Connecticut, 2023

Heavy Snow in Connecticut, February 27 to 28, 2023

February 27 to 28, 2023 · NWS BOX · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

A potent mid level low/shortwave deamplified as it moved east-southeast from the Ohio Valley late on the 27th and early on the 28th. then moved east, passing well south of southern New England.

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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
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 BOX wrote it up.

A potent mid level low/shortwave deamplified as it moved east-southeast from the Ohio Valley late on the 27th and early on the 28th. At the surface, while the parent low lifted across the Great Lakes, a secondary low developed over DelMarVa in response to height falls from approaching trough...then moved east, passing well south of southern New England. The result was a northwest-to-southeast oriented band of heavy snow from western MA to northern and eastern CT to southern RI. Six to nine inches of snow fell in those regions. There was a very sharp cutoff to the northeast, with only one to two inches falling in northeastern MA and Cape Cod.

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 Boston/Norton, MA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 27, 4:04 PM EST, 4 hours 56 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 27, 4:04 PM EST, 4 hours 56 minutes before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>
Hazardous weather outlook, Feb 27, 4:08 PM EST, 4 hours 52 minutes before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

3 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Hartford

When
February 27, 9:00 PM EST to February 28, 9:00 AM EST
Where
Hartford forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
41.819, -72.572 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Hartford County generally received 4 to 8 inches of snow. Some specific amounts included: 8.0 inches in Granby; 7.0 inches in both North Canton and Simsbury; 6.8 inches in Bristol; 6.5 inches in East Windsor; 6.2 inches in Newington; 6.0 inches in Glastonbury; 5.9 inches a Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks; 5.0 inches in Marlborough; and 4.0 inches in Wethersfield.

Heavy Snow, Tolland

When
February 27, 9:00 PM EST to February 28, 9:00 AM EST
Where
Tolland forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter

Snowfall generally ranged from 5.0 to 7.5 inches in Tolland County. Some specific totals included: 7.5 inches in Rockville; 7.0 inches in both Coventry and Storrs; 6.8 inches in Columbia; 6.4 inches in Hebron; 6.0 inches in Andover, Bolton, and Staffordville; and 5.4 inches in Vernon.

Heavy Snow, Windham

When
February 27, 9:00 PM EST to February 28, 10:00 AM EST
Where
Windham forecast zone
Reported by
CoCoRaHS
Coordinates
41.827, -71.977 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Snowfall totals ranged from 4.5 to 6.8 inches in Windham County. Some specific amounts included: 6.8 inches in Moosup; 6.7 inches in Eastford; 6.6 inches in Scotland; 6.5 inches in Canterbury, Hampton, and Pomfret; 6.3 inches at the Willimantic Airport; 5.0 inches in Danielson; and 4.5 inches in East Killingly.

What these are

Heavy Snow
Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Connecticut in 2023Every state in 2023This day in weather historyWarnings in Connecticut, February 2023

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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 1081646, 1081647, 1081649.