Mark Boughton

Things have settled down a little since this morning.

We do expect a burst of precipitation starting later tonight and going all day tomorrow. This will be primarily be an ice event.

Right now we are under an Ice Storm Warning.

Stay warm and stay safe.

Here’s the latest on the storm:

HEAVY BURST OF SNOW ALONG THE COAST THIS MORNING AHEAD OF MAIN STORM…
MODERATE TO LARGE WINTER STORM EXPECTED THIS EVENING AND OVERNIGHT…
WINTER STORM WARNINGS IN EFFECT FOR MOST OF THE STATE…

At 11:45 AM radar and surface observations showed moderate to heavy snow falling along the coast with light snow and flurries in the Hartford area.  Another band of moderate to heavy snow is currently moving northeast across Northern New Jersey and Long Island.  This second band of snow is forecast to impact the I-95 corridor between Noon and 2:30 PM with an additional 2 – 4 inches of snow expected along the coast.  The following forecast has a fair confidence level at this time:

This Afternoon: Cloudy with moderate to heavy snow along the coast between noon and 2:30 PM.  The snow is then forecast to taper off to flurries or a light mix for the afternoon rush hour.  The impact on the afternoon rush hour is expected to be minor in Central and Northern CT and potentially a moderate impact along the coast in a few towns.  Highs in the upper 20’s to low 30’s.

Tonight: Snow is forecast to begin to pick up in intensity between 7:00 – 9:00 PM.  Snow becoming moderate and then heavy at times by 11:00 PM.  Snowfall rates of 1 – 3 inches per hour are possible between 11:00 PM and 4:00 AM Thursday morning.  Strong North winds of 25 – 35 MPH with gusts to 50 MPH along the coast may result in near blizzard conditions in Southern CT at times overnight.

Thursday Morning: Snow ending from Southwest to Northeast between 3:00 – 6:00 AM.  The impact on the morning rush hour is forecast to be moderate across most of the state and major in towns that receive the heaviest snowfall overnight.

Thursday Afternoon: Clearing and relatively mild with highs in the 30’s.  Some melting of snow is expected, however water on the roadways may re-freeze Thursday evening.

Total Snowfall: Storm total snowfall (including the un-expected burst of heavy snow this morning) is forecast to range from 3 – 5” of powdery snow in the NW Hills, 6 – 12” of snow in a band from Danbury to Hartford to Northeastern CT, and 8 – 14” in a band from Southwestern CT to Middletown and Norwich.

Note: Both models are showing an area of much heavier precipitation just off shore overnight tonight.  These models have already missed this morning’s forecast by 50 miles and any change in the forecast track of this storm to the north by as little as 50 miles tonight could result in a significant increase in snowfall amounts overnight.  Another update on this storm will be issued by DEMHS at 3:00 PM this afternoon.

I have even later data which ups the storm totals to 13″-15″.

Stay tuned..

I will never forget the blizzard of 78′ (jeez I sound like such an old timer).

I was 12 years old and was a paper boy for the News-Times. Back in the day, the News-Times was an afternoon paper.

I had already become a political junkie, my father was mayor at the time and the News-Times was the sole source of political news in the city. I would anticipate the delivery of the paper everyday so I could read about the latest news in Danbury government and politics.

As soon as the newspapers arrived, I would quickly open the plastic that covered the papers and sit down and read the news before I delivered the to the residents on my route.

I will never forget the blizzard of 78′ because the Superintendent of Schools canceled school before the first snow flake fell. I remember my mother complaining that my sisters and I had no school and there was absolutely no snow on the ground.

But my dad knew differently. He was already at the public works complex planning the city’s response to what we would be one of the wort storms of the 20th century.

As I stood on our front lawn, I watched the first snowflake fall around mid morning. It was one of those big fat snowflakes that you think will never last..

It snowed for two days. 24″ of snow fell in Danbury, the City and the State of Connecticut were paralyzed for days. Governor Ella Grasso became a state folk hero by surveying the storm from the air and directing the storm response with a hands on approach.

People were stranded on the highways and the roads.

Electricity was out in many parts of the state and some people did not get power back for weeks.

Locally, we didn’t have school for several days.

As usual, I walked down to the drop off point for the newspapers at around 3 pm. I could not find them. I frantically searched the area by poking through the snow with my hands and a stick, nothing. I realized that I was looking for a needle in a haystack. White newspapers in a pile of white snow in a blinding snow storm? Forget it. I gave up, feeling dejected that my customers would not receive their paper that day.

