Heavy Rain Causes Flooded Basements

Many homes across southwestern Connecticut have flood damage after 30 hours of heavy rain Wednesday. Crews from Servpro in Stamford say their phones have been ringing non-stop with requests to pump flood water out of homes. They say the damage is primarily from water seepage in low-lying areas.

Crews say they saw a lot of sump pump failures because the pumps can't keep up with the amount of water getting into the basement. Officially, five inches of rain fell at Sikorsky Memorial Airport from Wednesday through Thursday morning. In fact, two-and-a-half inches fell Wednesday and just about one-and-a-half inches soaked the region yesterday, record amounts for each date.
                       

My basement was flooded when I got home from work yesterday, and both sump pumps have been working overtime. They are reliable. However, even with both sump pumps working continuously, there is still plenty of water in the basement.

Paul

Annual Dogwood Festival Takes Place This Weekend

The weekend gets off to an early start tomorrow as the 79th annual Dogwood Festival begins high atop Greenfield Hill in Fairfield. The event, which is traditionally held on Mother's Day weekend, draws people from all over the Northeast. From its humble beginnings on a card table that displayed handmade aprons and similar items three-quarters of a century ago, the Festival has grown into an event which attracts thousands each year.

Every year, the festival offers an opportunity for all to share the beauty of the historic hill. I've been at Greenfield Hill to provide LIVE weather reports a number of times to promote the Dogwood Festival, and it seems that rain has always been in the forecast just about every year. This year, Mother Nature is delivering a fairly quiet weekend. Sunshine will mix with clouds tomorrow and Sunday, with a slight threat of a shower or two each afternoon, especially Sunday.

Have a good weekend.

Paul

May Brings Longer & Brighter Days

Can you believe tomorrow is the first day of May? Where did April go? When the final statistics are tabulated, this month will go down as a cooler and wetter-than-normal April. Nearly a half-foot of precipitation (5.46") fell at Sikorsky Memorial Airport in April, including a whopping 2.5" the last day of the month. The average temperature was 48.2 degrees, which was 1.1 degrees below normal. Now, what about May?

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 today 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 May 14, at 3:16 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

National Walk at Lunch Day This Wednesday

This Wednesday, April 30, is National Walk at Lunch Day. According to the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, obesity, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, and diabetes are threatening the lives of Americans everyday. Inactive lifestyles not only affect physical health, they also can cost families thousands of dollars each year in expenses.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies are encouraging their employees and their customers to wear comfortable walking shoes to work and take time during their lunch breaks to start walking toward better health. National Walk at Lunch Day is designed to fit into daily schedules. Obviously, if you are unable to walk during your lunch break, take some time during the day to go for a walk. You'll feel much better.

During the inaugural National Walk at Lunch Day, tens of thousands of employees, customers, and community leaders in 46 states plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico included a half-hour into their workdays to go for a walk.

I've already touted the many benefits of walking in earlier blog entries. Today, I don't watch television, but I do walk. In fact, as soon as I get home from work, I lace up my sneaks and, weather permitting, try to walk at least two miles before I pick up my sons from school. After dinner, my son laces up his roller blades and joins me as I add at least another half-mile. Some days, I'll be gone for two hours. If it weren't for daily chores, I probably could go on virtually forever.

Before you start your walking program, the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports recommends following a few basic principles that will help keep you safe and comfortable:

• If you have a health condition or have not done any regular physical activity for a long time (men over 40, women over 50), talk with your doctor before starting any new exercise program.
• Choose comfortable, supportive shoes, such as running, walking, or cross training shoes, or light hiking boots.
• If you're going for a longer walk, warm up with stretching exercises, and include a cool-down period to reduce stress on your heart and muscles.
• Maintain a brisk pace. You should work hard to keep up your pace but still be able to talk while walking.
• Practice correct posture — head upright, arms bent at the elbow and swinging as you stride.
• Drink plenty of water before, during and after walking to cool working muscles and keep your body hydrated.

The goal should be to try an add 10,000 steps each day. Exercise doesn't have to be a rigid, time-consuming activity. In fact, it shouldn't be thought of in terms of one activity. Walking your dog, walking with your child to the park, walking to and from the parking lot, and taking the stairs instead of the elevator can be a part of an exercise routine that adds up to an additional 10,000 steps daily.

The challenge is to think creatively about ways you might add "steps" to your day. Here are just a few ideas:

• Take the stairs as often as possible
• Park several blocks from your destination or park at the rear of the parking lot
• Walk the last few blocks instead of riding the bus all the way to work
• Get off the elevator below your destination and walk a couple of flights of stairs
• Park at the opposite end of the mall from where you need to shop
• Walk to do shopping or other errands

Consider adding other walking routines to your day by organizing a lunchtime walking group at work, or a before-or after-work group with friends or neighbors. Instead of watching television after dinner, get the whole family outside for a game of tag, frisbee or a walk around the block. Try not to get stuck in the "all or nothing" rut  — even if you don't have time for a long walk, you might be able to squeeze in a short one, or at least take the stairs.

