An Unforgettable Year of Weather Comes to a Close

Few would argue that this was one of the most memorable years of weather locally in quite some time. Last Winter featured a seemingless endless stretch of snowstorms which brought 60 inches of snow to southwestern Connecticut. The hottest temperature ever recorded at Sikorsky Memorial Airport in Stratford happened in July. Tropical Storm Irene wreaked havoc on the region in late August. And, an unusual October Nor'easter brought record snow and howling winds which caused power outages in some parts of the state for up to two weeks.

What do you think was the biggest weather story of the year? It's difficult to weigh the impact and significance of the each of the events against one another, especially the effects on individuals and families. The 103-degree temperature of Friday, July 22, 2011, was historic since the mercury had never eclipsed 100 degrees at the local climatological station at the Stratford airport. Previously, 100-degree temperatures were reached July 2, 1966, July 5, 1999, August 9, 2001, and August 27, 1948.

Although the average temperature for July (77.6 degrees) was shy of the all-time record of 78.4 degrees in 1984, it was quite a month. One day after the 103-degree reading, the mercury climbed to 96 degrees, Saturday, July 23. All told, there were five days with temperatures above 90 degrees in July, including back-to-back days of 91 and 95 degrees on July 11 and 12, respectively.

Last Winter was one for the ages, to be sure. January, alone, featured three feet of snow, including snowstorms on January 11 and 12 (9.1"), January 21 (4.2"), and the blockbuster of January 26 and 27 (19"), making it the snowiest January on record, breaking the previous record of 26.2 inches set in 1965. The normal snowfall for the month is 8.5 inches. One year earlier, only 7.7 inches of snow fell in January. Take a look at this view from the window of one of our viewers, Margaret in Devon, at 2 o'clock the morning of January 27.

 

Tropical Storm Irene, which hit the region Saturday night, August 27, 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, Sunday morning, August 28, 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 evacuees were 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, August 28, 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 were felt for quite some time, it could have been much worse. The highest wind gust 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 were 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 , 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 reached 9.57 inches. Here are four more photos from Ralph taken at Cove Island Park.









The Nor'easter of October 29 and 30, 2011, was one for the record books. The unusual early Autumn storm delivered record-breaking October snow and massive power outages across Connecticut. By the time the storm pulled away, over a foot of snow fell across much of Northern Fairfield County, and four inches blanketed Sikorsky Memorial Airport in Stratford, making Saturday, October 29, the snowiest October day on record.

Many trees and tree branches came crashing down due to the weight of the heavy, wet snow, the leaves still on the trees, and the gusty winds. As of Monday, October 31, there were more than 760,000 customers of Connecticut Light and Power still in the dark, and 9,000 United Illuminating customers were without power. As a result, many school systems were closed for days.

The snow totals were unbelievable for October. Danbury reported 17 inches of snow, while Ridgefield (15.5") and Shelton (12.8") received over a foot. Locally, Wilton (10.8"), New Canaan (6.0"), Norwalk (5.5"), and Bridgeport (4.0") also had record-breaking snow. Viewer Ralph Fato of Norwalk sent this photo of the Route 7 connector Saturday afternoon, October 29.

The normal average monthly snowfall for October in southwestern Connecticut is just a trace. Prior to the Nor'easter, the only measured snow in October fell on Sunday, October 4, 1987, when a half-inch coated the region. That's what makes this latest snowstorm historic. Take a look at this photo of an ice- and snow-covered lake along Route 7 Sunday afternoon.

In the wake of the storm, skies cleared, the wind abated, and the temperature dropped like a rock. The mercury fell into the 20s inland and lower 30s along the shoreline early Monday, October 31, causing icy roads and bitter cold homes for those without power. Take a look at this picture of a downed tree and snow-covered Route 7 in Danbury. Was this really in October?

This year was one for the record books. I'd like to know what you think was the biggest weather story of the year. I believe the October Nor'easter, due to the massive power outages which lasted nearly two weeks in parts of Connecticut, was the most unforgettable weather event of 2011. Here's hoping you and your family have a happy, healthy, and safe 2012.

Happy New Year!

Paul

Powerful Blizzard One Year Ago Christened Start of Unforgettable Winter of 2010-2011

A powerful blizzard, which delivered about a foot-and-a-half of snow, 60 mile-per-hour wind gusts, and power outages throughout southwestern Connecticut, struck the region one year ago today, triggering an unforgettable stretch of snowstorms which brought 60 inches of snow during the Winter of 2010-2011. The timing of the blizzard, which affected thousands of holiday travelers, and the magnitude of the storm made it one for the ages.

