Potentially Powerful Snowstorm Coming to Connecticut

Litchfield County is under a winter storm watch and Middlebury's forecast contains a hazardous weather outlook for northern New Haven County as of 4 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 7.

Snowfall rates may exceed one inch per hour on Friday evening, Feb. 8, in some parts of the state, according to the National Weather Service.

Just days past the 35th anniversary of the historic Blizzard of '78, which dumped more than two feet of snow on Connecticut, another major winter storm is bearing down on us and current computer models indicate it could bring as much as a foot of snow to some areas.

The National Weather Service today says that the current track of the storm could bring "near blizzard' conditions to parts of the state by Friday night "with significant snowfall likely" across eastern Connecticut and eastern Long Island.

Naugatuck's Forecast

• Thursday Night: A chance of snow, mainly after midnight. Cloudy, with a low around 22. East wind 7 to 9 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50 percent. New snow accumulation of less than one inch possible.

• Friday: Snow before 3 p.m., then snow and freezing rain. The freezing rain and snow could be heavy at times. High near 32. Breezy, with a east wind 13 to 21 mph, with gusts as high as 32 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100 percent. New snow accumulation of 3 to 5 inches possible.

• Friday Night: Snow. The snow could be heavy at times. Low around 19. Windy, with a north wind 23 to 26 mph, with gusts as high as 55 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100 percent.

• Saturday: A chance of snow before noon. Partly sunny, with a high near 27. Blustery. Chance of precipitation is 50 percent.

The weather services says it is still watching the approaching system and is holding off on issuing any hazardous weather warnings until the track and size of the storm become more clear.

The impending snow is the result of two storms that are coming together, one from the Great Lakes region, the other from the Gulf Coast, as they approach the Northeast, according to Fox Meteorologist Rachel Frank. The Gulf system has a lot of moisture and the one from the Great Lakes is bringing little precipitation but plenty of cold air, Frank says.

In 1978 a blizzard hit the state on Feb. 6 and the storm, which raged for about 24 hours, left as much as 30 inches of snow in some areas, forcing the closing of the state and paralyzing traffic for days.