A March Day That Felt Like May in NYC

The month of March has only just begun, but it felt more like mid-May in New York City on Monday.

In Central Park, the temperature soared to 72°F. While unusually mild, it was not a record breaker for the date. That honor belongs to March 9, 2016 when the high reached 77°F. Nonetheless, this Monday marked the warmest day the Big Apple has seen since last November.

The city’s average high for the date is 47°F.

The primary driver of this unseasonable warmth was a large ridge in the jet stream. Sitting over the eastern part of the US, it allowed warm air from the south to flow further north than it normally would at this time of the year.

Credit: The Weather Gamut