09/10/2026
🇺🇸 Remembering September 11th Through Weather and Memories
Twenty-five years ago, the weather across New York City changed dramatically in the hours leading up to September 11, 2001.
During the afternoon and evening of September 10, showers and thunderstorms moved through the city along a cold front. The storms brought dark clouds, lightning and periods of heavy rain to Manhattan. Some of the final images ever recorded of the Twin Towers show lightning flashing around them as the storms passed through that evening.
The cold front moved offshore overnight, allowing high pressure and a much drier air mass to build into the region. The clouds cleared, the humidity dropped and a light northerly breeze developed.
By the morning of September 11, Lower Manhattan was experiencing nearly picture-perfect weather. The sky was crystal clear and deep blue, visibility was excellent, and temperatures were in the mid to upper 60s as people made their way to work.
That peaceful blue sky would soon become the backdrop of one of the darkest days in American history.
As the towers burned, a massive plume of smoke drifted away from Lower Manhattan. The smoke and dust were documented by weather radar and satellite imagery, while NASA astronaut Frank Culbertson photographed the plume from approximately 250 miles above Earth aboard the International Space Station. These images remain haunting examples of how weather technology captured the scale of what happened that morning.
I was in fourth grade in Mrs. Nelson’s class when I first heard about the attacks. I remember her quieting the classroom, bringing us all together and briefly explaining what had happened—as much as you possibly could to a class of fourth graders.
After school, I went to my grandparents’ house and sat with my grandfather watching the news. I remember feeling confused and trying to understand everything that was happening. For a long time afterward, whenever I looked into the sky and saw an airplane, I could never look at it the same way without thinking about that day.
Tomorrow, we remember the 2,977 innocent people who lost their lives in the attacks—including 343 FDNY firefighters, 23 NYPD officers and 37 Port Authority police officers. We also honor every first responder who ran toward danger, those who worked through the rescue and recovery efforts, and the many who later became sick or lost their lives because of their service.
Twenty-five years later, we remember. We will never forget. 🇺🇸
— 607 Weather
