Recalling the Snowstorm of 20 Years Ago

Twenty years ago today, we were digging out from a major Winter storm and dealing with brutally cold wind chills across southwestern Connecticut. The snowstorm of Saturday and Sunday, January 22 and 23, 2005, was one for the record books and will not soon be forgotten.

The snow began falling shortly after lunchtime, Saturday, January 22, and it became steadier and heavier through the afternoon. The cold air was already in place since the mercury dipped to two degrees at daybreak. By later in the day the winds began gusting out of the Northeast, and Arctic cold air had settled into the region. Roads became almost impassable by late-afternoon, and by nightfall the snow was virtually blinding.

A Blizzard Warning was issued by the National Weather Service that day. For at least three hours, the blowing snow reduced visibility to less than a quarter of a mile, and wind gusts were frequently clocked over 35 miles an hour. Adding insult to injury was the wind chill, which fell below zero by nightfall.

By the time Sunday morning, January 23, arrived, the snow had moved away, but the damaging winds and biting cold were here to stay for the time being. Nearly a foot of snow had fallen across southwestern Connecticut. Here are some of the official totals reported by the National Weather Service office:

• Milford 12.0"
• Orange 12.0"
• Darien 10.5"
• Fairfield 10.3"
• Norwalk 10.3"
• Bridgeport 9.5"
• Greenwich 9.0"
• Westport 9.0"
• Stratford 8.0"

Sunday morning's low temperature fell to six degrees above zero at Sikorsky Memorial Airport, but what I most remember about that morning was the howling and downright dangerous winds. Here is a sampling of some of the peak wind gusts from across the region:

• Orange 53.0 mph (6:39 am)
• Bridgeport 49.0 mph (6:24 am)
• Westport 45.0 mph (2:05 pm)

Shoveling the nearly one-foot of snow in those conditions was extremely difficult. I remember taking several breaks that day because the wind was just too strong. The afternoon high temperature only reached 25 degrees, but it certainly felt much colder than that. Another factor was the blowing snow, which reduced visibility even though the skies became clear and sunny for much of the day. The weather made headlines nationwide:

 
By Sunday evening, roads were extremely icy, and the mercury continued to drop. The low temperature that night fell to five degrees above zero, and the wind continued to howl. It wasn't until later Monday afternoon, January 24, that the wind slowly began to subside and, by the following day, the temperature climbed to a more seasonable 34 degrees.

Paul

Thank you, Dr. Mel.

Thank you, Dr. Mel.

Perhaps no other person has influenced my life more than the iconic Connecticut meteorologist Mel Goldstein, who passed away 13 years ago yesterday at the age of 66 following a courageous 16-year battle with cancer. Dr. Mel was arguably the most respected weatherman in the Northeast, and he was a tremendous inspiration to me, professionally and personally, especially during his final years of life.

Dr. Mel first hired me, a 20-something youngster a few years removed from college, as an assistant at his Western Connecticut State University weathercenter in 1986. He knew about my interest in weather, and soon after I learned about his tremendous passion for all things meteorological, including his childlike excitement whenever a storm was brewing. Yes, that's a photo of Dr. Mel and me formulating a forecast at the WCSU weathercenter in 1986.

I owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to Dr. Mel for giving me the opportunity to learn from him and work for him. He always smiled and was ever the optimist, no matter what obstacles or challenges stood in his way. In fact, I wouldn't be where I am today without his help and support. He taught me to give my best every day, and I truly wanted to emulate him.

"Part of it was the fascination," Dr. Mel explained about his passion for weather. "The other part was the excitement." I worked a 10-hour shift every weekend at his weathercenter, and many times I remember Dr. Mel greeting me when I arrived for work and wishing me a safe drive home when I left. It seemed like he lived at the weathercenter, and he lived for weather.

"I never lost the interest of sharing this with other people," Dr. Mel once said. "I wanted to explain and tell the story as I understood the story to be." For years, he authored a daily weather column which appeared in the Hartford Courant. I was amazed at the variety of topics and wealth of knowledge he shared with his readers. Many times he would call me and dictate his article to me over the phone, and I would send it to the newspaper. Why do you think I blog as often as I do?

Dr. Mel was a respected professor at Western Connecticut State University, and he started the state's first degree program in meteorology. However, his influence on me extended well beyond the weathercenter. He helped me become the best teacher I could during my 10-plus years as a middle school teacher of Science. Engaging the students in hands-on experiments piqued their interest in what we were studying.

Dr. Mel's tremendous courage while battling multiple myeloma was an inspiration to many people. He kept working and doing what he loved 15 years after he was given 18 months to live. During that time, he showed us that the will to live and help others was stronger than his failing health. "There's nothing more satisfying than the feeling of helping other people," he said. "Being decent to people, being human, being understanding is far more important than anything else that we can do."

