A southwest flow aloft with an mid level shortwave interacted with a cold front with low pressure offshore. This resulted in 3 to 5 inches of snow across northern portions of Fairfield County.
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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 OKX wrote it up.
A southwest flow aloft with an mid level shortwave interacted with a cold front with low pressure offshore. This resulted in 3 to 5 inches of snow across northern portions of Fairfield County. No impacts were reported through Local Storm Reports.
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 Mar 9, 7:33 AM EST, 1 hour 57 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service New York NY 733 AM EST Wed Mar 9 2022 .SYNOPSIS... Low pressure passes to our south and east today. Weak high pressure will follow on Thursday and remains into Friday. A complex and strengthening frontal system approaches Friday and Friday night, then moves across on Saturday. High pressure builds and settles to the south Sunday before moving offshore on early next week. Another frontal system, likely a cold front approaches Tuesday. && .NEAR TERM /UNTIL 6 PM THIS EVENING/... Forecast is generally on track as light snow or a light rain/snow mix overspreads the region from southwest to northeast. Low pressure will eject off the mid-Atlantic coast this morning, and track well south and east of the 40/70 benchmark, while a weakening upper level shortwave over the mid-West moves east. While temperatures are currently well above freezing, they area expected to drop due to evaporative cooling of the previously mentioned dry air. There will likely be a couple of hours of virga before any steady precipitation begins to reach the ground. By that time, it will have cooled enough to support all snow in many locations. New York City could start off as light rain given current temperatures and transition to rain/snow later this morning. However, deterministic and ensemble models continue to show a rain/snow mix or even a changeover to all rain along the coast, metro New Jersey, and coastal Connecticut from late this morning into the afternoon, and from south to north. Current thinking is that it will be a rain/snow mix in the previously mentioned areas, but could go to all snow in heavier precipitation, and all rain during lighter precipitation. The current forecast uncertainties remain...how much snow will accumulate. This is dependent on how much liquid equivalent will fall. NAM is the most aggressive with precipitation and is producing close to 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch in New York City. While the GFS is only a 1/10 to 1/4 of an inch. Stayed pretty close to the NBM, with 1/3 to just over 1/2 of an inch, with higher amounts along the coast. If the NAM is correct, it would produce more in the way of snow. The higher March sun angle is another factor. Some light accumulations is possible along the coast early to mid morning, and then again as the sun sets, but during the late morning in to the late afternoon, melting will occur as the snow reaches the ground. However, if the snow falls fast enough, accumulation is possible, even in the afternoon (more of the NAM solution). This would be more likely along coastal areas, such as Long Island, where the HREF is showing a 30-40% chance of 1"/hr rates. Finally, as has been mentioned before, accumulation is expected mainly on non paved surfaces, especially for locations previously mentioned where there will be a rain/snow mix. Though slushy minor accumulations is possible. Best chances for seeing accumulations, even on some non paved surfaces is where there is a Winter Weather Advisory in effect - Orange and Western Passaic counties. Additionally, snow is more likely to accumulate in higher elevations. With all that said, the current forecast is calling for 1/2" to 1" of snow across New York City, metro New Jersey, and central and western Long Island (1-2 for reasonable worst case scenario). 1-2 inches is forecast for eastern Long Island and coastal Connecticut (1-3 inches for reasonable worst case). 