What’s the Weather Like in New York City?

About 8 million people call New York City home. If you’re planning to move to NYC, you need to be equipped for all four seasons of weather, so here’s an overview of what you can expect.

Average Temperatures

You need to be prepared for a range of weather over the year and you will definitely get all four seasons.

Summer in the city is hot and sticky with the occasional hurricane sneaking up the Atlantic ocean. Spring is mild but can be rainy. Autumn can start warm, turn cool, go back to warm, so layers are your friend but the leaves change color so it's pretty. And winter, well…

Winter months are considered from December to March, but it isn’t unusual for the snow to start earlier or last later, and late season blizzards are not unheard of.

New York City averages about 25 inches of snow in the winter, and usually has one or two big storms a year that can dump 5 inches or more of snow at one time. (A storm in February 2021 dumped more than a foot of snow at once.) Translation: Warm clothing, sturdy boots and snow shovels and scrapers. 

Here is a look at the month by month average temperatures on New York City, thanks to NY.com.

While hurricanes are more common further south, they have made their way up the Atlantic to take on NYC and surrounding cities.

Since the 1970s, thirty hurricanes and tropical storms have tried to take a bite out of The Big Apple; the most recent was Hurricane Ida, which caused 43 deaths in New York in September 2021.

The more dangerous and common storm is a Nor’easter, a low pressure system that forms when colder air from Canada meets warm air coming up the Gulf of Mexico. Nor’easters arrive with strong winds, heavy rain or snow, high tides, storm surge and serious attitude. While they can happen any time, they are most common from September to April. 

Hurricane or Nor’easter?

You may have noticed some overlap between hurricane and Nor’easter season, but there are some differences:

• Nor’easters are slower moving, and can last for days. They can trigger high tides, storm surge and floods because they take their time dumping all that precipitation.
• Nor’easters can span thousands of miles. A typical hurricane averages 300 miles across.
• Hurricanes hit New York and the area once every five years or so. Nor’easters average 20 to 40 per year, and at least two of those will be especially nasty.

How Self-Storage Can Solve the New York Weather Challenge

We’ve talked in the past about 5 unique storage issues in New York City. If you are new to NYC, you might not be expecting the changes in temperature, or you may have over-prepared in anticipation and need a place for your stuff in the off-season.

The bottom line is that New Yorkers are typically short on space. And if you want to wear the season’s must-have clothes, including the right coats, boots and accessories, and winter clothing, you’ll need a lot of room.

If you are also living in a micro-apartment with other people, then you need a place to store your stuff. Or maybe you moved to the city with a car and have no idea where to park it.

A climate-controlled storage unit could be your new best friend by offering an ideal place for your possessions that won’t take up room in your apartment. Or a parking spot may be just what you need.

Storage Post has a number of locations around New York City that can help with your self-storage issues and most importantly, we’ll keep them safe. Check us out for all your self-storage needs in NYC.