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Other Stations in New York

About this Station

New York City, in area exceeding 300 square miles, is located on the Atlantic coastal plain at the mouth of the Hudson River. The terrain is laced with numerous waterways, all but one of the five boroughs in the city are situated on islands. Elevations range from less than 50 feet over most of Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens to almost 300 feet in northern Manhattan and the Bronx, and over 400 feet in Staten Island. Extensive suburban areas on Long Island, and in Connecticut, New York State and New Jersey border the city on the east, north, and west. About 30 miles to the west and northwest, hills rise to about l,500 feet and to the north in upper Westchester County to 800 feet. To the southwest and to the east are the low-lying land areas of the New Jersey coastal plain and of Long Island, bordering on the Atlantic.

The New York Metropolitan area is close to the path of most storm and frontal systems which move across the North American continent. Therefore, weather conditions affecting the city most often approach from a westerly direction. New York City can thus experience higher temperatures in summer and lower ones in winter than would otherwise be expected in a coastal area. However, the frequent passage of weather systems often helps reduce the length of both warm and cold spells, and is also a major factor in keeping periods of prolonged air stagnation to a minimum.

Although continental influence predominates, oceanic influence is by no means absent. During the summer local sea breezes, winds blowing onshore from the cool water surface, often moderate the afternoon heat. The effect of the sea breeze diminishes inland. On winter mornings, ocean temperatures which are warm relative to the land reinforce the effect of the city heat island and low temperatures are often l0-20 degrees lower in the inland suburbs than in the central city. The relatively warm water temperatures also delay the advent of winter snows. Conversely, the lag in warming of water temperatures keeps spring temperatures relatively cool. One year-round measure of the ocean influence is the small average daily variation in temperature. Precipitation is moderate and distributed fairly evenly throughout the year. Most of the rainfall from May through October comes from thunderstorms, usually of brief duration and sometimes intense. Heavy rains of long duration associated with tropical storms occur infrequently in late summer or fall. For the other months of the year precipitation is more likely to be associated with widespread storm areas, so that day-long rain, snow or a mixture of both is more common. Coastal storms, occurring most often in the fall and winter months, produce on occasion considerable amounts of precipitation and have been responsible for record rains, snows, and high winds.

The average annual precipitation is reasonably uniform within the city but is higher in the northern and western suburbs and less on eastern Long Island. Annual snowfall totals also show a consistent increase to the north and west of the city with lesser amounts along the south shores and the eastern end of Long Island, reflecting the influence of the ocean waters.

Local Climatological Data is published for three locations in New York City, Central Park, La Guardia Airport, and John F. Kennedy International Airport. Other nearby locations for which it is published are Newark, New Jersey, and Bridgeport, Connecticut.

Based on the 1951-1980 period, the average first occurrence of 32 degrees Fahrenheit in the fall is November 11 and the average last occurrence in the spring is April 1.

Data Inventories

Please note that additional data (digital and non-digital) may be available for this station. Contact NCDC if additional details are needed.


Click on the following where available:


• DAT to obtain digital ascii data (charges may apply),
  Please do not order these data if you do not know what a Digital ASCII File is.
  
• INV to view inventory, or
  
• DOC to view documentation

Surface
DAT INV DOC 3200 -Cooperative Summary Of The Day
DAT INV DOC 3210 -Summary Of The Day - First Order
DAT INV DOC SOD -Daily Surface Data (TD3200/3210 combined)
DAT INV DOC 3220 -Summary Of The Month (SOM) Cooperative
DAT INV DOC 3240 -Hourly Precipitation Data
DAT INV DOC 3280 -Surface Airways Hourly And Airways Solar Radiation
DAT INV DOC 3290 -Summary Observation

DATA

Additional data products may be available for this station. If you can't find what you are looking for here, please try our Most Popular Products page.

Forms, Publications, and Web Pages
Graphs and Other Images
CD-ROMs
Digital ASCII Files


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Forms, Publications, and Web Pages

Most of these products are publications that have been converted to on-line access. As such, these documents have column headings and are displayed in an easy-to-read format.

For additional information and product samples, click on the icon next to the desired product.

Hourly Precipitation Data for New York
Hourly/Daily Data, Local Climatological Data (Unedited)
Hourly/Daily Data, Local Climatological Data (Edited)
Daily/Monthly/Annual New York Climatological Data
Record of Climatological Observations
Annual Climatological Summary
Storm Data Publication


Miscellaneous Storm Events in New York County
    *All Drought Dust Storm Flood Fog Hail Hurricane & Tropical Storm Lightning Tornado Wild/Forest Fire Ocean/lake Surf Precipitation Snow & Ice Temperature Extremes Thunderstorm & High Wind

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Graphs and Other Images

Includes contour maps, time series, NEXRAD radar mosaics, and satellite images.

For additional information and product samples, click on the icon next to the desired product.

National Mosaic Reflectivity Images
Miscellaneous Satellite Images


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CD-ROMs

The following are some of the more popular CD-ROMs that contain data for this station. Others are available that may contain summarized data for this station. A complete list of CD-ROMs is available in the OnLine Store.

For additional information, click on the icon next to the desired product.

NCDC Cooperative Station Data
Solar and Meteorological Surface Observational Network
U.S. Hourly Precipitation Data


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Digital ASCII Files

These files may or may not contain column headers. In order to use these files, you will need to import them into a spreadsheet or database package for presentation. Please do not order these data if you do not know what a Digital ASCII File is. A sample Digital ASCII File is available for viewing but content varies a great deal depending on your request. Other digital files are available Offline that may contain data for this station.

For additional information and product samples, click on the icon next to the desired product.

SOD -Daily Surface Data (TD3200/3210 combined)
3220 -Summary Of The Month (SOM) Cooperative
3240 -Hourly Precipitation Data

Station History

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