'Miserable' Coastal Storm To Kick Off Spring In CT

Spring is officially here. To usher in the new season, Mother Nature is bringing a coastal storm Thursday that could cause coastal flooding issues, forecasters say. The good news though, is that temperatures will be warm enough that this storm is not expected to bring accumulating snow to Connecticut.

There could be a brief period of mixed precipitation in northern parts of the state. A thunderstorm cannot be ruled out either.

The National Weather Service says, "While much of tonight will remain dry, rain chances will begin to increase towards daybreak Thursday west of New York City, then spread eastward across the rest of the region through the day.

"Rain will continue into Thursday night before gradually tapering off after midnight. Despite the rain, daytime highs will remain near normal, although with plenty of cloud cover overnight lows
will be several degrees above normal, generally in the mid 30s to lower 40s."

The Weather Channel reports Spring's arrival "will be a rude one in the Northeast," due to the coastal storm, which will drop between 1 and 1.5 inches of rain and leave behind wind gusts of up to 40 mph.

The storm's setup is a familiar one: an area of low pressure will spin up, intensify and track near, inland or offshore from the Eastern Seaboard, The Weather Channel reports.

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"While this storm likely won't pack the widespread snow that we saw last March when four nor'easters hit the region in three weeks, it will still make for a miserable couple of days," The Weather Channel said in a Wednesday update.

Here's what we can expect in Connecticut:

• Rain will impact the region starting after noon on Thursday
• Precipitation will be all rain in Southern Connecticut, with some slight mixing possible in northern parts of the state.
• Between 1 and 1.5 inches of rain is likely
• Some thunderstorms are possible
• Windy on Friday after the storm ends

Here's the forecast:

Tonight
Increasing clouds, with a low around 30. South wind 3 to 7 mph.

Thursday
A 50 percent chance of rain after 9am. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 48. Wind chill values between 25 and 35 early. Southeast wind 6 to 9 mph.

Thursday Night
Rain. Low around 38. East wind 6 to 11 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New precipitation amounts between three quarters and one inch possible.

Friday
A 40 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 50. Northwest wind 7 to 14 mph.

Friday Night
A 30 percent chance of showers before midnight. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 27.

Saturday
Partly sunny, with a high near 41.

Saturday Night
Mostly clear, with a low around 28.

Sunday
Sunny, with a high near 55.

Sunday Night
Partly cloudy, with a low around 38.