The Year In Review: 2016

2016 was a year of extreme weather events: record heat, a developing drought, and a big snowstorm were just a few of the notable events that have happened in 2016.

We are going to take you through the top memorable weather events of 2016 in our Year In Review.

Winter Storm Jonas

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Winter Storm Jonas was the biggest snowstorm of the 2015-2016 winter season. It was actually one of the only snowstorms and it was the only storm that prompted a Blizzard Warning. In the days ahead of the main event with this storm, there was a lot of trouble forecasting Jonas. There were questions about how far north the snow would extend, and it did indeed seem like our area was only going to deal with minor impacts. Obviously it ended up being a major winter storm. In Bridgeport, 9.5 inches of snow fell on the day that the storm hit (January 23rd) while sustained

winds maxed out at 31 mph. That 9.5 inches of total snowfall in 24 hours made it the 23rd snowiest day in Bridgeport on record. Other parts of southwestern Connecticut picked up over a foot of snow, and in New York City Jonas became their biggest snowstorm ever.

According to The Northeast Snowfall Impact Scale (NESIS), Winter Storm Jonas, or the crippling Blizzard of 2016, was ranked as the 4th most impactful storm on record to the Northeast because of the large-scale area, the amount of snowfall, and the total amount of people impacted by the storm. This storm will truly be a storm that will be remembered.

Arctic Cold In February

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Most of February 2016 was mild, however, there were several times within the month when it got very cold. In fact, we experienced record-cold one morning, making this one of the most notable weather events of 2016.

On the morning of February 14th, everyone woke up to sub-zero temperatures. In Bridgeport, the record low of 3 degrees set back in both 1979 and 2015 was crushed with a new record low of -6 degrees. The all-time record low of -7 degrees was just missed. That low temperature was a very rare occurrence in our area.

Record Warm Winter

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The winter of 2015-2016 from December 1st through February 29th was the warmest on record in southwestern Connecticut and all of New England. With an average temperature (combination of high and low temperatures) of 38.5 degrees, many were wondering: Where's winter? Despite the warmth, however, the seasonal snowfall of 24.9 inches was above the normal winter snowfall total of 22.3 inches.

Wild Morning Winds

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Getting into April now, on the morning of April 3rd, a departing hurricane-force low pressure system, which dropped over half an inch of rain and then a dusting of snow, gave way to widespread wicked winds. Many people lost power after numerous trees and branches came down Sunday morning. ​Also a rare High Wind Warning was issued due to the strong and dangerous winds.

Check out this amazing visible satellite loop of that hurricane-force low exiting New England as it brought sustained winds up to 35 mph and wind gusts up to 46 mph to Bridgeport:

Gloomy Stretch Until Mother's Day

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In the final days of April continuing through the beginning of May, it was consistently cloudy with every day of May until Mother's Day on May 8th being cloudy or mostly cloudy. Then on Mother's Day, early morning rain showers cleared and the sun broke out following the depressing period of stubborn clouds and wet weather.

Long-Term Drought Develops

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Changes in rainfall began to occur as we got into June, and by the first week of astronomical summer, parts of the area were upgraded from an abnormally dry (yellow color) state to a moderate drought (tan color), according to The National Drought Mitigation Center.

The graph below shows how in Connecticut, much of the state was in a moderate drought (tan color) from the start of 2015 through the start of 2016, but then conditions improved. Once summer began, however, drought conditions have gone downhill ever since:

To this date in late-December, much of the southwestern Connecticut area remains in an extreme drought (red color), making it the worst drought since this drought monitor debuted in 2000.

Record-Breaking Summer Heat

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Two big stories occurred during the summer of 2016, both of which have to do with the heat. First, meteorological summer (June 1st through August 31st) ended up being the warmest ever on record in Bridgeport. The average temperature

(combination of high and low temperatures) was a very mild 75.4 degrees during this period.

Second, we experienced our second longest heat wave on record in Bridgeport with six consecutive days of 90 plus degree heat in August. That just missed the record week-long heat wave from 2013.

This near-record-long heat wave definitely helped contribute to 2016 being the warmest summer ever.

Dry and Hot Fall

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The fall season was also another very mild one. It was a record warm fall as well during the period of September through all of November with temperatures averaging out at 59.1 degrees. Notice how the top three warmest falls have occurred within the past five years. I find that very interesting when climate change is talked about.

Fall was also a very dry time, and the driest time of 2016. In late-October, the State of Connecticut issued a Drought Watch because conditions became so severe that actions had to be taken, such as conserving water. In the graphic below, it shows the progression of the drought from the start of September through the end of November and how it has worsened over time from a moderate drought (tan color) to a severe (orange color) or extreme drought (red color):

Average Start to Winter 2016-17

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Winter Storm Decima was the first significant snowstorm of the 2016-2017 winter season. This storm dumped over half a foot of snow to some locations Saturday morning of the weekend of Christmas in December. Before this storm, snowfall was pretty scarce, especially at the coast. Once Decima moved through and dropped a quick half foot of snow, it made up for our snowfall deficit and now snowfall is about an inch above average for the season to date.

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We hope you enjoyed our 2016 Year in Review. We'll just have to wait and see what weather 2017 will bring as we enter the new year and whether it will be as extreme 2016 was!

#climate #Summer #winter