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Andrew Elder shoveled out his walk in good humor Thursday morning, but as he neared completion he admitted he was tired of it. "I didn't think we were going to get this much," Elder said.
He had good reason to be surprised. Forecasts were for up to 9 inches of snow. But the National Weather Service reports 14 inches in Norwalk and 17 inches in West Norwalk.
Brad Ryan, a Department of Public Works employee, spent the overnight snowplowing and reported whiteout conditions.
Elder's neighbor, Dennis Saunders, has lived in Norwalk for 22 years and says this month's snowfall is the "most we've ever had in January, ever."
That might be true. The National Weather Service reports that this is the snowiest month on record for Connecticut, based on measurements at Bradley International Airport, where 47.8 inches have fallen so far in January. The previous record at Bradley was 45.3 inches in 1945.
The record for New Haven is 46.3 inches in February 1934, according to the Ohio Weather Library website. There is no figure for January.
According to the state Department of Environmental Protection, January averages 3.5 inches of liquid precipitation with 12.3 inches of snowfall. But Ryan says this year's snowfall isn't that unusual, saying it's "similar to 1994."
Elder thought this winter might be snowy. "But I didn't think it would be this amount," he said. "It feels like every week there's a snowstorm." He wishes there were more ski resorts close by.
Saunders said he was sick of snow, but his dog Rocky is enjoying it, even though he isn't much taller than the snow. "He loves it," said Saunders, a Vietnam veteran who grew up in Bridgeport. "You should see him play." Rocky makes his own paths in the snow, he said.
Valerie Dimeglio wishes one of her three dogs would do that. After shoveling the walkway for human feet, she shoveled a circular path for her pets, which includes an elderly Labrador with a bad leg. "I'm sick of shoveling," she said. "It's terrible, I'm pretending it's like a workout."
Are you sick of snow? Does your dog love it? Comment below.
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