Mammatus Clouds in Connecticut!

There was a severe weather event in Connecticut yesterday, June 23rd 2015. The worst of the weather was just inland from coastal Connecticut (most likely due to a seabreeze!) where towns of Wallingford and North Haven Connecticut were hit by multiple microbursts as confirmed by the National Weather Service. In those towns, winds reached upwards of 95 mph as air sank from the thunderstorms to the ground and spread out, toppling trees and damaging property. 

Where I live, we just saw some cool clouds, a few gusts of wind and a couple lightning bolts. Nothing too impressive, at least until sunset. As the storms began to move past us and the sun began to set, I was treated to an AMAZING display of nature's beauty. 

It all began as a strange yellow glow coming through the windows. As I stepped outside and looked around, I almost couldn't believe what was right outside my front porch...Mammatus Clouds! 

Mammatus clouds are a type of cloud that forms following a severe weather event, like tornadoes. These clouds look like little bubbles underneath the clouds and are formed as the thunderstorms weaken. As the storms weaken, downdrafts and updrafts mix together to form the udder (yes, like a cow udder) like structure to the base of the clouds. They are often seen in midwestern states but aren't as common here in the north east. 

Check out the photos I took below of the Mammatus clouds in Connecticut. I also took some great photos of the amazing sky at sunset too! 

All photos were taken by me in Milford, CT. 

Severe Thunderstorm Watch Issued 6/23/15

The National Weather Service has issued a Severe Thunderstorm Watch for all of Connecticut untill 4 pm est. It looks like the chance of storms is increasing since the sun is staying out longer than expected, allowing temps to rise into the 80's already with dewpoints up into the 70's! It's definitely muggy enough for a severe thunderstorm!

What is Storm Surge? Fast Draw Video

The Atlantic hurricane season begins in a few days on June 1st. Although, we've already had our first named storm, Ana, here is a cool video released by the National Hurricane Center on what Storm Surge is. 

This video is called "fast draw", it's a type of video that explains a topic or issue (in this case storm surge) by showing an illustrator drawing it. They speed up the video to make it flow better. The effect is pretty cool!  This video also goes well with my storm surge article on Hubpages. 

Storm surge is an important event to understand and expect when a storm is approaching the coastline! Although, storms may be measured by their pressure and winds, it is usually the water that does the most damage and takes the most amount of lives! 

Hurricane Gloria 27th Anniversary

Thursday September 27, 2012 was the 27th anniversary of Hurricane Gloria making landfall in Long Island and Connecticut.  The storm is the last Hurricane to make landfall in Connecticut.  Although Tropical Storm Irene came pretty close last year (2011). In the  link below I made a slide show for a local weather site comparing the photos I took during Tropical storm Irene to those that my dad took (I wasn't alive in 1985 when Hurricane Gloria hit!).  Both set of pictures were awfully similar even though Gloria was much stronger than Tropical Storm Irene.  What made them so similar in destruction was simple...timing!  Hurricane Gloria hit during low tide and moved through within hours, where as Irene hit right at astronomical high tide, bringing with it an impressive storm surge! 

Check out the link:   Side by Side Photo Comparison: Hurricane Gloria vs. Tropical Storm Irene

couds 9/29/11