Today is going to be rather chilly but not nearly as bad as it could be for the coldest time of the year, as temps will hold in the mid-40s today, helping us feel not too miserable all things considered. That said, please be careful this morning as some areas, especially the higher elevations, received freezing rain last night, so watch the roads and drive safely! For those of you attending the ball drop in Times Square tonight, I think we are looking at cold weather but not nearly as cold as it could be- it should be between 40 and 42 as we sing 'Auld Lang Syne' at the stroke of midnight tonight. Fortunately, beyond today... we may be looking at over a week of perfectly dry weather (albeit cold...really cold) with temps struggling to reach 40 much of the week. Additionally...there are significant signs of a pattern flip around the middle part of the month that would introduce significant snows into the region by this time...so we can't let our guard down.
As I did last year, I'm going to review the year that was in weather in this spot as we say goodbye to another year.
The first few weeks of the New Year were rather unremarkable, causing whispers of a snowless winter as no snow fell in December of 2014, until Winter Storm Blake on January 24 began a snowfall blitz of epic proportions...especially north and east. We all remember Blizzard Colbie, on January 26 and 27, which was a major forecast bust in western Connecticut but dropped 3 feet of snow in Windham County, for one reason or another.
February was one of the snowiest months that I can ever remember as Winter Storms Darius and Ella, along with Blizzard Faith, dropped as much as 3ft of snow between them in the first 15 days of the month...though Blizzard Faith, again, vastly under preformed in the western 2/3rds of Connecticut.
March certainly came in like a lion, with Winter Storm Gavin dropping as much as 8" on the region...as well as a storm that was not named just three days later (but probably should have been named Winter Storm Hunter), which dropped as much as 9" of snow on southern areas.
April was rather unremarkable except for the fact that it was significantly below average, as many of you will remember as it was a late start to spring. We can also possibly remember that we had a very unusual number of snow chances this April...but none actually panned out.
The only noteworthy weather event of May was Tropical Storm Ana, which did not directly impact the region but made a fair bit of noise when it made landfall in the Carolinas.
The summer will be remembered for being very, very dry. Likely, the most memorable event however was the microburst that struck North Haven and Wallingford on June 23, which caused trees to go flying and started rumors of tornadoes but was decided that it was not by the NWS in Upton. This was especially memorable for me because I was in the car with my mom right through it as it happened...it was an absolutely surreal (and at times very frightening) experience.
July was not really much of anything except dry weather, despite brief tropical threats to our region from Hurricanes Danny and Erika...but was significantly above average in temperature.
August, despite being extremely unremarkable for us here in New England...will be remembered for the first direct hit on Cape Verde by a hurricane- the first hurricane to ever make landfall in Africa from the Atlantic basin.
September will be most remembered for a storm that never ended up doing what it was capable of, and that is Hurricane Joaquin, which was the strongest Atlantic hurricane since 2013...but its' forecaster landfall in the Carolinas or New England never materialized, and we once again salute the Euro as EASILY the best computer model for tropical weather.
October, undoubtedly, will be remembered for two things- the formation of the strongest hurricane in world history, Patricia, and the ludicrously early first flakes of the season which fell on October 17- in fact, the second earliest snowfall on record at Bridgeport.
November, was probably the least entertaining month of weather in the world this year. Seriously, nothing noteworthy happened here or anywhere else, which is genuinely difficult to achieve.
December was remarkable in that it was the warmest on record by a HUGE margin, with an almost 10 degree victory over the second. It's a truly once in a lifetime event...but somehow, many areas actually recorded more snow than they did last year because of the morning ice storm on 12/29.
As we say a fond farewell to a very memorable weather year, please think of all that you have accomplished personally as well- this year I got into college with a scholarship, got my drivers' license, moved, and had a very exciting trip to Ohio in August.
Additionally, thanks for trusting my blog for this year, it's been a great ride. Feel free to click through the archives if you feel like reminiscing more on the year that was, and let's all make 2016 even better. I can't wait, it will be fun. I'll see you tomorrow for the first forecast of the new (leap) year!
| The microburst in Wallingford in June was the most significant severe weather event of the season in Connecticut |
| Joaquin clobbers the Bahamas on October 1, and gives the northeast their biggest tropical scare since Sandy. |
The final named storm of the season, Gavin dropped about 6" statewide in March, and causing the 2014/15 winter to have the most named storms in 20 years |
See you next year!!
