Geography
Main articles: Geography of New York City and Geography of New York Harbor
Satellite image showing the core of the New York metropolitan area. Over 10 million people live in the imaged area.
New York City is located in the Northeastern United States, in southeastern New York State, approximately halfway between Washington, D.C. and Boston.[35] The location at the mouth of the Hudson River, which feeds into a naturally sheltered harbor and then into the Atlantic Ocean, has helped the city grow in significance as a trading city. Much of New York is built on the three islands of Manhattan, Staten Island, and Long Island, making land scarce and encouraging a high population density.
The Hudson River flows through the Hudson Valley into New York Bay. Between New York City and Troy, New York, the river is an estuary.[36] The Hudson separates the city from New Jersey. The East River, actually a tidal strait, flows from Long Island Sound and separates the Bronx and Manhattan from Long Island. The Harlem River, another tidal strait between the East and Hudson Rivers, separates Manhattan from the Bronx.
The city's land has been altered considerably by human intervention, with substantial land reclamation along the waterfronts since Dutch colonial times. Reclamation is most notable in Lower Manhattan, with developments such as Battery Park City in the 1970s and 1980s.[37] Some of the natural variations in topography have been evened out, particularly in Manhattan.[38]
The city's land area is estimated at 304.8 square miles (789 km2).[3][4] New York City's total area is 468.9 square miles (1,214 km2). 164.1 square miles (425 km2) of this is water and 304.8 square miles (789 km2) is land. The highest point in the city is Todt Hill on Staten Island, which at 409.8 feet (124.9 m) above sea level is the highest point on the Eastern Seaboard south of Maine.[39] The summit of the ridge is largely covered in woodlands as part of the Staten Island Greenbelt.[40]
Climate
Under the Köppen climate classification, New York City has a humid subtropical climate and enjoys an average of 234 sunshine days annually.[41] It's the northernmost major city in North America that features a humid subtropical climate using the 0 °C (American scientist standard) isotherm as criteria.
Summers are typically hot and humid with average high temperatures of 79 – 84 °F (26 – 29 °C) and lows of 63 – 69 °F (17 – 21 °C), however temperatures exceed 90 °F (32 °C) on average of 16 – 19 days each summer and can exceed 100 °F (38 °C) every 4-6 years.[42]. Winters are cold, and prevailing wind patterns that blow offshore somewhat minimizes the influence of the Atlantic Ocean. Yet, the Atlantic Ocean keeps the city warmer in the winter than inland North American cities located at similar latitudes such as Chicago, Pittsburgh and Cincinnati. The average temperature in January, New York City's coldest month, is 32 °F (0 °C). However temperatures in winter could for few days be as low as 10s to 20s °F (−12 to −6 °C) and for a few days be as high as 50s or 60s °F (~10–15 °C).[43] Spring and autumn are erratic, and could range from chilly to warm, although they are usually pleasantly mild with low humidity.[44]
New York City receives 49.7 inches (1,260 mm) of precipitation annually, which is fairly spread throughout the year. Average winter snowfall is about 24.4 inches (62 cm), but this often varies considerably from year to year, and snow cover usually remains very short.[41] Hurricanes and tropical storms are very rare in New York area, but not unheard of.
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[hide] | |||||||||||||
|
Month |
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
Year |
|
Record high °F (°C) |
72 (22) |
75 (24) |
86 (30) |
96 (36) |
99 (37) |
101 (38) |
106 (41) |
104 (40) |
102 (39) |
94 (34) |
84 (29) |
75 (24) |
106 (41) |
|
Average high °F (°C) |
38 (3) |
41 (5) |
50 (10) |
61 (16) |
71 (22) |
79 (26) |
84 (29) |
82 (28) |
75 (24) |
64 (18) |
53 (12) |
43 (6) |
62 (17) |
|
Average low °F (°C) |
26 (-3) |
28 (-2) |
35 (2) |
44 (7) |
54 (12) |
63 (17) |
69 (21) |
68 (20) |
60 (16) |
50 (10) |
41 (5) |
32 (0) |
48 (9) |
|
Record low °F (°C) |
-6 (-21) |
-15 (-26) |
3 (-16) |
12 (-11) |
28 (-2) |
44 (7) |
52 (11) |
50 (10) |
39 (4) |
28 (-2) |
7 (-14) |
-13 (-25) |
-15 (-26) |
|
Precipitation inches (mm) |
4.13 (104.9) |
3.15 (80) |
4.37 (111) |
4.28 (108.7) |
4.69 (119.1) |
3.84 (97.5) |
4.62 (117.3) |
4.22 (107.2) |
4.23 (107.4) |
3.85 (97.8) |
4.36 (110.7) |
3.95 (100.3) |
49.7 (1,262.4) |
|
Source: [45] | |||||||||||||
Weather
averages for New York City (Central Park) 