New York, NY is starting Sunday mostly cloudy with a high near 80°F, and while the day stays mostly dry early on, showers and thunderstorms move in this afternoon and evening — so get your outdoor time in before 2 PM and have a rain jacket within reach by tonight.
Today’s Setup
The National Weather Service says a slight chance of showers develops between 2 PM and 5 PM, then chances increase into a more organized round of showers and thunderstorms this evening as a tropical-like, moisture-rich air mass moves up from the south. Winds stay light out of the south at 8 to 16 mph, temperatures actually dip a bit in the afternoon to around 78°F, and it’ll feel sticky with that Gulf-fed humidity in place.
Best Window To Be Outside
Morning through early afternoon is your window — think a walk in Central Park or an early trip along the Hudson River. By evening, rain becomes likely, and the overnight forecast calls for showers and thunderstorms with lows around 75°F, rising toward 77°F as the muggy air holds on.
Rain, Wind & Rip Current Risk
This is the bigger story: NWS forecasters say the ingredients are lining up for a period of heavy rain and thunderstorms from late tonight through Monday, with a quarter to half an inch possible tonight and another half to three-quarters of an inch Monday, when rain chances climb to 90%. The Weather Prediction Center has placed New York in a slight risk of excessive rainfall, with the potential for downpours of 1 to 2 inches per hour if storms repeat over the same areas — a flash flood watch hasn’t been issued yet, but that could change. Separately, the Atlantic-facing beaches face a moderate rip current risk today, becoming a high risk with potential high surf on Monday, so skip the ocean swim this week.
What To Wear Or Bring
A packable rain jacket and a compact travel umbrella are smart grabs before you head out today, especially if you’re commuting home this evening. If you’re headed anywhere with standing water or muddy trails, waterproof hiking boots will keep you drier than sneakers.
Mets, Yankees & A Rainy-Day Show
The New York Mets host the Miami Marlins at Citi Field today — first pitch weather should still be dry early, but keep an eye on the sky as evening storms arrive; grab tickets on SeatGeek or find tickets on StubHub, and rep the team with a New York Mets jersey or New York Mets fitted cap. The New York Yankees open a series against the St. Louis Cardinals at Yankee Stadium starting Monday, right in the heart of that 90% rain chance, so a delay is possible. If you’d rather stay dry entirely, Hamilton is playing at the Richard Rodgers Theatre tonight — a solid indoor pick given the forecast. Storms can also mean flickering power, so it’s worth keeping an eye on your place with something like the Wyze Cam Pan v4 4K Security Camera, on sale for $45 this week.
Dinner Tonight
With rain rolling in, this is a slow cooker chili or beef stew kind of night. A programmable slow cooker or an enameled cast iron Dutch oven makes it easy to have something warm ready when the storms hit. Need ingredients? You can order groceries on Amazon and have everything for tonight’s dinner delivered to your door.
Next Few Days
Monday is the wettest day of the stretch as a frontal system and upper-level jet stream track through, with rain likely lingering into Monday night behind a wind shift to the northwest. NWS forecasters say unsettled weather returns again Wednesday and Thursday, so keep the rain gear handy — and once drier stretches show up later in the week, it’s still prime season to get outside, when a UPF 50+ sun hoodie is a smart grab for $5 for fishing trips along the water.
