Hurricane Irene will long be remembered by residents of southwestern Connecticut for the number of lives it affected. According to Mitch Gross, a spokesman for Connecticut Light and Power, more than 700,000 customers were without power Sunday, easily breaking the previous record of 480,000 following Hurricane Gloria in September of 1985. In fact, early this morning, 98% of Redding and 89% of Weston households were without power.
The shoreline was hit the hardest, especially during the storm surge during the time of high tide late Sunday morning. Several homes collapsed along the beach in Fairfield, and many residents had to be evacuated due to the flooding. There were 35 streets which were under mandatory evacuation. A shelter was established at Fairfield Ludlowe High School, and people are advised to bring extra clothes, medicines, and any paperwork they deem necessary to protect.
Ralph Fato of Norwalk sent the following photos of Cove Island Park in Stamford, where the water level was 15 feet above normal. The beach is actually a quarter-mile away. The center of the storm passed through southwestern Connecticut late Sunday morning, just about the time of high tide, which was 11:10 a.m. in Bridgeport. To make matters worse, tides were astronomically high due to the new Moon.The beach is actually a quarter-mile away.
Although the storm's effects will be felt for quite some time, it could have been much worse. The highest wind gusts reported in the region was 63 miles an hour at Sikorsky Memorial Airport in Stratford just before daybreak. The highest wind speed was 46 miles an hour, and the average wind speed was 24.9 miles an hour. Fortunately, winds never reached hurricane force, but that certainly is little consequence to the thousands of people who are without power or who suffered damage from Irene.
Rainfall totals ranged from just over three inches to more than a half-foot in Northern Fairfield County. Officially, the airport set a record of 2.50 inches yesterday, bringing the two-day storm total to 3.35 inches. That's not far from the monthly average of 3.75 inches. However, August's total rainfall is now 9.57 inches, and the yearly rain (41.07") is more than a foot above the 28.59" normal. Here are four more photos from Ralph taken at Cove Island Park.
Now, the cleanup begins. At least the weather will cooperate. An area of high pressure will deliver mostly sunny skies and pleasant conditions for the next few days. In fact, the weather should be dry through the start of the Labor Day holiday weekend. Today will be mostly sunny and mild with a high in the mid-to-upper 70s. Tonight will be clear and comfortable with a low in the 50s. Tomorrow will be sunny and nice with a high near 80. Enjoy the rest of the week.
Paul
The shoreline was hit the hardest, especially during the storm surge during the time of high tide late Sunday morning. Several homes collapsed along the beach in Fairfield, and many residents had to be evacuated due to the flooding. There were 35 streets which were under mandatory evacuation. A shelter was established at Fairfield Ludlowe High School, and people are advised to bring extra clothes, medicines, and any paperwork they deem necessary to protect.
Ralph Fato of Norwalk sent the following photos of Cove Island Park in Stamford, where the water level was 15 feet above normal. The beach is actually a quarter-mile away. The center of the storm passed through southwestern Connecticut late Sunday morning, just about the time of high tide, which was 11:10 a.m. in Bridgeport. To make matters worse, tides were astronomically high due to the new Moon.The beach is actually a quarter-mile away.
Although the storm's effects will be felt for quite some time, it could have been much worse. The highest wind gusts reported in the region was 63 miles an hour at Sikorsky Memorial Airport in Stratford just before daybreak. The highest wind speed was 46 miles an hour, and the average wind speed was 24.9 miles an hour. Fortunately, winds never reached hurricane force, but that certainly is little consequence to the thousands of people who are without power or who suffered damage from Irene.
Rainfall totals ranged from just over three inches to more than a half-foot in Northern Fairfield County. Officially, the airport set a record of 2.50 inches yesterday, bringing the two-day storm total to 3.35 inches. That's not far from the monthly average of 3.75 inches. However, August's total rainfall is now 9.57 inches, and the yearly rain (41.07") is more than a foot above the 28.59" normal. Here are four more photos from Ralph taken at Cove Island Park.
Now, the cleanup begins. At least the weather will cooperate. An area of high pressure will deliver mostly sunny skies and pleasant conditions for the next few days. In fact, the weather should be dry through the start of the Labor Day holiday weekend. Today will be mostly sunny and mild with a high in the mid-to-upper 70s. Tonight will be clear and comfortable with a low in the 50s. Tomorrow will be sunny and nice with a high near 80. Enjoy the rest of the week.
Paul
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