This City Desperately Needs A Bath

CENTRAL PARK, NY – In Oct. 2023, Central Park recorded 3.9 inches of rain, according to records kept by the National Weather Service (NWS).

In Oct. 2022, 5.08 inches fell.

But in Oct. 2024? Just .01 inches, making this October reportedly the driest month ever recorded in New York City. And although it did rain on Sunday, during the first two weeks of November only .18 inches of precipitation were recorded in Central Park, according to the NWS.

What Are We, Arizona?

The city typically receives between 7 to 8 inches of rain in September and October. This year, however, the clouds delivered only 1.59 inches, which means it's scary dry in Manhattan, with the city seemingly under a constant barrage of Red Flag Warnings recently.

What even is a Red Flag Warning? Essentially, it means that due to a combination of dry conditions, low humidity – as low as 28 percent, per the NWS – and gusty winds, there is an increased risk of fire, and any fires that spark will be more difficult for firefighters to extinguish.

These conditions have led to a record number of brush fires citywide in recent weeks, and on Wednesday, a major fire scorched between 3.5 to 4 acres of Inwood Hill Park in Upper Manhattan.

So if you're considering a November BBQ, think again: Mayor Eric Adams has banned grilling in the city's parks for the foreseeable future.

The City Is Getting Gross

It's not only fire risk that a lack of rain has produced.

New York City is filthy. But fortunately, our climate is typically wet enough that all of the filth is washed away by a good rain about once each week, winter months excepted (this being in addition to the important work of the city's sanitation professionals).

Right now, however, all of the miscellaneous filth – the animal waste, construction dust, leaky garbage residue, soot, grit, you name it – is lingering, because there’s been very little rain to clear it out.

For example: why does “every street smell like pee” in Yorkville, a Reddit poster wonders?

“In my personal opinion, the number one reason for the urine smell is because it hasn’t rained in the city in over a month,” another explained. “[Rain helps] wash residue off the sidewalks, and that hasn’t happened in a while.”

Indeed.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Department of Sanitation outlined a number of steps it's taking to keep the city clean, and reminded New Yorkers of the simple actions all of us can take to help out, drought or no drought:

As of [this] week, 70 percent of all New York City trash will be in containers with tight-fitting lids. That includes ALL commercial trash, which has been in effect for much of this year, and all trash from buildings with 1 to 9 residential units…(And we have a plan for the final 30 percent of trash). This is all part of the Adams Administration’s commitment to ridding our streets and sidewalks of smelly piles of black trash bags.

Additionally, all residential food waste should be put out in containers with tight-fitting lids, per our mandatory, universal curbside composting service.

All property owners have a legal responsibility to keep their sidewalks clean, as well as 18 inches into the street. Those who do not could be fined.

Finally, we ask all drivers to obey alternate-side parking rules so that our mechanical brooms can clean the streets of dried leaves and other debris.

Taken together, these measures help deliver the clean city New Yorkers want and deserve, rain or shine.

Odors are not necessarily within Sanitation’s purview, and New Yorkers should report noxious smells to 311. Many of these complaints will end up in the inbox of the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), which pointed Patch toward the following complaint guidance for animal waste specifically. Dust complaint guidance is here.

When Will It End?

“Right now in our latest forecast the next chance of rain we have – only a slight chance – is late Sunday night into early Monday morning,” a spokesperson for NWS New York told Patch.

Why? “It's just the pattern we've been in recently, high pressure over the area and weak cold fronts passing through.”

Heavy precipitation isn’t expected for another week, according to a Climate Prediction Center (CPC) forecast, which indicates a “slight” chance of serious rain starting Nov. 21.

Note that this map is experimental, NWS New York cautioned, adding that local forecasters do not produce this material.

Looking further out, below-average precipitation is expected for the rest of November, per the CPC, and a seasonal precipitation outlook provides no clear signal of whether precipitation will be above normal or below normal over the next few months.

Sick of all the sunshine? At least it’s getting dark around 5 p.m. these days.