1-3 inches for most other places (2-4 inches for reasonable worst case), except 2-4 inches across the advisory areas (3-5 inches for reasonable worst case). && .SHORT TERM /6 PM THIS EVENING THROUGH FRIDAY/... The low treks well east of the area late tonight, with some lingering precipitation for eastern areas through this evening, with dry conditions expected after midnight. High pressure builds in for the rest of tonight and remains in control through Friday, with seasonable temperatures expected. && .LONG TERM /FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY/... Deep longwave trough digs through the Great Lakes/MS valley Friday night with a developing surface low in the Southeast. Precipitation chances begin in the evening as isentropic lift increases out ahead of an approaching warm front. Precip then becomes likely during the late night hours as the front enters the forecast area. Good agreement among the global models and ensemble means that the center of this storm passes through the forecast area during the day Saturday - more likely over the eastern half. This keeps categorical PoPs in the morning, with precip still likely in the afternoon as we'll be in the left-front quadrant of an upper jet streak, providing strong synoptic lift with sufficient moisture still around. Additionally, the trough axis aloft will still be to our west in the afternoon. Precip type for this event will be mainly rain. Some snow may mix in for the northernmost zones Friday night, but temps aloft will probably be too warm for snow anywhere Saturday morning. It's not until Saturday afternoon/evening as cold air filters in behind the storm center that a wintry mix or a changeover to snow for some areas becomes more probable - but the bulk of the precipitation would have fallen by this time. Additionally, it's not even out of the question for a few rumbles of thunder during Saturday over eastern zones where the best lift will be (forcing INVOF the low center and LLJ) and potentially a little instability. Will leave this out of the forecast for now until confidence builds. A tight pressure gradient forms between the rapidly deepening low as it heads toward the Canadian Maritimes and high pressure building in its wake. NW gusts potentially to advisory levels could occur Saturday afternoon and evening. Sunday will be dry, but with the cold high shifting in, high temperatures are shaping up to be about 10 degrees below normal. High pressure keeps us dry on Monday, and with the air mass moderating, high temperatures at or above normal. A cold front may then bring a chance of showers on Tuesday with highs above normal. && .AVIATION /13Z WEDNESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY/... low pressure will pass SE of the terminals today. Snow or a rain/snow mix along with sub-VFR conditions has begun to spread through the terminals from SW to NE. Prevailing IFR in snow is expected a couple of hours after the onset if precipitation. The precipitation then becomes a mixed rain and snow for the city terminals and KISP around 18-20z. Precip ends 00-02z for most spots. North of NYC, the precipitation is expected to remain all snow. There is a chance that some LIFR vsbys develop in any heavier snow that falls. E-SE winds under 10 kt for the morning push, increasing to around 10 kt from the E by noon. ...NY Metro (KEWR/KLGA/KJFK/KTEB) TAF Uncertainty... There is a chance that precip remains as all snow, or that the timing for a rain snow mix this afternoon is off by a couple of hours. Around an inch of snow is forecast for the NYC terminals. 1-3 inches of snow is expected for the terminals north of NYC. The afternoon KJFK, KLGA, and KEWR haze potential forecast is YELLOW...which implies slant range visibility 4-6SM outside of cloud. .OUTLOOK FOR 12Z THURSDAY THROUGH SUNDAY... .Thu-Fri...VFR. .Fri night...MVFR or lower with rain possible. Increasing S winds. .Sat...MVFR or lower. Rain, possibly changing to a rain/snow mix in the afternoon/evening. Winds becoming NW/W with gusts up to 40kt possible. .Sun...VFR with gusty W winds around 25 kt. Detailed information, including hourly TAF wind component forecasts, can be found at: https:/www.weather.gov/zny/n90 && .MARINE... Conditions are forecast to remain below SCA criteria through Wednesday night. There is some potential for the passing offshore low to raise waves to 5 or 6 ft late Wednesday night on the eastern two ocean zones. Other than marginal small craft seas on the eastern ocean on Thursday, sub-small craft conditions are expected for Thursday through Friday night, although seas will begin to climb late Friday night into Saturday morning. SCA conditions start on eastern ocean during Saturday morning with a quick ramp up to small craft conditions for all waters during the day. By late Saturday afternoon and evening Gale conditions will be likely on the ocean waters and most, if not all, of the non-ocean waters. Widespread SCA conditions for all waters are expected Sunday as gales may linger early out on the ocean. Seas and winds gradually subside through the day from west to east. && .HYDROLOGY... 1/3 to 1/2 of liquid equivalent is expected today into tonight, which is not expected to case any hydrologic problems, especially since in most locations, it will be in the form so snow. A half inch to an inch and a half of rainfall will be possible Friday night through Saturday night, with the bulk of it falling during the daytime Saturday. So far it appears that impacts would be limited to minor nuisance/poor drainage flooding, but there is still potential for greater impacts. Confidence in seeing greater impacts is still low at this time. && .OKX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... CT...None. NY...Winter Weather Advisory until 7 PM EST this evening for NYZ067. NJ...Winter Weather Advisory until 7 PM EST this evening for NJZ002. MARINE...None. && SYNOPSIS...JC/JP NEAR TERM...JP SHORT TERM...JP LONG TERM...JC AVIATION...BC/JC MARINE...JC/JP HYDROLOGY...JC/JP
