For any Alerts that are in effect for CT, click: here.
Temperatures today climbed into the low 60s with official high temperature readings of 60 degrees in Windsor Locks and 62 degrees at Brainard Airport in Hartford.
TONIGHT...
No issues if you have any evening plans with generally quiet weather conditions. Clouds will be on the increase overnight with patchy fog developing my morning. Temperatures overnight will fall into the low to middle 30s statewide.
SATURDAY...
Saturday will feature mostly cloudy skies with a few breaks in the clouds especially in northern CT. Expect temperatures to start out on the chilly side (low to middle 30s). Temperatures will rise nicely (despite the cloud cover) into the upper 50s to low 60s for much of CT. Temperatures will be slightly cooler along the immediate shoreline as a result of a light southerly wind locking in cooler air for Long Island Sound communities.
Low level moisture will likely pivot into the state late Saturday night and into the early morning hours on Sunday. Expect areas of drizzle to end by sunrise on Sunday.
SUNDAY...
An area of low pressure will pass to our northwest over the Great Lakes Region on Sunday with a warm front passing through Sunday afternoon. This will result in mild temperatures Sunday afternoon with some communities rising into the middle to upper 60s. With the frontal system comes with it gusty winds by the afternoon which could elevate the fire danger threat. Winds on Sunday could gust or exceed 40 mph. A line of heavy rain showers and thunderstorms will pivot through the state Sunday evening and continuing into the overnight hours.
In addition, the Storm Prediction Center, has put western Connecticut in a marginal threat for severe storms Sunday night (level 1 out of 5). Gusty winds are the primary threat and while the chance is low, it’s not zero. We will be monitoring this additional impact throughout the weekend.
If you’ve yet to do so, now is a great time to download and use our free WFSB First Alert Weather app… you can track precip with the interactive radar, receive alerts when they’re issued, and watch app exclusive video updates from our team of meteorologists!
NEXT WEEK…
Monday, as the front departs, rain ends during the morning. By then, in total, many communities will likely pick up 0.5 to 1.0″ of rain, perhaps locally higher amounts (certainly a beneficial round given we still have moderate drought conditions in parts of CT).
After the rain wraps up, cloud cover gives way to increasing sunshine. It will be breezy with temps peaking in the mid to upper 50s. Tuesday is dry and bright, also milder with highs near/above 60. By Wednesday (the last day of winter), temps take a run at 70 (!) away from Long Island Sound under a mostly sunny sky! The last time the Hartford Area hit 70 was November 7th; and for comparison, the average high goes to 70 on May 8th. Thursday is mild with increasing cloudiness; showers will be possible, but when will be based on the timing of a cold front.
DROUGHT MONITOR...
The most recent Drought Monitor update reflects a notable change: the ‘severe’ designation for parts of the state is no longer. Most of the state is now classified as experiencing moderate drought, and some areas have even improved to the lowest category, “abnormally dry.” Check it out here: Latest Drought Monitor Map.
The First Alert Weather Team
------------------
PRESIDENTS' DAY WEEKEND STORM...
On Saturday, February 15, snow began falling in the afternoon ahead of a dynamic storm system. Snow was moderate to heavy at times, with totals ranging from an inch or two along the shoreline to a widespread 3-6″ inland (Canton was the top spot at 6.0″). As the night went on, milder air aloft allowed for a flip to sleet, then freezing rain. Ice accretion in central Connecticut was fairly impressive by Sunday morning, with totals between 0.25″ and 0.50″ for most of inland CT. Meriden ended up with 0.54″ of accretion! By the afternoon and evening, most communities saw heavy rain. Behind the front, winds began picking up, continuing on Monday. Power outages spiked Sunday into Monday as the strong wind brought down ice-covered branches. Gusts on Presidents' Day Monday topped out between 50 and 60 mph for most! Branford gusted to 60 mph while Willimantic and Haddam Neck gusted to 58 mph. Bradley International recorded a gust of 55 mph. Wind chill values late Monday dropped to near zero.
------------------
WINTER STORM BRANT...
Winter Storm Brant brought a range of snowfall totals to the state, from a few inches to as much as 6 inches of snow in Stonington. Some may be wondering why less snow fell than what was originally forecast. Well, a layer of warm air aloft, along with some drier air, resulted in snow transitioning to sleet and freezing drizzle shortly after midnight (ahead of initially thought). This drastically cut down the snowfall ratios which in turn cut down on snow totals. The warm air aloft unfortunately wasn’t portrayed within our computer modeling.
