Connecticut did not set a new rainfall record this summer during a deadly August storm that killed three people, according to a review released Wednesday by the National Weather Service.
Flooding devastated parts of southwestern Connecticut earlier this year, wiping away cars, homes and leaving business and roads throughout the region destroyed.
The storm also produced a lot of rain. In Sandy Hook, over 10 inches fell and officials reported more than 9 inches of rain in Shelton and parts of Monroe. Other parts of the state, including Stamford and Norwalk, saw more than 6 inches.
But it was the town of Oxford that caught the eye of meteorologists.
Two rainfall measurements there – 13.5 inches and 14.83 inches on Aug. 18 – appeared to break the state’s 24-hour rainfall record, which has stood for nearly 70 years.
In response, officials from the National Weather Service began a formal review of the possible record-setting rain.
But that review has now invalidated the measurements, with weather officials citing problems with the way private weather stations got the numbers.
The NWS review says a rain gauge in Oxford was too close to trees, possibly impacting its totals. Another station in that town had a setup that weather officials could not verify.
As a result, Connecticut's official 24-hour rainfall record remains unchanged, according to the weather service. That record stands at 12.77 inches, a total set during Hurricane Diane in 1955.
