Severe Weather Arriving in Connecticut Sooner, Rather Than Later

Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) recently noted that the pattern of increasingly severe precipitation, especially in the Northeast, is forecasted to continue as global average temperatures rise. For every degree of warming in Fahrenheit, the atmosphere can hold about 3%-4% more moisture, the agency explained. Global temperatures in 2023 were more than 2 degrees Fahrenheit above the pre-industrial average, and with particular heat records being set in Connecticut, it’s no surprise that precipitation records were also set as the atmosphere’s moisture capacity increased.

The National Climate Assessment found that days with 3 inches of precipitation or more went up 62% from 1958 to 2018, and the number of days with at least 5 inches more than doubled, the agency noted.  A recent study cited projects that extreme precipitation will increase by 51.6% by the end of the century, with total precipitation increasing by 9.7%. More extreme precipitation means Connecticut towns will need to prepare for more severe flooding events, and the likelihood of floods like the one we experienced in August will only continue to increase, they predicted.

Increased precipitation isn’t the only consequence climate change is having on the Northeast, DEEP indicated.   The point out that last year was the second-hottest year at Bradley International Airport since the station began recording in 1949. At Groton-New London Airport, it was also second-hottest year, and at Igor Sikorski in Stratford, it was the sixth-hottest year on record.

The EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service confirmed that 2023 was the hottest year in recorded history worldwide, surpassing 2016. Connecticut saw its warmest January in recorded history in 2023, which was also the least snowy winter ever in Bridgeport. Data from the Connecticut Institute for Resilience & Climate Adaptation (CIRCA) indicates that by 2050, Connecticut is expected to have an average of 20 additional days per year where the temperature rises above 90 degrees, according to data gathered by the agency.

“we are already experiencing the effects now, and they are approaching faster than we are prepared for”

"This summer, our state experienced the impacts of a rapidly changing climate – from Canadian wildfire smoke creating hazardous air quality conditions to torrents of rain that damaged our roads, flooded homes and businesses, and swelled our rivers," said DEEP Commissioner Katie Dykes of the record-setting 2023 weather.

2023 was also one of the warmest years on record for the surface-sea temperature of Long Island Sound, two degrees Fahrenheit warmer than the long-term (1991-2020) average, according to Gulf of Maine Research Institute. Although weather patterns affect sea temperatures less dramatically than land temperatures, even slight increases in water temperatures can lead to increased hypoxia and negative impacts on biodiversity in Long Island Sound, DEEP notes.

DEEP points out in the latest issue of the e-newsletter Sound Outlook that “if we have the data showing that the hotter and wetter summers are increasing the danger” of these events occurring, it is important to plan for them at the individual, municipal, and statewide level.”

“We tend to think of climate change and rising sea level as something that is going to be a consequence that we will have to deal with in 10 years, or 50 years, or next century. However, the fact of the matter is we are already experiencing the effects now, and they are approaching faster than we are prepared for. We know these events are going to continue to happen, and that it’s not a matter of “if,” but “when” they will occur. And we know that the ‘when’ is only becoming more frequent.”