Today in New York Weather History: May 30

1884 (Monday) 

It was a chilly Memorial Day, with a record low of 42° (a record that still stands).  And the day's high of 55° was also a record for chilliest high for the date (until 2021).

1967 (Tuesday)

Today was the tenth day this month with a low of 48°, which is the most instances of a low or high temperature occurring in any month in the years since 1940 (through May 2025).

While this reading was close to average at the beginning of the month, it was ten degrees below average by this time of the month.  (However, today's high rebounded to 74°, which was average for the date.) 

 1973 (Wednesday)

The 0.18" of rain that fell tonight between 11 PM and midnight made this the 19th day with measurable precipitation this month, tying December 1972 for the second greatest number of days on record (the most days occurred in July 1871 and May 1888 - 20).  However, despite this number of wet days, the month's total precipitation (4.51") was average for May.  

1984 (Wednesday)

2.19" of rain fell today, the third day in a row in which more than an inch of rain was measured.  Significant rain fell last year on this date as well (1.11"). 

May 28 had 1.19" of rain

May 29 had 1.43" of rain

May 30 had 2.19" of rain

1987 (Saturday)

Today would be the hottest day of the year, with a high/low of 97°/74°.  This was the hottest temperature in May since May 29, 1969 when the high was also 97° (that year's  hottest reading as well).  Today's sizzling high was a record for the date, breaking the previous record set just last year (94°). 

2003 (Friday)

Today's high of 79° was the warmest temperature of the month and only the second time in twenty-five years that May had no readings of 80° or higher.  (It would happen again in 2005.) 

2011 (Monday)

For the sixth year in a row Memorial Day had an afternoon high in the 80s.  However, a quick downpour at daybreak was the first rain to fall on this Monday holiday in six years.     

2012 (Wednesday)

A very small amount of rain fell in the morning (0.01"), making this the eighteenth day in May in which measurable rain fell.  This was the most days of precipitation in May since 1973.  Despite this surplus of rainy days, the month's rainfall wasn't far from average - but it was the first month this year to receive an above average amount (5.38" vs. 4.69").   

2013 (Thursday)

Today had the first reading in the 90s this year, coming a few days after the average date for this occurrence. 

2015 (Saturday)

Today was the fifth day of the past six to have a high of 85°.  It was also the 17th day this month to have temperatures in the 80s, tying May 1991 for the May record (the record was broken the next day). 

Besides May's warm temperatures, dry conditions also continued as the number of consecutive days in which less than an inch of rain fell (in total) reached 40.  Although a significant number, it was half as many days as the record of 81 days in a row set in the summer of 1999.  

2016 (Monday)

Moisture from tropical storm Bonnie brought bands of heavy rain before 7 AM that amounted to 1.65" (nearly an inch fell between 1 and 2 AM).  This amount made it the second rainiest Memorial Day on record (rainiest was in 1948 when 2.49" fell).  It was more than what fell in the entire month of March (1.17") or April (1.61"), and was the most precipitation to fall in one storm since the big blizzard on 1/23 (when 2.37" was measured). 

Despite this impressive amount, the area was spared more heavy rain in the afternoon as the storm stayed offshore.  This allowed the sun to break through and the temperature rose into the low 80s, making this the tenth Memorial Day of the last eleven to have a high in the 80s. 

2019 (Thursday)

Today was the 19th day this month with measurable rain in Central Park, tying May 1973 and Dec. 1972 for the second most days of precipitation of any month.  (The most, 20 days, occurred twice in the 19th century - July 1871 and May 1888).  Like yesterday, which reported 0.80" of rain, much of today's 0.95" poured down during the evening commute. 

This month's excessive number of rainy days followed April's 18 days of rain  (most on record for April); however, May's rainfall was more than two inches greater (6.82" vs. 4.55") and it was more than what fell in July 1871, May 1888, May 1973, or Dec. 1972. 

2020 (Saturday)

Today and yesterday both had a high of  81°/67° (eight degrees above average).  But, whereas yesterday was on the sticky side, with afternoon dew points in the upper 60s, today was noticeably more comfortable, with dew points in the afternoon down into the upper 40s. And today had a lot more sunshine. 

Yesterday and today were also the first back-to-back days with highs in the 80s this year, about three weeks later than usual, and the latest since 2013. 

2021 (Sunday)

Today’s very cool high/low of 51°/47° was identical to yesterday’s.  But while yesterday’s high tied for the coolest high on 5/29, today’s high broke the record by four degrees.  These highs were 24 degrees below average (and more typical of the first day of spring).  Today’s and yesterday’s high/low were the chilliest back-to-back days in late May since May 25-26, 1967 (46°/42° and 53°/46°).   (It's worth noting that there was a 3-day cold snap from June 3-5 in 1945 that saw highs/lows of  53°/50°, 52°/49°, and 55°/47°.)  

And like yesterday, today was a rainy day, with 0.89" falling from sunrise to mid-afternoon.  The 48-hour rainfall total (from two storm systems, beginning late afternoon on 5/28) was 2.57”, which was nearly 50% more than what fell between May 1-27 (1.77”). 

Coincidentally, May 29-30 of last year had the same, but much warmer, high/low:  81°/67°.  This is just the second time that the same dates in consecutive years had temperature "twins" (the other instance was in 1897 and 1898 on July 27-28).