------------------
EARTHQUAKE, JANUARY 27TH...
At 10:22am, a 3.8 magnitude earthquake occurred 6 miles to the southeast of York Harbor, ME. It was felt here in CT, but no damage was reported.
------------------
MID-JANUARY ARCTIC BLAST...
Early Tuesday, a calm wind under a clear sky with snow cover = the coldest temps in almost 2 years! The January 21st low at Bradley Airport (where the official records are maintained for the Hartford Area) was -2; meanwhile, the coldest temperature reported to us was -16 in Colebrook!!
Early Wednesday morning (January 22) temps were colder! As we achieved ideal radiational cooling conditions, temps dropped dramatically! Many locations inland reported lows in the sub-zero range (to -18 in Norfolk). At Bradley Airport, the temp bottomed out at -6. While ~25 degrees below normal, we were no where near the January 22nd record. In fact, yesterday happened to coincide with our all-time coldest temperature on record for the Hartford Area. Back in 1961 the temperature dropped to -26! To note, the last time the Hartford Area had 2 consecutive days with lows below zero was in 2023, when we hit -5 on February 3rd; the next day was colder with a low of -9.
------------------
WINTER STORM ALBATROSS...
Our 1st named storm of the season is now behind us, leaving anywhere from very little accumulation in SE CT to up to 6 inches inland (Vernon and Glastonbury, the jackpot locations). On Sunday, January 19th, an area of low pressure developed along a cold front southeast of Connecticut. As it moved north along the boundary, rain began and eventually transitioned to snow. While wet and heavy at first, the final snow showers were of a very light, fluffy consistency. Snow was done well before dawn on January 20th. This was the first widespread snow of the season.
For more on our history of naming winter storms, see below.
HISTORY AND CRITERIA FOR NAMING WINTER STORMS…
We are officially releasing our list of Winter Storm names for the ‘24-’25 season. This year, the theme is birds. Here are the first 5: Albatross, Brant, Cardinal, Dove and Eagle.
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.
------------------
2024...
The numbers are in, and 2024 was officially the warmest year on record for the Hartford Area. The average temperature of 55.0°, was a whopping 4° above average, and beating the previous record of 53.7° (set in 2012) by an impressive margin! Records go back to 1905. Total precipitation (rain and the liquid equivalent of anything frozen) was a little below average with a total of 45.81″. The Hartford Area averages 47.05″. Snow for the calendar year was below average, too. Only 29.4″ fell, while average is 51.7″
------------------
DECEMBER 11, 2024 RAIN, WARMTH & WIND...
A potent storm system impacted Connecticut on December 11. Rain fell through the day, coming down heavily at times. Areas along and west of I-91 generally saw 1.5-2.0″ of rain, while eastern CT saw 2.0-3.0″ of rain. Some areas in far SE CT eclipsed the 4.0″ mark! Winds, out of the south, gusted 35-45 mph statewide, leading to some power outages. This southerly flow helped transport very warm air to Connecticut. The Hartford Area reached 64°, tying the old record set in 1966! Temperatures statewide were in the upper 50s and lower half of the 60s.
------------------
METEOROLOGICAL FALL AND NOVEMBER 2024...
November, while wetter than October and September, was still drier than average at Bradley International (where the Hartford Area records are kept) with 2.30″ of rain. Meanwhile, meteorological fall (09.01 - 11.30) goes down as the driest on record (they go back to 1905) with a total of 3.47″ rain measured. This timeframe is also the driest of any 3-month period, too!
November officially goes down as the warmest on record with an average temperature of 48.3°. This beats the previous record by a tenth of a degree! Earlier in the month we tied the all-time high for November twice when temperatures reached 84° on the 1st and 6th. Meteorological fall came in with an average temperature of 57.5° making it the 2nd warmest on record.
------------------
NOVEMBER 21 RAIN, SNOW, WIND...
An area of low pressure occluded over the Great Lakes, allowing a second area of low pressure to develop near New Jersey/the Delmarva Peninsula and lift north. This brought a widespread, soaking rain to Connecticut with widespread totals between 1-2″. Also of note: this was the wettest day in over 3 months! Wind gusts ramped up, too, climbing to 30-40 mph inland and 40-45 mph along the shore.
