Baby, It’s Cold Outside!

By Steve Bigham

Things were feeling almost balmy late this week compared to the frigid temperatures that struck the Northeast on Monday and Tuesday. By Wednesday, temperatures had soared into the 20s. By Thursday the snow began to fall, putting a cap on what has been the most wintry week of the season.

The cold weather wreaked havoc on cars and pipes earlier this week. According to a spokesman at the Western Connecticut State University weather center, the thermometer reached its lowest point in the area on Tuesday morning, when it dropped to minus three degrees. But when you figure in the wind-chill factor, the coldest morning came on Monday when it reached 30 to 40 below between 6 and 8 am.

“I don’t think we’ve been this cold in a few years,” noted Michael Erickson. “We had a mild blocking pattern that was finally broken. The jet stream had been well to the north of us. Now it’s well to the south of us. You could safely say we experienced Arctic air this week.”

Local ice fisherman Art Shimko didn’t seem to mind the cold as he set up his flags on a frozen Taunton Lake Road Wednesday afternoon. The 40-year Newtown resident said he didn’t think there would be any ice fishing this year. Usually, if there’s no ice by early January, the chances of a good ice-fishing season are slim. But this week’s exceptionally cold weather changed all that.

“It started out so warm this winter. The lake just started to freeze over about a week ago. Now we’ve got six inches out here,” he said.