Morning Vermont Rain Turns To Brief Hot Spell. Strong Storms Tomorrow?

National Weather Service weather radar this morning
was much busier than many forecasters expected.
The rain was quickly moving out and we'll have
 a sunny, summery afternoon. 

 I called it. 

Up until yesterdays afternoon, many forecasters were pretty unconcerned about any showers coming through Vermont this morning with a warm front. 

I was suspicious, and noted in previous posts that some of us would wake up to showers this morning. Turns out the rain is even more widespread that I originally thought. 

As of 8:30 a.m today, rain was falling across most of northern Vermont, and there were embedded patches of fairly heavy rain. There has even been a few rumbles of thunder in northern New York and north central Vermont. 

Oh well, we had a gorgeous weekend, with Burlington have its first 80 degree day of the season on Sunday. The weather is also still expected to vastly improve this afternoon. 

We're still looking at some summertime highs in the 80s, and there's a few more storm threats after this morning.  Here are the picky details:

TODAY

It was a rather stormy, rainy, sort of raw early morning today in northern Vermont. It was raining steadily outside my St. Albans, Vermont house and gusty winds were tossing the new lilac blooms around. 

I wish the rain hit southern Vermont instead, because it's more needed down there, but you take what you can get. 

Skies should rapidly clear late this morning  into a balmy, summery afternoon after this warm front races on northward into Quebec. 

Hard to believe when you start the day rainy and in the low 50s. But trust me, the warmth is on its way. The warm front had already passed through southern Vermont by 8 a.m. and temperatures down there at dawn had already risen into the 60s.

Most places should hit the low to mid 80s for highs this afternoon.  Tonight will be pretty warm, too, with lows in the 50s away from Lake Champlain and low 60s in the Champlain Valley

TUESDAY

We know it's going to be very warm and increasingly humid, but thunderstorms are kind of a crapshoot. 

There's a level two out of five risk of severe storms tomorrow
in the areas in yellow on this map. Notice a good chunk
of Vermont is in that risk area. 

Temperatures should get into the 80s statewide. A spot 90 degrees isn't out of the question if clouds and showers and storms hold off.  There's some conflicting information on whether we'll have some big time storms tomorrow, or whether any attempt at storms go pfft.   

A big severe weather and tornado outbreak got underway in the Plains and Midwest yesterday, and it is expected to worsen today. 

NOAA's Storm Prediction Center indicates we in Vermont might get a taste of that. No, we're not going to endure tornadoes that wipe out whole communities or hail the size of canned hams, as David Letterman once forecasted for Indiana in his early days as a TV weatherman back in the day. 

Still, the SPC has a slight risk - alert level 2 for severe storms in the northwestern half of Vermont and a marginal risk, alert level 1, in southeastern Vermont. 

According to NOAA, some storms that develop in the hot, increasingly humid air over Vermont Tuesday afternoon could unleash strong, gusty winds in a few spots. Once again, the Storm Prediction Center says we also have a really, really low, but not zero chance of a spin up tornado, too. 

On the other hand, precipitation forecast call for hardly any rain tomorrow, which doesn't exactly scream severe thunderstorms. 

The National Weather Service in South Burlington says we'll have plenty of atmospheric instability over Vermont tomorrow. Instability is what can fire thunderstorms, but you need a spark that would get them going. 

That spark tomorrow would be a weak disturbance in the atmosphere teaming up with air current rising near mountain slopes. Will that be enough to trigger severe storms? Stay tuned for updates tomorrow morning. 

WEDNESDAY

We're still working out the timing of a cold front due to come through. The consensus is it might come through midday, which could leave us with a wide range of high temperatures. Don't hold me to this, but we could have a situation in which highs are only in the upper 60s far northwest to upper 80s far southeast. 

Depending on the timing of the front, we could have more strong thunderstorms. If it waits until the mid afternoon to evening to come through, maybe we'll see a few more strong storms. 

THURSDAY

We're back to cool weather, temporarily. The sun should come back out. But some places north might not even get out of the 50s for highs. Areas away from the Champlain Valley could see a few areas of frost. 

FRIDAY/WEEKEND

I might as well say it: I have no idea. The weather looks like it might turn unsettled. The computer models disagree on when some rain might return.  Friday looks safe at this point. Some of the models postpone rain until Sunday. We'll figure this out eventually. 

It'll stay relatively cool into the weekend, with highs in the 60s. This is temporary. The overall weather pattern favors warm weather, so I suspect a nice return to almost balmy weather to conclude the month. 

The Good Old Summertime Visits Vermont For A Few Days

An otherworldly view of Lake Champlain near 
Colchester Point, Vermont during sunset 
Saturday evening. 

Saturday was a winner, wasn't it? For a good part of the day we had bright sun, warm breezes, and the leaves on the trees were that perfect peak of new spring foliage in a million different, gleaming shades of green. 

Even when it clouded it up late in the day, it was still spectacular, at least where I was near Lake Champlain. 

The setting sun bouncing off clouds and scattered showers created weird but beautiful hues of deep, otherworldly blue, bright orange and a multitude of other bright and dark shades. 

