Unless you've been living in a cave filled with the finest meats and cheeses the past couple of weeks you've probably heard of the fires in Russia. A heat wave and drought have dried up the peat bogs and forests around Moscow. It hasn't been quite so hot and dry in New York but the city is still vulnerable to wildfires. We came across a small grass fire in Morningside Park yesterday afternoon. An alert homeless man living in the park had just finished putting out the blaze (with a little assist in stomping out a few remaining embers). Be careful out there! more ›

Contrary to earlier forecasts it now appears that the holiday weekend's weather is going to be a mixed bag rather than three days of sun. Such is life in the prognostication business. Following yesterday's brief lightning show, today should be mostly cloudy and cool with a high in the low 70s. Watch out for rip currents if you're brave enough to wade into the cold water. more ›

The clouds may be gloomy but kinky weather pr0n fans should take cheer, there's a twisted meteorological three-way going on outside. An upper-level trough on top, a surface high pressure system on the bottom, and the remnants of Ida trying to wedge itself between the two will determine the weather for the rest of the week. The trough is providing the energy to make the atmosphere unstable, Ida's leftovers are providing the moisture and the high pressure will mostly prevent anything from happening. more ›

The weather is just not bringing it for the first half of the week. Maybe yesterday's winds tired it out. Don't worry, there will be fronts and shortwaves and all that stuff but they're all looking kind of weak until Thursday. more ›

While last week's weather was well-behaved, this week's is looking complicated. Expect more prevarication from Gothamist than usual! The general weather maker in the near term is a high pressure system off the New England coast. Later in the week it will likely cede its role to an upstart storm developing off the southeastern coast. Both systems will bring cloudy, warm weather and at least the potential for rain. more ›

Today's weather action is all from a low pressure system that's centered near Hudson's Bay and a few miles up in the atmosphere. A disturbance being tossed around by that low has brought clouds to the city this morning and maybe a sprinkle or two this afternoon. There's a good band of rain stretching from Pittsburgh into New Hampshire. Dry air at lower levels of the atmosphere will minimize any rainfall around the city. more ›

In 1900 the barrier island city Galveston was the shiny, growing metropolis of the Texas coast. Houston was a swampy backwater. On September 8th of that year a hurricane struck Galveston, killing over 6000 people in the city (10,000 - 12,000 overall) and destroying 3600 buildings. In the rebuilding process the city of Galveston was raised several feet and a seawall was erected to protect the city. more ›

Kind of a half-assed weather day today. There's enough moisture and an upper-level disturbance to produce a thick layer of clouds, but not enough of a disturbance to wring some of that moisture out of the atmosphere. So, we're looking at overcast skies that will keep the temperature down in the mid 70s this afternoon. There may be a sprinkle or two today, but any real chance of rain will have to wait until tomorrow. more ›

Cloudy and humid with a chance of afternoon showers continues to be the local weather story this week. Today will have a near normal high of 82, while tomorrow and Wednesday will be warmer. Tuesday should top out in the upper 80s and Wednesday may reach the low 90s. more ›

There may be a stray shower or two this morning but most of the rain has moved eastward. The rest of the day will remain cool and cloudy as the cold front that passed brought last night's rain goes stationary over southern New Jersey. The front isn't going to do much of anything until late Thursday. Showers are possible again tonight and tomorrow morning. Highs today and tomorrow will be in the lower 70s at best. more ›

The month of May is remaining stubbornly cool. While the first four months of the year were all warmer than average, this month is running nearly two degrees below normal. This week will keep the month on its cool streak. The normal high for today is 72. The mix of wind, clouds, sun and possibly a shower this afternoon will keep the maximum for today to the mid-60s at best. That's nowhere near the record high of 99 set in 1962. more ›

Today is one of those strange weather days when it is actually much warmer in upstate New York than in the city. Highs in Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse will approach 60 today, while NYC will be lucky to reach 50 degrees. The reason for this reversal is a high pressure system over the Canadian Maritimes. Air circulates clockwise and outward around high pressure systems which means the city will experience east winds off the ocean today. The temperature of the Atlantic is in the mid-40s and our temperatures reflect that cool air blowing ashore. more ›

The weekend chill that continues today has been enough to drive the March temperature down below normal. Unless there's a totally unexpected heat wave this afternoon the average temperature of this month will be 42.3 degrees, or 0.2 degrees cooler than normal. That would make this month the coldest March since, uh, last March! more ›

Did you see the snow this morning? Light snow, drizzle and fog were in the mix at Central Park for several hours this morning. More intriguing, between nine and ten this morning the Weather Service reported "unknown precipitation" as falling on Belvedere Castle. Very mysterious! Not enough snow fell in the city to actually be measured but places to the north and west reported up to three inches of snowfall. Aside from the momentary snow... more ›