In the wake of a frontal system, gusty northwest winds developed due to a strong pressure gradient between the departing storm and an area of high pressure building into the Great Lakes region during the day on Tuesday, March 17th. Winds frequently gusted over 30 MPH across Litchfield County with a few gusts recorded between 40 and 43 MPH in the late afternoon hours.
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.
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.
The episode as NWS ALY wrote it up.
In the wake of a frontal system, gusty northwest winds developed due to a strong pressure gradient between the departing storm and an area of high pressure building into the Great Lakes region during the day on Tuesday, March 17th. Winds frequently gusted over 30 MPH across Litchfield County with a few gusts recorded between 40 and 43 MPH in the late afternoon hours.
These winds downed trees and power lines, causing some power outages across the region. In addition, one tree fell onto a truck in Torrington. A man inside the truck was injured due to fallen tree and was trapped inside the vehicle.
As the storm continued to pulled away and nocturnal effects began to take over, winds subsided by the late evening hours.
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 Mar 17, 9:35 AM EST, 2 hours 25 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBANY NY 1035 AM EDT TUE MAR 17 2015 .SYNOPSIS... A COLD FRONT WILL MOVE ACROSS THE REGION LATE THIS MORNING INTO EARLY AFTERNOON. TEMPERATURES WILL FALL THIS AFTERNOON AS BRISK AND GUSTY NORTHWESTERLY WINDS USHER IN A COLD AIR MASS IN THE WAKE OF THE COLD FRONT PASSAGE. THIS COLDER AIRMASS WILL REMAIN OVER THE REGION THROUGH MUCH OF THE WORK WEEK. && .NEAR TERM /UNTIL 6 PM THIS EVENING/... AS OF 1035 AM EDT...MULTIPLE COLD FRONTS WILL MOVE ACROSS THE REGION TODAY. BASED ON CURRENT OBSERVATIONS...THE FIRST ONE IS CROSSING CENTRAL NY AND MOVING INTO EASTERN NY...WHILE THE TRUE ARCTIC COLD FRONT LOCATED OVER LAKE ONTARIO AT THIS TIME. STEADY PRECIPITATION HAS ENDED ACROSS MOST OF THE AREA. THE ONLY EXCEPTION IS ACROSS THE WESTERN ADIRONDACKS WHERE UPSLOPE SNOW SHOWERS WILL DEVELOP AND LINGER INTO THE AFTERNOON WITH MINOR ACCUMULATIONS. OTHERWISE...ISOLATED TO SCATTERED VALLEY RAIN SHOWERS AND HIGHER TERRAIN SNOW SHOWERS WILL ACCOMPANY THE FRONTAL BOUNDARIES AND ASSOCIATED UPPER LEVEL SHORT WAVE TROUGH. TEMPERATURES WILL FALL THIS AFTERNOON...FIRST ACROSS NORTHWEST AREAS AND EVENTUALLY FARTHER SOUTH AND EAST TOWARDS MID TO LATE AFTERNOON. WINDS WILL SHIFT TO THE NORTHWEST WITH THE PASSAGE OF THE COLD FRONT AND INCREASE IN SPEED AND BECOME GUSTY. THIS WILL BE THE RESULT OF THE PRESSURE GRADIENT TIGHTENING ACROSS THE REGION AS THE SYSTEM STRENGTHENS TO OUR WEST AND HAVING DEEP CYCLONIC FLOW. GUSTS UP TO 35 TO 45 MPH CAN BE EXPECTED THIS AFTERNOON WITH THE BEST MIXING. && .SHORT TERM /6 PM THIS