Winter Storm, Southern Litchfield
- When
- October 29, 11:00 AM EST to October 30, 3:15 AM EST
- Where
- Southern Litchfield forecast zone
- Reported by
- Department of Highways
- Coordinates
- 41.847, -73.221 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Winter Storm in Connecticut, October 29 to 30, 2011
An early season Nor'easter dumped heavy wet snow on Litchfield County. The storm tapped both Atlantic and subtropical moisture.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 2 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
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 2
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 ALY wrote it up.
An early season Nor'easter dumped heavy wet snow on Litchfield County. The storm tapped both Atlantic and subtropical moisture. Snowfall rates were as high as 2 to 4 inches an hour in mesoscale snowbands. Snowfall amounts ranged from 1 to 1 1/2 feet across the county. Power outages occurred as trees and wires came down due to the heavy snow. The outages were the most widespread and prolonged in areas where leaves were still on the trees.
A colder air mass was brought into the region on Thursday, October 27th, as an area of low pressure moved eastward along a frontal boundary to our south. This weak system produced our first snowfall of season. Low pressure began to develop along the southeast coast Friday night. The low tracked along or just north of the Gulf Stream and rapidly deepened and intensified (cyclogenesis) as it moved northeastward on Saturday, October 29th. The storm passed just southeast of Cape Cod early Sunday morning, October 30th, then headed northeastward into the Canadian Maritimes during the day.
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Albany, NY wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Oct 28, 5:54 PM EST, 17 hours 6 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Oct 28, 5:54 PM EST, 17 hours 6 minutes before
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</html>The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
2 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.
Winter Storm, Northern Litchfield
- When
- October 29, 11:30 AM EST to October 30, 3:15 AM EST
- Where
- Northern Litchfield forecast zone
- Reported by
- Trained Spotter
- Coordinates
- 41.847, -73.221 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
What these are
- Winter Storm
- A storm that brought snow, sleet or freezing rain at warning levels, usually over several hours or days.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Winter Storm and Heavy Snow in Pennsylvania, October 29, 2011
- Heavy Snow and Winter Weather in Connecticut, October 29 to 30, 2011
- Heavy Snow in Pennsylvania, October 29, 2011
- Coastal Flood and Heavy Snow in Massachusetts, October 29 to 30, 2011
- Waterspout in South Atlantic Coastal Waters, October 29, 2011
- Tornadoes in Florida, October 29, 2011
- Heavy Snow and Strong Wind in New Hampshire, October 29 to 30, 2011
- Coastal Flood and Strong Wind in New Jersey, October 29, 2011
- Marine Strong Wind in North Atlantic Coastal Waters, October 29 to 30, 2011
- Winter Storm and Winter Weather in Vermont, October 29 to 30, 2011
- Coastal Flood and Strong Wind in Delaware, October 29, 2011
- Winter Storm and Heavy Snow in New Jersey, October 29 to 30, 2011
More
Every storm in Connecticut in 2011Every state in 2011This day in weather historyWarnings in Connecticut, October 2011
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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 350395, 350396.