As the storm center moved northwest, colder air wrapped around and some parts of CT saw their first flakes of the season. It was generally elevation dependent; Ridgefield was the jackpot with 2.0″ recorded! Parts of Litchfield and Hartford counties saw totals between 0.5″ and 1.0″, generally on non-paved surfaces.
------------------
NOVEMBER 11TH WARMTH...
Veterans Day temperatures reached unseasonably warm levels as the peaked in the mid to upper 60s. In fact, the record high for Bridgeport of 69, set in 2022, was tied. The record high for the Hartford Area of 72 (also set in 2022) stands, with a high of 69.
------------------
NOVEMBER 5, 6 RECORD WARMTH…
Tuesday, Election Day, the 11.05 record high was tied (from 2022) as the temperature reached 78 at Bradley Airport (where the records are maintained for the Hartford Area).
Wednesday, the temp peaked at 84. This high not only shattered the 11.06 record of 76 (most recently from 2022)… but also tied the all-time record high for the month, that was set last Friday. Furthermore, it marks the warmest temperature to be recorded this far/late into the year! For comparison the normal high is 55. In Bridgeport, the prior record of 72 (also from 2022) was surpassed by a degree.
------------------
NOVEMBER 1ST RECORD HEAT…
The start of a new month has brought continued record warmth. The old record in the Hartford area was 81 set back in 1974, which has fallen as the high for the Hartford Area was an impressive 84 degrees. In fact, this beats the all-time record for entire month of November, which was previously 83 set in 1950! Bridgeport followed a similar pattern. The previous record was 71 set in 2004. Highs on November 1 reached a whopping 81 degrees, setting the daily and monthly high temperature record! Previously, the warmest November day for Bridgeport was 79 in 2022.
HALLOWEEN’S RECORD HEAT…
This Halloween was the hottest on record! The October 31st record for the Hartford Area of 82 from 1946, as expected, was broken with a high of 84. For Bridgeport, the 2004 record of 75 was also surpassed with a high of 77.
RECORD DRY STRETCH…
October ‘24 for the Hartford Area goes down in the history books as the 3rd driest on record with only 0.52″ of rain (they date back to 1905)! This is after the 3rd driest September, when 0.65″ was measured. In total, that’s 1.17″ …marking the driest 2-month period on record.
OCTOBER 21ST RECORD WARMTH…
The 104-year-old record of 82 degrees for the Hartford Area was well surpassed with a high temperature of 86 at Bradley Airport (where the official records are maintained). Interesting to note… while certainly warm and record setting for October 21st, in the month of October we’ve actually had record high temps in the 90s. 91 is the highest temp measured, that happened twice … in 1963 and 1927.
------------------
SEPTEMBER ‘24...
September was warmer and much drier, compared to normal. For the Hartford Area, records go back to 1905 and September ‘24 will go down tied for 3rd driest with only 0.65″ of rain!
------------------
METEOROLOGICAL SUMMER...
June, July, and August make up meteorological summer. For 2024, meteorological summer will go down with an average temperature of 75.5°, the warmest on record (previously 2020, with an average temperature of 74.5°). Beating out the previous record by a full degree is impressive! Much of this was thanks to warm nights, with many low temperatures in the 70s. Rainfall was close to average with 12.50″ measured at Bradley (where the Hartford Area records are kept).
AUGUST ‘24...
August was warmer than average for the Hartford Area, but did not crack the top 10 warmest. The average temperature was 73.7°, 1.2° above average. It was wetter than normal, too, with 4.85″ of rain at Bradley. That is a surplus of 0.64″ compared to average.
------------------
AUGUST 18-19 FLOODING...
Training of storms and heavy rain led to catastrophic flooding throughout parts of Fairfield, New Haven, and Litchfield Counties. This is where 5-12″ of rain was received, with locally higher amounts. As of Monday night, the jackpot total was 12.17″ from Newtown (Sandy Hook section). It falls short of the record “24-hour” rain total for the state. The CT record currently is from 1955, when 12.77″ was measured in Burlington (also from August 18-19). As of October 16, 2024, the National Weather Service has deemed that the 24-hour state rainfall record was *not* broken. While two record-breaking amounts were reported in Oxford, one station was too close to trees to be considered accurate while the other station could not have its set-up specifics verified. As such, they did not qualify as official observations.
