Recalling Tropical Storm Hanna 17 Years Ago

Today marks 17 years since the arrival of Tropical Storm Hanna. The storm came and went fairly quickly Saturday, September 6, 2008, delivering more than three inches of rain at Sikorsky Memorial Airport, scattered power outages, and gusty winds. It could have been a lot worse, but the storm raced through the region, arriving late Saturday afternoon and exiting during the early morning hours Sunday, September 7.

The storm brought a peak wind gust of 39 miles-an-hour and a peak wind speed of 30 miles-an-hour, sparing southwestern Connecticut any damaging or destructive winds. Perhaps the most memorable aspect of the storm was the brutal tropical humidity throughout the day, ultimately leading to the heavy downpours by late-afternoon through the evening hours.

The heaviest rain fell to our North, with parts of Northern Fairfield County receiving over a half-foot of rain. Remember, the average normal rainfall for September is 3.58 inches. 

The bands of heavy rain made traveling difficult at times, and some roadways were flooded. Mackenize Kilmartin of Fairfield sent the following photo showing minor flooding in her hometown.

 
Christine from Greenwich wrote, "Here are pictures from Todd's Point and Binney Park. Sorry if they're not great photos, but it was the best I could do without getting my camera wet."

Local residents sent the following photo of flooding on Shippan Avenue at the West Beach soccer fields under construction in Stamford. This picture was taken at 7:30 Saturday evening.

Here are some of the unofficial rainfall totals from across southwestern Connecticut from Hanna's visit:

• Woodbridge: 5.04"
• Norwalk: 4.37"
• Fairfield: 4.13"
• Greenwich: 3.93"
• Stamford: 3.62"
• Stratford: 3.55"
• Milford: 3.42"
• Bridgeport: 3.30"

The storm followed the forecast track for the most part, with the eye of the storm passing just to our East late Saturday evening and moving well to our North and East by the end of the weekend. The skies cleared quickly the following day. 

Paul

Coastal Flood Advisory for Southern Fairfield and New Haven Counties

A Coastal Flood Advisory will be in effect for southern Fairfield and New Haven counties Thursday and Friday evenings: forecast.weather.gov/showsigwx.ph...

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— Paul Piorek WICC (@paulpiorekwicc.bsky.social) August 20, 2025 at 5:35 PM

Paul

Connie & Diane Battered Connecticut 70 Years Ago This Month

Long-time area residents will never forget August of 1955 when two of the most memorable hurricanes --- Connie and Diane --- battered the Northeast. Hurricane Connie soaked New England with torrential rains on August 13, 1955. Then, just five days later, Tropical Storm Diane followed suit creating massive flooding not seen since the 1930s. Take a look at the front page of The Bridgeport Telegram from August 20, 1955.

 

The combination of Connie and Diane yielded rainfall totals close to 25 inches in some areas, resulting in unprecedented flooding. Nearly all of the major rivers in the lower Connecticut Valley exceeded flood stage. Some rivers rose more than 20 feet over their banks. Read the Valley News archive of daily weather events from August of 1955 to gain a better understanding of the power of those two August hurricanes.

While the two hurricanes affected the entire Atlantic coast, Connecticut suffered the most damage. For example, of the 180 lives that were lost, 77 were in Connecticut. Of the 680 million dollars in property damage, over 350 million dollars occurred in Connecticut. Over 200 dams in New England suffered partial to total failure. Many of these were in the area immediately south of Worcester, in the Thames and Blackstone headwaters. Here is a photo of Winsted, Connecticut, virtually devastated following the flood.

   

If August was not bad enough, two months later, a four day storm dumped an additional 12-14 inches of rain in southwestern New England. This event was not as widespread as the August storms, but record flood levels were achieved in some locations of the Housatonic and Hudson River basins.

Paul

Southwestern Connecticut "Abnormally Dry" According to Latest Drought Monitor Index

The latest Drought Monitor Index as of August 14, 2025, indicates that most of southwestern Connecticut is "abnormally dry."

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— Paul Piorek WICC (@paulpiorekwicc.bsky.social) August 16, 2025 at 1:49 PM

Paul

"Dog Days of Summer" Officially Come to a Close Today

Today, Monday, August 11, is the last day of the 40-day period known as "The Dog Days of Summer" in the Northern Hemisphere. It lasts from July 3 through August 11 and includes the 20 days before and 20 days after the alignment of Sirius, the dog star, with the Sun.

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— Paul Piorek WICC (@paulpiorekwicc.bsky.social) August 11, 2025 at 6:41 AM

Paul

Last Sunset at 8 p.m. or Later in Fairfield Until May 10, 2026

Friday evening's sunset in Fairfield is at 8:01 p.m. EDT, marking the last time the Sun will set at 8 p.m. or later until May 10, 2026. Saturday's sunset is at 7:59 p.m.

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— Paul Piorek WICC (@paulpiorekwicc.bsky.social) August 8, 2025 at 6:29 AM

Paul