I've been working the early-morning shift at News 12 Connecticut since June of 1995, and in those 15-plus years, there have been only a handful of truly memorable storms. However, this was the first time I wasn't able to drive to work on my own. One of my neighbors agreed to drive me to the studio in his snowplow during the height of the blizzard early Monday morning. I'm glad he did. To be sure, my Chevy Cavalier wouldn't have made the journey from Fairfield to Norwalk.

Officially, 12 inches of snow fell at Sikorsky Memorial Airport in Stratford from Sunday morning through early Monday morning. The eight inches of snow which fell December 26 marked the third snowiest December day on record in southwestern Connecticut. Only December 19, 1948 (16 inches), and December 30, 2000 (10 inches), brought more snow in one day. Here are some impressive snow totals from last year's post-Christmas storm:

• Wilton: 18"
• New Canaan: 17.5"
• Greenwich: 17"
• Stratford: 16"
• Norwalk: 16"
• Westport: 14.8"
• Darien: 14.5"
• Milford: 14"
• Bridgeport: 12"

The biting wind was brutal if you were outside for any length of time. Sustained winds of 25 to 35 miles an hour were recorded late Sunday night and Monday, December 27, and wind gusts reached 60 miles at Sikorsky Memorial Airport in Stratford (9:21 p.m.) and Greenwich (10:00 p.m.) late Sunday evening. I was surprised that there weren't more widespread power outages.

Contrast that scenario with today and this December. In fact, we have yet to see a flake of snow this month. There have only been two other years (1877 and 2006) without any snow since weather records were first kept in New York City in 1869. This may very well be just the third December in the last 142 years without any snow at all. Quite frankly, I don't mind at all.

Paul

Recaling the Snowiest Christmas Eve in My Lifetime

Is this really the first day of Winter? It's hard to believe with temperatures in the lower 50s early this morning. The normal high temperature this time of the year is in the upper 30s, so it is unseasonably mild. In fact, the average temperature this month is 41.5 degrees, which is 4.7 degrees above normal and slightly milder than the warmest December on record (41.4 degrees in 2001). It's pretty safe to say that we won't be having a White Christmas this year.

Christmas Eve is just two days away, and I can't help but recall the snowiest and most memorable Night Before Christmas in my lifetime. Forty-five years ago, over a half-foot of snow blanketed southwestern Connecticut on Saturday, December 24, 1966, resulting in treacherous roads, numerous accidents, and cancelled church services. Officially, 6.9 inches of snow fell at Sikorsky Memorial Airport in Stratford, which still stands as a record nearly a half-century later.

According to an article which appeared in the Bridgeport Sunday Post the following day, the "weather plight was part of an old-fashioned Nor'easter, which brought icy cold, high winds, and a blanket of snow to most of the East (coast)." Gale force winds hammered the region through most of the storm. Take a look at the front page newspaper article from December 25, 1966:




I recall my Dad attempting to drive my family, including my Mom, brother, sister, and me to my grandmother's home in Bridgeport for our traditional Christmas Eve dinner. However, after sliding and skidding several times, our car got stuck on a hill in Fairfield. After several minutes, my Dad was able to gain some traction, and we decided to head home and avoid any more perils on the roads.

Although it's been 45 years since that unforgettable Christmas Eve, I remember it like it was yesterday. Do you have any memories of that storm from 1966? If so, I'd like to hear from you. Our weather won't be quite as memorable this year, but at least we won't have any worries if our travels take us to grandma's house for Christmas Eve.

Paul

Celebrate the Winter Solstice & Yuletime

The Winter Solstice happens at 12:30 a.m. EST tomorrow. The Sun's rays will be directly over the Tropic of Capricorn and at their lowest point in the sky in the Northern Hemisphere. Theoretically, it is the "shortest" day of the year. Enjoy this video celebrating the Winter Solstice.

Paul

The First Snowstorm of 2009-2010 Season Happened Two Years Ago Today

The first major snowstorm of 2009-2010 blasted southwestern Connecticut two years ago today, with some local communities receiving close to a foot of snow. Fortunately, the storm arrived late Saturday evening, December 19, 2009, giving most people ample time to prepare well in advance. The highest snow totals were recorded across southeastern Connecticut, while parts of Litchfield County saw nothing more than a trace of snow.

Here is a look at snowfall totals from across the region from December 19 and 20, 2009:

• Darien: 10.5"
• New Canaan: 10.3"
• Milford: 10"
• Bridgeport: 9"
• Fairfield: 9"
• Norwalk: 8"
• Woodbridge: 7.5"

Officially, at Sikorsky Memorial Airport in Stratford, six inches of snow fell Saturday, and 3.2 inches accumulated Sunday, December 20, 2009, for a total of 9.2 inches. The snow happened one day before the Winter Solstice. Over a foot of snow (13.4") was recorded at the airport in December 2009, including two inches on December 9, and just over two inches on New Year's Eve day.