------------------
AUGUST 18, 2024 RAIN & FLOODING...
On August 18, a slow-moving storm system over the Great Lakes approached Connecticut. As the low moved closer, moisture surged into Connecticut. Rain developed early Sunday morning lasting right into the night. The focal point was over SW CT; a whopping 9.98″ of rain fell in Monroe with 9.55″ reported in Middlebury. Catastrophic flooding occurred, wiping out roadways (like Route 34 near the Stevenson Dam) and stranding people in their cars.
Rivers also rose sharply. The Naugatuck and Still Rivers surged into their major flood stages at Beacon Falls and Brookfield respectively. Major flooding also occurred along the Housatonic River at Stevenson Dam. The river crested at 20.51 feet, the 9th highest crest on record at that location (records go back to the 1930s). This is similar to where the river crested in 2011 after Tropical Storm Irene dropped lots of rain across Connecticut.
------------------
DEBBY’S REMNANTS...
The remnants of, what was, Hurricane Debby passed off to the west of Connecticut on August 9th.
A Wind Advisory was issued for the entire coastline, as well as Fairfield and Litchfield counties. We saw sustained winds of 20-30mph throughout the day and a measured wind gust of 49mph was felt in Bridgeport. Several trees came down across the state, some of which fell on powerlines, and at the storms peak over 11,000 customers were without power. Also as a result of these persistent winds, large waves of 5-7 feet were seen along coastal communities of Long Island Sound.
Heavy rain was a concern, but total rainfall amounts from the storm were generally up to an inch; a few higher totals in Litchfield County of over 2″.
Also, given that tornadoes are possible with most landfalling tropical systems, Litchfield and Hartford counties were placed under a Tornado Watch as a precaution. No tornado warnings were issued and no tornado was confirmed within Connecticut.
HEAT WAVE #4…
The 4th heat wave of the year started on Thursday (08.01), with a high temperature of 95 at Bradley Int’l Airport (BDL) where the official records are maintained for the Hartford Area. On Friday the high was 94 (6° from the record of 101 set back in 1975). Then on Saturday the high temperature for the day climbed to 93 which was 5° away from the record of 98 set back in 1930.
------------------
AUGUST 2ND MICROBURST...
A microburst occurred near Simsbury just before 2:30 p.m. and resulted in quite a bit of damage throughout Simsbury and East Granby. There were three separate reports of trees on houses (two in Simsbury, one in East Granby). Outages quickly spiked with many other reports of tree and limb damage. Two planes at Simsbury Airport were totaled. One of the planes was lifted into the air and traveled 300 feet!
------------------
JULY ‘24...
It’s official: July of ‘24 was the warmest July on record for the Hartford Area! The average temperature for the month is 78.6° ... the prior record was 78.2° from 2019 (records go back to 1905). Part of this was due to warm nights. In fact, 17 days had a low temperature at or above 70°. This ties the old record of 17 days set in 2013.
------------------
HEAT WAVE #3…
The 3rd heat wave of the year started Sunday (07.14), with a high temperature of 94 at Bradley Int’l Airport (BDL) where the official records are maintained for the Hartford Area. Monday, the high was 96 (4° from the record for 07.15). Tuesday, the temperature peaked at 96 --- tying the 07.16 record (most recently from 1983). Wednesday (07.17), the temperature reached 93 (the record of 97 from 1999 stands).
------------------
HEAT WAVE #2…
The 2nd heat wave of ‘24 lasted a total of 5 days. Here’s a recap of high temps, at Bradley Airport where the official records are maintained for the Greater Hartford Area: Sunday (07.07), 94; Monday (07.08), 94; Tuesday (07.09), 95; Wednesday (07.10), 92; Thursday (07.11), 93.
------------------
BERYL...
Beryl officially made landfall Monday morning as a Cat 1 hurricane with 80 mph wind near Matagorda, TX. It’s the first July hurricane to make landfall in Texas since Hanna (2020) and the 10th July Texas hurricane landfall on record (since 1851). Beryl is the earliest Cat 5 ever in the Atlantic, beating Hurricane Emily by 2 weeks (July 15, 2005), it’s the 2nd Cat 5 in July since records began, the fastest rapid-intensification in June since records began, and the southernmost Cat 4 on record (southernmost Cat 5 is still held by Ivan in 2004).
