It 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 Sunday 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 across southwestern Connecticut:
- 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, 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.
What a difference a couple of years makes. Today will be sunny and mild with a high temperature climbing into the 50s, which is well above normal for this time of the year. Some showers are expected tomorrow, though, as a cold front pushes through the region. However, it won't be anything like what we experienced four years ago this week.
Paul
