Record Cold, Snow Blast New York City!

Written by Team Morecast

After a very mild and basically snowless winter, New York City, along with many other locations across the northeastern United States were dealt a blast of arctic air and even some snow on Saturday morning. The highly anomalous airmass, which originated over the Arctic Ocean, is responsible for numerous record lows in the region.

As the airmass rolled in late on Friday night, the temperature in New York’s famed Central Park dropped to 36 deg F (2.2 deg C ) which broke the record for May 8th of 37 deg F (2.7 C) set back in 1947. By early Saturday morning the temperature dropped to 34 deg F (1.1 deg C) which not only broke the record for May 9th of 35 deg F (1.6 deg C), also set in 1947, but is the coldest it has ever been on record this late in the season. Although not a record, Saturday’s afternoon high in the city only reached 47 deg F (8.3 deg C). This is not only 21 degrees below average, but more typical of high in early December, rather than early May.

The unusual cold temperatures were accompanied by very rare May snow. A trace of snow was recorded in Central Park, which ties the record set on May 9th 1977 for latest snowfall in a season. The trace of snow is equal to what the city recorded in all of this past February. In nearby Islip, New York, a trace was also recorded, which is more than what actually occurred in February. Much higher amounts of snow were seen in various locales across the northeast. One such place was Sugar Hill, New Hampshire, which recieved 10.5 in (27 cm) of snow.

With the growing season well underway, widespread freeze warnings are in place throughout the region. Given that it is May, prolonged periods of cold cannot be sustained, and a warm up will commence by midweek.

Latest Posts