New York faces a wet, gray Thursday on 21 May, with el tiempo pointing to an 84% chance of precipitation during the day and a much lower 12% chance at night. The city is also expected to sit under a thick blanket of clouds, with cover forecast at 94% in daylight and 92% after dark.
Temperatures are set to stay mild rather than warm, reaching a high of 17 degrees and dipping to 13 degrees. Wind gusts may climb to 20 kilometers per hour during the day before easing to 17 kilometers per hour at night, while ultraviolet rays are forecast to reach a level of up to 3.
That combination matters because Thursday’s forecast points to a day when rain is most likely before nightfall, then becomes far less likely once darkness sets in. For people moving around the city, that means the timing of any wet weather is likely to matter as much as the amount.
The forecast is based on observation and mathematical models, the standard tools used to turn changing weather conditions into a day-ahead outlook. New York’s climate adds its own backdrop: a humid continental pattern marked by cold winters, very warm summers and moderate rain throughout the year.
Still, the numbers leave little room for ambiguity. El tiempo for New York on 21 May is shaping up to be cloudy, damp and comfortably cool, with the day’s main question not whether the sky will stay overcast, but how long the rain will hold off.
