OCTOBER 2, 2019

Record Heat in October? It's Possible

By Azi Paybarah

It's Wednesday.

Weather: Sunny and hot, then possibly rainy. See our coverage below.

Alternate-side parking: In effect until Oct. 9 (Yom Kippur).

An unusually warm fall day in Brooklyn. Ali Kate Cherkis for The New York Times

Starbucks is serving pumpkin spice lattes, the unofficial drink of fall (as it has been for weeks). Yet today in Central Park, the temperature could reach 90 degrees. That's about 20 degrees warmer than the usual high.

If the mercury climbs to 91, it would be a record high.

What's going on?

I can't explain why people drink pumpkin spice lattes. As for the temperature …

It will feel like a hot summer day in the city this afternoon because winds will usher in warm air and moisture from the south, according to Matthew Wunsch, a National Weather Service meteorologist.

The temperature could hit 90 degrees or higher at 3 p.m., and thundershowers are possible starting around then. In the evening, temperatures will plunge into the mid-70s.

But north of the city, the day will feel different, Mr. Wunsch said. In Albany, for example, it will be a rainy but cooler day, with a high in the 60s.

The last time it was 90 in October: 78 years ago

It's rare to see a 90-degree day in New York City in October. The National Weather Service began recording temperatures at Central Park in 1868. Since then, only five days in the month have reached 90 degrees or higher:

— Oct. 2, 1927: 90

— Oct. 17, 1938: 90

— Oct. 10, 1939: 91

— Oct. 5, 1941: 94

— Oct. 6, 1941: 90

It'll feel more like fall later this week

Tomorrow and on Friday, temperatures will climb only into the mid-60s; on Saturday, they'll reach the low 60s; and on Sunday, they may creep into the high 60s.

In New York City, average highs the first week of October are usually in the low 60s, National Weather Service data shows. But the "pretty big drop" in temperature this afternoon is not uncommon in fall, Mr. Wunsch said.

"We'll probably see it throughout the next two months," he added.

So, what should New Yorkers wear today? I asked Mr. Wunsch. He paused for a moment and then said, "Dress as if it's summer."

FROM THE TIMES

Explore news from New York and around the region

Ex-Rep. Chris Collins Pleads Guilty to Insider Trading Charges

The four-term Republican, who resigned from the House on Monday, shared inside information about a company with his son.

by vivian wang

Did a Banker Kill a Handyman at a Caribbean Resort? Or Was It Cocaine?

A new autopsy suggests a hotel handyman who died during a fight with a tourist from Connecticut had taken a lethal amount of cocaine.

by michael wilson

2 Teenagers Missing in Heavy Surf Off Rockaway Beach

Rescuers began searching for two boys at midday off the coast of Queens.

by michael wilson and azi paybarah

What if You Could Rent an Apartment Without a Security Deposit?

Start-ups are disrupting the practice of shelling out thousands of dollars to rent a home.

by luis ferré-sadurní

Want more news? Check out our full coverage.

The Mini Crossword: Here is today's puzzle.

What we're reading

A woman climbed into an exhibit at the Bronx Zoo and taunted a lion. Surprisingly, she was not harmed. [NBC New York]

The new assistant coach of New York University's men's basketball team will "help student athletes remove mental blocks that they may have had since early childhood," according to the team's head coach. [Washington Square News]

The "Ari Gold of politics" works for a congressman in Brooklyn. [Inside Hook]

Coming up today

The Social Science Research Council gathers panelists to discuss reparations as part of the Brooklyn Historical Society series "400 Years of Inequality: Slavery, Race and Our Unresolved History." 7 p.m. [$15]

Jean Halley discusses her new book, "Horse Crazy: Girls and the Lives of Horses," at Book Culture on West 112th Street in Manhattan. 7 p.m. [Free]

Join a five-mile group hike on Staten Island. Meet at the Greenbelt Nature Center. 6 p.m. [Free]

— Emmett Lindner

Events are subject to change, so double-check before heading out. For more events, see the going-out guides from The Times's culture pages.

And finally: The apple growers aren't upset over 'S.N.L.'

Last weekend, "Saturday Night Live" welcomed fall with a skit mocking the popular New York tradition of apple picking.

Apple growers, according to the skit, have no teeth, deliver subpar crops and work "in the part of New York State that has Confederate flags."

The reality is quite different, according to Cynthia L. Haskins, president and chief executive of the New York Apple Association.

"Our growers are very respectable people," Ms. Haskins said in an interview about the skit and apple-picking season. "I'm sure they all have teeth. We take it in stride. It's a spoof."

The association represents about 600 growers who this year are expected to produce 31 million bushels of Granny Smith, Empire, Fuji and other apple varieties, she said.

Ms. Haskins said she extended an olive branch to "S.N.L." by sending the cast apples and inviting its members to go apple picking. A spokeswoman for "S.N.L." did not respond to a request for comment.

If Aidy Bryant and Kate McKinnon (the actresses who appeared in the skit) accept the invitation, they could easily get their hands on plenty of Golden Delicious, Jonagold and McIntosh apples.

If they're lucky, they'll also get some SnapDragon and RubyFrost apples, which Ms. Haskins said were created by Cornell University. Only 147 growers have them, she added.

Asked if she thought the skit might, er, leave a bad taste in people's mouths, Ms. Haskins was adamant: "We don't have bad tasting apples, so no."

It's Wednesday — ditch the pumpkin spice and have an apple instead.

Metropolitan Diary: Kicks

Dear Diary:

I was on the No. 1, hurrying to get to Times Square. The train got to the 96th Street station at almost the same time as a No. 2 express.

Another woman on the train and I exchanged glances acknowledging our good luck, sprinted across the platform and jumped onto the waiting train.

We laughed a bit and began to chat. She had a dancer's posture, and her hair was in a bun at the top of her head in a style often favored by dancers. I asked whether she was a dancer.

She said that she wasn't a professional dancer, but that she did like to tango.

I said I also loved to dance, and happily demonstrated a high kick.

She smiled a big smile.

"Let's do some kicks!" she said.

And as the train moved along, we began to do high kicks in unison, one leg and then the other. We continued that way until we got to the Times Square station. When the train stopped, we gathered our stuff, thanked each other profusely and hurried off on our separate ways.

— Vivian Awner

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