Winter Storm in Connecticut, January 19 to 20, 2019

Name: Winter Storm in Connecticut, January 19 to 20, 2019
Start: 2019-01-19T19:00
End: 2019-01-20T14:00
Location: Connecticut

January 19 to 20, 2019 · NWS OKX · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 3 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: 1
Injuries: 1
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 3

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.

Deepening low pressure tracking from the southeast United States on Saturday January 19, 2019 to the northeast on Sunday January 20, 2019. An arctic air mass was located across New England as the storm system approached the region. A warm front associated with the low moved north along the coast early on the morning of January 20 changing snow to sleet and then liquid precipitation. The warmer air battled the arctic air advecting into interior southern Connecticut. However, temperatures remained below freezing through much of the winter storm across creating a significant ice accretion on top of snow accumulation. Many roads were closed due to downed trees and power lines. Several towns were without power for about 24 hours. The Middletown police reported a subcontractor for Eversource was killed by a falling tree on Millbrook Road in Middletown. One injury also occurred in Bethany due to a falling tree limb.

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 New York, NY wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 19, 6:29 PM EST, 31 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 19, 6:29 PM EST, 31 minutes before

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Hazardous weather outlook, Jan 19, 3:45 PM EST, 3 hours 15 minutes before

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The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

3 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Northern Fairfield

When: January 19, 7:00 PM EST to January 20, 12:00 PM EST
Where: Northern Fairfield forecast zone
Reported by: Broadcast Media
Coordinates: 41.285, -73.339 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Trained spotters, CoCoRaHS, and broadcast media reported 3 to 5 inches of snow. The Danbury Airport ASOS reported 0.37 inches of ice accretion. The combination of snow accumulation and ice accretion led to significant impacts across northern Fairfield county. Broadcast media reported multiple road closures in Newtown due to trees and wires down from ice accretion.

Winter Storm, Northern New Haven

When: January 19, 8:30 PM EST to January 20, 2:00 PM EST
Where: Northern New Haven forecast zone
Injuries: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by: Broadcast Media
Coordinates: 41.443, -72.965 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Broadcast media reported about 0.7 inches of ice accretion in the Bethany. The Meriden Airport ASOS reported 0.57 inches of ice accretion. Ice accretion amounts ranged from 0.25 to 0.5 in Hamden and Wallingford. Snowfall amounts ranged from 2 to 4 inches. Many roads were closed due to trees and wires down from ice accretion. The town of Bethany was without power for about 24 hours. One injury occurred in Bethany due to a falling tree limb.

Winter Storm, Northern Middlesex

When: January 19, 8:30 PM EST to January 20, 2:00 PM EST
Where: Northern Middlesex forecast zone
Deaths: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by: Broadcast Media
Coordinates: 41.451, -72.508 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Broadcast media reported about 0.7 inches of ice accretion in nearby Bethany. Many roads were closed due to trees and wires down from ice accretion in Middlefield, Durham, and Middletown. One fatality occurred in Middletown when a tree fell on a subcontractor as power line repairs were being completed. The nearby Meriden Airport ASOS reported 0.57 inches of ice accretion.

The people who died

As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.

Event	Date	Age	Sex	Where	Kind
Winter Storm, Northern Middlesex	2019-01-20			Under Tree	Direct

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

Every storm in Connecticut in 2019 Every state in 2019 This day in weather history Warnings in Connecticut, January 2019

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: 795330, 795336, 795342.