Interesting Weather Facts

• Average winter snowfall in the Northwest Hills is 50 inches
• Average winter snowfall along the coast is 30-35 inches
• The odds of a damaging earthquake in Connecticut are 1 in 20 each year
• Connecticut averages 1-2 earthquakes a year

January

• January averages 3.5 inches of liquid precipitation; 12.3 inches of snowfall
• -14^th-Daylight increasing by 1.5 minutes each day
• -16^th-Record high this date 62^o F in 1995; record low -8^oF in 1994
• -24^th-Daylight increasing by 2 minutes each day
• January 20-25 is the traditional January thaw

February

• February averages 3.2 inches of liquid precipitation; 11.3 inches of snowfall
• Blizzard of 1978 brought 2 feet of snow
• -10^th-gaining about 2.5 minutes of sunlight per day
• -16^th lowest temperature ever recorded in Connecticut (-37^oF) in Norfolk, 1943

March

• March averages 4.2 inches of liquid precipitation; 9.3 inches of snowfall
• -11^th-Blizzard of 1888 yields 40+ inches of snow
• 83.1 inches in 1994, is the most snowfall since record keeping began in 1905
• -19^th-Blizzard leaves 9-22 inches of snow, making March 1956 the snowiest March on record

April 

• April averages 4 inches of precipitation
• -10^th-Last snowfall of the 1996 season establishes new snowfall record of 115.2 inches surpassing old record set in 1993-1994, by more than 20 inches.
• -18^th-Average last frost along coast and in Central Valley

May

• May averages 3.4 inches of precipitation
• -9^th-Average last frost in Northwest Hills

June

• June averages 3.4 inches of precipitation
• -19^th-Record high temperature was 95°
• -28^th-Record low temperature for day, 40^oF, set 1995
• 3 tornadoes touch down: Chester, Hadlyme, and Killingworth, 1998
• Hurricane season begins and runs through November 30^th
• 8 inches of hail covered the ground in East Canaan, 1954

July

• July averages 3.1 inches of precipitation
• -3^rd-Tornado hits the Waterbury/Wolcott line, 1996
• -9^th-Tornado hits Monroe, 1996
• -10^th-Tornado outbreak in Litchfield and New Haven Counties; Town of Hamden hit the hardest, 1989
• -15^th-2-3 inch hailstones fall on Bozrah, Franklin, and Lebanon, 1799
• -15^th-Highest temperature ever recorded in Connecticut 106^oF in Danbury, 1995
• -22^nd-Second highest temperature ever recorded in Connecticut 105F in Waterbury, 1926
• July's consistent heat makes it the most thunderstorm prone month
• July 1994 was hottest on record; average temperature of 77.1^oF was 3.4^oF above normal

August

• August averages 4 inches of precipitation
• -18^th-Hurricane Diane 1955
• -31^st-Hurricane Carol 1954
• Connecticut's "Tornado Alley" is through Litchfield and Hartford counties, with 21 twisters passing through since 1960

September

• September averages 4 inches of precipitation
• -10^th-Peak of the hurricane season
• -11^th-Hurricane Edna, 1954, causes widespread damage
• -14^th-Hurricane Donna, 1960 kills three, causes large crop losses
• -14^th-Great Atlantic Hurricane, 1944, causes $100 million in damages
• -21^st- Great New England Hurricane, 1938
• September ranks second, to October, in clear days, averaging 8.6

October

• October averages 3.5 inches of precipitation
• -3^rd-Windsor Locks hit by tornado 1979
• -6^th-Average first frost in Northwest Hills
• -10^th-Average first frost in Central Valley
• -19^th-Average first frost along the coast
• October ranks first in clear days, averaging 9.1

November

• November averages 4 inches of liquid precipitation; 2 inches of snowfall
• -12^th-first snowfalls often around this time
• -26^th- 1898,heaviest 2-day snowstorm on record in New Haven and New London
• -30^th-Hurricane season ends

December

• December averages 4.2 inches of liquid precipitation; 10.4 inches of snowfall
• 45.3 inches of snow in December 1945, make it the snowiest month ever in Connecticut

Earth Day