Minor flooding - Farmington River at Simsbury and the Housatonic River at Stevenson Dam
Rainfall amounts yesterday ranged from 2-5″, and locally higher in some towns. Bradley Airport reported a daily record rainfall of over 4″ of rain....
THIS WEEKEND...
Clouds are stubborn to clear, showers continue to clip extreme southeast CT, and areas of fog are forming. The fog will become locally dense through morning, especially along the CT river valley. Temperatures fall into the middle 40s to middle 50s tonight. Increasing sunshine and warmth on Sunday! Highs in the lower to upper 70s. It will be perfect weather to be outside, though you’ll probably have to hold off another day to mow since the ground is so soggy and muddy! Enjoy the final day of the Big E!
NEXT WEEK...
While the calendar reads October and fall decor is popping up, our pattern says otherwise. We’re giving you the First Alert to near record heat by Tuesday (85 set in 1919) and Wednesday (86 set in 2007). Above average warmth is with us between Sunday and Thursday. Overnight lows will be running about 5 to 10 degrees above average too. A dip in the jet stream sends a cold front our way which will cause showers to develop on Friday and showers and storms next Saturday. Chilly air settles in behind the front.
First Alert Meteorologist Jill Gilardi
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SEPTEMBER 13th TORNADO...
The National Weather Service out of Boston, after surveying damage and reviewing radar imagery, has confirmed a tornado moved through Killingly in Windham County. It was on the ground at 4pm and lasted for 10 minutes. It was rated as an EF-1 (wind of 100 mph), had a maximum width of 70 yards with a path length of 16.1 miles. There were reports of trees and wires downed on Wauregan Road, a tree downed near the intersection of Westcott and Cranberry Bog Road, several trees downed on Ledge Road, and trees and wires down on Shippee Schoolhouse Road. This marks the 2nd tornado for Windham County this year, and the 3rd tornado in CT for 2023. Additionally, with training of heavy rain and thunderstorms, there were widespread reports of Flash Flooding throughout CT.
SEPTEMBER 7th RECORD HEAT...
Temperatures peaked at record levels across CT. For the Hartford Area (as measured at Bradley Airport) the high was 95, surpassing the record of 93 from 2015. This makes September 7th the 2nd hottest day of the year (the hottest was on April 14th when the high was 96). In Bridgeport, the high was 92… breaking the 1983 record of 91.
AUGUST 18th TORNADO...
Our second confirmed tornado of the year occurred on Friday, August 18th in Scotland. The EF-1 touched down at 7:53 a.m. and lifted at 7:59 a.m. It was on the ground for 2.7 miles with a maximum path width of 200 yards. The maximum estimated wind speed was 100 mph. There were no reported injuries, but there was minor property damage.
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AUGUST 12th TORNADO...
Our first confirmed tornado of the year occurred on Saturday, August 12th in Roxbury. The EF-0 touched down at 9:00 p.m. and lifted at 9:05 p.m. It was on the ground for 0.8 miles with a maximum path width of 30 yards. The maximum estimated wind speed was 80 mph. There were no reported injuries nor property damage.
JULY 2023...
At Bradley Airport, where the records are maintained for the Hartford Area, 13.93″ of rain was measured over the 31-day period. This ranks July ‘23 as not only the wettest July on record (they date back to 1905); but also the 4th wettest of all months! When it comes to the temperature, the average for the month came in at 76.8° --- that’s 2.5° above average (a tie for 6th warmest).
JULY 29th SEVERE WEATHER...
The NWS survey team, after their visit Sunday when they assessed damage from storms Saturday evening, determined that while there was a funnel cloud that moved over eastern CT, from Manchester to the Rhode Island border, a tornado did NOT occur in the state (the funnel cloud did not reach the ground). There was damage in Manchester, from a squall line that moved through later (7:30-7:40pm)… this was from straight line wind, a microburst.
JULY 21st STORMS & HEAVY RAIN...
Rainfall reports were in the 1-3″ range under most storms, with flooding reported in parts of Hartford and New Haven counties. Multiple strong storms rolled through, with reported trees down in Hamden and Chaplin.
JULY 16th HEAVY RAIN...
The highest rainfall report was in Waterbury at 4.53″. Most of the state received 1-3″ of rain but there were a few zones that picked up 2-4″. A daily rainfall record was set in both Hartford (1.53″ vs 1.33″ in 1910) and Bridgeport (1.45″ vs 0.93″ in 1984).
JULY 9-10′s HEAVY RAIN...
