*** Paul Piorek is editor and publisher of Paul's Local Weather Journal for southwestern Connecticut ... Paul is the on-air meteorologist at WICC 600 AM and 107.3 FM ... Paul is a New York Emmy award winner (2007), five-time Emmy nominee, and four-time winner of the Connecticut Associated Press Broadcasters' Association award for Best TV Weathercast (2006, 2008, 2009, 2012) ... Paul was voted Best Local Television Personality by the readers of Fairfield County Weekly Magazine (2012) ... Paul was inducted into the Housatonic Community College Hall of Fame and received the Distinguished Alumni Award (2012) ... The local weather journal is a two-time winner of the Communicator Award of Distinction (2012 & 2013) ... Paul is currently a full-time teacher of Earth Science and Mathematics in Fairfield ... Follow Paul on Twitter @PaulPiorekWICC ...

Sunday, April 6, 2014

Today Marks 32nd Anniversary of Snowiest April Day on Record

Desmond snow sketch Today marks the 32nd anniversary of the snowiest April day on record in southwestern Connecticut. Take a look out the window today, and it's hard to imagine that exactly a half-foot of snow fell on April 6, 1982. What made the storm even more memorable were the gusty winds and cold temperatures. Record lows of 19, 18, and 23 degrees were established from April 6 through April 8, 1982, respectively, well below the 38-degree normal low temperature for this time of the year.

The snowstorm of Tuesday, April 6,1982, was one of the most remarkable late season snowfalls to strike the Northeast. Snowfall accumulations from 10 inches to over a foot occurred over much of Long Island, but the accompanying very cold temperatures and high winds caused extensive blowing and drifting of snow which was unprecedented for early April. Take a look at the following photo from New York City during the height of the storm.

Snow1

More than a foot of snow (13") fell at Newark, New Jersey, 10 inches (9.8") blanketed New York City, and over two feet of snow was measured in upstate New York. The primary storm resurfaced off the New Jersey coast, producing gale force winds of up to 60 miles an hour. It was the heaviest April snow in New York City since April 3 and 4 of 1915 when 10 inches fell.

The heavy snow forced the cancellation of the Yankees’ 1982 home opener against the Rangers at Yankee Stadium. Even worse, the weather stayed cold, and the Yanks cancelled another game against Texas, two games against the White Sox, and they eventually opened on Easter Sunday, April 11, 1982, by dropping both ends of a doubleheader to Chicago.

While the storm of 32 years ago had a mid-Winter look and feel, today will be much quieter across southwestern Connecticut. It will be sunny, breezy, and pleasant with a high temperature well into the 50s. What a far cry from this date in 1982.

Paul