Autumn Officially Arrives in the Northern Hemisphere Today

The Autumnal Equinox officially arrives today at 10:21 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time. That's when the direct rays of the Sun are above the Equator, technically marking "equal day and equal night" across the face of the globe. As the direct rays of the Sun continue to move South of the Equator, the Southern Hemisphere will be enjoying the start of Spring this week.

However, here in the Northern Hemisphere, the amount of daylight continues to dwindle, and the Sun now sets before 7 o'clock in the evening. Recall that in late June, during the time of the Summer Solstice, the Sun set at 8:30. We've lost more than an hour-and-a-half of daylight just in the evening alone over the last three months.

So why does the Equinox happen? The seasons of the year are caused by the 23.5º tilt of the Earth's axis. Because the Earth is rotating like a top, it points in a fixed direction continuously toward a point in space near the North Star. That's why the North Star appears to be the only star which doesn't move in our night sky. However, the Earth is also revolving around the Sun. During half of the year, the Southern Hemisphere is more exposed to the Sun than the Northern Hemisphere. During the rest of the year, the reverse is true.

At noontime in the Northern Hemisphere the Sun appears high in the sky during the Summer and low in the sky during Winter. It is highest at the Summer Solstice in late June and lowest at the Winter Solstice by the end of December. The half-way points in the year are called the Equinoxes. It is the time of the year when the Sun rises exactly in the East, travels through the sky for 12 hours, and sets exactly in the West. The photo below shows visitors at Stonehenge on the Salisbury Plain in England.

However, on the Autumnal Equinox in southwestern Connecticut, the Sun rises at 6:40 a.m. and sets at 6:50 p.m., giving us 12 hours and ten minutes of daylight. That has to do with the angle at which the Sun rises and sets. Actually, "equal day and equal night" occurs for us on September 25th and 26th when we receive just about 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of darkness.

Happy Autumn!

Paul

Record Rainfall Causes Catastrophic Flooding Across Southwestern Connecticut

The final rain totals from across southern Fairfield and New Haven counties are quite impressive and historical.

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— Paul Piorek WICC (@paulpiorekwicc.bsky.social) September 14, 2026 at 6:31 AM

Paul

Flash Flood Warning for Southern Fairfield County

A Flash Flood Warning is in effect for southern Fairfield County until 10:30 a.m. EDT: forecast.weather.gov/showsigwx.ph...

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— Paul Piorek WICC (@paulpiorekwicc.bsky.social) September 13, 2026 at 7:49 AM

Paul

Recalling Tropical Storm Hanna 18 Years Ago Today

Today marks 18 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 more than 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. 

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

Tenth Wettest August on Record at Bridgeport Climate Station

The Bridgeport climate station recorded 6.39" of precipitation last month (161% of normal), making it the tenth wettest August on record.

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— Paul Piorek WICC (@paulpiorekwicc.bsky.social) September 3, 2026 at 4:31 PM

The Bridgeport climate station recorded 6.39" of precipiation in August, which is well above (+2.41") the 3.98" climatological average for the month.

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— Paul Piorek WICC (@paulpiorekwicc.bsky.social) September 1, 2026 at 3:09 PM

Paul

Marking the 15-Year Anniversary of Tropical Storm Irene

Tropical Storm Irene hit the region 15 years ago today, and it will long be remembered by residents of southwestern Connecticut for the number of lives it affected. 

According to Mitch Gross, a spokesman for Connecticut Light and Power, more than 700,000 customers were without power Sunday, August 28, 2011, easily breaking the previous record of 480,000 following Hurricane Gloria in September of 1985. In fact, 98% of Redding and 89% of Weston households were without power on Monday, August 29, 2011.

The shoreline was hit the hardest, especially during the storm surge at the time of high tide late Sunday morning, August 28. Several homes collapsed along the beach in Fairfield, and many residents had to be evacuated due to the flooding. There were 35 streets which were under mandatory evacuation. 

The center of the storm passed through southwestern Connecticut late Sunday morning, August 28, just about the time of high tide, which was 11:10 a.m. in Bridgeport. To make matters worse, tides were astronomically high due to the new Moon. 

Although the storm's effects would be felt for quite some time, it could have been much worse. The highest wind gust reported in the region was 63 miles an hour at Sikorsky Memorial Airport in Stratford just before daybreak. 

The highest wind speed was 46 miles an hour, and the average wind speed was 24.9 miles an hour. Fortunately, winds never reached hurricane force, but that certainly was little consequence to the thousands of people who were without power or who suffered damage from Irene.

Rainfall totals ranged from just over three inches to more than a half-foot in Northern Fairfield County. Officially, the Sikorsky Airport set a record of 2.50 inches, bringing the two-day storm total to 3.35 inches. That's not far from the monthly average of 3.75 inches. 

Thus far this year, the Atlantic tropical season has been fairly quiet. However, that was not the case 15 years ago today.

Paul