EVENING THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT/... AS WE HEAD THROUGH THE LAST FEW DAYS OF WINTER IT WILL FEEL LIKE WINTER WITH MUCH BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES. ADDITIONAL SHORT WAVE ENERGY WILL MOVE ACROSS THE REGION TUESDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT REINFORCING THE TROUGH AND COLD AIR ACROSS THE REG WEDNESDAY WILL BE A COLD DAY WITH TEMPERATURES STARTING OUT FROM THE SINGLE DIGITS TO LOWER 20S AND ONLY RISING INTO INTO THE TEENS TO LOWER 30S. WIND CHILL VALUES WILL BE BELOW ZERO ACROSS PORTIONS OF THE HIGHER TERRAIN AS THE BRISK AND GUSTY WINDS STRENGTHEN. GUSTS UP TO 35 TO 45 MPH ARE ONCE AGAIN EXPECTED, WITH THE CONTINUED CYCLONIC FLOW THERE WILL BE CHANCES OF SNOW SHOWERS ACROSS MAINLY THE HIGHER TERRAIN. WEDNESDAY NIGHT IS EXPECTED TO BE ABOUT 5 DEGREES COLDER THAN TONIGHT IS EXPECTED TO BE...WITH SOME BELOW ZERO READINGS ACROSS THE SOUTHERN ADIRONDACKS. EVEN THOUGH WINDS WILL BE LIGHTER...WIND CHILL VALUES BELOW ZERO ARE EXPECTED ACROSS MUCH OF THE FORECAST AREA LATE AT NIGHT INTO EARLY THURSDAY MORNING DUE TO THE COLDER TEMPERATURES. RIDGING WILL BUILD THURSDAY AT THE SURFACE AND ALOFT. THIS WILL ALLOW TEMPERATURES TO MODERATE...HOWEVER IT WILL CONTINUE TO BE WELL BELOW NORMAL. AFTER A FRIGID START TO THE DAY...HIGHS ONLY IN THE MID 20S TO MID 30S ARE ANTICIPATED. THE SURFACE HIGH WILL SHIFT EASTWARD ACROSS THE REGION THURSDAY NIGHT...WHILE THE RIDGE ALOFT FLATTENS AS ANOTHER SHORT WAVE TROUGH APPROACHES. IT WILL BE YET ANOTHER VERY COLD NIGHT. && .LONG TERM /FRIDAY THROUGH MONDAY/... SPRING OFFICIALLY STARTS FRIDAY AT 6:45 PM EDT. THE EXTENDED FORECAST PERIOD OPENS UNSETTLED WITH HIGH PRESSURE SHIFTING OFFSHORE WITH SOUTHERN STREAM SYSTEM POTENTIALLY IMPACTING THE FCST AREA. THERE CONTINUES TO BE A LOT OF UNCERTAINTY WITH THE MEDIUM RANGE GUIDANCE WITH THE GFS AND SEVERAL GEFS MEMBERS KEEPING THE SYSTEM SOUTH OF THE REGION WITH LITTLE IMPACT. HOWEVER...THE CAN GGEM...ECMWF...AND SOME GEFS MEMBERS LIFT THE WAVE MOVING OFF THE MID ATLANTIC COAST NORTH ENOUGH FOR SOME OVER RUNNING PCPN. THE SFC CYCLONE MOVES EAST OF COASTAL NJ...AND SOUTH OF LONG ISLAND QUICKLY FRI NIGHT. OUR CONFIDENCE WAS NOT GREAT ENOUGH TO GO HIGHER THAN HIGH CHC POPS YET...ESPECIALLY NORTH OF THE CAPITAL REGION...AND THE MOHAWK RIVER VALLEY. THE TRACK OF THE SYSTEM WILL MAKE A LARGE DIFFERENCE IN THE QPF. THE CANADIAN GGEM CONTINUES TO BE THE WETTEST. THE NEXT QUESTION WILL BE HOW QUICKLY THE BOUNDARY LAYER COOLS WITH A MID TO LATE MARCH SUN ANGLE. IF THE ECMWF AND CAN GGEM ARE RIGHT...THE PCPN COULD START OFF AS SNOW...AND POSSIBLY MIX WITH A LITTLE RAIN...BEFORE CHANGING BACK TO SNOW IN THE LATE PM/EARLY EVENING. TEMPS WILL BE HARD PRESSED TO GET OUT OF THE 30S ON FRI. RIGHT NOW...WE HAVE LIGHT WET SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF 1 TO 3 INCHES WITH THE HIGHER AMOUNTS