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It’s raining again in NYC — as it has for the past six weekends
By
Michelle Bocanegra
Published Oct 14, 2023
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By
Michelle Bocanegra
Published Oct 14, 2023
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Rain has poured over the New York City region for the past six weekends, including a recent Friday deluge that brought the city to a standstill with more than 8 inches of rain in some areas, according to the National Weather Service.
The weekend rains have foiled late-summer plans and dampened the beginnings of leaf peeping and apple-picking season for New Yorkers. Central Park got a total of 14.25 inches of rain in September — more than any September since 1883, according to NWS data — much of it coming on the weekends.
The bulk of those rains came down through Friday, Sept. 29, when the broader region was drenched in nearly five inches of rain. Some sites, like JFK Airport, broke historical records, as the area received more than eight inches of rain in a single day.
“It doesn’t make for good fall foliage watching, although our peak season is coming up in a couple of weeks here,” Jay Engle, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said on Saturday morning. “But it doesn't make it pleasant.”
The agency expects the city to see up to an inch of rain on Saturday, after the previous five weekends — including two recent Fridays — had significant precipitation. There was half an inch of rain on Oct. 6 and 7 with about five inches across the region the Friday prior.
The weekend before that carried rains into the new week, with just under three inches of rain, Engle said. The previous Sunday and Monday brought an inch and a half of rain, and Sept. 10 and 11, a Sunday and Monday, had two and a half inches of precipitation.
“Sometimes you just get locked into a certain weather pattern for a while,” Engle said. “It’s what we call ‘persistence.’ And unfortunately, the rain has been persistent on our weekends — or in and around our weekends — for almost a month and a half now.”
Engle said the tail end of summer into the fall has been unusually wet, following a drier summer last year.
“Over the past three months we’re definitely above normal in terms of the rainfall,” Engle said.
Central Park had an additional 10 inches of rainfall above normal this September, Engle said. The previous September, the site had slightly below-average precipitation, with just over four inches of rain compared to the average 4.31 inches.
It’s supposed to rain throughout Saturday with a high of 56 degrees in the city and surrounding area. Sunday should be a little nicer with partial sunshine and a high of 57, according to the National Weather Service.
Tagged
new york city
rain
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Michelle Bocanegra
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