24-hour rain totals were highest over western Litchfield County where 5 to just over 9″ of rain were measured. Parts of Windham and New London Counties also received a lot of rain, ranging from 2-5″ over the same time period. In and around the Hartford and New Haven metro areas, 1-2″ with locally higher amounts were received.
1st HEAT WAVE OF 2023…
It takes 3 consecutive day in our part of the country to have a “heat wave.” Our first of the year is on the books after reaching 90 or higher July 5-8 (91 Wednesday, 93 Thursday, 90 Friday, and 90 again Saturday)!
FOURTH OF JULY RECAP...
Significant flash flooding occurred across Connecticut as slow-moving strong storms moved through the state. Rain totals ranged from a half inch on the low end to over 2″. Hartford-Brainard received over 2″ in just one hour, for a total of 2.44″ for the day! There were multiple instances of flash flooding reported, with water rescues needed at one point in Hartford. The story of flash flooding was unfortunately a widespread issue during the day.
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JUNE 2ND HEAT & STORMS...
Temperatures Friday, June 2nd topped out between 90 and 95 inland… officially at 94 for the Hartford Area where a new record was set (as measured at Bradley Airport). Previously, it was 91 from 1961!
The heat and humidity fueled multiple strong storms across CT that afternoon, too. We received numerous reports of hail... the largest from Middletown and Portland, where it was quarter-size! While some towns remained entirely dry, others received downpours... Storrs, for instance, picked up nearly 1.5″ of rain!
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RECORD COLD...
Early Thursday morning (on 05.18) temperatures statewide fell into the 30s, with lows in the 20s across parts of NW and NE CT! For the 18th of May in the Hartford Area, the record low is 31 from 1984 --- we tied that one. For Bridgeport, it was 41 from the same year --- we broke that record at 5am with a temp of 39 degrees and at 6am it dropped to 38!
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APRIL SUMMARY…
The 4th month of the year is in our rear view mirror, and the climatological dust has settled. For the Hartford Area, it was the 2nd wettest April on record (they go back to 1905) with 6.00″ of rain (a surplus of 2.12″). When it comes to temperature, it was the 9th warmest with an average temperature of 53.7° (4.2° above normal).
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RECORD BREAKING HEAT…
On Friday, April 14th, the Hartford Area topped out at a whopping 96 degrees! That smashed the old record of 82, which was set in 1941. It also ties the warmest April day in the Hartford Area since records began in 1905, which is 96 set back on April 19, 1976 -- and the last time we had an April with *2* 90 degree days was in 2009!
The high in Bridgeport was 87, again smashing the old record of 73 from 1949. Impressive to say the least!
On Thursday, April 13, 92 was achieved for the Hartford Area (as measured at Bradley Airport), well surpassing the record for April 13th of 86 from 1977. How rare is this? Well, one must go back over a decade, to 2012 to find the last April day with 90 degree heat. Last year, our first 90° day was on May 21st (with a high of 91). The average first 90° day occurs on May 30th.
For Bridgeport, the high of 79 set a record, easily breaking 74 from 1968.
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WINTER STORM BRENDA...
The 2nd named storm of the 2022-23 season, a nor’easter, brought a lot of moisture to CT. Geography and elevation played a BIG role in precipitation type and amount. Where primarily rain fell, over 3″ was received over a large swath of New Haven, Middlesex and New London Counties. For snow, jackpot amounts were received over the higher terrain of northern Litchfield County (Norfolk, 19.7″) and northwestern Hartford County (Granby, 18.0″). A matter of miles and minor change in elevation led to sharp gradients... from a lot of snow to very little. Also to note, with temperatures in the 30-35° range, the snow was very heavy and wet (a ratio of 6:1, pretty incredible). As this storm moved away, a northwesterly wind gusted between 35 and 45 mph.
HISTORY AND CRITERIA FOR NAMING WINTER STORMS…
We are officially releasing our list of Winter Storm names for the ‘22-’23 season. To coincide with the 65th anniversary of the station, our theme for this winter is to use the top baby names of 1957 – the year WFSB first went on the air. Here are the first 5: Anthony, Brenda, Charles, Debra, and Edward.
WFSB/Channel 3 for over 50 years has been naming winter storms, a tradition we’re proud to carry on today. You may remember Blizzard Larry (the Blizzard of ‘78), the big ice storm of December 1973 named Felix, Storm Alfred in late October of 2011 and Blizzard Charlotte in 2013. Alfred’s heavy, wet snow caused a record power outage in Connecticut and Blizzard Charlotte dumped up to 40″ of snow in parts of the state. It all began in 1971 with Channel 3 and the Travelers Weather Service.
