Good Morning!  What a great weekend we had with very mild temperatures and abundant sunshine.  This week will start out cloudy today.  Tomorrow some rain moves into the area and that will be followed by some seasonable temperatures later in the week.

TODAY:  Cloudy with a high of 46°

TONIGHT:  Cloudy and mild with a low of 42°

TUESDAY:  Rain and very mild with highs in the mid 50's.  Rainfall totals of over 1 inch possible.  bye bye snow

The remainder of the work week will be dry with high temperatures in the low 40's.  I'm monitoring a possible snow event around the 19th or 20th of March.  That would be the last chance for snow in my opinion.  

As expected, today's coastal storm yielded mostly rain across Connecticut.  However, parts of Massachusetts and New Hampshire picked up some more snow to add to their high season totals.  North Granby in the NW hills has picked up 1.5" of snow in the last 9 hours as of the time of this post.  

Currently, North Haven has received .66 inches of rain today and is expected to surpass 1 inch by the time its all done.  A lot of the snow will melt due to the temps being in the 40's.  

Here is the latest storm report from the National Weather Service in Upton, New York.

********************storm total snowfall********************

location storm total time/date comments
snowfall of
/inches/ measurement

connecticut

...hartford county (1 ene) north granby 1.5 700 AM 2/27 cocorahs

massachusetts

...franklin county,
buckland 4.0 759 AM 2/27 ham radio
leyden 3.8 736 AM 2/27 none
greenfield 2.5 800 AM 2/27 ham radio

...hampden county,
chester 3.5 335 AM 2/27 ham radio
granville 2.0 715 AM 2/27 ham radio
westfield 1.5 707 AM 2/27 NWS coop

...hampshire county,
worthington 4.5 803 AM 2/27 ham radio
westhampton 3.5 804 AM 2/27 trained spotter el 750
2 SW westhampton 3.5 700 AM 2/27 cocorahs
amherst 0.3 808 AM 2/27 NWS coop

...middlesex county,
pepperell 1.5 723 AM 2/27 none
groton 1.3 645 AM 2/27 trained spotter

...worcester county,
westminster 3.0 806 AM 2/27 ham radio
worcester 2.4 526 AM 2/27 general public
leicester 2.1 654 AM 2/27 none
holden 2.0 642 AM 2/27 trained spotter
leominster 2.0 634 AM 2/27 trained spotter
2 S leominster 2.0 634 AM 2/27 cocorahs
boylston 1.5 658 AM 2/27 trained spotter
2 SSW fitchburg 1.5 600 AM 2/27 cocorahs
templeton 1.2 446 AM 2/27 none

new hampshire

...cheshire county,
WNW west chesterfiel 2.2 700 AM 2/27 cocorahs
keene 0.9 706 AM 2/27 NWS coop

...hillsborough county,
1 S new ipswich 2.5 700 AM 2/27 cocorahs
peterborough 1.5 650 AM 2/27 trained spotter
3 ENE hollis 1.3 700 AM 2/27 cocorahs
east milford 1.3 810 AM 2/27 NWS coop
4 NNE amherst 1.2 700 AM 2/27 cocorahs
1 SSW mont vernon 1.0 630 AM 2/27 cocorahs

February 8th and 9th of 2013 will go down in history as one of the most powerful winter storms that Connecticut has ever seen.  This storm rivaled the Blizzards of 1888 and 1978.  The snow began at 7:39 AM in North Haven and when I woke up on Saturday morning it was still snowing at 8AM.  The areas that saw the most snow were from Milford east to New Haven.  Then along the 91N corridor for 10 miles or so as North Haven, Wallingford, and Meriden received accumulations over 30 inches.  The winner for most snow is Hamden with 40”.  That seems a little bit high but it’s an official tally.  The winds from this storm caused snow drifts  5-6 ft high and I had a very hard time getting a good measurement.  My official tally was 29” in North Haven.

In the late afternoon hours when the snow began to pick up in intensity, snow was falling at rates of 2-4 inches an hour.  I have never seen snow fall so hard in my life.  Just like in 1978, cars were stranded on city streets, plows were getting stuck, and the entire state shutdown for over a day.  

Gov. Malloy issued a ban for traffic on Saturday until 4pm allowing all the cities and towns in the area to more effectively clean up and clear the streets. 

Here are some totals from towns in the area:

...FAIRFIELD COUNTY...

   FAIRFIELD             35.0  1000 AM  2/09  PUBLIC                 

   STRATFORD             33.0  1030 AM  2/09  PUBLIC                 

   MONROE                30.0   900 AM  2/09  SKYWARN SPOTTER        

   BRIDGEPORT            30.0   658 AM  2/09  COOP OBSERVER          

   SHELTON               26.5   700 AM  2/09  PUBLIC                 

   WESTON                26.5   800 AM  2/09  SKYWARN SPOTTER        

   WESTPORT              24.5   645 AM  2/09  PUBLIC                 

   GREENWICH             22.5   900 AM  2/09  PUBLIC                 

   DARIEN                22.1   500 AM  2/09  PUBLIC                 

   NORWALK               22.0   730 AM  2/09  PUBLIC                 

   ROXBURY               22.0   800 AM  2/09  SKYWARN SPOTTER        

   NEW CANAAN            22.0   600 AM  2/09  CT DOT                 

   DANBURY               21.5  1200 PM  2/09  CT DOT                 

   STAMFORD              19.0  1100 AM  2/09  PUBLIC                  

   NEWTOWN               17.1  1000 AM  2/09  PUBLIC                 

   BETHEL                16.0   800 AM  2/09  SKYWARN SPOTTER        

   RIDGEFIELD            12.0   800 AM  2/09  PUBLIC                       

...MIDDLESEX COUNTY...

