WEATHER UPDATE: Snow and Ice to Hit Waterford This Weekend

By Brian McCready (Patch Staff) and Jaimie Cura

As we bask in the glow of breaking a record dating back to 1966 for record cold on today’s date for Connecticut, our attention turns to snow, sleet, freezing rain and — depending on where you live — a plain rain storm that will impact us mid-to-late afternoon on Saturday and ending by midday on Sunday.

If you’re curious about the record, a 1 degree temperature was recorded at Bridgeport at 6 a.m. Friday, which beat the previous record low of 2 degrees set in 1966.

Now back to the snow and wintry mix in the forecast.

WFSB 3 Meteorologist Scott Haney predicts 2 to 6 inches of snow to accumulate statewide with the highest totals coming north and west of Hartford.

Another major snowstorm is possible for midweek next week, Haney cautions.

NBC Connecticut meteorologists are predicting 2 to 4 inches of snow, sleet, and freezing rain to accumulate from this latest storm, and they too caution a major storm is possible for midweek.

WTNH News 8’s Meteorologist Gil Simmons is predicting light snow to begin between 4 and 7 p.m. on Saturday and it will change to ice overnight and possibly some plain rain for parts of the Connecticut shoreline.

NBC Connecticut Meteorologist Darren Sweeney wrote on Facebook:

“Good news to the forecast I posted earlier in the week. The midday data is starting to come in line for the weekend. Earlier data suggested a slug of moisture in the form of rain, which seemed unlikely given our very cold pattern well entrenched, but the data was consistent. Finally, the data looks more like it should, with less rain and more snow.

If you’re sick of snow, that sounds like bad news but Sweeney said it’s actually good to have more snow.

“No one needs the rain to soak into the snowpack on rooftops, garages, etc.,” he wrote.

Local Forecast from the National Weather Service

• Friday: Sunny and cold, with a high near 16. Wind chill values between -10 and zero. West wind 14 to 18 mph, with gusts as high as 28 mph.

• Friday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 0. Wind chill values between -5 and zero. West wind 5 to 9 mph becoming calm in the evening.

• Saturday: Snow likely, mainly after 4 p.m. Increasing clouds, with a high near 33. Wind chill values between -10 and zero. Light south wind increasing to 5 to 10 mph in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New snow accumulation of around an inch possible.

• Saturday Night: Snow before midnight, then rain and snow. Low around 33. Wind chill values between 25 and 30. South wind 8 to 11 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New snow accumulation of 1 to 2 inches possible.

• Sunday: Rain and snow before noon, then a chance of rain between noon and 5 p.m., then a slight chance of rain and snow after 5 p.m. High near 41. West wind 7 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. Little or no snow accumulation expected.

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Photo by Photommo, via flickr creative commons