Why did we decide to name storms so long ago? Because people easily remember names, especially the ones that have been attached to Connecticut’s biggest storms! Occasionally, we get criticized for naming winter storms, but by far most of our viewers love the tradition and find it fun! Certain criteria must be met for a storm to be named. We must be forecasting at least 6″ of snow for most of the state and/or at least ½” of ice accretion that would occur during an ice storm.
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WINTER STORM ANTHONY...
It took us until the end of February and meteorological winter to get our first notable snow event, that took on the name “Anthony.” As we were forecasting, snow totals for most of CT ranged from 4 to 6″ with locally higher amounts.
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 16TH RECORDS…
For the 16th of February, the record high temperature for the Hartford Area of 72, set in 1954 stands as the temp peaked at 61. For Bridgeport, though, the record of 57 set in 2018 was well surpassed. In fact, their high of 68 set not only a record for the day… but for the entire month! Since 1948 (the period of record for Bridgeport), not one other February day has been warmer --- Incredible!
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 10TH RECORDS...
On February 10th, we shattered record highs at both the Bridgeport & the Hartford area. The temperature at Bradley (which is used for the Hartford Area) topped out at 62, beating the old record of 55 from 1909. That’s a 114-year-old record that just fell! Bridgeport has made it to 62 as well, beating the old record of 54 from 2001.
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 4 RECORDS...
New record low temperatures were set for the 4th of February across CT. In Bridgeport the temp bottomed out at -4, well surpassing the prior record of 5° from 1996. For the Hartford Area, the low was -9°, breaking the prior record from 1965 by 1°.
JANUARY ‘23 SUMMARY…
The first month of the year has gone down as the 3rd mildest, with an average temperature of 36.6° (9.5° above average). Additionally, while quite wet – a tie for 10th wettest – with 5.81″ of precipitation (rain and the liquid equivalent of anything frozen), there wasn’t much snow (it was the 12th least snowy with only 2.3″ measured at Bradley Airport). Records for the Hartford Area go back to 1905.
ANOTHER BROKEN RECORD IN 2022...
The Hartford Area shattered its old record of 59° on December 30th, which was set in 1984. The new record is now 64°, which is 27° above average.
NOVEMBER’S RECORD WARMTH…
The Hartford Area record high (as measured at Bradley Airport) for Saturday (11.05) was broken by 2 degrees as the temp hit 78, prior record was 76 from 1994. For Sunday (11.06), the record of 76 from 2015 was tied. For Bridgeport, the record high for Saturday was 72 (from 1961), it was surpassed by 1 degree. For Sunday the record was 71 (from 2015), it was also broken by 1 degree.
Monday, the 7th of November, the temp for Hartford fell short by 1 degree of the record (the high of 79 from 2020 will stand). Meanwhile, the Bridgeport record was smashed by 10 degrees with a high of 79 (prior record of 69 was from 2020). The high of 79 also makes November 7th, 2022 the warmest November day on record for Bridgeport (records go back to 1948).
The Hartford Area also officially had 8 days at or above 70° in November, breaking the old record of 7 days in both 2020 and 1975.
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NOVEMBER SUMMARY…
The 11th month of the year was warmer and wetter, compared to normal. The average temperature for the 30-day period was 46.5 degrees (4.2 degrees above normal). This is tied for the 6th warmest November (also 2009 and 2015) on record since 1905. At Bradley Airport, where the official records are kept, 4.39″ of rain was measured (0.88″ above normal).
METEOROLOGICAL AUTUMN…
For meteorological autumn (September, October, November), the average temperature comes in at 55.2 degrees, 1.9 degrees above normal --- tying the 3-month period for the 9th warmest on record (also 1971 and 1975). The warmest day in meteorological autumn was on September 4th, when the high temperature reached 86°. The coldest was on November 21, when the low temperature was 21°. Normally, the season sees at least one 90 degree day, which did not happen this year.
METEOROLOGICAL SUMMER…
August went down in the books as the warmest on record with an average temperature of 76.8 degrees (records date back to 1905). For meteorological summer (June, July, August), the average temperature comes in at 74.2 degrees --- making the 3-month period the 3rd warmest on record.
2022 HEAT WAVES, RECORDS…
This year we experienced 2 heat waves. The 1st lasted 6 days, from July 19th to the 24th. The peak temp was 97 on the 20th. Our 2nd heat wave lasted 8 days, from August 2nd to the 9th with a peak temp of 96 on August 4th and 7th.
From June 28th through August 12th, every day featured a high temperature at or above 80 in the Hartford Area. This year’s stretch of 46 days in a row broke the prior record of 44 days from 2018.