This week is our eighth anniversary here on Gothamist so let's take a moment to look at how the temperature has changed over the past decade. It's hard to see trends when daily temperatures are plotted over a long time because the seasonal cycle and day-to-day fluctuations are so big. Instead, we've plotted cumulative highs and lows so you can see periods of warmer/cooler weather. Not much happened the first few years. First there were a few warm months, then a few cool months, then the temperature was decidedly average through July 2005. More than three years of warm weather follow before the cool 2009 occurs. Except for the cold and snowy Dec 2010 - Jan 2011 the last two years have featured almost continuous warming, winding up with the incredible spike of the last few months. November, December, February and March were all among their top five warmest months since measurements began in 1869. Overall, the city has warmed about a degree in the past ten years. more ›

March 2012 is turning the old weather proverb on its head by coming in like a lamb and going out like a lion. Oh, today will be plenty docile but tonight and tomorrow are looking like a soggy wool sweater. High pressure centered over Elmira this morning will give us a sunny and seasonable day. Look for a high in the mid 50s with a brisk wind out of the west this afternoon. more ›

Yesterday's Central Park high of 78 surpassed by one degree the record for March 22nd set in 1938. If the thermometer reaches the forecast high of 76 this afternoon we will tie the 1923 record for this date. Nobody will be surprised by this, but as of now March is running at a record warm pace. more ›

The east wind is an evil wind. The breeze off the cold ocean kept yesterday's temperature down to only six degrees warmer than normal, way cooler than the twenty degrees above normal to which we had become acclimatized. That easterly wind will continue to bring the chill, and fog and drizzle, for a while longer today. A weak cold front that's currently over Lakes Erie and Ontario will change the wind direction this evening. Before that front arrives we stand a good chance of showers and possibly a thunderstorm this afternoon. Today's high will be in the upper 50s. more ›

While the weather over the middle part of the country is a big question mark this morning, the New York area will bask in near record high temperatures this afternoon. Meteorologically, there's not much to this story. High pressure is sitting just off the coast and that is bringing us a warm, southerly breeze today. Central Park's record high for this date is 71 degrees set in 1890. We'll likely fall a couple degrees short of that mark, but other nearby locations, with much shorter climate records, will probably break their records today. more ›

Did everyone make it through what passes for a major cold spell this winter? We had to put on a sweater yesterday! That's not the case today as high pressure has moved offshore and will treat us with a warm southwesterly breeze. Look for a high in the upper 50s—possibly 60—for the city and lower 50s along the coast and for much of Long Island. West of the city, the bone dry air of the past few days will combine with 10-15 mph winds to produce conditions favorable for the spread of brush fires. Red flag warnings have been posted for much of New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania. more ›

Trivia question: What do 1984, 1998 and 2002 have in common? Unless a so-far-undetected pool of extremely cold air arrives by midnight they will be knocked down to a three-way tie for second warmest February ever recorded in the city. The most recent record warm month was April 2010. Care to guess when Central Park last saw a record cold month? Hint: A New Yorker was president. more ›

Were you outside between six and eight this morning? Did something feel "odd" to you? For only the third time this month, and for less than two hours, the temperature went below freezing. The cold air is half the ingredients needed to produce significant snow. The other half, a storm, was present down south where up to 9 inches fell, but that storm quickly went out to sea. Despite the chilly start this President's Day should warm to the mid 40s under sunny skies this afternoon. However, given the brisk northerly wind it may not feel like the mid 40s. more ›

Yesterday was chilly, right? Bzzzt. While it may have felt cold and gloomy, Wednesday was actually five degrees warmer than normal. With just one cooler than average day so far, this month's average temperature is running 5.2 above normal. That's about a half-degree below the pace needed to become the warmest February ever recorded in New York City. If the ten-day forecast holds true that pace will pick up and 2012 will easily break that record. more ›

When do you think the latest date is that really cold weather can strike New York? That depends on how you define "really cold" but this graph of every January through March daily temperature since 1971 has the answer. The squiggly line is the mean and that bottomed out a couple weeks ago at 29 degrees. Following the January Thaw, the curve reaches another nadir on February 5th before beginning a slow increase. We should dutifully point out that the thaw, like all the day-to-day squiggles in the line, is not statistically significant -just look at that variability. From a climate perspective there is still a chance of cold weather, but the odds are against us having a brutally cold week like what happened in 1979. more ›

