Connecticut, 2023

Extreme Cold in Connecticut, February 4, 2023

February 4, 2023 · NWS OKX · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

Arctic Air from a 1040+ mb high pressure system built into the region from the west providing strong N to NW winds and sub zero temperatures to NE portions of Southern Connecticut. An arctic cold front passed through the region during the morning of February 3, 2023.

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
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 OKX wrote it up.

Arctic Air from a 1040+ mb high pressure system built into the region from the west providing strong N to NW winds and sub zero temperatures to NE portions of Southern Connecticut. An arctic cold front passed through the region during the morning of February 3, 2023. Strong cold air advection along with a tightening pressure gradient produced strong winds in an arctic air mass across Southern Connecticut during the evening and a good portion of the overnight into the early morning on February 4, 2023.

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 Feb 4, 1:36 AM EST, 9 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 4, 1:36 AM EST, 9 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Feb 4, 1:22 AM EST, 23 minutes before
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In the hours before

Local storm report, Feb 3, 8:18 PM EST, 5 hours 27 minutes before
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Special weather statement, Feb 4, 1:29 AM EST, 16 minutes before
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Special weather statement, Feb 4, 1:33 AM EST, 12 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

2 extreme cold/wind chill. Local standard time, as filed.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Northern New London

When
February 4, 1:45 AM EST to 6:00 AM EST
Where
Northern New London forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
41.504, -72.101 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Mesonet station KCTLEDYA40 in Ledyard, CT reported a wind chill of -27 F beginning at 1:44 am. Also, mesonet station KCTGALES8 in Gales Ferry, CT reported a wind chill of -29 F beginning at 1:49 am.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Northern Middlesex

When
February 4, 2:30 AM EST to 6:00 AM EST
Where
Northern Middlesex forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
41.451, -72.508 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Mesonet station KCTEASTH159 in East Haddam, CT reported a wind chill of -30 F beginning at 1:54 am. Also, mesonet station KCTDEEPR2 in Deep River, CT reported a wind chill of -27 F beginning at 3:09 am.

What these are

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill
Temperatures or wind chills at or below the local warning criteria, or cold that caused deaths.

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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 1073690, 1073691.