October 2025 Discussion and Obs

[LibertyBell]

37 minutes ago, IrishRob17 said:

I can only go back to 2017 to look at trust worthy annual precipitation amounts since I didn't start melting down frozen precipitation to get accurate readings until the fall of 2016. Boy, I forgot how wet 2023 was, 66.85" that year for me but I digress. My annual average is 49.18", so right in the ball park of what you posted above. 

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.

[SACRUS]

 

Breezy , staring to clear out.

 

[LibertyBell]

47 minutes ago, bluewave said:

50.84” of rain has been our long term average since 1971 at a place like NYC so it isn’t too much rain.  But short term hourly and daily heavy rainfall extremes have been increasing over this period especially since 2003. This has lead to flooding issues. It’s when we get closer to 60”or higher of rain on the year that issues with too much annual rainfall develop. From 1871 to 1970 NYC averaged 42.89” which worked out OK since the climate was so much cooler. Except for the 1960s which had the record low rainfall in the 30s and even 20s with the 500 year drought.

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.

[LibertyBell]

Just now, SACRUS said:

 

Breezy , staring to clear out.

 

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

[SACRUS]

Just now, LibertyBell said:

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.

https://www.weather.gov/media/okx/Climate/CentralPark/monthlyannualprecip.pdf

[winterwx21]

Only a tenth of an inch of rain here last night. No surprise. The drought will continue to get worse with this dry week. Hopefully we'll get some help for the drought next week, but who knows. 

At least we have perfect viewing conditions for the peak of Orionid meteor shower tonight. Clear skies and no moonlight. It should be a good show. 

[NorthShoreWx]

I was disappointed seeing only 0.10" in the gage this morning, but reading some of the other reports I'm glad we got that much.

My fault, I turned the sprinklers off (I'd hoped for the season) yesterday.  I'll let y'all know if I buy a snowblower.

[lee59]

3 hours ago, wthrmn654 said:

@Brian5671 don't be jealous 

Not jealous, glad it worked out for you. Eastern New England made out well also

[doncat]

2 hours ago, IrishRob17 said:

My 9.48" this past May boosted me over 40" to 41.85" from 10/1/24-9/30/25. 

My precip here from 9/1/24 to present is 35.50"... Normal for that period is around 55.50" so a -20" departure .  Btw had 0.05" last night.

[steve392]

13 minutes ago, doncat said:

My precip here from 9/1/24 to present is 35.50"... Normal for that period is around 55.50" so a -20" departure .  Btw had 0.05" last night.

Where is everyone getting there totals from?  I'd like to check out my area or at least close to my area's totals.

[IrishRob17]

13 minutes ago, doncat said:

My precip here from 9/1/24 to present is 35.50"... Normal for that period is around 55.50" so a -20" departure .  Btw had 0.05" last night.

I'm at .21", the occasional shower still rotating through up here.

[doncat]

7 minutes ago, steve392 said:

Where is everyone getting there totals from?  I'd like to check out my area or at least close to my area's totals.

That's from my station on si.

[steve392]

Not sure how accurate google is, but what i was able to find for Teterboro airport is from 9/1/24 to present is 48.12" of rain, just under half of that was from september to new years last year.  2025 is only at 25.74 YTD.

[IrishRob17]

18 minutes ago, steve392 said:

Where is everyone getting there totals from?  I'd like to check out my area or at least close to my area's totals.

Same as Don, from my weather station, I've had one for 25+ years, on my third station now. I kept general weather notes going back longer that that but got more detailed with my observations 20 years ago. It seemed kinda pointless at times in the beginning, many will say its pointless now but I find it interesting to look back now that there is a decent chunk or information to look at. 

[doncat]

5 minutes ago, IrishRob17 said:

Same as Don, from my weather station, I've had one for 25+ years, on my third station now. I kept general weather notes going back longer that that but got more detailed with my observations 20 years ago. It seemed kinda pointless at times in the beginning, many will say its pointless now but I find it interesting to look back now that there is a decent chunk or information to look at. 

I'm 65 now....I have written records that began uninterrupted when I was 13. I think ive been doing this since maybe 10 years of age or maybe younger. Come to my house and see all my weather equipment I've purchased over the decades...my basement looks like a weather museum lol.

[Picard]

36 minutes ago, doncat said:

I'm 65 now....I have written records that began uninterrupted when I was 13. I think ive been doing this since maybe 10 years of age or maybe younger. Come to my house and see all my weather equipment I've purchased over the decades...my basement looks like a weather museum lol.

