Extreme Weather Series: Once in a 100 Year Snow Cover: Connecticut, January 2011

Continued from the hub: Extreme Weather Series: Crazy Weather in Connecticut 2011, photos include!

This year started off on an interesting note. Many in the Connecticut region didn't see much snow from the day after Christmas Blizzard which paralyzed New York City, unbeknownst to us our fair share of snow was on its way. After the 2009/2010 winter season, where D.C. and Baltimore seemed to get all the snow, Connecticut barely reaching average, many we're ready for a good snow storm. As January went on, the cold moved in and the chance of snow increased. By mid January we began to get into a pattern, one that brought snow every few days. At first it was just a few inches each time but what was different from previous years is how the snow wouldn't melt in between storms. This lack of thaw in between storms meant that the snow was just piling up. Then it happened, going on three weeks with at least two storms a week and close to two feet of snow cover on the ground, Connecticut was hit by a whopper! In the early morning hours of January 27, 2011 majority of Connecticut saw 1.5-2 feet of snow fall in a matter of four to six hours!!! This amount of snowfall in such a short period of time had basically shut down the state, although a state of emergency was never called. When i woke up that morning i was in awe of how much snow had fallen, it truly was a winter wonderland. The photos below are a few of many that I took that day. After this storm, many sections of coastal Connecticut had close to 4 feet of snow on the ground! Many have said the last time there was that much snow on the ground was back 100 years ago in the early 1900's. Now for some parts of the country that may not seem like much, especially mountainous areas, due to Connecticut's proximity to Long Island Sound, coastal Connecticut rarely sees snow cover that lasts more than a few days. So for 4 feet to accumulate and stay on the ground in a matter of weeks was amazing, not to mention people began to run out of places to shovel and plow the snow! I remember tweeting after that day, saying this was a winter I will remember for the rest of my life. Bridgeport, Ct just two towns over broke an all time snowiest January record by almost double the last record. Prior to this year, January 1965 was the snowiest January in on record with 26.2 inches of snow, in January 2011 there was a shattering 41.8 inches!