WEATHER ALERTS FOR WINTER STORM CLARE…
A WINTER STORM WARNING remains in effect for Litchfield, Hartford, and Tolland Counties through this afternoon. A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY is in effect for Windham County and northern portions of Fairfield, New Haven, Middlesex, and New London Counties through Wednesday afternoon.
THIS MORNING...
We've got snow and mixed precipitation for you this morning as Winter Storm Clare continues to slowly develop off the coast of New Jersey. Temperatures are in the upper 20s and lower 30s this morning inland, but they're in the mid to upper 30s along the shoreline, so we've got snow inland, and mixed precipitation along the shoreline.
WEDNESDAY…
Winter Storm Clare will move northward passing near or directly over Cape Cod this afternoon. Clare will slowly intensify, but it will not become a strong storm. That means wind will not be a big issue. Still, we can expect a moderate snowfall across much of the state.
The morning commute is going to be messy with snow and a wintry mix. The wintry mix will be confined more to the I-95 corridor and Southeastern Connecticut. The precipitation will end during the afternoon and we might get a peek at the sun before the afternoon is over. Conditions will be better for the afternoon commute, but certainly far from ideal.
Total snowfall accumulations will range from a coating to 2” in coastal sections of New London County to 3-6” in the Greater Hartford Area, Waterbury, and Danbury. The hills of Northern and Western Connecticut will get the most snow with totals ranging from 6-9”.
A northwesterly breeze will freshen this afternoon as highs climb into the 30s. Temperatures will rise above freezing across most of the state and that will help with the clean up process.
Clearing skies and diminishing winds will allow the mercury to dip into the teens across much of the state tonight.
TRANQUIL WEATHER THURSDAY AND FRIDAY…
Tomorrow will be a nice day with partly sunny skies. It’ll be breezy and seasonably chilly with highs in the 30s. Lows Thursday night will range from 15-25 under mainly clear sky.
Friday will be even better with mostly sunny skies and less wind. Temperatures will rise into the 30s to possibly near 40 degrees in some locations.
A WEEKEND WARM-UP…
The boundary between cold air and warmer air will set up shop to the north of New England on Saturday. Here in Connecticut, a mild west-southwesterly flow will develop Saturday and temperatures will rise through the 40s to near 50 degrees. It’ll be a nice day too with partly sunny skies. We can look forward to similar temperatures on Sunday. The sky should be mostly sunny.
While there will be a lot of melting this weekend, it won’t come with any heavy rain. That's good news since we are still having problems with ice jams on some of the state’s streams and rivers. A flood warning is still in effect for Southern Litchfield County along the Housatonic and Shepaug Rivers, and for the Connecticut River from Middle Haddam southward to where the river empties into Long Island Sound.
EARLY NEXT WEEK…
The next storm will move into the Northeast on Monday. For now, it looks like most of the rain will stay to the north and west of Connecticut through Monday, but a few rain showers are possible. A mild southerly flow should keep highs close to 50 degrees. Rain is more likely Monday night as a cold front sweeps through the state. We expect a return to dry weather on Tuesday with partly sunny skies, a brisk northwesterly breeze, and highs in the 40s.
---------------------------------------------------------------
DECEMBER 2017 IN REVIEW
It was the deep freeze during the last week of the month that really lowered the average temperature to levels far below normal. The average temperature at Bradley International Airport was 27.5 degrees, which is 4.1 degrees below normal! Total precipitation was 2.41”, which is 1.03” below normal. This includes rain plus the water equivalent of snow and ice. However, snowfall was above normal by 2.4”. The grand total was 9.8”. The snowiest December on record was in 1945, when 45.3” of snow was measured in Hartford.
NOTABLE DEEP FREEZES FOR THE GREATER HARTFORD AREA
The last time the temperature remained BELOW freezing for a week or more was in February of 2014. That deep freeze lasted 9 days. The longest deep freeze on record lasted 19 days and that was in December 1989! That was the coldest December on record with an average temperature of 18.1 degrees!
It is also interesting to note there was a stretch of 10 consecutive days from January 19th through January 28th in 1961 when the high temperature was 20 degrees or lower in Windsor Locks. There was also a 7 day stretch from December 29, 1917 to January 4, 1918 where the high temperature remained BELOW 20 degrees in the Greater Hartford Area.
BLIZZARD BRODY RECAP…
Brody was an incredible storm throughout the Northeast. Massive coastal flooding occurred in Massachusetts and Nantucket had a gust to hurricane force, 76 mph! Here in Connecticut, there was a gust to 64 mph on New London Ledge, 59 mph in Litchfield, and 54 mph in Hampton. Despite the powerful wind, there weren’t a tremendous number of power outages. Snowfall ranged from 8” to 16” in most locations. The highest total reported in the state was 16.6” in Staffordville. There were several reports of 15”.
At the official climate reporting stations in Connecticut, record snowfall was recorded for January 4th. For the Hartford Area, a 95 year old record fell with 10.2" of snow (previously: 8.1"); at Bridgeport, the prior record of 5.3" (1988) was also well surpassed with 8.0" of snow yesterday.
Chief Meteorologist Bruce DePrest with Scot Haney
“Copyright 2018 WFSB (Meredith Corporation). All rights reserved”