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I'm an Emmy Award Winning meteorologist at Fox 61 in Hartford. For the latest forecast updates (and fun stuff too, like food and family pics), please follow me on Facebook, twitter and instagram. I look forward to interacting with you there!

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Thursday, December 24, 2009

Check Me Out in January's Hartford Magazine!

I'm standing right next to my buddy Ryan Hanrahan! Shhhhh...no one is supposed to know I'm friends with the competition. But we went to school together ;)

The other meteorologists: (Who cares about them, right? Hehe.)

Merry X-Mas!

From.....the GRINCH! (Don't let kids watch, they'll think I'm mean!)

Monday, December 21, 2009

Post Pre Holiday Storm

Storm Recap below video!
 

What an interesting storm! Snow accumulations ranged from 2 inches to 2 feet! If the storm came onshore 50 miles closer, the entire state would have seen double digit snowfall accumulations. If the storm was a little further offshore we would have seen little to nothing. There was such a sharp gradient!

Here are snowfall totals. The first two links are from the National Weather Service.

Hartford, Tolland and Windham Counties

Fairfield, New London, New Haven, Middlesex Counties
CT DOT Reports (from across the state)

We did our first weekend morning cut-in on Sunday from 5:50 AM - 8:00 AM. It was great! We had Garett Argianas, Joe Furey and myself all covering the storm. Now that we have joined the Courant, our new mission is to truly be a station that the public can count on in any news and weather situation. There I go sounding corney again. Anyway, it was a little exhausting since all three of us were also on the News at 10 Saturday night before the storm! Here is one of my live hits from Sunday morning!
 

Footage from the night before the storm:

 

Saturday, December 19, 2009

Pre Holiday Snowstorm

Anyone who wished for a white Christmas this year may get their present a little early! I am going to give you the forecast two ways today. The quick and simple forecast (boring) and the detailed forecast (weather geeks unite!). Cheif Meteorologts Garett Argianas and I pulled out our hair for you trying to get you a good forecast. Bottom line, this is a big weekend for parties, and last minute shopping. But you may have to adjust your plans a little because of this huge snowstorm heading up the I-95 corridor.

Quick and Dirty Version:

~Increasing clouds and cold Saturday
~Main area of snow moving in within a few hours of sunset
~Heavy snow at times through Sunday morning/early afternoon
~Accumulations: 7"-14" for most of CT, 5"-10" north of the I-84

Detailed Forecast:
Get your holiday shopping/errands done during the morning/early afternoon today! Clouds will lower and thicken (Saturday). Although a few flakes could fly around in the afternoon, it looks like the bulk of the snow will arrive around sunset. Snow can come down heavy at times with rates of 1"-2" an hour possible. Since there has been a lot of cool air lately, snow should have no trouble sticking to the ground and making roads slick. Winds will whip the snow lowering visibility and makihg it hard to see while driving. Snow will last through at least Sunday morning, with most snow ending by noon. Usually in Connecticut, we draw a line on I-84 and make the snowfall accumulations higher to the north of that boundary. But because of the track of this storm, locations south of I-84 will see the most snow! We are expecting 7"-14" for most of the state. The colder air in place should make this a powdery, fluffy snow (which is harder to make a snowman with in my professional opinion). Temperatures will remain around or below freezing after this storm through Christmas Day (little melting).

Fun Fact: This is the last weekend to shop before Christmas making it difficult for people to get their gifts. If you a procastinator this will be the second year in a row you got screwed. We had a storm last year December 19-20 of 2008. Weird! Here are a couple of links with snowfall totals from last year's storms: Snowfall Totals #1, Snow Totals #2.

Discussion:
The track of the storm is the trickiest part because there will likely be a sharp cut off from snow to almost nothing. The northwest hills could see smaller amounts or much more if the storm shifts it track. There is an area of high pressure to the north of us. While it is close enough to help trap cold air in the region, I don't think it's too close that too much dry air wraps into the storm. Temperatures are cold enough that this is an ALL SNOW event. No sleet, no freezing rain, no mixture, just the powdery white stuff. There is a blizzard watch across Long Island, so we'll have to see if that alert gets exteneded to the immediate shoreline. Winds may get close to blizzard criteria. The air is very dry, so we will probably see a lot of virga around. That means snow could be falling from the sky but evaporatnig before it reaches the ground. The radar will look deceptive for a while tomorrow!

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Can You Dig It?

I do a weekly gardening segment now. The only problem is that winter is almost here. I am going to need to do a lot of INDOOR gardening over the months to come!

Live Christmas Trees: Trees you can re-plant after Christmas? How cool is that!?
 

Poinsettias:
 

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

FOXCT Goes HD, Shares Resources With Courant

When I interviewed at FOX61 prior to my accepting the job, the News Director told me FOX61 was planning to go HD in about a year. I have heard promises like this at previous stations that never followed through. So I didn't believe it.

But we did it.

The old set, honestly, made us look almost like a college TV station. But now, we "look" as good as our content. Although NBC Connecticut has an HD set, their live shots are not HD. That makes FOXCT the ONLY TV station in the state to go FULL HD. I am so proud to be a part of this team during the transformation!

The weather graphics...are 3D, unique and accurately depict the weather. Garett Argianas, our Chief Meteorologist fought to get our new weather system WSI TruVu Max. There are only a handful of stations in the country using the system.

We are now sharing resources with the Courant. With more people gathering news across the state, we get to cover more local stories!

I know I sound like a cheesy advertisement, but that should show you just how excited I am! Here's a good article about the transformation.

My life has been pretty hectic lately with training on the new system and getting ready for the move. My schedule is getting back to normal soon so I can regularly post blog entries. I hope to give you updates on an impending storms along with full storm discussions exclusively on this blog so keep checking back! Thanks!

Monday, December 14, 2009

FOXCT GOES HD!

My first HD weather forecast. It's about time!
 

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