It took weeks for the city and the state to return to normal.

Compare that to the response that occurred during yesterdays storm. 24.1″ of snow is more than we received in the blizzard of 78′. Yet, today schools are open (sorry Danbury students, but you will thank me later in life), streets are passable and clear. The power grid is up and all of our response planning worked.

By 11 am yesterday you could travel in Danbury.

That doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It happens because of the hard work of our Public Works staff, people like Antonio Iadarola, Duke Hart, Dave Cooke, all of our foremen, and the individual drivers that started at 8 pm on Tuesday and finished late last night.

It happens because our Emergency Service departments led by Chief Baker and Chief Herald, pitch in to make sure that our residents are safe and secure.  It happens because of people like Paul Estefan, who worked with Danbury Hospital to ensure that  patients received their treatment and that all of the staff got to work safely.

Bravo. Great job.

And to the residents of Danbury? Thank you for your cooperation and your support while we go about our clean up. I will try not to call you again at 5:45 am.

Oh,  and those newspapers? I found them on a warm spring day in May, once the snow had melted.

My customers were quite surprised to receive two newspapers in one day.

Here’s to a warm spring day. I am sure one is on the way..

We are declaring a Level 1 Snow Emergency as of 5 pm. It’s a real mess out there so if you don’t have to travel please stay off the roads.

Here is a summary of our snow emergency protocols.

We are expecting a few more inches of snow tonight. It is possible we may see a similar snow event tomorrow evening.

Stay tuned..

Yesterday was an important day for Connecticut. A new Governor was sworn in, and the General Assembly was officially sworn in as well.

The challenge before our state government is profound. A 3.5 billion dollar (more if you use GAAP accounting), is the largest deficit the state has ever faced.

Governor Malloy has spoken of shared sacrifice, that is what he believes it will take to begin to erase the deficit and put our fiscal house in order.

But what does “shared sacrifice” mean?

Are our state employee unions, state residents, and service providers ready for sacrifice- real sacrifice?

Are the dozens of special interest groups who roam the halls of the Capital ready for sacrifice?

For most people, “shared sacrifice” sounds great as long as it doesn’t impact their benefit, or their pocketbook, or their job.

For the members of the legislature “shared sacrifice”  is fine as long as it doesn’t cut their pet program or project.

For cities and towns “shared sacrifice” is terrific as long as it does not impact municipal aid.

That is the challenge that the new administration faces.

Already we are seeing the difference between campaign rhetoric and governing. Malloy has had to back pedal on one of his core promises to move the state to GAAP accounting immediately upon taking office by issuing a watered down executive order that makes it unclear as to when the state will actually use GAAP accounting.

Locally, we will have our own budget challenges to work on. A lack of state aid means that local property tax payers will have to shoulder more of the burden just to preserve current funding levels. However,  preserving current funding levels does not mean current services will be maintained, as the City faces increased costs in energy, insurance, fuel, and state mandated contracts.

That is why the decisions that happen at the Capital have an impact on our own budget decisions in Danbury.

A successful state, means a successful Danbury.

As Mayor of Danbury I wish every success on the new administration.

Here’s to “shared sacrifice”..

Due to the storm, we have declared a Level 3 Snow Emergency. This means that all travel on city streets is banned with exception of emergency personnel, emergency vehicles and 4 wheel drive vehicles. The ban will be in effect until 7 am tomorrow. Police will be ticketing and towing vehicles in the street or those that are ignoring the ban. The Patriot Garage is open for those that do not have a place to park their car free of charge. Thanks for your cooperation.

Some of you have emailed and asked what a Level 1 Snow Emergency means. Here is the link for our City of Danbury Snow Emergency Protocols. FYI: Looks like we may skip Level 2 and move directly to Level 3.  We have never reached Level 3 since we began the system.  Tonight may be the first time…

The National Weather Service is predicting a whopper of a storm for our area.

We are declaring a Level 1 Snow Emergency in Danbury starting at 2 pm. Please move your car off of the street so we can commence snow removal operations.

If you have outdoor holiday decorations, we recommend that you secure them as we are expecting strong winds this evening.

12″ to 18″ possible by the time its all over.

Stay off the roads tonight if at all possible.