August's downpour did not set new CT rainfall record, weather officials say

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.