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service New York NY 333 AM EST Wed Mar 9 2022 CTZ005>012-NJZ004-006-103>108-NYZ068>075-078>081-176>179-100845- Northern Fairfield-Northern New Haven-Northern Middlesex- Northern New London-Southern Fairfield-Southern New Haven- Southern Middlesex-Southern New London-Eastern Passaic-Hudson- Western Bergen-Eastern Bergen-Western Essex-Eastern Essex- Western Union-Eastern Union-Putnam-Rockland-Northern Westchester- Southern Westchester-New York (Manhattan)-Bronx- Richmond (Staten Island)-Kings (Brooklyn)-Northwest Suffolk- Northeast Suffolk-Southwest Suffolk-Southeast Suffolk- Northern Queens-Northern Nassau-Southern Queens-Southern Nassau- 333 AM EST Wed Mar 9 2022 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for southern Connecticut, northeast New Jersey and southeast New York. .DAY ONE...Today and tonight. The probability for widespread hazardous weather is low. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Thursday through Tuesday. No hazardous weather is expected at this time that would meet NWS warning criteria. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation may be needed. && This Hazardous Weather Outlook provides a summary of potential widespread hazardous weather events that may reach NWS warning criteria. Most long fused NWS watches, warnings, and advisories in effect are highlighted. Please refer to the latest NWS forecasts for weather not meeting NWS warning criteria. NJZ002-NYZ067-100845- Western Passaic-Orange- 333 AM EST Wed Mar 9 2022 ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 PM EST THIS EVENING... This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for northeast New Jersey and southeast New York. .DAY ONE...Today and tonight. Please listen to NOAA Weather Radio or go to weather.gov on the Internet for more information about the following hazards. Winter Weather Advisory. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Thursday through Tuesday. Hazardous weather is not expected at this time that would meet NWS warning criteria. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation may be needed. && This Hazardous Weather Outlook provides a summary of potential widespread hazardous weather events that may reach NWS warning criteria. Most long fused NWS watches, warnings, and advisories in effect are highlighted. Please refer to the latest NWS forecasts for weather not meeting NWS warning criteria. ANZ331-332-335-338-340-345-350-353-355-100845- Long Island Sound East of New Haven CT/Port Jefferson NY to the Mouth of the Connecticut River- Long Island Sound East of the Mouth of the Connecticut River- Long Island Sound West of New Haven CT/Port Jefferson NY- New York Harbor-Peconic and Gardiners Bays- South Shore Bays from Jones Inlet through Shinnecock Bay- Moriches Inlet NY to Montauk Point NY out 20 nm- Fire Island Inlet NY to Moriches Inlet NY out 20 nm- Sandy Hook NJ to Fire Island Inlet NY out 20 nm- 333 AM EST Wed Mar 9 2022 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for Atlantic coastal waters. .DAY ONE...Today and tonight. Hazardous weather is not expected at this time. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Thursday through Tuesday. There is the potential for gale force wind gusts for Saturday afternoon and Saturday night .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation is not expected at this time. && This Hazardous Weather Outlook provides a summary of potential widespread hazardous weather events that may reach NWS warning criteria. Most long fused NWS watches, warnings, and advisories in effect are highlighted. Please refer to the latest NWS forecasts for weather not meeting NWS warning criteria.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.
Three to five inches fell across northern most Fairfield County. A trained spotter reported 5.3 inches of snow at 4 NNW New Fairfield. The general public reported 3.4 inches at 3 ENE New Fairfield. Amateur Radio reported 2.6 inches in Newtown.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Connecticut in 2022Every state in 2022This day in weather historyWarnings in Connecticut, March 2022
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: 1003949.