Let's start February by taking a quick look back at last month's weather. It won't come as any surprise to learn that January was warm. Just how warm is anybody's guess! The weather instruments located near Belvedere Castle suffered a power failure over the weekend so the Weather Service missed out on several days worth of temperature readings. Looking at surrounding stations our best guess is that Central Park was five degrees warmer than normal. While that's not warm enough to crack January's top ten it is the eleventh straight month that's been warmer than average. more ›

It's a typical Spring day today. Look at that snow melt! Lots of rain, perhaps a thunderstorm, a flood advisory for the city and surrounding counties, and a high near 60 this afternoon. That's pretty normal for this time of year, if this time of year were mid-April. For late January it's about twenty degrees warmer than average. Can there by a January thaw if there is no January freeze? more ›

Is this the most disappointing winter ever? The season's almost half over and there has yet to be a deep freeze or a significant snow storm. Saturday's snow was cute but hardly memorable. Aside from some rain tomorrow and Friday there's no particularly interesting coming our way anytime soon. We should see a few clouds later this afternoon. Today's high will be in the mid 40s, which is several degrees warmer than normal. more ›

Fall is ending on a warm and rainy note. As expected a warm front has moved across the city this morning, bringing widespread clouds, fog, and light rain. The temperature is going to hover in the mid and upper 50s all day. Expect delays if you're flying somewhere today. There's plenty of fog all along the East Coast, the Great Plains and Rockies are getting socked with snow, and Los Angeles will be in for a round of Santa Ana winds. For your Saturnalian pleasure there's a slight chance of thunder and a good chance for gusty winds as a cold front arrives around the time of tonight's winter solstice. more ›

Yesterday was sixteen degrees warmer than normal, pushing November's average temperature to 52.0 degrees. That makes this the fifth warmest November on record. Today will again be warmer than normal, but not the ten degrees needed to displace 1975 as the fourth warmest November. The high and low temperatures for today will both be races. This afternoon's breezy high depends on how fast the sun can warm us up vs. how quickly cold air arrives as high pressure moves into the region. The high will be in the low or mid 50s. Without a sun to battle the temperature is going to plunge after sunset and we'll have a race against the clock to see how far the temperature drops below this morning's low of 46 degrees by midnight. more ›

We couldn't help but notice yesterday that it isn't normal to be eating brunch outside on the Sunday after Thanksgiving. Yesterday was the third straight Sunday with highs in the 60s and today is the fourth consecutive day with temperatures in the 60s. All that 60-degree weather is making this one of the warmest Novembers on record. A southwest breeze will ensure that today stays warm with a high easily reaching the mid 60s if not the record of 69 set in 1990. more ›

Puny humans, Mother Nature does not care about your Thanksgiving travel plans! In a fit of bad timing the worst weather this week by far will be Tuesday night and Wednesday, the busiest travel days of the year. A weak cold front passed through the city this morning and we'll be drying out during the day. Despite the increasing sun the temperature is going to hold steady in the lower 50s for much of the day. more ›

It's as if November is trying to make up for the cloudy, rainy weather we had in October. After a sun-filled weekend we've got us another couple days of clear skies ahead. High pressure sitting off the New Jersey coast means plenty of subsidence over the region and with subsiding air you get clear skies. The slight southwesterly flow will push today's high to near 60 degrees. Perfect weather to observe the 71st anniversary of a weather-related disaster. A bit of a windshift overnight will push Tuesday's high to the mid 60s. more ›

Our long, nightmarish, stretch of fair weather is quickly coming to an end. A low pressure system, that is not a tropical system, is moving up the East Coast today and promises to bring rain as early as this afternoon and, more significantly, tonight. East winds ahead of the storm will keep the temperature in the lower sixties all day. more ›

Yesterday's high of 84 degrees came within two degrees of tying the record high at Central Park. Record highs were set at JFK, LaGuardia, Islip, and Newark, but all of those stations have been taking observations for a much shorter time than the park so records there aren't as impressive. Although the ridge of high pressure that's produced all the sunshine and warmth is beginning to flatten, this afternoon will still see another summer-like day with highs in the lower to mid 80s across the region. A few thin cirrus clouds may build in over the course of the day but they won't much affect the temperature. more ›