TODAY

Now it's Sunday morning, and we're starting Part 2 of a beautiful weekend. A bit of haze early this morning gave the sky a baby blue hue, matching nicely with the fresh green of spring. 

We might have a few clouds here and there today but it's going to be gorgeous!

High temperatures will have quite a range across Vermont. Up in the Northeast Kingdom it'll probably hold in the 60s.  A few low 80s might well pop up in the warmer valleys south. 

Most of the rest of  Vermont should hold in the low to mid 70s, but cooler right near Lake Champlain. because of the chilly lake water. Which is where we get into the caution part of the forecast for the next few days. 

The National Weather Service has issued a special weather statement warning of the dangers of cold water. A lot of you will be tempted to jump into the water, kayak, paddle board, or get the sailboats out. 

But if you fall into the water, you're screwed. Lakes and rivers and ponds are still mighty cold. If you fall in, hypothermia sets in damn quickly.  As you quickly get cold, your arms and legs stop working right and you might not be able to swim your way out of trouble. 

Out on the broad areas of Lake Champlain, there should be some gusty northwest winds. Stronger south winds are due tomorrow and Tuesday.  The winds and waves could be enough to tip over kayaks and cause real trouble with other small boats. So you might want to hold off on those lake adventures for awhile. 

MONDAY

Another view of the sunset over Lake Champlain 
Saturday evening in the midst of a beautiful weekend. 

A warm front should blow through in the morning with clouds. There might even be a spot shower here and there, but it won't amount to much. 

The warm front will be up in Canada by afternoon, so we should clear up and turn warm.  Valleys across most of the state will reach the low 80s.  Many of those places, including in the Burlington area, will have their first 80 degree temperatures of the season. 

While all this niceness is going on in New England, the Plains and Midwest will endure a big outbreak of severe thunderstorms, tornadoes, high winds, gorilla hail, along with dust and wildfires in some areas. We often complain, with justification, of annoying weather here in Vermont, but at least it's not scary. So count your lucky stars. 

TUESDAY

This will easily be the warmest day of the week. We'll get off to a warm start, as temperatures at the break of dawn will be in the 50s in much of Vermont, and the low 60s in the Champlain Valley. That's a pretty typical start to the day in July. 

The July theme will keep going as highs for most of us should reach the 80s. Also just like July, there's a chance of afternoon thunderstorms. Forecasters are still struggling with how many clouds those storms will bring, how early in the afternoon the showers and storms will start, and how widespread they'll become. 

Those factors will determine how warm it gets. If there's lots of clouds and rain and showers, temperatures will hold near 80. If the sun lasts most of the day, some spots could flirt with 90.  Cloud and showers appear less likely in the southeast than in the northwest. 

With that in mind, for now at least,  the National Weather Service in South Burlington is going for a highs of 81 degrees in St. Albans, 85 in Burlington, 86 in Montpelier, 87 in Rutland and 90 in Springfield. 

Those wouldn't be record highs, as all time highs for Tuesday's date around Vermont are in the 90 to 92 degree range. 

But Tuesday will be hotter than we're accustomed to, and it will be turning more humid. You'll want to take it easy with the outdoor work and/or recreation. 

WEDNESDAY

We're still waiting on clarity as to when during Wednesday a cold front comes through. If it blows through in the morning, we just get a few showers followed by drier and eventually cooler air. If it's late in the day, we could see a couple strong thunderstorms in a few places. Stay tuned on that one. 

LATE WEEK/WEEKEND

Long range forecasts get dicey and are prone to change. But Thursday and Friday look relatively cool, but not weird or annoying for this time of year. Early guesses call for highs in the 60s.  Signs point toward maybe some rain later Friday or Saturday, but that's not a promise. The forecast will probably change quite a bit between now and then.  

After The Nice Rains, Parts Of Vermont Still Need More. Instead, Get Ready For A Quick Heat Flash

NOAA's "water year" map. A water year goes from
October 1 to September 30. In the water year so
far, almost all of New England is behind
schedule with rainfall. Some places are eight
inches or more shy on rainfall. The only place
in New England that's near normal is northwest
Vermont. Click on the map to make it bigger
and easier to see. 

We have a much more complete accounting of that nice rain we received this week in the increasingly Green Mountain State. We have a lot to be thankful for. 

The only disappointment was the heaviest rain avoided southern Vermont where it was more needed, but at least they got a decent wetting to get them through a few more days. 

The big winner in the Vermont rainfall sweepstakes seems to be Orange County. Good, because much of that county was regarded as dry in the most recent U.S. Drought Monitor and the southern tip of the south was in drought. 

In Orange County and southern Caledonia counties, rainfall exceeded two inches, including 2.63 inches in Corinth, 2.43 inches in Stratford and 2.34 inches in Groton. 

Virtually all of central and northern Vermont received one to two inches of rain. 

Windham County in southeastern Vermont is the most droughty area of Vermont. They got anywhere between 0.75 and 1.25 inches, so, not bad.

