Chilly Day Ties Record For Coldest

The high temperature yesterday plunged to 59 degrees, 23 degrees below average, to tie the record for the coldest August high, set in 1911, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service said.

The cool weather helped make this summer one of the coolest on record, and temperatures are not expected to increase until the end of the week, the meteorologist, Joe Pollina, said.

"We were forecasting a high of 63 degrees, and even if that does occur, it will still break the record," he said.

Temperatures in July were 1.5 degrees below normal and temperatures almost 1 degree below average for the first three weeks of August. In June, temperatures were slightly above average by 0.2 degrees.

The cool summer temperatures are the result of a combination of rain, clouds, and cooler air moving in from New England, Mr. Pollina said.

Today's rainfall of 1.27 inches pushes August's total over 7 inches of rainfall in Central Park and surpasses the average August rainfall of 4.22 inches. The storms that shut down the city's subway system earlier this month added 3 inches to the total, Mr. Pollina said.

While cooler temperatures will continue today, the National Weather Service forecasts warmer temperatures starting Thursday, with southern winds pushing highs near 80 degrees.