NEW YORK CITY – July 2020 ranked as one of the top-10 hottest Julys on record at Central Park.

What You Need To Know

  • 80% of the days in July were above average

  • We had the most number of 90-degree days in July since 2011

  • Violent storms produced over 5 inches of rainfall during the month

Looking back, July had New Yorkers sweating and dodging storms. Let's give you the hot facts on the record heat for the month. 

The average temperature at Central Park was 80.1 degrees. This ranks as the sixth-hottest July since 1869. The last time we had a July this hot was nine years ago, back in 2011.

There were two heat waves in the month. A heat wave in NYC is three consecutive days of 90 degrees or more. Our two heat waves both lasted five days each. In total, we had 14 days of 90-degree weather.

That's the most since 2011, and just one shy of the average number of 90-degree days in an entire year. 

Overall, 80 percent of the days in July had above-average temperatures. The 14 days of 90-degree readings was more than double the average, which is six days for July. It also reveresed a trend of seeing less 90-degree days over the past few decades in New York City. 

STORMY SIDE OF SUMMER

The record heat in July also helped fuel strong storms. We had over five inches of rain for July, which is typically the wettest month of the year in New York City.

Part of the rain came from a rare July tropical storm. Over two inches of rain fell on July 10th, as Tropical Storm Fay soaked the city's streets. There were widespread reports of flash flooding.

Overall, 36 percent of the days in July had measurable rainfall. One storm, though, was particularly violent.

On July 22nd, a storm prompting severe thunderstorm warnings throughout the city produced non-stop lightning, and it also set social media buzzing with lightning pictures.

The lightning strikes also started a fire at a church in Queens that injured two people.