Temperatures soared into the 60s and 70s under sunny skies on Friday in Connecticut. The daily record high temperature was smashed by 5° in Bridgeport. It hit 65° in the afternoon, breaking the old record of 60° set just last year. It was even warmer inland, and the mercury spiked to 72° at Windsor Locks. Amazingly, that was not enough to reach the record high of 73° set in 1985.
I dug a little deeper into the records books, and Friday’s warmth looks even more impressive when compared against the all-time February records. The 73° record high for the date from 1985 is also the all-time record high for February in the Hartford area. Records have been kept since 1905! Friday, although not a record in Windsor Locks, is in the books as the second warmest February day in the past 117 years.Warmest February days on record at Windsor Locks
| 1 | 73.0 | 1985-02-24 |
| 3 | 72.0 | 2017-02-24 |
| 3 | 70.0 | 1976-02-25 |
| 3 | 69.0 | 1997-02-22 |
| 4 | 68.0 | 1990-02-23 |
The 65° high temperature in Bridgeport is tied for the third warmest February day since 1949. The last time it was warmer in February at the Shoreline was 20 years ago. What makes Friday’s high temperature even more remarkable, is that it happened with an onshore breeze. Usually, Bridgeport is warmest with a land breeze.Warmest February days on record in Bridgeport
| 1 | 67.0 | 1997-02-27 |
| – | 67.0 | 1976-02-28 |
| – | 65.0 | 2017-02-24 |
| 3 | 65.0 | 1976-02-27 |
| – | 65.0 | 1976-02-17 |
