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POLLEN FORECAST...
SATURDAY: high | SUNDAY: med-high | MONDAY: med-high
Predominant Pollens: Maple, Birch, Cedar & Juniper
THE 1ST WEEKEND OF MAY…
A split weekend is on the way, with today being the pick of the weekend! We begin the weekend slightly cooler due an area of high pressure positioned to our northeast. That will keep our wind direction easterly, with air coming in off of the chilly Atlantic. Expect a mix of sun and clouds to start, with skies becoming mostly cloudy later in the day. High temperatures will be just a touch cooler than those on Friday, with yet another split between inland and shoreline communities... mid and upper 60s away from the Sound, upper 50s and low 60s along the shore. Sunday, on the other hand, will be wet and unseasonably cool -- prompting a First Alert given the expected impacts to your weekend/Cinco de Mayo plans. Highs will be much cooler, only in the low to mid 50s (the average high for the Hartford Area is 69 degrees). Showers will develop through the morning, with steadier and more moderate rain in the evening. Rainfall amounts do not look too impressive, so there is no flooding concern. The other silver lining? A (brief) drop in pollen concentration!
NEXT WEEK…
Dry, sunny, and warmer weather remains in the First Alert forecast for the start of next week. Temperatures trend back above average, peaking well into the 70s (especially inland). A midweek storm system brings the chance for showers on Wednesday, perhaps a greater risk for rain on Thursday. Highs remain near average through the middle and end of next week.
First Alert Meteorologist Jill Gilardi
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STORM RECAP…
From Wednesday (April 3) into Thursday (April 4), a potent storm produced impressive wind gusts across CT! Greenwich reached 64 mph; meanwhile Bridgeport, Groton and Kent all peaked at over 50 mph! Also impressive: rain totals, as a widespread 1-2″ was measured, with isolated totals over 2.5″! The highest snow totals were in parts of NW CT, with various towns in the higher elevations of Hartford and Litchfield Counting reporting 1-2″ leading to slick conditions across most of northern CT early yesterday morning. For the Hartford Area, 0.6″ of snow fell, which makes April our 3rd month with measurable snow this season (the other two are January and February).
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MARCH RAIN…
The 3rd month of the year was wet, with all rain and no measurable snow. In fact, with 7.99″ of precipitation, March ‘24 goes down in the record books as the 2nd wettest March for the Hartford Area (they date back to 1905). In case you’re wondering, the total of 9.21″ from 1953 holds the spot for the wettest.
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MARCH 23RD RAIN & MIX...
Heavy rain, wind, and some icy conditions moved through during the day. Connecticut saw flood warnings, wind advisories, and winter weather advisories at the same time. Pouring rain resulted in a record breaking 24-hour daily rainfall record in Hartford where 1.57″ of rain fell. Parts of the state saw as much as 3″ of rain with localized flooding in many areas.
MARCH 15TH RECORD WARMTH...
The high in Bridgeport was 72°, setting a record for March 15th; previously, the record high was 65° from 1990. The high in for the Hartford Area was only 57°, falling shy of the 73° record by a large margin! A wind shift helped briefly push SW CT into the 70s, while the rest of the state stayed in the 50s and 60s.
MARCH 3RD RECORD WARMTH...
The high Sunday in the Hartford area was 67°, setting a record for March 3rd; previously, the record high was 63° from 2020. The high in Bridgeport was 65°, also setting a record; previously, it was 58° set in 2004.
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METEOROLOGICAL WINTER…
The 3-month period: December-January-February make up what we call meteorological winter. December was the 3rd wettest December on record and January was the 3rd wettest January (records date back to 1905). Despite a drier than normal February… meteorological winter of ‘23-’24 will go down in the books as the wettest on record with total precipitation of 18.28″ (rain and the liquid equivalent of anything frozen). When it comes to temperature for the season, the average comes in at 35.0 degrees, the 2nd warmest on record and just three-tenths of a degree from warmest!
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WINTER STORM BIRCH…
Our 2nd named storm of the season brought plowable snow to CT on February 13th, starting prior to daybreak then wrapping up early afternoon. It was a challenging forecast, especially in the final 24 hours leading up to precipitation beginning. In the end, the heaviest snow fell along and parallel to the I-84 corridor. Farmington received the most at 15.5″ with West Hartford just shy of that total. Conversely, the NW and SE corners of the state measured significantly less. Both Canaan and New London received 3″ of snow. It was a heavy, wet snow with temperatures near freezing… fortunately power outages were minor and isolated.
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HISTORY AND CRITERIA FOR NAMING WINTER STORMS…
We are officially releasing our list of Winter Storm names for the ‘23-’24 season. Given our late show of color in the autumn season, we’re going with species or types of trees. Here are the first 5: Aspen, Birch, Cedar, Dogwood, and Elm.
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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JANUARY ‘24…
The month of January was very wet. It finished as the 3rd wettest January on record (they date back to 1905), with 8.37″ of rain and the liquid equivalent of anything frozen. It’s also the 2nd wettest meteorological winter, to date (the season runs from December through February), with almost an entire month to go!