Today is a perfect day to go for a walk. It will be mostly sunny and seasonably mild with a high temperature in the low-to-mid 60s. Tonight will become mostly cloudy with lows in the 40s. Some showers will develop tomorrow afternoon before a steadier and heavier rain arrives late Wednesday, hopefully after your lunchtime walk. Start a new tradition. You'll feel much better.

Paul

Brush Fire in Orange Burns About 15 Acres After Red Flag Warning Was Issued

A Red Flag Warning was issued for Connecticut yesterday due to gusty winds and low humidity levels. The threat of brush fires was heightened during the day as winds gusted over 30 to 40 miles an hour. The warning was much-needed, and brush fires were reported in Connecticut and New Jersey.

Firefighters are still on the scene this morning after a brush fire burned about 15 acres in Orange Thursday. Officials say a mulch pile caught fire around 4 o'clock Thursday afternoon. The flames burned near Edison Road. Firefighters say it was hard to get water to the fire because the closest hydrant was 3,000 feet away.

According to officials, it’s not uncommon for brush fires to break out at landscaping businesses. The crews are on the scene today to prevent any more breakouts. The fire serves as a reminder to take all weather-related warnings, watches, and advisories seriously.



Paul

Record Daily Rainfall Happened Eight Years Ago Today

April weather can certainly be damp and cool across southwestern Connecticut, but what happened eight years ago today was unforgettable and record-setting. We were deluged with rain Sunday, April 23, 2006, and it caused flooded basements, closed roads, forced evacuations, and claimed two lives locally. In fact, nearly a half-foot of rain fell at Sikorsky Memorial Airport, making it the highest single-day rainfall total on record.

Unfortunately, the rain continued to hammer southwestern Connecticut all day long, while the Sun was shining at Yankee Stadium during the baseball game between New York and Baltimore in the Bronx. That was probably the most frustrating aspect, just waiting for the rain to stop. The rain was moving from South-to-North instead of West-to-East.

There's no question the 6.39" of rain which fell in Fairfield eight years ago today is the most ever in one-day in my lifetime. I can't ever recall that much rain in a 24-hour period. The previous October was record-setting due to the foot-and-a-half of rain which fell during the month, but it was spread out over a prolonged period of time. This time, nearly two months worth of rain fell in 24 hours.

Firefighters evacuated more than 30 people, including infants, with an inflatable boat as more than five feet of water flooded streets between Halley Avenue and Mountain Grove Cemetery in Fairfield that day. Fire Chief Richard Felner, a good friend of mine, said that nobody was injured in the worst flooding to hit Fairfield in at least a decade.

Around town, most of the people with whom I spoke had their own tales to tell. Most of the people who live along the Rooster River said it was the worst flooding in their neighborhood in more than 25 years. According to The Connecticut Post, Toni Bodor of Fairfield said what many of us felt. "It just kept going. Before we knew it, it was right to the top of the wheels of my car. It happened so suddenly. I kept checking out one window, the front and back, before I realized I couldn't move my car."

The magnitude of the flooding in Fairfield hit me with news of the death of a town resident. According to our morning newscast, seventy-one year old Elsbeth Schubiger lived with her husband on Bradford Street, just feet from the Rooster River. Investigators found her body lodged between a tree and a retaining wall the following morning.

Police say Schubiger was cleaning up debris along the swollen river when she apparently slipped, lost her balance, and fell into the fast-moving waters. Her death is a tragic reminder of nature's wrath, even in one's own backyard.

As for neighboring Bridgeport, the city established a single-day record of 5.3" which caused 13 people to be evacuated from an apartment building where up to four-feet of water built up in front of the three-story structure. Firefighters were able to remove six residents by boat, while the seven remaining residents were escorted to safety 45 minutes later.

Westport received nearly a half-foot of rain (5.37"), and the heavy rains contributed to the death of a Shelton child early Sunday morning. The youngster, who celebrated her first birthday the previous Tuesday, died when the car in which she was riding, slid out of control on the Merritt Parkway in Westport.

Rainfall totals from across southwestern Connecticut were impressive, to say the least. Other communities with at least four inches of rain included Milford (5.46"), New Canaan (5.17"), Norwalk (4.87"), Woodbridge (4.79"), and Southport (4.31"). Consider that the normal rainfall for the entire month of April is 3.99" based on 40 years of averages.

Paul