------------------
JUNE ‘24...
June was another warm month for the Hartford Area. There were 9 days in June with a high at or above 90° and several nights in the 70s. This means June ‘24 will go down as the warmest June on record for the Hartford Area with an average temperature of 74.1 degrees! That’s 5.2° above average, and beats out the previous warmest June (72.6° in 1976) by a whopping 1.5 degrees. While Bradley International, where the Hartford Area records were kept, received 2.81″ of rain through the entire month, other parts of CT received more during the strong storms at the end of the June.
Our first confirmed tornado of the year also occurred in June. It happened on Friday, June 21, at 4:54 p.m. in Harwinton. It was rated an EF-0 with max winds of 85 mph. The path was 2 miles long and 250 yards wide.
JUNE 30 STORMS...
Connecticut was placed in an Enhanced Risk for severe weather by the Storm Prediction Center on the morning of June 30 and ultimately an impressive line of severe thunderstorms crossed the state beginning around 1pm. One lone storm that crossed over from the NY/CT border quickly turned into an organized line of storms that traversed the state from NW to SE impacting most towns. Biggest impacts were strong winds and flooding rain, including a confirmed report in New Britain of 3.01″ in just 1 hours time! Several Flash Flood Warnings and Areal Flood Advisories were issued throughout the state and left some cars stranded in flood waters in Meriden and Middletown. Winds gusted to 60mph in Hartford and over 50mph in Tolland, Windham and New London Counties. Windham and Willimantic were hit particularly hard with these strong winds leading to powerlines and a few trees coming down. Several trees also came down blocking roadways in the towns of Danbury, Torrington and West Hartford knocking out power to around 16,000 customers during the storm’s peak. The storms cleared the shoreline by 7pm.
JUNE 26 STORMS...
A line of severe-warned storms crossed Connecticut on June 26. Storms began moving into western CT around 9 p.m., exiting into Rhode Island around 11:30 p.m. There were some very impressive gusts with these storms -- Bradley gusted to 77 mph, while a trained spotter in Danielson recorded a gust to 75 mph. Many homes lost power and towns across CT reported trees and branches down.
HEAT WAVE #1...
Here’s a breakdown of our June heat wave: Monday (June 17th) the high for Hartford Area was 90... not record-breaking, but the 1st day of the heat wave. The Tuesday (June 18th) record high of 95 from 1994 was tied. The Wednesday (June 19th) record of 95 from 1995 was surpassed by 2 degrees. Then Thursday (the 20th), the record of 97 from 2012 was broken by 1 degree. For Friday (the 21st) the record of 96 from 2012 was not reached. On Saturday (the 22nd) the high temperature in the Hartford area reached 88, effectively ending the 5-day heat wave, meaning the record for the longest June heatwave of 6 days in June of 1957 still stands. As a point of interest, we have not seen 100 or higher in June since 1964, and it’s only happened twice since records have been kept dating back to 1905!
METEOROLOGICAL SPRING...
March, April, and May make up meteorological spring. For 2024, meteorological spring will go down with an average temperature of 53.9°, the 2nd warmest on record (behind both 2010 and 2012, which are tied for warmest at 54.3°). It was also fairly wet with 15.38″ of total precip, more than half of which fell in March. Snowfall was well below average -- only 0.6″ fell in early April (compared to the average of 10.5″ for the 3 month period). March ‘24 for the Hartford Area (as measured at Bradley International Airport) was mild. The average temp was 44.5°, the 6th warmest on record! It was also very wet... 7.99″ of rain fell, which was the 2nd wettest March on record in the Hartford Area. Also notable, this was all rain, with only a Trace of snow in March. April, overall, was much closer to normal with respect to both precip and temperature. May, while a little drier than normal, was quite warm! More info on that just below.
MAY ‘24...
May was a warm month for the Hartford Area. While only one day had a high temperature at or above 90° (93° on 05.22), the average temperature for the month was 65.2° as recorded at Bradley International (where Hartford Area records are kept). This means May ‘24 will go down as the third warmest May on record for the Hartford Area! It trails behind May 2015 (warmest, avg temp: 66.0°) and May 1991 (second warmest, avg temp: 65.8°).
------------------
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).
------------------
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.
------------------
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.
------------------
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!
------------------
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.
