CT Hurricanes

June 1st marks the start of the Hurricane Season for the Atlantic. (May 15th was the start on the Pacific side.)

The NOAA released a report earlier this week discussing about an above average hurricane season - going so far as to peg a 70% chance of 14-23 named storms (Tropical storm, >39 MPH winds). Of those, 8-14 may become strengthen into hurricanes (>74 MPH winds).

Hurricanes have been a foreign concept in Connecticut, simply because the large scale, Category 5 storms that are seen on the media just aren't seen locally, for a myriad of reasons. Things like a cooler water temperature further north, wind sheer from regional wind patterns, and Long Island acting as a buffer to our south all contribute to weakening possible hurricanes, combined with the fact that storms may either veer into the US further south, or decide to go on a journey across the Atlantic, far away from our soil. The systems that we do end up seeing tend to bring excessive rainfall instead of high speed winds that are characteristic of hurricanes.

That being said, weaker hurricanes have moved through the area in the past (the most recent being Category 2 Hurricane Bob in 1991, following Cat. 2 Hurricane Gloria in 1985). However, just because a hurricane weakens into a Tropical Storm (39-73 MPH winds) or Tropical Depression (>38 MPH winds), doesn't mean that it's incapable of damaging the area.

Although winds tend to create the most direct damage, systems could dump an excessive amount of rainfall (such as Tropical Storm Hanna from 2008), leading to flooding concerns. Other then obvious direct danger and damage from rising waters, the rain could potentially weaken and loosen soil. This, coupled with the winds, may uproot trees, causing blocking roads, hit power/infrastructure lines, or directly impact property, potentially causing injury or death.

Also, as these systems tend to approach from the ocean, they can create swells hours or in some cases, even days before making contact with the coast. Also, these storms could generate rip currents, dragging swimmers and surfers farther away from land.

In addition to those threats, tropical systems can generate tornadoes. Hurricane Bob spawned two F1 tornadoes in Suffolk county on Long Island. Although tornadoes spawned by hurricanes tend to be notably weaker, it can be just as devastating because rain can disguise the tornado, along with people's focus on the overall tropical system itself.

The National Hurricane Center, as of this writing, currently does not have any notable storms in the Atlantic. However, with already significantly above average water temperatures, and the lack of any drastic wind patterns to break up tropical storm formation, it may only be a matter of time before we get our first named system of the season.

May 26th Record Breaking Temps followup

Just a brief follow up to May 26th's record breaking temps (A day late, sorry!). I scoured through NWS daily climatology reports, and I couldn't find any that matched or exceed 99°F set at Bradley International Airport (Windsor Locks, CT). Closest that I saw was 96°F at Lake Charles Regional Airport, Louisiana, and 95°F set in Phoenix... which means that Bradley Intl. Airport saw the hottest temperature in all of the United States on May 26th. I've updated the previous post with the info.

Crazy day for CT Weather

If any of you are living in Connecticut (or the immediate area East, North, or West), you may have noticed something today. HEAT. LOTS AND LOTS OF HEAT. But how much heat, you ask?

There were some substantial records set today for maximum temperature. Bridgeport, late in the day, beat a record temp of 91°F set all the way back in 1965... with a solid 94° by 5:00 PM... then inched a degree higher briefly to 95° within the hour. A rather big surprise, since we were experiencing a solid sea breeze in the morning keeping temps lower (about a 10° contrast compared to about 30 miles inland started the day, but the pressure evened out and the winds died down, allowing the warmer air to take its place)

All eyes were on Bradley International Airport today though (in Windsor Locks, just north of our capital, Hartford). I was expecting temperature records to be shattered there today, and it couldn't have been more right. By 1:00 PM, the record of 96°F, set back in 1965 was already beaten. But this was just the beginning. By 5:00 PM, we set an outstanding record of 99°F. This temperature was the highest reached temperature since August 2nd, 2006.
Let me restate that again. Windsor Locks has not seen a 99° day since August 2nd, 2006. Today was the hottest day for almost THREE YEARS and TEN MONTHS. It was warmer then any summer day - or ANY day for that matter, between then and now. Also, it tied for the hottest May day on record, of 99°, set in 1996.

What makes this even more extraordinary is that it was the hottest location at any NWS weather station in the entire United States. (The hottest that I found was 95°F in Phoenix).

To make things worse, the air that existed over CT was moderately unstable to begin with. This airmass that allowed these high temperatures also put a cap that prevented any major thunderstorm development... but the threat was always there. It was late tonight (about 6:30 PM) that the threat was realized. In Southwestern CT (New London County), there was a sudden, very strong isolated storm that spawned, only about a mile wide, and it managed to draw 40 mph winds and up to 1 inch hail around the Mystic area... but within a half an hour, it dissipated, even before it could reach Rhode Island.

Well, it looks like my cries for "boring weather" were finally answered today. Hope that you all had your AC's in working order, and be thankful that we'll be seeing a solid 15 degree drop compared to today. As always, follow me on my twitter, @Bleet for forecasts and other interesting tweets! (It's not ALL weather tweets, gimme a follow!).