Rare May Snowstorm Clobbered New England on This Date in 1977

A storm system brought snow and record-cold temperatures to much of New England, Monday, May 9, 1977. 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

Our Lady Star of the Sea School's Second & Fifth Graders Shine as Weatherkids

I visited with the second- and fifth-graders at Our Lady Star of the Sea School in Stamford, Wednesday morning, May 7, 2014.



Paul

Celebrate Teacher Appreciation Week

Each week when I visit a different school across southwestern Connecticut, I'm always impressed with the commitment and dedication of our teachers to their craft and their students. Clearly, they have a passion for what they do, and it shows through their creativity and energy. Almost always they are smiling, and they love their profession.

The demands and challenges teachers face today are much different than when I left the classroom nearly 20 years ago. I taught from 1985 to 1995, long before the widespread use of modern-day technology, which has become an integral part of the educational experience. Educators are constantly improving their curricula, and many attend classes and seminars during the Summer months to learn new methods of instruction and classroom management.

Tomorrow is National Teacher Appreciation Day, and this week is National Teacher Appreciation Week. According to the teacher appreciation Web site, "Teaching is possibly one of the most vocational jobs. It is simply impossible to teach if you don’t like that activity, or if you don’t care for your students. Care, that’s the word. But, how often do we, the rest of us, care for our current or former teachers? How often do we show our teacher appreciation? How often do we thank them for their care, efforts and help?

A teacher’s highest reward is feeling the true appreciation and gratitude of his or her current or former students. I know, because I've received letters and phone calls from former students of mine. I can't tell you how rewarding it is to hear from a student I taught 25 years ago telling me how much he learned and how much he enjoyed my classes. I still enjoy teaching today. Here are some photos from recent visits to area schools. Yes, teaching is still very much in my blood, and I love working with children.

If you have children in the school system, I'm sure you're grateful for the work of our teachers. Even if you don't have any school-aged children, I'm sure you're aware of the work of our dedicated educators. They deserve our support, and I applaud them. I'll be sure to thank both of my sons' teachers this week.

Thank you, teachers.

Paul

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