Stretch of Brutally Cold Weather Continues Into Fourth Week

This has been one of the coldest Winters in recent memory. In fact, today was the 21st straight day at Bridgeport with a colder-than-normal average temperature. The last day which featured an average temperature above normal happened January 25. All but 13 days this calendar year have been colder-than-normal. I took this photo of the Sun reflecting off the window at the base of the steeple of my church this afternoon.

 
Adding insult to injury is the current spell of dangerously cold weather. Today's high temperature at Bridgeport was 23 degrees, which occurred at 12:23 a.m. EST. The mercury dropped through much of the day. However, the gusty Northwest winds produced wind chills of -10 to -20 degrees today. The peak wind gust at Bridgeport was 51 miles an hour, and the peak wind speed was 36 mph. The average wind speed today was just over 20 mph.

February has been especially harsh. Every day this month has been colder-than-normal, including the last two days, which featured daily average temperatures of 19 and 14 degrees below normal, respectively. The average temperature at Sikorsky Memorial Airport in Stratford this month is 22.1 degrees, which is a whopping 9.2 degrees below normal. The highest temperature this month is 36 degrees, which happened February 10 and 12.

The record low temperature for tomorrow, February 16, at Bridgeport is four degrees, which was set in 1987. I believe we'll break the record fairly easily. The coldest temperature thus far this Winter at Bridgeport is two degrees, which occurred February 3. This will most likely be the coldest night of the Winter. Take a look at the following graphic, produced  by the National Weather Service office in New York. Please click to enlarge.

Stay warm.

Paul

Historic Blizzard Dumped Three Feet of Snow on Fairfield Two Years Ago Today

A historic snowstorm dumped nearly three feet of snow in Fairfield and snow drifts of four-to-five feet from Friday, February 8, through Saturday, February 9, 2013. The snow began falling just after 7 o'clock Friday morning, February 8, and became steadier and heavier throughout the day and night. A Blizzard Warning was issued for the entire state, and heavy snow combined with gusty winds to produce near-whiteout conditions Friday night.

By the time all was said and done, it was almost impossible to open my kitchen door and go outside late Saturday morning. The snow-level was so high that the door would not open easily. The daunting task of shoveling the snow off the steps, sidewalk, and driveway almost seemed impossible when I stepped outside. I knew that I had to take my time due to the 40-plus mile-an-hour wind gusts, wind chill values in the teens, and my advancing age. After about an hour, I began making progress.

According to the National Weather Service, Fairfield hit the jackpot with the most snow in Fairfield County with 35 inches. However, regionally, Milford topped the list with 38 inches. That's more than the normal amount of snow for the entire Winter season. The snowiest Winter on record, however, happened 19 years ago when Sikorsky Memorial Airport in Stratford reported 78" from 1995-96. Here's a view of my street from Saturday afternoon, February 9, 2013.

Here are the totals from the National Weather Service:

• Milford: 38"
• Fairfield: 35"
• Stratford: 33"
• Monroe: 30"
• Bridgeport: 30"
• Weston: 26.5"
• Shelton: 26.5"
• Westport: 24.5"
• Greenwich: 22.5"
• Darien: 22.1"
• Norwalk: 22"
• New Canaan: 22"
• Danbury: 21.5"
• Stamford: 19"
• Newtown: 17.1"
• Bethel: 16"
• Ridgefield: 12"

The storm was the result of a combination of a strong coastal low which moved up the Atlantic seaboard and an approaching front to the North and West. The two systems merged and the storm exploded Friday night. Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy closed the state roads, much like the late-Gov. Ella Grasso 35 years earlier during the Blizzard of 1978. A snowplow driver got stuck in the snow in front of my house and abandoned his vehicle Saturday morning. It sat there for more than two days.

The second part of the storm entered into a colder environment late Friday night and with plenty of moisture it resulted in intense banding and a powdery, wind-driven snow between 10 p.m. and 4 a.m. That resulted in snow totals which were much greater than expected. Fortunately, damaging winds and severe coastal flooding issues were not as severe and certainly not as widespread as feared. However, many people lost power.

