Classic Nor'easter Brings Record-Breaking Snow to Region

Just nine days after Hurricane Sandy devastated parts of southwestern Connecticut, especially shoreline communities, a classic Nor'easter brought gusty winds, cold temperatures, and record-breaking snow to southwestern Connecticut. The snow began falling late yesterday morning as the storm exploded, causing bands of moderate-to-heavy snow to fall the rest of the day and through the night.

Officially, Sikorsky Memorial Airport recorded 5.4 inches of snow yesterday, which was a record for the date and the second snowiest November day on record. More than a half-foot of snow (6.2 inches) fell on Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, November 23, 1989. Three inches of snow fell as recently as November 27, 2002, but nothing quite like what we experienced over the last 24 hours. The photos are courtesy of Ralph Fato in Norwalk.

Here are some snowfall totals from across southwestern Connecticut:

• Monroe: 11.5"
• Danbury: 9.9"
• Bridgeport: 8.0"
• Ridgefield: 8.0"
• Darien: 7.9"
• Greenwich: 6.0"
• Trumbull: 6.0"
• New Canaan: 6.0"
• Norwalk: 5.8"
• Stamford: 5.3"

A strong North wind continued to pull colder air into much of New England throughout the day. Yesterday's high temperature of 39 degrees happened at 10:21 a.m. By mid-afternoon, the mercury had dropped into the low-to-mid 30s, causing the precipitation to fall as heavy wet snow. The low temperature fell to 31 degrees at 8:24 p.m. The normal high and low temperatures for November 7 are 56 and 40 degrees, respectively. Wednesday's average temperature of 35 degrees was 13 degrees colder than the normal average of 48.

Initially, it appeared the storm would be more of a wind-maker rather than a snow-maker, as computer models pushed the center of the storm farther to the East. However, the winds never reached the 50-mph forecast gusts which were anticipated. The highest wind gust at Sikorsky Airport was 36 miles per hour out of the North, and the highest wind speed was 29 miles an hour. The average wind speed yesterday was 19.2 miles an hour.

Fortunately, our weather picture will improve over the next couple of days, and the Veteran's Day holiday weekend is shaping up to be mostly sunny and warmer. The rest of today will be cloudy, breezy, and chilly with a high of 44 degrees. Tonight will be partly cloudy and cold with lows of 27 to 32. Tomorrow will be sunny and milder with a high near 50. Plenty of sunshine is expected Sunday & Monday with daytime highs into the lower 60s each afternoon.

Paul