Rare May Snowstorm Clobbered New England on This Date in 1977

One glance at our weather this morning, and it's hard to believe that a snowstorm hit much of New England on this date 35 years ago. Our daybreak weather this morning was rainy, foggy, humid, and quite mild with temperatures close to 60 degrees. You'll need to keep the umbrella handy through early tomorrow before our weather picture brightens later in the day.

However, it was quite a different story around these parts Monday, May 9, 1977. A storm system brought snow and record-cold temperatures to much of New England. In fact, at Sikorsky Memorial Airport in Stratford, a trace of snow fell, and the temperature dropped to 37 degrees that morning, establishing a record low for this date. Other than a trace of snow which was reported May 27, 2010, it's the latest Spring day on which any snow has ever fallen in southwestern Connecticut.

The storm was quite shocking for this time of the year. Consider the normal high temperature for May 9 is 65 degrees, and the normal low temperature is 48. Snow in southwestern Connecticut is almost unheard of seven weeks after the Vernal Equinox. The coldest temperature ever recorded this month was 31 degrees on March 10, 1966.

According to the Naugatuck Daily News, "A Spring storm dumped several inches of snow on some parts of Berkshire County in Massachusetts. The area hardest hit by the storm was Great Barrington, Massachusetts, where police reported 10 inches of snow on the ground. Similar amounts were reported in parts of Vermont. Great Barrington police said there 'were about 100 trees down, wires are down, and we've got reports of accidents we can't get to.'"

Residents in the northwestern Connecticut rural communities of Goshen and Cornwall reported unofficial snow depths of up to five inches. The snow began to fall heavily in the Hartford area at the height of the commuter rush, slowing traffic considerably on most roads. The National Weather Service said a deepening area of low pressure over Connecticut produced a variety of weather conditions across Western Connecticut.

I consider myself a local weather history buff, but I honestly don't remember this storm. Special thanks to viewer Ralph Fato for recalling it and bringing it to my attention. It certainly had to be memorable for those who had to dig out of nearly a half-foot of snow in the northwestern corner of the state. I'm sure they were wearing their Winter coats, too, with the mercury plunging into the 30s.

Paul

Full Flower Super Moon & Meteor Shower Illuminate Weekend Night Sky

The Full Flower Moon takes place late tomorrow evening at 11:35 p.m. EDT. Just 25 minutes later, however, the Moon will arrive at perigee, which is its closest approach to the Earth, a distance of 221,802 miles away. Since this month's perigee is the closest of any in 2012, tomorrow's Full Moon will seem even bigger and brighter than usual, resulting in a stunning sight known as a Supermoon.

As a result, the Moon will appear about 16 percent brighter than the average Full Moon. It will also be accompanied by unusually high and low tides this weekend and into the new week. The Supermoon may make it difficult to witness the Eta Aquarid meteor shower, which occurs when the Earth passes through the debris from Halley's Comet. The meteor shower begins tomorrow evening and lasts until the early morning hours Sunday.

In most areas, flowers are abundant everywhere during this time. That’s how the Full Moon in May became known as the Flower Moon. Other names include the Corn Planting Moon or the Milk Moon. Full Moon names date back to Native Americans in what is now the Northern and Eastern United States. The tribes kept track of the seasons by giving distinctive names to each recurring Full Moon. Their names were applied to the entire month in which each occurred.

A Full Moon rises at about the same time the Sun is setting. Since the length of daylight continues to grow each day through the Summer Solstice, a Full Moon will rise later and set earlier in May and June. In addition, the Full Moon will appear lower in the sky since it won’t be visible nearly as long as during the long Winter nights. That’s because the Full Moon is a lunar phase which occurs when the Moon is on the opposite side of the Earth from the Sun.

For example, the Moon rises at 6:27 this evening, nearly an hour-and-a-half before the 7:53 sunset, and it sets at 5:05 tomorrow morning, 40 minutes before the 5:45 sunrise. Conversely, in November, when the length of daylight continues to dwindle, the Full Beaver Moon will appear higher in the sky and be visible for about 16 hours. Although there will be some patchy clouds around, we should enjoy a fairly good view of this weekend's Supermoon.