OVER THE HIGHER TERRAIN SOUTH OF THE CAPITAL DISTRICT. A NRN STREAM DISTURBANCE WILL QUICKLY APPROACH FROM SE CANADA AND THE GREAT LAKES REGION. THE COASTAL WAVE WILL BE PROGRESSIVE AND BE E/SE OF CAPE COD BY DAYBREAK ON SATURDAY. LOWS SATURDAY MORNING WILL BE MAINLY IN THE 20S. ADDITIONAL SNOW ACCUMS LOOK LIGHT FRI NIGHT. A FEW LOCATIONS COULD FLIRT WITH ADVISORY LEVEL TALLIES OVER THE HIGHER TERRAIN...BUT THAT IS HEAVILY WEIGHTED TOWARDS THE 00Z CAN GGEM/ECMWF. OUR CONFIDENCE IS NOT GREAT ENOUGH TO PLACE IT IN THE HAZARDOUS WX OUTLOOK YET. SAT-SUN...HIGH PRESSURE BRIEFLY ATTEMPTS TO RIDGE IN FROM TN VALLEY/LOWER MID ATLANTIC REGION. A COLD FRONT WILL BE QUICKLY APPROACHING FROM THE ST LAWRENCE VALLEY SATURDAY AFTERNOON. THIS BOUNDARY IS ON THE LEADING EDGE OF A STRONG LONGWAVE UPPER LEVEL TROUGH. TEMPS SHOULD WARM INTO THE U30S TO M40S ACROSS THE FCST AREA AHEAD OF THE COLD FRONT...EXCEPT OVER THE SRN DACKS WITH LOWER TO M30S COMMON. SCT RAIN TO SNOW SHOWERS ARE POSSIBLE SATURDAY PM INTO SATURDAY NIGHT. STRONG COLD ADVECTION OCCURS IN THE WAKE OF THE FRONT. H850 TEMPS CRASH TO -18C TO -23C FROM THE CAPITAL DISTRICT NORTH AND WEST BY 12Z SUN ACCORDING TO THE LATEST GFS...AND -12C TO -18C TO THE SOUTH AND EAST. THE POLAR VORTEX MAKES A VISIT ON SUNDAY WITH BRISK AND COLD CONDITIONS. A FEW SNOW SHOWERS WILL LINGER NORTH AND WEST OF THE TRI CITIES. HIGHS WILL RANGE FROM THE LOWER TO M30S SOUTH AND EAST OF THE CAPITAL REGION TO 20S TO THE NORTH AND WEST. SUNDAY NIGHT INTO MONDAY...ARCTIC HIGH WILL RIDGE IN FROM THE CNTRL GREAT LAKES REGION WITH FAIR AND COLD WEATHER. TEMPS WILL RUN 10 TO 15 DEGREES BELOW NORMAL. HIGHS WILL BE IN THE 20S TO MID 30S. LOWS SUNDAY NIGHT WILL BE VERY COLD IN THE SINGLE DIGITS AND TEENS. OVERALL...BELOW NORMAL TEMPS AND PCPN WILL CONTINUE IN THE LONG TERM. && .AVIATION /15Z TUESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY/... A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM CONTINUES TO MOVE ACROSS ERN NY AND NEW ENGLAND THIS MORNING. A COLD FRONT WILL QUICKLY MOVE THROUGH THEREAFTER. IT WILL BECOME BLUSTERY IN THE WAKE OF THE FRONT INTO TUESDAY NIGHT. VFR CONDITIONS WILL LOWER TO MVFR AND SPOTTY IFR LEVELS THIS MORNING WITH THE SHOWERS AHEAD OF THE WAVE PRIOR TO 14Z. THE BEST CHC OF IFR CIGS AND VSBYS WILL BE AT KPSF BTWN 12Z-14Z. ONCE THE FRONT PASSES THE CIGS AND VSBYS WILL QUICKLY COME UP...AND THE WINDS WILL SHIFT TO THE W TO NW AND INCREASE IN STRENGTH. EXPECT VFR CONDITIONS THIS PM INTO TONIGHT. MID LEVEL CLOUDS MAY MOVE BACK IN AHEAD OF A DISTURBANCE ALOFT. THE WINDS WILL BE LIGHT AND VARIABLE IN DIRECTION AT DAYBREAK THIS MORNING AT 5 KTS OR LESS...BUT WILL VEER TO THE SW TO W TOWARDS SUNRISE AT 5-10 KTS BTWN 13Z-15Z/TUE...AND THEN INCREASE FROM THE NW AT 15-22 KTS WITH SOME GUSTS IN THE 30-35 KT RANGE AT KGFL/KPSF AND KALB IN THE AFTERNOON DUE TO MOMENTUM TRANSPORT AND MIXING FROM 2-3 KFT