JANUARY 16TH’S SNOW & ICY MIX…
Many communities across CT picked between 1 and 3″ of snow with some locally higher amounts on Tuesday, January 16th. Towns NW of I-84 received all snow; meanwhile, along and southeast of I-84, there was a switch to an icy mix through the afternoon hours (even a chilly rain throughout New London County). The high of just 27 in the Hartford Area marks the coldest high in over a year! The last time we had a sub-freezing high temperature for the Hartford Areas was back on February 25th, 2023 (when the high was only 22!).
WINTER STORM ASPEN RECAP...
Winter Storm Aspen produced snowfall amounts as predicted: 6-10″ along and northwest of I-84. Throughout Litchfield County a few areas eclipsed 12″ of snow. North Granby in Hartford County appears to be the winner with 17 inches of snow! Towns throughout the Quiet Corner received 6-10″. 3-6″ fell in the Greater Hartford Area, as well as for inland sections of New Haven, Middlesex, and New London Counties. Mixing along the shoreline and in southeastern Connecticut kept totals lower, ending in the 1-3″ range with the snow on the back end of the storm that moved through the state.
In the event you’re wondering, the last time the Hartford Area picked up over 6″ of snow was from December 11-12, 2022. Winter Storm Aspen dropped 10.4″ of snow at Bradley Airport where the official records are maintained for the Hartford Area. The last time 12″ or more was measured was nearly 3 years ago from February 1-2, 2021. For more on WFSB’s 50+ year tradition of naming storms, scroll down.
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DECEMBER 2023...
What a month! December as a whole was very warm and very wet. We recorded 8.04″ of rainfall, which is 3.96″ above average and good for the 3rd wettest December on record for the Hartford Area. There was only a Trace of snow recorded, leading to a deficit of 10.1″. The average temperature of the month was 39.1°, a whopping 6.5° above average! That’s the 2nd warmest December on record for the Hartford Area, behind only December of 2015 when we had an average temperature of 43.2°.
DECEMBER 18 WIND, WARMTH, AND RAIN...
Heavy rain impacted Connecticut, with totals ranging from 2″ to 5″. The rain fell over a short period of time, leading to multiple flood warnings for various rivers across the state. Some flash flooding occurred, too. Wind gusts ramped up, with gusts 40-60 mph statewide. Some towns gusted even higher, with a notable gust of 66 mph in Stamford, 62 mph in Storrs, and 61 mph in Willimantic. Warm air surged into Connecticut. Bradley, where the Hartford Area records are kept, topped out at an impressive 64 degrees, breaking the old record of 58 set back in 1954. Bridgeport tied the old record of 61, set in 1984.
METEOROLOGICAL FALL AND NOVEMBER 2023...
Meteorological fall runs from September 1 through November 30. The average temperature for the period was 54.9° for the Hartford Area, which is 1.6° above average. We recorded an impressive 17″ of rain for a surplus of 4.58″. Most of this fell in the month of September, as both October and November ended with deficits in total precip.
November 2023 finished 2.0° below average, with an average temperature of 40.3°. We recorded 1.83″ of rain for a deficit of 1.68″. A trace of snow fell, so we had a small snowfall deficit of 1.4″ (which is what we would pick up in an average November).
THE ATLANTIC HURRICANE SEASON...
The Atlantic Hurricane Season came to an end yesterday, running from June 1 to November 30. We ended with 20 named storms/tropical storms, ranking 4th for most-named storms since 1950. In an average year, there are usually 14 named storms through the season. Of those, 7 became hurricanes, and 3 become major hurricanes (category 3 or higher). In an average year, we tend to see 7 hurricanes and 3 major ones.
LATE OCTOBER RECORD WARMTH...
On October 28th, with a high of 84 at Bradley Airport, the Hartford Area achieved a new record (previous record was 81 set in 1919). Bridgeport also set a new record with a high of 75 (previous record was 72 set in 2010).
EARLY OCTOBER RECORD WARMTH…
After the morning fog lifted/eroded, the sun helped to boost well into the 80s in many CT communities on Wednesday, October 4th. In fact, at Bradley Airport where the records are maintained for the Hartford Area, the high was 86 --- tying the October 4th record from 2007. At Bridgeport, the high was 79… 4° shy of the record.
SEPTEMBER 2023...
The 9th month of the year started on a hot note. We experienced our 2nd heat wave of the year (and 1st in the month of September since 2018). It lasted 3 days, from the 5th to the 7th. Otherwise, it was quite wet! At Bradley Airport, which is where the Hartford Area records are kept, 12.19″ of rain was recorded of the 30 day period. That makes this the 2nd wettest September on record, only behind September 1938 when a whopping 14.59″ fell! This also makes it the 6th wettest month of all months since 1905 - the second time we have gotten into the top 10 this year! The average temperature for the month came in at 66.8°, 2.0° above average.
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.
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.
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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.