I wish I had been that detailed over the years.   I started about that age, and always maintained my interest level, but got sloppy with the records as adult life took hold.  I can't say I'm that great about it today either, but it is fun to track weather stats over time if you're organized and dedicated enough.  I have a bunch of old weather gadgets dating to the 1980s and 1990s still at my parents house in storage.  One of them is a Davis station, dating to around 1991 that lasted a few years, then succumbed to a lightening strike of all things.  I remember that one, flash, bang, shook the whole house and toasted a couple of appliances.  

[LibertyBell]

59 minutes ago, doncat said:

I'm 65 now....I have written records that began uninterrupted when I was 13. I think ive been doing this since maybe 10 years of age or maybe younger. Come to my house and see all my weather equipment I've purchased over the decades...my basement looks like a weather museum lol.

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.

 

[FPizz]

3 minutes ago, LibertyBell said:

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.

 

This is for NYC

https://www.extremeweatherwatch.com/cities/new-york/most-yearly-precipitation

Here is DC, which people say our climate now is.  They get less rain than here

https://www.extremeweatherwatch.com/cities/washington-dc/most-yearly-precipitation

 

[Sundog]

19 minutes ago, FPizz said:

This is for NYC

https://www.extremeweatherwatch.com/cities/new-york/most-yearly-precipitation

Here is DC, which people say our climate now is.  They get less rain than here

https://www.extremeweatherwatch.com/cities/washington-dc/most-yearly-precipitation

 

Central Park's average annual temperatures from the last several years (which is easily cooler than Newark and LGA) is about the same as Washington DC's average annual temp from the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. 

And that's the warmer location, not to be confused with the cooler Dulles Airport. 

[lee59]

1 hour ago, doncat said:

I'm 65 now....I have written records that began uninterrupted when I was 13. I think ive been doing this since maybe 10 years of age or maybe younger. Come to my house and see all my weather equipment I've purchased over the decades...my basement looks like a weather museum lol.

I have numerous Davis weather equipment. I used to have a heathkit, which I built, and a weathermax weather station. Sold both of those.

[bluewave]

3 hours ago, LibertyBell said:

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.

The amount of insects isn’t going to significantly change if we get around 50” year like we have since the 1970s. Mold issues in recent years like the college dorms after the summer were more a function of the very high dew points.

There is a large vacant parcel of land by me that they cut every few months. The weeds grew just as fast to a significant height even with one of the driest summers on record here. So weeds are a very hearty and adaptable species of plants.

Some people have pollen allergies that can drop after the heavy rains wash some of the extra pollen out of the air. Plus I didn’t see any reduction in pollen on the local cars during tree pollen season even though it was still pretty dry. 

You can see a steady decadal average around 50.00” in NYC since the 1970s. It’s the 1960s which really stood out for drought. It was rated as a 500 year drought from a long tree rings study from the Catskills down to closer to NYC. 

Over the last year smaller watershed systems such as up here in CT and NJ saw a drop in their reservoir levels. Some close to the Jersey Shore were near record low levels since they were established. But the Catskills haven’t been as dry as other areas closer to NYC. So NYC hasn’t had any Reservior  issues. But some local farmers have been having crop issues with how dry it has been.

NYC average decadal rainfall since the 1960s through 2024

1960s…39.74”

1970s….52.32”

1980s…49.46”

1990s….47.19”

2000s…52.14”

2010s….50.76

2020s….51.41”…through 2024

[FPizz]

7 minutes ago, Sundog said:

Central Park's average annual temperatures from the last several years (which is easily cooler than Newark and LGA) is about the same as Washington DC's average annual temp from the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. 

And that's the warmer location, not to be confused with the cooler Dulles Airport. 

Yeah, but DC is drier, so are we getting more wet or drying as we become DC?  

[LibertyBell]

1 minute ago, bluewave said:

The amount of insects isn’t going to significantly change if we get around 50” year like we have since the 1970s. Mold issues in recent years like the college dorms after the summer was more a function of the very high dew points.

There is a large vacant parcel of land by me that they cut every few months. The weeds grew just as fast to a significant height even with one of the driest summers on record here. So weeds are a very hearty and adaptable species of plants.

Some people have pollen allergies that can drop after the heavy rains wash some of the extra pollen out of the air. Plus I didn’t see any reduction in pollen on the local cars during tree pollen season even though it was still pretty dry. 

