LibertyBell

Wetlands are, but not the ones in our area (especially not the ones near where people live).

One thing I noticed when it's extremely hot and dry, the mosquitos hide in the shade and come out much later in the day just before the sun sets. Or they come out when you're watering your plants lol.

Marshes are awful, it's why we call them swamps. I'm hoping one of these days they'll chop down the tall grass and get rid of this excess water. There are tsetse flies in there (they cause sleeping sickness). 42 inches sounds right around what I'd expect for rainfall. I always thought a more tropical climate begins with around 50 inches of rain, like what the Gulf Coast receives.

wow almost everyone averages less than the city lol, even Newark, LGA and White Plains. the average must have been even lower during the 80s when I grew up, do you know the 51-80 and 61-90 averages? 45 inches sounds much more normal to me and probably around 42 inches when I was growing up.

an advantage of wired stations is that they update much more frequently. and you can power them with an electrical outlet and not have to use batteries.

we have that nasty exotic mosquito disease now too. I didn't see all these mosquitos in June and July when we were baking, they seem to come out of nowhere now. I wonder what got them going in October and not before this? Or maybe I didn't notice them when it was very hot and they were hiding in the shade lol

How is it that we always have a ton of mosquitoes and gnats in summers when it rains a lot though and very few in a summer like 2002 or 2010 when it's dry?

that's good for average annual temperature but for measuring summer heat we have to go by 90, 95 and 100 degree days. Of course it's rapidly warming in the winter, but this isn't the case in terms of our hot summers. This was the first summer in a long time when it hit 100+ , it's been more than a decade since we've had a summer this hot.

What is it for JFK, I can already tell the rainfall averages by decade are much lower here. Our summers are usually dry and have been ever since I can remember (starting with the early 80s).

lol this is great, I love weather equipment. I'm absolutely amazed you all get over 50 inches of rain, I think that's only happened here a few times, 50 inches of rain is almost as rare as 50 inches of snow (I'm not complaining, I love my dry hot summers.) We get most of our rain from October through April here and usually the dry sunny weather sets in May through September.

it was already clear here for a few hours but the clouds have come back.

How were the 1980s and 1990s in terms of rainfall Chris? This is what I grew up with and what I consider to be normal. Also, here's a pertinent question The question is do you really want all that extra rainfall if it means more creepy and parasitic insects, more mold and higher pollen levels and more weeds? I'd much rather we just burn off the vegetation. My allergies were lowest in 2010 and that's no coincidence.

I think up by you, you average more rainfall because of higher terrain and you're not in the summer dry spot that we have down here on the south shore of Long Island. I've been used to drier summers for most of my life.

But take a summer like 2010 as an example, it was both hot and dry and we didn't have the kind of drought we had back in the 1960s or 1980s. Our reservoirs have been fine for decades now. I think the last real drought we had was in 2002.

The question is do you really want all that extra rainfall if it means more creepy and parasitic insects, more mold and higher pollen levels and more weeds? I'd much rather we just burn off the vegetation. My allergies were lowest in 2010 and that's no coincidence.

I thought it was around 42 inches because growing up, that's what The Weather Almanac listed as the long term average for NYC.... This book was published in 1973 with an update in 1991 (I have both). The last 30 year average it mentions is the 1961-1990 (the previous one was 1951-80). What were NYC rainfall normals for 1951-1980 and 1961-1990? Was it really that much cooler prior to 1970-- look at all these hot and dry summers we had before: 1944, 1948, 1949, 1953, 1955, 1966, we have some extremely long and very extreme heatwaves in there that have not been matched since.

sounds like a winter Miller B situation lol

what caused the front to intensify so much after it was already dying as it passed over our area?

wow thats a lot

it's not normal for us because we aren't as hot as the Gulf Coast. I find 3.5 inches of rain much better than 4, what we are going through now is just balancing the scales vs the excessive rainfall of the past several years. I'm sure it all averages out to 40 or just over 40 over the entire period of your station's record. I don't consider vegetation drying out a bad thing at all, it means lower pollen levels and much lower levels of parasitic insects and fewer weeds. We don't really need rain as long as our reservoirs are near or over 90%. If the reservoirs get low like they were in the 1980s then it becomes an issue.

Yes, chikungunya is in the United States, though locally transmitted cases are rare and have not been reported since 2019 until a recent case was confirmed in New York. The virus is most commonly spread to the U.S. through travelers returning from endemic areas in other countries, such as Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean. Recent case: A locally acquired case was confirmed in Nassau County, New York, in October 2025, marking the first U.S. case of local transmission in six years. Primary mode of transmission: The disease is spread by mosquitoes, specifically the Aedes genus, which can be found in the U.S. and its territories. Travel-related cases: Before the recent New York case, most U.S. cases were from travelers who had visited areas where the virus is prevalent. Geographic history: Past local transmission has been identified in areas like Florida, Texas, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Symptoms: The virus causes symptoms such as fever, joint pain, headache, muscle pain, joint swelling, and rash. While it is rarely fatal, symptoms can be severe and long-lasting.

Okay, just found it, well this mosquito borne illness is now in New York

Chikungunya Disease Definition: Chikungunya is a mosquito-borne viral infection that causes severe joint pain, fever, and other symptoms. Causes: The Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is transmitted by the bite of infected Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes. Symptoms: Rash Fever Severe joint pain, often in the hands, feet, wrists, and ankles Headache Muscle pain Fatigue Nausea Complications: Most people recover from chikungunya within a week or two. However, some may experience chronic joint pain, fatigue, or other complications, such as: Arthritis, Eye inflammation, and Neurological problems. Treatment: There is no specific treatment for chikungunya. Treatment focuses on relieving symptoms, such as: Rest, Pain relievers, Fever reducers, and Fluids. Prevention: Avoid mosquito bites by wearing long-sleeved shirts and pants, using insect repellent, and staying indoors during peak mosquito biting hours. Remove standing water around your home where mosquitoes can breed. If traveling to areas where chikungunya is present, get vaccinated and take precautions to avoid mosquito bites. Additional Information: Chikungunya is endemic in many tropical and subtropical regions of the world, including Africa, Asia, and the Indian Ocean islands. The disease was first reported in Tanzania in 1953. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared chikungunya a global public health emergency in 2014.

One of the many side effects of a wetter climate no one talks about is the rise of mosquitoes carrying infectious diseases never before seen here (as well as other parasitic insects and worms.) Something I've noticed in our hot dry summers is very few mosquitoes, less predatory insects, much less mold and lower pollen levels. We should just cut down the foliage overgrowth if they can't handle the lower rainfall.

The problem with more rainfall is many more infectious mosquitoes plus other predatory insects as well as more mold and more pollen. I think it's better if we just chop down all this excess foliage. We now have a new infectious mosquito here which never lived here before carrying an exotic disease which we have never seen before. It's called Chimchungachunga Disease or something like that. A big positive with less rain I've noticed is much less in the way of mosquitoes and insects in general, fewer allergies and much less mold.