Heavy Rain in Connecticut, December 1 to 2, 1996

Name: Heavy Rain in Connecticut, December 1 to 2, 1996
Start: 1996-12-01T01:00
End: 1996-12-02T09:00
Location: Connecticut

December 1 to 2, 1996 · NWS OKX · 4 events in 4 counties and zones

A low pressure system over the Ohio Valley early Sunday morning on December 1st, intensified as it moved northeast across Eastern Canada during early Monday morning. Thunderstorms formed in the moist unstable airmass ahead of the cold front.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 4 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 4

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS OKX wrote it up.

A low pressure system over the Ohio Valley early Sunday morning on December 1st, intensified as it moved northeast across Eastern Canada during early Monday morning. A strong cold front that extended southwest from this low, swept across the local region early Monday morning.Thunderstorms formed in the moist unstable airmass ahead of the cold front. These storms produced torrential rainfall that caused widespread small stream, street and poor drainage flooding.Occasional rain began across the region during Saturday afternoon, November 30th.Here are selected rainfall event totals for:Fairfield County: from 1.06 inches at Bethel to 2.91 inches at Danbury.New Haven County: from 1.06 inches at Lake Saltonstall-East Haven to 2.64 inches at North Cheshire.New London County: 0.92 inches at Jewett City.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

4 heavy rain. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Rain, Fairfield

When: December 1, 1:00 AM EST to December 2, 9:00 AM EST
Where: Fairfield County, Countywide
Coordinates: 41.326, -73.447 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Rain, Middlesex

When: December 1, 1:00 AM EST to December 2, 9:00 AM EST
Where: Middlesex County, Countywide
Coordinates: 41.451, -72.508 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Rain, New Haven

When: December 1, 1:00 AM EST to December 2, 9:00 AM EST
Where: New Haven County, Countywide
Coordinates: 41.362, -72.844 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Rain, New London

When: December 1, 1:00 AM EST to December 2, 9:00 AM EST
Where: New London County, Countywide
Coordinates: 41.504, -72.101 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Heavy Rain: Rainfall totals unusual for the place and season that did not produce a flood.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Connecticut in 1996 Every state in 1996 This day in weather history Warnings in Connecticut, December 1996

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5582418, 5582419, 5582420, 5582421.