Season's Earliest Snowfall Happened 37 Years Ago Today

The earliest snow on record happened 37 years ago today across Connecticut, New York, and New England. Officially, a half-inch of snow was recorded at Sikorsky Memorial Airport in Stratford, while some areas of the Northeast were buried in more than a foot of snow that closed roads and airports, knocked out power to more than 300,000 homes, and turned russet Autumn to wintry solitude.

The coastal storm of October 4, 1987, broke records by dumping up to 20" of heavy wet snow in upstate New York, 18" in Western Massachusetts, 12" in Vermont, and nine inches in Northern Connecticut. Consider the normal high and low temperatures for this date in southwestern Connecticut are 68 and 51 degrees, respectively. The storm delivered 1.25" of liquid precipitation to Sikorsky Airport which still remains a record for this date.

Here is the story as it appeared in the New York Times the following day:

The storm, which was caused by a collision of cold and wet air masses, also brought down an untold number of trees and tree limbs which were still full of leaves. Many vehicles were damaged by the falling trees and limbs, and there were many weather-related traffic accidents which resulted in injuries or deaths.

I worked the early-morning shift at the Western Connecticut State University weathercenter in Danbury at the time, and I remember being shocked by the snow and cold. It was hard to believe that it was still Summer just two weeks earlier. Twenty-four years later a powerful Nor'easter brought heavy snow to the Northeast two days before Halloween. Let's hope this October is much quieter weatherwise.

Paul