Paul

Journal Wins 2012 Communicator Award of Distinction

I won a 2012 Communicator Award of Distinction and a silver statuette for my Local Weather Journal for Southwestern Connecticut. The Communicator Awards, founded nearly two decades ago, is the leading international awards program and receives over 6,000 entries from companies and agencies of all sizes, making it one of the largest awards of its kind in the world.

My local weather journal, which was originally created six years ago, covers a wide range of topics, including local climatology, the effects of weather on mood and sports, in-depth summaries of local storms, weather history, astronomy, monthly weather previews and summaries, and photos and videos from viewers. New blog entries are published two-to-three times a week.

The Communicator Award continues an impressive ten-year stretch, which includes a prestigious New York Emmy award (2007), four Emmy nominations (New England, 2005; New York, 2007, 2008, and 2010), four Connecticut Associated Press Broadcasters' Association awards for Best Weathercast (2006, 2008, 2009, and 2012), and two Associated Press honorable mentions (2004 and 2011).

The Communicator Awards is sanctioned and judged by the International Academy of Visual Arts, an invitation-only body consisting of top-tier professionals from acclaimed media, communications, advertising, creative and marketing firms. IAVA members include executives from organizations such as Airtype Studio, Big Spaceship, Conde Nast, Coach, Disney, The Ellen Degeneres Show, Estee Lauder, Fry Hammond Barr, Lockheed Martin, MTV Networks, Pitney Bowes, Sotheby's Institute of Art, Time, Inc, Victoria's Secret, Wired, and Yahoo!

Winning entries for the Communicator Awards are selected by the IAVA to uphold a commitment to fairness and merit-based achievement. This ensures each entry is afforded an equal chance of winning an award as all entries are judged to evaluate distinction in creative work. In determining Excellence and Distinction Winners, entries are judged based on a standard of excellence in marketing and communications. Judging is based purely on quality of craft.

Paul

April Was 14th Straight Warmer-Than-Normal Month

The streak continues! Amazingly, April marked the 14th straight warmer-than-normal month across southwestern Connecticut. The last time we had a cooler-than-normal month happened in February of last year at the end of a cold, snowy, and icy six-week stretch. I can't remember the last time we had at least a year of above average monthly temperatures. This photo from a viewer was taken by the Bridgeport Public Library.

April's average temperature was 52.9 degrees, which is 3.6 degrees above normal. The warmest temperature last month was 81 degrees on April 17. Each of the first 22 days last month was warmer-than-normal, including a three-day stretch (April 15 through April 17) which featured average daily temperatures of 14 to 19 degrees above normal. However, the last eight days of April were cooler-than-normal as the weather pattern changed dramatically.

Last month was also much drier than normal, too. There were nine days with measured rain, but three of those had just one-hundredth of an inch and one other had two-hundredths of an inch. The heaviest rain happened during the storm of April 22 and 23 when a total of 2.55" fell. We measured just under three inches (2.97") of rain last month, which is more than an inch below normal (4.13"). May is beginning on a much wetter note.

Spring is usually the windiest time of the year across the region, especially from mid-March through mid-April. Last month was certainly no exception. Peak maximum winds of 30 miles an hour or greater were recorded on 13 days, including a peak wind of 41 miles an hour from the West on April 9. A peak wind of 38 miles an hour happened during the rainstorm of April 22, and a peak wind of 37 miles an hour occurred on April 27.

Any rain should taper off by midday today, but skies will remain mostly cloudy with high temperatures in the upper 50s to lower 60s. Tonight will be mostly cloudy with patchy fog and a low of 45 to 50 degrees. Tomorrow will become partly sunny and seasonable with a high in the 60s. We'll experience a warm-up by the end of the week as temperatures climb into the 70s Friday and Saturday. There is a chance of thunderstorms Friday, and some showers are possible Saturday night into early Sunday.

