May was a month of weather extremes is New York City this year. Highs ranged from a cool 53°F to a record warm 92°F. May also produced the city’s first heat wave of the year. However, with 24 out of 31 days posting below average readings, the chill won out in the end. The city’s mean temperature for the month was 61.1°F, which is 1.3°F below average.
In terms of precipitation, May was unusually wet. In all, 6.38 inches of rain were measured in Central Park. Of this impressive total, 3.02 inches (47% of the monthly total) fell in just a few hours on May 5, setting a new rainfall record for the date. Another 1.61 inches came down during an unseasonable nor’easter on May 13. On average, the Big Apple gets 4.19 inches of rain for the entire month of May.
Credit: The Weather Gamut