Extreme Weather Series: Snowtober October 29, 2011, the first flakes!
Update 2:35 PM Tree branches down!
- Extreme Weather Series: Crazy weather in Connecticut 2011 Photos included
A look at the extreme weather events that have impacted Connecticut so far this year (2011) - Extreme Weather Series: Once in a 100 Year Snow Cover: Connecticut, January 2011
A recap, with pictures, of the extreme snow cover in January 2011 in Connecticut. - Extreme Weather Series: Ice Storm: Connecticut Groundhog Day 2011
Photos from the ice storm impacting southern connecticut on and around Groundhog Day 2011. - Hurricane Irene slams the Connecticut Coast! Photos!
photos from Hurricane Irene along the Milford, CT coast line. - Hurricane Irene Slams Connecticut more photos 2
Some of the impacts of Hurricane Irene on Milford, CT away fromt the coast. - More Photos from Hurricane Irene in Milford, Connecticut 3
Photos of the storm surge in Milford, Ct from hurricane Irene on August 28, 2011 - Devastation along the coast- More of Hurricane Irene's Impacts through Photos
Photos and stories from during and after Hurricane Irene in Milford, CT.
The extreme weather continues for 2011! This year has been crazy with storm after storm impacting the country as well as here in Connecticut. I have written about each event in a number of hubs (links to the left). This one is another to add to the list. If it wasn't enough that snow buried us to record breaking depths in January, then record rains and flooding in the spring, summer and fall, a Hurricane (Irene) now we're seeing snow before Halloween! Not just a few flurries either, a full on major winter storm. This storm is expected to lay down record breaking snow totals for the month of October in many areas of the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast. When I say record breaking, i mean smashing records, some by 10 times the previous record.
The other aspect of the storm that is going to be the bigger the story is the fact that many of the leaves are still on the trees! In fact many of the trees haven't even changed color yet, this is due to all the extreme rain we have gotten the last few months. A heavy wet snow accumulating on leaves just adds enormous weight to the trees and branches, which will result in many of them coming down. Add in winds along the coast of 40-50 miles per hour and you go the perfect recipe for large scale power outages.
This storm is a nor'easter working it's way up the coast, pulling cold air down into, which has resulted in snow breaking out early all along the eastern seaboard. It is very unusual to see snow this time of year but even more so for it to stick. This is because the sun is still too high in the sky and the shortwave radiation is too strong, penetrating even the thickness clouds and heating the ground. But to our surprise within an hour of the rain changing to snow it's begun to stick! Now this has more to do with the rate of accumulation then it does with the ground temperature. Below are some of photos I took around my yard within the first hour of snowfall. It's pretty impressive so far and like I said the rain wasn't suppose to change until sunset, when the storm will be closer.
This storm will definitely be one for the record books and memories. October isn't unfamiliar to snow, many recall (not me because I was only months old) a snow storm in the 2nd week of October 1987 that dropped significant accumulation. That was 24 years ago and hasn't been a storm with accumulating snow since for the month of October. Then of course there was the Perfect storm which happened 20 years ago this weekend. That storm was a wind, rain, and wave maker but still left it's mark as a meteorological amazement and a cultural reference in Sebastain Junger's book The Perfect Storm, which got turned into a movie.
So enjoy the photos below, this is just the beginning of the storm and I hope to update later with more photos! Just another extreme weather event for southern Connecticut this year (2011). As a weather geek I am already impressed by this storm!
Before I could even finish lading the photos, the weather has gotten worse, the snow is continuing to fall and numerous power outages are popping up around the state. Many trees big and small already have branches bending from the weight of the snow. The roads are covered in a slippery, slushy inche of snow. With the wind picking up later, there is a good chance we will lose power tonight.