You can see a steady decadal average around 50.00” in NYC since the 1970s. It’s the 60s which really stood out for drought. It was rated as a 500 year drought from a long tree rings study from the Catskills down to closer to NYC. 

Over the last year smaller watershed systems such as up here in CT and NJ saw a drop in their reservoir levels. Some close to the Jersey Shore were near record low levels since they were established. But the Catskills haven’t been as dry as other areas closer to NYC. So NYC hasn’t had any Reservior  issues. But some local farmers have been having crop issues with how dry it has been.

NYC average decadal rainfall since the 1960s through 2024

1960s…39.74”

1970s….52.32”

1980s…49.46”

1990s….47.19”

2000s…52.14”

2010s….50.76

2020s….51.41”…through 2024

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).

 

[doncat]

1 hour ago, IrishRob17 said:

Same as Don, from my weather station, I've had one for 25+ years, on my third station now. I kept general weather notes going back longer that that but got more detailed with my observations 20 years ago. It seemed kinda pointless at times in the beginning, many will say its pointless now but I find it interesting to look back now that there is a decent chunk or information to look at. 

Remember the old days Rob of installing weather equipment...no wireless yet...running wires, drilling holes in the house to get the wires to the inside unit. I've had an anemometer up on the roof for as long as I can remember... luckily it's a ranch home so not too high... don't think I can go up there anymore so hoping it continues to work well.

 

[LibertyBell]

10 minutes ago, Sundog said:

Central Park's average annual temperatures from the last several years (which is easily cooler than Newark and LGA) is about the same as Washington DC's average annual temp from the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. 

And that's the warmer location, not to be confused with the cooler Dulles Airport. 

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.

 

[LibertyBell]

4 minutes ago, bluewave said:

The amount of insects isn’t going to significantly change if we get around 50” year like we have since the 1970s. Mold issues in recent years like the college dorms after the summer were more a function of the very high dew points.

There is a large vacant parcel of land by me that they cut every few months. The weeds grew just as fast to a significant height even with one of the driest summers on record here. So weeds are a very hearty and adaptable species of plants.

Some people have pollen allergies that can drop after the heavy rains wash some of the extra pollen out of the air. Plus I didn’t see any reduction in pollen on the local cars during tree pollen season even though it was still pretty dry. 

You can see a steady decadal average around 50.00” in NYC since the 1970s. It’s the 1960s which really stood out for drought. It was rated as a 500 year drought from a long tree rings study from the Catskills down to closer to NYC. 

Over the last year smaller watershed systems such as up here in CT and NJ saw a drop in their reservoir levels. Some close to the Jersey Shore were near record low levels since they were established. But the Catskills haven’t been as dry as other areas closer to NYC. So NYC hasn’t had any Reservior  issues. But some local farmers have been having crop issues with how dry it has been.

NYC average decadal rainfall since the 1960s through 2024

1960s…39.74”

1970s….52.32”

1980s…49.46”

1990s….47.19”

2000s…52.14”

2010s….50.76

2020s….51.41”…through 2024

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?

 

[doncat]

7 minutes ago, lee59 said:

I have numerous Davis weather equipment. I used to have a heathkit, which I built, and a weathermax weather station. Sold both of those.

Yes me also. Had Davis equipment back in the 90's before the vantage pro came out. Also had a heathkit thermometer which I built with my dad probably 45 years ago.

[Sundog]

9 minutes ago, FPizz said:

Yeah, but DC is drier, so are we getting more wet or drying as we become DC?  

You can't really compare the two because we are on the coast and get a bunch of systems they miss out on. 

So I have no idea. 

[IrishRob17]

18 minutes ago, doncat said:

Remember the old days Rob of installing weather equipment...no wireless yet...running wires, drilling holes in the house to get the wires to the inside unit. I've had an anemometer up on the roof for as long as I can remember... luckily it's a ranch home so not too high... don't think I can go up there anymore so hoping it continues to work well.

 

Once stations got wireless I got much more interested in getting my own station, plus where I was in life at the time. I do remember putting my old Weather Monitor II on two different roofs in the late 90's and early 00's, not the best move to have the entire station up there but live and learn. Its much easier all around now. I remember you giving me pointers on how to connect to my computer and then that got even easier with the Davis WeatherLink Live.

[gravitylover]

35 minutes ago, LibertyBell said:

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?

 

This year has been absolutely horrible for small biting/stinging winged critters.