   EAST HADDAM           35.5   845 AM  2/09  PUBLIC                 

   OLD SAYBROOK          30.0  1200 PM  2/09  CT DOT                 

   CLINTON               27.5   800 AM  2/09  PUBLIC                 

   HADDAM                27.0  1200 PM  2/09  CT DOT                 

   HIGGANUM              24.0   700 AM  2/09  AMATEUR RADIO          

   CROMWELL              23.0   700 AM  2/09  AMATEUR RADIO          

   MIDDLETOWN            12.0  1200 PM  2/09  SKYWARN SPOTTER        

...NEW HAVEN COUNTY...                 

   MILFORD               38.0   615 AM  2/09  PUBLIC                 

   CLINTONVILLE          37.0  1040 AM  2/09  SKYWARN SPOTTER        

   OXFORD                36.2   600 AM  2/09  SKYWARN SPOTTER        

   NORTH BRANFORD        36.0  1100 AM  2/09  PUBLIC                 

   MERIDEN               36.0   200 PM  2/09  PUBLIC                 

   YALESVILLE            35.0   909 AM  2/09  SKYWARN SPOTTER         

   WALLINGFORD           35.0   700 AM  2/09  PUBLIC                 

   NEW HAVEN             34.3   600 AM  2/09  CT DOT                 

   WEST HAVEN            34.0  1040 AM  2/09  PUBLIC                 

   NORTHFORD             33.5   950 AM  2/09  SKYWARN SPOTTER        

   WOLCOTT               33.0   457 AM  2/09  SKYWARN SPOTTER        

   EAST HAVEN            33.0  1005 AM  2/09  SKYWARN SPOTTER        

   GUILFORD              33.0  1113 AM  2/09  BROADCAST MEDIA        

   NORTH GUILFORD        32.0   900 AM  2/09  SKYWARN SPOTTER        

   WATERBURY             32.0   900 AM  2/09  PUBLIC                 

   MADISON               32.0   321 AM  2/09  PUBLIC                 

   NAUGATUCK             30.0   600 AM  2/09  PUBLIC                 

   NORTH HAVEN           29.0   950 AM  2/09  SKYWARN SPOTTER        

   BRANFORD              28.0   700 AM  2/09  PUBLIC                 

   SOUTHBURY             26.3  1030 AM  2/09  SKYWARN SPOTTER        

   NORTH BRANDFORD       24.0  1230 AM  2/09  PUBLIC                 

   BEACON FALLS          21.0  1200 PM  2/09  CT DOT                                

...NEW LONDON COUNTY...

   COLCHESTER            31.0  1200 PM  2/09  CT DOT                 

   GILMAN                27.0   600 AM  2/09  PUBLIC                 

   NORWICH               25.0   600 AM  2/09  CT DOT                 

   LISBON                24.0  1158 AM  2/09  SKYWARN SPOTTER        

   GALES FERRY           24.0  1045 AM  2/09  SKYWARN SPOTTER         

   OLD LYME              23.6  1200 PM  2/09  PUBLIC                 

   LEDYARD CENTER        22.0  1045 AM  2/09  SKYWARN SPOTTER        

   MYSTIC SEAPORT        21.0  1100 AM  2/09  NWS EMPLOYEE           

   STONINGTON            15.0   900 AM  2/09  SKYWARN SPOTTER              

First Selectman has declared a State of Emergency for North Haven. Please stay sheltered in place and do not travel. Public Safety access is our first priority. The majority of town roads are not passable. Main roadways are given first priority, and secondary will then follow. No current power outages. Update to follow to tomorrow morning.


More updates to follow later today with more pictures and video.

Currently 22 degrees and 25 inches of snow has fallen.  We have a strong band of snow that has setup right over the middle of the state.  I really think there will be spots that reach 3ft with this storm! The band goes straight up Interstate 91 essentially.  Hamden was just mentioned on the weather channel as being in the lead statewide with 26 inches.  Below is a YouTube video I made earlier around 5 PM driving around North Haven.  

Conditions are ridiculous right now.  There is over a foot of snow on the ground and there's still a lot to come!  Here's a short video I recorded as an update.

At 7:30 PM at my home in North Haven, I recorded 8 inches of snow.  The snow began at 7:39 AM this morning and has never changed to sleet or rain this whole time.  The intensity of the snow is at its heaviest right now and you can expect 2-3 inch per hour snowfall rates in the next several hours.  

Roads are very bad right now.  You'd seriously be risking your life if you go out in this.  

If you'd like to watch the live feed of my webcam then click on this link for the North Haven Blizzard Cam


If you'd like to report the total from your town you can tweet it to me @ctweathergeek or leave it in a comment below!  Thanks!

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.