I often tell people if you love what you do, you'll never work a day in your life. I learned that from Dr. Mel. Thank you, Dr. Mel. We miss you very much.

Paul

Winter Storm Will Affect Southwestern Connecticut Sunday Into Monday

Paul

Prolonged Stretch of Wild Winter Weather Happened 19 Years Ago This Week

An incredible stretch of weather brought just about everything except the kitchen sink to southwestern Connecticut 19 years ago this week. Several storms brought heavy rain, accumulating snow, damaging winds, and dangerous icing to the area over a three-day period which began on Saturday, January 14, 2006, and continued through Monday, January 16, 2006. The wild weather ride actually didn't end until nearly a week later.

I recorded the following entries in my weather log, which I chart daily. Although most days are rather mundane, I highlighted these three days for obvious reasons. The weekend included record-high temperatures, record rainfall, tropical storm force winds, bitter cold wind chills below zero, icy roadways, and three-and-a-half inches of snow.

Saturday, January 14, 2006 --- A powerful Winter storm came barreling into the Northeast, producing record heavy rainfall of 1.59 inches, which broke the old mark of 0.91 inches, established in 1958. Strong southerly winds ahead of a well-defined cold front (51 miles-an-hour wind gust) brought down trees and power lines, and mild temperatures (56 degrees at 7:53 am) began a 36-hour stretch of severe weather across southwestern Connecticut.

I took each of these photos of the damage in my neighborhood from the storms. The first two show a truck and a car which were destroyed by falling trees in 50+ mile-an-hour wind gusts from January 14.

Sunday, January 15, 2006 --- Continued strong wind gusts (48 miles-an-hour) out of the North behind the front delivered much colder air (32 degree high and 11 degree low), and 3.5 inches of snow, creating a nightmare for local residents as power outages, below zero wind chills, and icy roadways punctuated the day's weather. The damage from the wind was extensive, as evidenced by the many trees which came tumbling down.

Monday, January 16, 2006 --- Bitter cold wind chills greeted early-morning risers as temperatures hovered between zero and ten degrees at daybreak. The high (29 degrees) and low (10) were well below normal for mid-January. Although the wind began to relax somewhat, we still had a peak wind gust of 31 miles-an-hour. United Illuminating crews were out in full force attempting to restore power to many residents who were braving the ice, wind, and extreme cold for several days.

Personally, what I remember most from that weekend was losing power Saturday night, January 14, while my son and I were watching the New England Patriots' playoff game at Denver. We awoke to frigid, snowy, and icy conditions the following morning. However, fortunately for us, we were one of only a handful of families in our neighborhood to have power restored late the following morning. The majority of homes in our neighborhood remained without power for several days.

Paul

Wind Advisory in Effect for Southwestern Connecticut Through This Evening

Paul

Marking the 29th Anniversary of The Blizzard of 1996

Today marks the 29th anniversary of The Blizzard of 1996. That snowstorm still ranks as one of the most memorable in my nearly 25 years of providing the morning weather forecasts at News 12 Connecticut. In fact, it was one of only two times I stayed the night and slept in the weathercenter due to the heavy snow and strong, gusty winds.

The storm actually started late-morning, Sunday, January 7, as light snow overspread the entire Northeast. The snow gradually became heavier through the afternoon, and by evening, roads were just about impassable due to the rapid accumulation. By the time the storm began moving away the following day, nearly two feet of snow blanketed much of southwestern Connecticut.

The two-day snow total at Sikorsky Memorial Airport in Stratford was 15 inches, including seven inches on January 7 and eight on January 8. That eclipsed the snow total of the so-called March 13, 1993 "Storm of the Century," which was 10.8 inches. Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks received 18.2 inches, just shy of the 21-inch record snowfall at the time, but more than the 14.8 inches just three years earlier.

Central Park in New York City recorded 20.2 inches of snow, making it the third highest snowfall at the time. Staten Island measured more than 27 inches of snow, and  LaGuardia International Airport recorded 24 inches, which exceeded the normal for the entire season of 22.6 inches.

An Arctic air mass covered New England as a massive storm developed over Virginia. The storm was actually energized by a 60-degree surface temperature contrast across western Montana which propelled a 175-mile-an-hour wind in the jet stream southward into the Plains causing the storm to form. This storm eventually brought the heavy snow from western North Carolina to southern New England.

Incredibly, the eastern slopes of the Appalachian Mountains from northern Virginia to Pennsylvania measured more than three feet of snow. The following map shows just how impressive the storm was. Southwestern Connecticut fell within the 15 to 20 inch range as far as total snow accumulations, with the heaviest amounts of 30 inches across southeastern Pennsylvania. The lightest amounts, oddly, fell well to the North.

It's hard to believe that 29 years have passed since the January blizzard of 1996. This Winter has been anything but Winter-like. I guess they just don't make 'em like they used to.

Paul

December Was Colder & Wetter Than Normal at Bridgeport Climate Station

Paul