The normal average snowfall for December is 3.6 inches, based on 40 years of averages, or climatology. The snowiest December day on record in southwestern Connecticut happened December 19, 1948, when 16 inches blanketed the region. You may recall that last year, a foot of snow fell from December 26 through December 27, triggering one of the snowiest periods in recent memory. You may also recall the Winter storm of December 30, 2000, when ten inches fell.

The weather computer models are hinting at a Winter storm developing late Christmas Eve Day and continuing into Christmas morning. However, before the holiday weekend, some rain is likely Wednesday, and showers are expected Friday as the holiday season gets into high gear. Are you dreaming of a White Christmas? I know I am.

Paul

Winter Solstice Just Six Days Away

Is it really mid-December? Temperatures were in the lower 50s at 3 o'clock this morning when I arrived at the weathercenter. That's a good ten degrees above the normal high temperature for the day. In fact, this month has been much warmer than normal. The average temperature thus far this month is 42.4 degrees, which is a whopping 4.5 degrees above normal. We're on pace to break the mark for the warmest December on record, which was 41.4 degrees in 2001.

Believe it or not, we're less than a week away from the start of Winter in the Northern Hemisphere. Winter officially arrives next Thursday, December 22, at 12:30 a.m. Whenever I visit a school to conduct my Weatherkids program, many schoolchildren ask me why the start of a new season doesn't begin at midnight on a certain date, much like the beginning of a new year. The answer has to do with the Earth, the tilt on its axis, and its revolution around the Sun.

I've always maintained that the start of a new season is more of an "event" than watching the ball drop in Times Square on New Year's Eve. That's because New Year's Day is a "man-made" holiday which can arbitrarily occur at any time during a calendar year. An equinox or a solstice, however, marks a precise time when the Sun's rays strike a particular point on the face of the Earth. I try to observe the arrival of a new season, and next Thursday will be no exception.

As the Earth travels around the Sun in its orbit, the North-South position of the Sun changes over the course of the year due to the changing orientation of the Earth's tilt with respect to the Sun. The dates of maximum tilt of the Earth's equator correspond to the Summer Solstice and Winter Solstice, and the dates of zero tilt correspond to the Vernal Equinox and Autumnal Equinox.

In the Northern Hemisphere, the Winter Solstice is day of the year when the Sun is farthest South. However, in the Southern Hemisphere, the Winter and Summer Solstices are the opposite, so that the Winter Solstice occurs on the first day of Summer in the Northern Hemisphere. The Sun's direct rays will be over the Tropic of Capricorn next Thursday morning.

The Winter Solstice also marks the "shortest day" of the year in terms of daylight. The length of time elapsed between Sunrise and Sunset at the Winter Solstice is at a minimum for the year. Of course, Daylight Saving Time means that the last Sunday in March has 23 hours and the first Sunday in November has 25 hours, but it does not correspond to the actual number of daylight hours.

Finally, the shadows cast by the Sun will be at their longest next weekend, since the Sun is at its lowest point in the sky. The actual times of Sunrise and Sunset in southwestern Connecticut for the Solstice are 7:16 a.m. and 4:27 p.m., respectively. Consider that on the first day of Summer in late June, the Sun rises at 5:19 a.m. and sets at 8:30 p.m. So, next Thursday's "length of day" is only nine hours and 11 minutes as opposed to 15 hours and 11 minutes exactly a half-year later.

So, as we prepare to welcome Winter, also realize that next Thursday marks a turning point. The days will gradually begin to get longer from this point forward until the end of June. Things can only get brighter from here on out. This weekend, though, it will begin to feel more like Winter. Daytime temperatures will struggle to reach the upper 30s and lower 40s under partly sunny skies. On the bright side, though, it will mark the seventh straight dry weekend across southwestern Connecticut.

Paul

The Odds of a White Christmas

This morning featured some of the coldest temperatures of the season. The mercury dropped into the teens inland and low-to-mid 20s just before daybreak, and a coating of frost caused car windshields, lawns, and rooftops to glisten from the light of the waning Moon.

Christmas is less than two weeks away, and many people have asked me about the odds of seeing a "White Christmas." Other than the historic Nor'easter the last weekend of October, we haven't seen any snow the last two months. Although showers are expected this Thursday and an offshore storm should stay far enough away early this weekend, there aren't any snowstorms in sight. I am watching the potential for a possible Wintry mix next Tuesday, however.

