Daily Archives: April 2, 2018

Spring Storm Sets New Daily Snowfall Record in NYC

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A spring snowstorm slammed the northeastern United States on Monday. Coming on the heels of a mild Easter weekend, it felt like weather whiplash across the region.

Here in New York City, the storm dumped 5.5 inches of snow in Central Park, setting a new daily snowfall record for the date. The previous record of 2 inches had been in place since 1871. The storm also marked the snowiest April day the city has seen in 36 years.

Despite the ground being relatively warm, the heavy, wet snow was able to accumulate because it came down very quickly. La Guardia Airport reported a snowfall rate of 2 inches per hour.

The city, on average, gets 0.6 inches of snow for the entire month of April.

Source: NWS

March 2018 was More of a Lion Than a Lamb in NYC

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There is an old saying that March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb. It refers to the transition from winter to spring that takes place during the month and the change in weather that usually follows. In New York City this year, however, that tradition went out the window as March turned out to be colder than February.

This type of temperature flip-flop, according to the NWS, has only occurred three other times in New York City history – 1890, 1891, and 2017.

This March, twenty-six out of thirty-one days posted below average temperatures. Four of those days had highs that did not get out of the 30s. In the end, the city’s mean temperature for the month was 40.2°F, which is 2.3°F below normal.

The month was also unusually wet. The four nor’easters that blasted the region in as many weeks brought the city copious amounts of precipitation. In all, we received 5.17 inches of rain, which is 0.81 inches above average. Snowfall was also abundant, with 11.6 inches measured in Central Park. Of that total, 8.4 inches fell during the fourth and final nor’easter of the month. March, on average, usually only brings the city 3.9 inches of snow.

New York City weather records date back to 1869.

March was colder than February in NYC. Credit: The Weather Gamut