This past September started hot and finished stormy. 

What You Need To Know

  • Flooding rains on Sept. 29 set new records

  • Sept. 2023 was the second wettest September in the past 154 years

  • September brought NYC its only heat wave of the season

September began with the hottest temperatures of the season. We saw readings in the 90s on the 5th, 6th and 7th.

Having three consecutive days in the 90s made this an official heat wave. It was our first and only one for the summer.

Later in the month, temperatures cooled off, and we ended up nearly average for temperatures. The coolest day was Sept. 27, when readings fell to 50 degrees.

However, the most memorable part of the month was the rain. 

We had severe flooding at the end of the month, but even before that, the rain was significant. It rained on 14 out of the 30 days in September. That's almost 50%.

Overall, the total rainfall was just over 14 inches. That's about three times the amount of rain we see in a typical September.

The total rain ranks as the second most in September in over 150 years. Weather records in the city go back to the year 1869, just four years after the Civil War.

Also, in case you're wondering, the wettest September for New York City happened in 1882, when 16.85 inches of rain fell. 

More than a third of the record rain came in a single day. With just two days to go in the month, the city was swamped by one of the wettest days on record.

Brooklyn and Queens were hit the hardest, but many spots in the Bronx also had extreme flooding.

The rain knocked out subway and rail service in parts of the area, and there were water rescues from cars and basement apartments. 

(AP Photo)

At JFK, rainfall topped eight inches. That's the most rain in a single day on record for that location. Their records go back to 1948 when the airport was built.

At Central Park, over five inches of rain ranked as the sixth wettest day in the past 141 years.

Many compared this rainfall to the flooding from Ida in 2021.

New Yorkers have now been through two major floods in just three years.  

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