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). Winters are cold, but the city's coastal position keeps temperatures slightly milder than inland regions, with high temperatures of just above freezing and lows of just below freezing. Spring and autumn are erratic, though they are usually pleasantly mild with low humidity.^[41] Temperature extremes do occur, with temperatures rising above 90°F (32°C) on an average of 16 - 19 days each year, and dropping down to 5°F (–15°C) for a day in winter.

The annual precipitation, which is spread fairly evenly throughout the year, is 49.6 inches (1262 mm). The average winter snowfall is around 24.4 inches (61 cm), but this often varies considerably from year to year. Thunderstorms, which occasionally reach severe limits, are common during the summer months.

Though not usually associated with hurricanes, New York City is susceptible to them, notably the 1821 Norfolk and Long Island hurricane, which flooded southern Manhattan, and the New England Hurricane of 1938, which brushed the eastern end of the city. The city's long-term climate patterns have been affected by the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation, a 70-year-long warming and cooling cycle in the Atlantic that influences the frequency and severity of coastal storms in the region. Although direct strikes from hurricanes are very rare in New York, the city has been identified as one of the three cities in the United States most vulnerable to hurricanes, mainly due to its many narrow river channels, tall skyscrapers, large population, and low-lying infrastructure and coastal subway system, the other two cities being New Orleans and Miami.