We are on the eve of possibly one of the most powerful Nor’easters to ever hit New England.  On almost the anniversary of the great Blizzard of 78, The Blizzard of 13 will deliver up to three feet of snow to some locations before it winds down on Saturday evening.  Right now we have 2 low pressure systems that are going to meet up and combine their moisture to create an epic snowstorm.  Get everything done that you need to get done by noon tomorrow.  Conditions will rapidly deteriorate as the day goes on. 

My prediction is 14"-22" in North Haven.If you want to make a prediction for your town just comment on the article.  

There is a Blizzard Warning in effect for all of Connecticut and New York City from 6AM Friday until 1PM Saturday.  Here are the details:

The National Weather Service in Upton has issued a Blizzard
Warning... which is in effect from 6 am Friday to 1 PM EST
Saturday. 

* Locations... southern Connecticut.

* Hazard types... heavy snow and strong winds.

* Accumulations... snow accumulation of 18 to 24 inches.

* Winds... northeast 25 to 35 mph with gusts up to 55 mph.

* Temperatures... dropping into the 20s by Friday evening.

* Visibilities... one quarter mile or less at times.

* Timing... the strongest winds and heaviest snow will occur Friday
evening into Saturday morning.

* Impacts... heavy snow and winds will make for dangerous driving
conditions with visibilities near zero in white-out conditions.
In addition... some tree limbs will be downed... causing scattered
power outages.

The last day of January proved to be a very stormy day here in Connecticut!  Around 2AM, the winds really picked up and a weather station just a mile from me registered a 54 mph wind gust.  My station is blocked by a lot of trees so my peak wind gust along Spring Road was only 31 mph.  Personally, I had never felt wind so strong in my life.  I wasn’t in town when Hurricane Irene came through but I was here during Sandy.  The winds in North Haven were on par with what we received during Sandy.  

Around 3AM I heard a loud noise which turned out being a tree that had broke in half and fell mere feet from my deck!  I went outside to assess the damage and on my way inside my gas grill was completely blown over by the wind. 

North Haven received about a half an inch of rain from this storm.  We close out January with 1.68” of liquid precipitation.  I’m still in the process of analyzing the January weather data from my weather station but I can tell you with strong confidence that January of 2013 was above average in temperatures.  Even with that frigid cold snap that we had earlier in the month, the average high and low temps appear to be at least 4 degrees above normal. 

It’s really amazing how the temperatures can fluctuate on different sides of a front.  Many in the Midwest saw very mild temps one day and then frigid temps the next!  Connecticut experienced the mild temperatures last night as some towns rose into the 60’s!  In the Montowese section of North Haven, I reached a high temperature of 59.5 at 3:30 AM.  Just 12 hours later the temp had fallen to 44 degrees.  Thursday night lows are expected to be in the mid 20’s.

There will be a chance for some flurries on Friday and then a chance for some light snow on Sunday.