Connecticut Weather: Up To 18 Inches Of Snow Possible As Blizzard, Powerful Nor'easter Arrives Early Tuesday

And on Sunday night there was agreement from the state’s meteorologists and the National Weather Service that if a projected Nor’easter follows its current path then Connecticut is about to get clobbered with snow, which could now last into Wednesday morning.

Everyone has come around to the idea that current weather models show Connecticut receiving 12 to 18 inches of snow and some locations could see up to two feet before the storm departs early Wednesday morning.

However, NBC Connecticut Meteorologist Ryan Hanrahan shares on his blog that the track could shift a bit but even if that happens Connecticut is still looking at a 6-12 inch snow accumulation. And the powerful storm on its current track is estimated to drop 12 to 18 inches of snow on the state.

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A Blizzard Watch is in effect for the entire coast because winds could approach 50 mph and a Winter Storm Warning has been issued for the rest of the state including Hartford and Tolland counties, which had previously been under a Winter Storm Watch.

“This is a cool way of visualizing the possibilities with Tuesday's blizzard. The European model is showing 80-90% probabilities of over 12" of snow across Connecticut. For two days out these are huge numbers!” Hanrahan posted on social media.

WFSB 3 TV meteorologists say the snow begins around daybreak Tuesday or 5 a.m. and keeps snowing all the way until 2 a.m. Wednesday. If that timeline holds, many school districts won’t have school Tuesday or Wednesday. WFSB meteorologists say the snow could fall at rates of 2 to 4 inches per hour.

Fox 61 Meteorologist Dan Amarante‏ is predicting 12 to 22 inches of snow for Connecticut.

“We've upped the range slightly as more data comes in this afternoon. Gusts up above 50 mph with heavy snow Tuesday,” Amarante said on social media.

WTNH News 8 predicts 15 to 25 inches for most of Connecticut except 10 to 15 inches in New London County.

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Here’s the official breakdown of the storm via the National Weather Service:

Coastal areas of Fairfield and New Haven counties along with all of Middlesex and New London counties:

Snow accumulates 12 to 18 inches and winds will be 20 to 30 mph with gusts 40 to 50 mph and temps in the 20s. Some power outages are possible.

Interior sections of Fairfield and New Haven counties:
Snow accumulates 12 to 18 inches and winds will be 15 to 25 mph with gusts up to 40 mph. Temps in the mid to upper 20s.

Hartford and Tolland counties:

Snow also accumulates 12 to 18 inches and there is a low risk for up to two feet of snow. Snow arrives after 4 a.m. and snowfall rates of 2-4 inches per hour are possible Tuesday afternoon. Winds will be 10-20 mph with some gusts approaching 45 mph.

Original post:

The grocery stores in Connecticut are going to do record business today on the sale of bread, milk and eggs as the state prepares for a potential blizzard, major Nor'easter that as of right now is forecast to dump a foot or more of snow before it exits stage left on Wednesday morning.

Of course in a storm of this magnitude, which is still a couple of days away, snow accumulation estimates are all over the map, but the general consensus is that we’re looking at around a foot of snow and you’re just not going to want to travel on Tuesday. We’ll also see how many snow days students and teachers will receive this week.

A Blizzard Watch is in effect for most of southern Connecticut and a Winter Storm Watch is in effect for the rest of the state. In reality, the only difference between the two is that winds closer to the coast may reach gusts of up to 50 mph at times Tuesday, which is required for a blizzard to be declared.

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Here’s the Sunday update on snow accumulation estimates and timing of the storm according to leading Connecticut meteorologists and the National Weather Service.

NBC Connecticut Meteorologist Ryan Hanrahan wrote, “Big storm for Tuesday. Overnight model trends have converged to all show big hits. I'm thinking 12" or more of snow statewide.”

WTNH News 8 Meteorologist Kevin Arnone wrote at News 8 that he’s predicting a minimum of 10 inches to a maximum of 20 inches of snow for the entire state. He said the snow begins 3 a.m.-6 a.m. Tuesday and keeps on going until early Wednesday. At times, there could be three inches of snow per hour. As of right now, this is all snow, no mixed precipitation.

WFSB 3 TV Meteorologist Mike Cameron is predicting a foot of snow for most of the entire state but he notes that some of the models are not in agreement on snow accumulation estimates. One model is showing a more conservative 6-9 inches of snow for most of the state while another one is forecasting 13 to 20 inches for Connecticut.

And here’s the latest estimates from the National Weather Service, which is predicting 12 to 18 inches for all of Fairfield, New Haven, Middlesex, and New London counties. For Hartford and Tolland counties, the weather service will only say, “snow accumulation of greater than 6 inches possible.”

Timing of the Big Storm

As for timing, the weather service says snow may begin after 1 a.m. Tuesday in the south and western part of the state and continue as a steady snow up until midnight and then it tapers off to snow showers early Wednesday. In northern areas of Connecticut, the snow may not begin until around 4 a.m. Tuesday, the weather service states and taper off around midnight.

On the plus side, Monday will be sunny and a bit warmer with temps in the mid 30s. And don’t look now, but there is another chance for more snow next weekend too. Remember, when it was pushing 70 degrees in mid February in Connecticut?

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