AGL. THE WINDS WILL ONLY GRADUALLY SUBSIDE EARLY THIS EVENING FROM THE NW AT 10-16 KTS WITH SOME GUSTS STILL AROUND 25 KTS AT KALB/KPSF. OUTLOOK... WED: LOW OPERATIONAL IMPACT. SLIGHT CHC SHSN. WED NIGHT-THU NIGHT: NO OPERATIONAL IMPACT. NO SIG WX. FRI-SAT: MODERATE OPERATIONAL IMPACT. CHC RA/SN. && .FIRE WEATHER... A VAST MAJORITY OF EAST CENTRAL NEW YORK AND ADJACENT WESTERN NEW ENGLAND ARE SNOW COVERED OR WET FROM SNOW MELT. NO FIRE WEATHER CONCERNS AT THIS TIME. && .HYDROLOGY... NO WIDESPREAD HYDRO PROBLEMS ARE EXPECTED INTO THE WEEKEND. ACCORDING TO THE LATEST ANALYSIS FROM NOHRSC...THE TOTAL SWE /SNOW WATER EQUIVALENT/ ACROSS THESE HIGH TERRAIN AREAS IS 4 TO 8 INCHES OF WATER...WITH EVEN SOME LOCALLY HIGHER TOTALS IN THE SOUTHERN ADIRONDACKS AND THE SOUTHERN GREENS. MOST OF THE VALLEY AREAS HAVE A FEW INCHES OR LESS OF SWE. WITH THE PASSAGE OF A COLD FRONT THIS MORNING ANOTHER BELOW NORMAL AIRMASS WILL BE USHERED INTO THE REGION. DAYTIME HIGHS ARE ONLY EXPECTED TO BE IN THE 20S TO 30S THROUGH THIS WEEKEND WITH THE EXCEPTION OF SATURDAY WHEN HIGHS ARE TO RANGE FROM LOWER 30S TO MID 40S...SO ANY SNOWMELT WILL BE MINIMAL. FOR DETAILS ON SPECIFIC AREA RIVERS AND LAKES...INCLUDING OBSERVED AND FORECAST RIVER STAGES AND LAKE ELEVATIONS...PLEASE VISIT THE ADVANCED HYDROLOGIC PREDICTION SERVICE /AHPS/ GRAPHS ON OUR WEBSITE. && .ALY WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... CT...NONE. NY...NONE. MA...NONE. VT...NONE. && SYNOPSIS...IAA/JPV NEAR TERM...IAA/JPV SHORT TERM...IAA LONG TERM...WASULA AVIATION...WASULA FIRE WEATHER...IAA HYDROLOGY...IAA
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBANY NY 527 AM EDT TUE MAR 17 2015 CTZ001-013-MAZ001-025-NYZ032-033-038>043-047>054-058>061-063>066- 082>084-VTZ013>015-181100- NORTHERN LITCHFIELD-SOUTHERN LITCHFIELD-NORTHERN BERKSHIRE- SOUTHERN BERKSHIRE-NORTHERN HERKIMER-HAMILTON-SOUTHERN HERKIMER- SOUTHERN FULTON-MONTGOMERY-NORTHERN SARATOGA-NORTHERN WARREN- NORTHERN WASHINGTON-SCHOHARIE-WESTERN SCHENECTADY- EASTERN SCHENECTADY-SOUTHERN SARATOGA-WESTERN ALBANY-EASTERN ALBANY- WESTERN RENSSELAER-EASTERN RENSSELAER-WESTERN GREENE-EASTERN GREENE- WESTERN COLUMBIA-EASTERN COLUMBIA-WESTERN ULSTER-EASTERN ULSTER- WESTERN DUTCHESS-EASTERN DUTCHESS-NORTHERN FULTON-SOUTHEAST WARREN- SOUTHERN WASHINGTON-BENNINGTON-WESTERN WINDHAM-EASTERN WINDHAM- 527 AM EDT TUE MAR 17 2015 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHWESTERN CONNECTICUT...WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS...EAST CENTRAL NEW YORK AND SOUTHERN VERMONT. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY. THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 strong wind. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Connecticut in 2015Every state in 2015This day in weather historyWarnings in Connecticut, March 2015
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: 558134, 558135.