.

 

• 2003 - We were stuck in an unseasonably cool pattern similar to one we had two years ago.  Today and the previous four days were 11 degrees cooler than average.  Two days had a high/low of 56/50 and two others were at 56/51.  Not only was today cool but rainy as well, with 1.28" of rain measured (the most precipitation in a 24-hour period since the big snowstorm on President's Day).  

 

• 2006 - A delightful stretch of weather coincided with Memorial Day weekend.

 

• 2010 - Under clear skies the mercury soared to 92 after a low of 65, making this the hottest day of the month.  At 11PM it was still 85.  The full moon shone beautifully.    

Today in New York Weather History: May 25

 

• 1986 - The weather was very nice for New Yorkers when they formed their part of the "Hands Across America" chain this afternoon.  Skies were partly cloudy and the high temperature reached 80 degrees.

 

• 1987 - It was a very cool Memorial Day as the high of 63 was eleven degrees below average.  Weatherwise, the holiday came one week too early as temperatures would be in the 90's the following weekend.

 

• 1991 - Today was Saturday of Memorial Day weekend and the day's high reached 93 degrees, nineteen degrees above average.  This was the hottest reading for any day during this holiday in the 1979-2011 period.  

 

• 1994 - An evening thunderstorm (including hail, a rarity in Manhattan) delayed by three hours my 8:15 flight to Pittsburgh, where I was going to help my family make arrangements for my father's funeral.  I finally arrived shortly before 1AM.

 

• 2000 - 0.12" of rain fell between midnight-1AM, making this the eighth day in a row in which rain fell.  3.26" fell during these days.

 

• 2005 - Gray skies and light showers made for a very chilly day as the high reached only 53, twenty degrees chillier than average - and more typical of March 25.  

Today in New York Weather History: May 24

 

• 1989 - 0.70" of rain fell this morning, bringing the month's total rainfall to more than ten inches.  This amount pushed it past May 1984 to make this the rainiest May on record (a record that still stands).  An additional 0.21" of rain would fall before the end of the month.

 

• 1992 - One day after a high of 92 a cold front moved through during mid-afternoon and the temperature dropped sharply from 82 to 45 by midnight.

 

• 1999 - 1.22" of rain fell in three hours between 11AM-2PM.

 

Today in New York Weather History: May 23

 

• 1979 - It was a very soggy day as 2.70" of rain fell, the rainiest day of the month and a record for the date.  Between 8-9PM 1.10" poured down. 

 

• 1981 - A beautiful first day of Memorial Day weekend as temperatures were in the upper 70's under clear skies.  And the next two days were equally nice and even warmer.

 

• 1988 - Today was the first 80-degree day of the year, tying 1984 for the latest date of this occurrence (for the period 1979-2012).  However, despite this late date the summer would be a very hot one, with thirty-two 90-degree days.

 

• 1992 - This was the Saturday of what would be a Jekyl & Hyde Memorial Day weekend.  Today was scorchingly hot with a high of 92, but a drastic change occurred the next day when a strong cold front moved through.  This set up a Memorial Day that felt more like late October.  

 

• 1994 - After a coolish morning low of 56 degrees the temperature rocketed to 91 under sunny skies.  Today also happened to be the funeral of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, which was held in Manhattan (afterward her body was flown to Arlington National Cemetery in Virigina where she was buried next to her first husband, President John F. Kennedy). 

New York Weather History: May (1979 - 2011)

Highlights:  Compared to other months May's weather is relatively tranquil.  It hasn't had a lot of noteworthy weather events, such as tropical storms, cold waves, blizzards or extended heat waves.  Brief hot spells like those in early May 2000 and 2001 and in late May 1986 and 1987 have been the most notable weather highlights.

 

May 1                    May 11                  May 21

May 2                    May 12                  May 22

May 3                    May 13                  May 23

May 4                    May 14                  May 24

May 5                    May 15                  May 25

May 6                    May 16                  May 26

May 7                    May 17                  May 27    

May 8                    May 18                  May 28

May 9                    May 19                  May 29

May 10                  May 20                  May 30

                                                       May 31