So, what are the chances of snow by Christmas? Here in southwestern Connecticut, weather records have been kept for a long time. Our climatology is based on record-keeping over a 40-year period. Based on history, shoreline communities such as Stamford, Darien, Stratford, and Milford have a 30% chance of seeing at least one inch of snow on the ground by December 25. There's a 10% chance of at least five inches of snow on the ground by then. However, we have a zero percent probability of having ten inches of snow or more on our front lawns by Christmas morning.



Inland, the odds are more favorable. People living north of the Merritt or Wilbur Cross parkways have a 57% chance of at least one inch of snow for Christmas. The odds are slightly lower than one-in-four (23%) for five inches of snow, and quite slim (3%) for at least ten inches of snow. However, residents in Wilton, Redding, Easton, and Woodbridge have a much better opportunity of seeing snow on the ground than their shoreline counterparts.

As far as the rest of New England is concerned, the chance of a white Christmas gets even better. Northern Connecticut and southern Massachusetts have about a 40 to 60% chance of at least one inch of snow; central New England's chances improve to 60 to 80 percent; and northern New England (80 to 100%) is virtualy assured of having a White Christmas.

One of the more memorable snowstorms which occured in late December was the Christmas Eve storm of 1966. We received over a half-foot of snow (6.9"), making roads quite slippery and travel very difficult. I distinctly remember my family on our way to visit my grandmother in the snow, but my parents deciding the drive wasn't worth the risk. We turned around and headed for home, but the car slid several times on the snowy roadways.

You may recall the snowstorm which delivered more than nine inches of snow to southwestern Connecticut the weekend of December 19 and 20, 2009. The snow began late Saturday evening, and six inches had accumulated by midnight. The snow tapered off early Sunday morning, but not before another 3.2 inches caused headaches for holiday shoppers the last weekend before Christmas.

Another recent snow occurred on Christmas Day, 2002. Some light snow happened early that morning, but a steadier and heavier snow developed by later in the afternoon and evening. The snow totals were quite impressive locally. Darien received 10 inches of snow by the time the storm exited the following day. Redding (9.5"), New Canaan (9.2"), Norwalk (7.0"), Greenwich (7.0"), and Westport (6.5") each saw at least a half-foot of snow!

On the flip side, I'm sure you recall December of  2006. The afternoon high temperatures from December 23 to 26 reached 58, 52, 44, and 50 degrees respectively, well above the 38-degree normal high. Over an inch of rain fell December 23 (1.15") and over a quarter-inch (0.28") was recorded on Christmas Day. We were left dreaming of snow for quite some time.

Paul

Full "Long Night" Moon Happens Tonight

Mostly clear skies, a light wind, and high pressure overhead gave us one of the coldest mornings of the season. The nearly Full Moon illuminated the frost on rooftops, lawns, and car windshields this morning as I made my way to work just after 3 o'clock. The Full Moon happens tomorrow morning at 10:36 EDT. The December Full Moon is known by a variety of names, including the Full Cold Moon and the Full Long Night Moon.

Why is it called the Full Long Night Moon? During December, the Winter cold fastens its grip in the Northern Hemisphere, and nights are at their longest and darkest. The term Long Night Moon is also an appropriate name because the early Winter night is long, and because the Moon is above the horizon for a long time. The midwinter full Moon has a high trajectory across the sky because it is opposite a low Sun.

In fact, the December Full Moon has been referred to as the Oak Moon, the Frost Moon, the Cold Moon, and the Moon Before Yule. No matter what the name, the Full Moon in December is directly opposite the Sun; therefore it is out for a long time. Since the Moon appears to follow nearly the same path as the Sun in the sky, the amount of time the Moon spends above the horizon varies as it orbits the Earth. The Moon is Full when it is opposite the Sun in the sky, so a Full Moon rises roughly at sunset and sets at sunrise. Therefore, we only see Full Moons at night.

Six months from now, on the Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year when the Sun spends the most time above the horizon, the Full Moon spends the least amount of time above the horizon. On the other hand, on the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year when the Sun spends the least time above the horizon, the Full Moon spends the most amount of time above the horizon. The time spent above the horizon each night for the Full Moon varies throughout the year about as much as the length of the day.

More clouds are expected tonight, however, as a dry cold front approaches the region. The clouds will most likely obscure the viewing of the Full Moon. Temperatures will drop into the low-to-mid 30s by daybreak. Tomorrow will feature clouds giving way to sunshine, but it will be windy and colder with a high in the low 40s. This will be the sixth straight dry weekend across southwestern Connecticut. Now that's something to howl about!

Paul

Roger Ludlowe Middle School's Sixth-Graders the Featured Weatherkids of the Week

I visited with the sixth-grade Science classes at Roger Ludlowe Middle School in Fairfield yesterday, Wednesday, November 30. They were the featured Weatherkids this week.



Paul