Meteorologist Geoff Fox took a time-lapse video of the snowstorm from inside looking out at his deck. He wrote, "This time lapse starts just after 6:00 AM and goes past 11:00 PM. It stops because there’s nothing left to see! There are a bunch of web postings saying the GoPro’s battery is only good for 2.5 hours of time lapse. That’s why I plugged it into an AC adapter and propped it up against a glass paneled door to the deck."

 

Paul

February's Full Snow Moon Happens This Evening

You may have noticed how the Moon has been growing --- or waxing --- over the last two weeks. We didn't see much of the Moon the last two nights, but we will be able to see when it reaches Full Moon stage. That happens at 6:09 p.m. EST this evening. The Moon will rise at 5:16 p.m. local time this afternoon and sets at 7:02 a.m. tomorrow.

So, how did the February Full Moon get its name, anyway? Since the heaviest snow usually falls during this month, native tribes of the North and East most often called February's Full Moon the Full Snow Moon. Some tribes also referred to this Moon as the Full Hunger Moon, since harsh weather conditions in their areas made hunting very difficult.

Remember, Full Moon names date back to the days of the Native Americans, who lived 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. There was some variation in the Moon names, but in general, the same ones were current throughout the Algonquin tribes from New England to Lake Superior.

This Moon has also been known as the Full Storm Moon and Full Candles Moon. 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, today's Full Moon will rise a little later than it did in December or January. In addition, this Full Moon will appear still fairly high in the sky since we're still in Winter.

Paul

Snowstorm Results in Three-Day Super Bowl Weekend

For the second straight year, snow began falling in southwestern Connecticut immediately following the Super Bowl, late Sunday evening, February 1, 2015. As confetti fell in Phoenix to honor the Super Bowl champion New England Patriots, snow fell across much of New England, and many people enjoyed a three-day weekend due to the storm.

Officially, nearly a foot (11") of snow fell at Sikorsky Memorial Airport in Stratford from late Sunday evening through Monday afternoon. Nearly an inch (0.7") was recorded Sunday just before midnight, and 10.3" were recorded Monday. Schools and many businesses were closed Monday due to the significant snow.

Weston reported the most snow in Fairfield County with just over 14 inches (14.3"), and Wilton (13") also received over a foot. Darien (11.3"), Bridgeport (11"), Easton (10.5"), New Canaan (10.5"), Stamford (10"), and Danbury (10") had at least 10 inches of snow. Here is the official snowfall report from the National Weather Service.

The snow became steadier and heavier Sunday night into Monday before mixing with sleet and freezing rain. However, the precipitation turned to all snow Monday afternoon, and became even heavier, creating near-white-out conditions in Fairfield County. Travel was extremely treacherous on main roads and especially secondary roads Monday afternoon. I took these photos during the Monday afternoon snow.

Monday's 10.3 of snow broke the previous mark of 3.2" which was set in 1985. Making matters worse, the temperature was expected to drop to between 10 and 15 degrees early Tuesday morning, causing icing of roads, driveways, and walkways. School delays of 90 minutes to two-and-a-half hours were anticipated Tuesday morning.

Paul

Blizzard Lived Up to Billing for Eastern Connecticut

It was billed and hyped as a historic blizzard. However, that wasn't the case for southwestern Connecticut. Many meteorologists and weather forecasters predicted one-to-two feet of snow for the region, but the heaviest snow fell across Eastern New England. The snow began falling early Monday afternoon, and most school systems had early dismissals. By early Monday night, the snow became steadier and moderate.

Most of the snow, however, fell across the eastern part of the state. Lisbon, Colchester, Norwich, and Groton received at least two feet of snow. Across southwestern Connecticut, though, many communities picked up between a half-foot and a foot of snow. Unofficially, Weston was the "winner" locally with 14 inches. Fairfield had a little more than a half-foot (6.7").

Schools were closed Tuesday for the clean-up from the storm. Fortunately, the snow was light and fluffy, making shoveling somewhat easier. Here is a map illustrating the final snowfall totals from across the region.

Paul

Stretch of Wild Winter Weather Happened Nine Years Ago This Week

An incredible stretch of weather brought just about everything, except the kitchen sink, to southwestern Connecticut nine 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 Illuminuating 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