Paul

May Brings Longer, Warmer Days

Can you believe today is the last day of April? Where did the month go? When the final statistics are tabulated, this will be the 14th straight warmer-than-normal month across southwestern Connecticut. That's quite a remarkable stretch. The temperatures are expected to climb into the 70s by the end of the week, just in time for the start of May. There will certainly be a hint of Summer in the air by Thursday and Friday.

The average daily temperature for May jumps from 54 degrees on May 1 to 64 degrees by the end of the month. There have been several days on which the mercury topped 90 degrees, the most notable being 97 degrees on May 20, 1996, which came one month after the last snow of the snowiest season on record, and 94 degrees on May 26, 2010, which was a record for the date. The record low for the month is 31 degrees, set on May 10, 1966. The warmest May on record was in 1991 when the mercury averaged 64.4 degrees.

Can it snow in May? Yes. Believe it or not, there have been two days with at least a trace of snow, including May 27, 1961, which is just over three weeks from the start of Summer! There was also a trace of snow on May 9, 1977. May is the second wettest month of the year, on average, behind March. The normal rainfall for the month is 4.03 inches, based on 40 years of record-keeping. The wettest May happened in 1989 when 9.53″ fell, while the wettest single day rainstorm delivered 3.21″ on May 29, 1968.



The amount of daylight continues to grow each day through the end of the month. There are exactly 14 hours of daylight on May 1 when the Sun rises at 5:50 and sets at 7:50. However, by the end of the month, there are just about 15 hours of daylight as the Sun comes up at 5:22 and sets at 8:19. Three weeks later, on the Summer Solstice, the Sun sets at 8:30, which is only 11 minutes later than on the last day of May.

According to weather legend, "Those who bathe in May, will soon be under clay. Those who bathe in June, bathe a bit too soon." The Full Flower Moon happens this Saturday, May 5, at 11:35 p.m. EDT. In most areas, flowers are abundant everywhere during this time. Thus, the name of this Moon. Other names include the Full Corn Planting Moon or the Milk Moon. Happy May!

Paul

Bluefish to Battle Mother Nature & Riversharks on Opening Night

The Bridgeport Bluefish open their 15th season of play in the Atlantic League when they host the Camden Riversharks at the Ballpark at Harbor Yard this evening at 7:05. If you're planning on attending the game, make sure you bring your jacket and umbrella. We have a threat of showers this evening, and temperatures should be in the mid 50s at game time.

The Atlantic League opens its season much earlier than any of the other Independent baseball leagues. Although that's good news for fans of the eight teams in the circuit, the weather can be the most difficult opponent this time of the year. The average high and low temperatures for this date are 60 and 44 degrees, respectively, but it can get much colder than that. The record low temperature for today is 33 degrees, set in 1967.

April is one of the wettest months of the year, too. The average rainfall for the month is just about four inches (3.99"). There have been some memorable April rainstorms recently, including 5.30" of rain which fell on April 23, 2006. Four dates brought record rainfall of over three inches, most recently 3.34" on April 21, 2000; 3.08" on April 13, 2004; and 3.02" on April 15, 2007.

There are 10 dates this month on which measured snow fell, including a half-inch on April 19, 1953. Nearly four inches of snow fell (3.7") as late as April 14 in 1950. It can also get quite windy in April, as Spring establishes its grip on southwestern Connecticut. The ballpark, which is located adjacent to Long Island Sound, can be a chilly place for spectators when the wind blows off the water during the evening hours. Many times fans bring blankets and heavy jackets during April and May.

The Bluefish, who lost a one-game playoff last season, won their only league championship on a cold September night at the Ballpark in 1999. Bridgeport, by the way, is one of only two original teams still in the league. Somerset, a five-time Atlantic League champion, is the other.

As for today's weather, early sunshine will fade behind increasing cloudiness with a chance of scattered showers late this afternoon and this evening. Daytime high temperatures will hold close to 60 degrees. Any showers will end after midnight with lows in the 40s. Tomorrow will be mostly sunny, windy, and cool with a high in the upper 50s. The weekend should be fair and dry with highs in the 50s and lows in the 30s.

Paul