Bennington County was regarded as abnormally dry, too, especially near the Massachusetts border. Unfortunately, the rainfall distribution there was wrong. They got anywhere from a quarter inch near the Mass border to an inch as you get closer to Rutland County to the  north. 

NEED STILL MORE RAIN

It might seem like the streams are running strong and the soil is mushy underfoot. Yet there's still a water deficit left over from last year, sort of our drought hangover.

NOAA watches something called the water year. It's the accumulation of precipitation - rain, melted snow and ice - from October 1 through September 30. 

Here in the Northeast, as of mid-May, most places are having a below normal water year, and some places are ridiculously below normal.  Parts of southern and eastern New England are more than eight inches behind normal as of now 

Here in Vermont, Bennington County is one of those places that is at least eight inches short on rainfall since the beginning of last October. Most of the remainder of Vermont is lacking in rainfall.  The rest of southern Vermont outside of Bennington County is   between four and eight inches shy on precipitation. North central and Northeast Vermont is one to four inches behind schedule.

The only lucky place in all of New England is northwest Vermont. Precipitation there since October 1, 2025 is pretty close to normal.

Next up, not much rain is in the forecast, but it's going to turn much warmer. And overall, warm air creates more evaporation than cooler air, so it'll dry us out faster. Some details: 

TODAY

We started the day mild and sunny, which is a fantastic way to start a Saturday. It'll get breezy, and you'll see more and more clouds mixing this afternoon. There's even a chance of a light spot shower late in the day, but most of us will say dry. Highs get well into the 70s, so that'll be a nice switch from what we endured all week. 

By the way, today, and over the next few days,  it will be quite a bit cooler near Lake Champlain. The water is still cold, and winds blowing off the lake will dramatically cool the air in places next to the lake. 

SUNDAY

The disturbance that would bring the widely scattered showers later today includes the lamest of cold fronts. So northern areas will probably "only" make it into the low 70s under sunny skies. Somehow, I think we'll endure those "chillier" conditions. Southern Vermont stays warm with highs in the 70s to around 80

MONDAY

Summer preview is on!  There still might be a spot shower early in the day north with a warm front passing through, but overall, sunny and breezy with highs in the low 80s in most valleys is on tap. In the grand scheme of things, low 80s isn't exactly hot, but we're not used to such temperatures, so take it easy with the heavy outdoor work

TUESDAY

It looks like it's going to be hotter and more humid. For now, forecasters are expecting highs right up there in the 80s. How hot it gets depends on afternoon clouds and the timing of scattered showers and thunderstorms  If it stays clear until later in the day, some areas could flirt with 90 degrees. If there were more showers and storms than expected, readings would hold near 80 degrees. 

Either way, it'll get kind of humid, so take it easy out there

WEDNESDAY

A wild card. It all depends when an expected cold front comes through. If it's late in the day, it'll be in the 80s again, and humid. A late day cold front also increases the chances of scattered strong thunderstorms. 

If the front comes through earlier in the day, the chances of big storms goes very much downhill. And you'll notice refreshingly drier air late in the day. Stay tuned on that one.

LATE WEEK

Definitely cooler, but not nearly as chilly as this week has been. Highs then should be in the 60s.

Severe Weather, Tornadoes, Ramping Up In The Middle U.S. Again

A dust storm in rural North Dakota caused vehicle 
crashes. The dust storms spread across wide
areas of the northern Plains and southern Canada.
Photo from North Dakota Highway Patrol

The same weather pattern that kept us in Vermont pretty cool and showery for the first half of May also suppressed severe weather in Tornado Alley. 

Sure, there were some severe storms, high winds, hail and a few tornadoes over the past couple weeks. 

But not the frightening, powerhouse tornado outbreaks that often terrorize the Plains, Midwest and South this time of year.

That's about to change. That shouldn't be surprising, as this is the peak of severe storm season. 

ALREADY STARTED

We had the first hint of that on Wednesday and Thursday. A strong storm system in southwestern Canada swept high winds through the northern Rockies, northern Plains and into Manitoba, Canada.  

The dust storms with this weather system actually started on Wednesday in Utah and Idaho. The dust storm there caused an eight-car pileup in Utah.  The storm created a blast furnace in Montana, where record highs were set  in Havre, Great Falls, Bozeman and Billings, where it was 95 degrees. 

The heat was accompanied by intense winds. Big Sandy and Livingston, Montana gusted to 85 mph, Toston, Montana reached 78 mph and Havre reached 74 mph. A line of severe thunderstorms amid this chaos created a rare for Montana haboob.

The blowing dust continued in Montana Thursday, and spread into the Dakotas and Manitoba Thursday.  In some parts of Manitoba, rain showers collided with dust clouds, making it basically rain mud in a few places. 

IT WILL GET WORSE

Weather patterns are setting up in such a way to encourage more severe weather and tornadoes. Today, people from Texas to Wisconsin are under the gun, but Iowa seems like the main target. Although tornadoes are a possibility, the real threat late this afternoon and tonight is giant hail and winds to 75 mph. 

It's been a tough year for huge hailstones, and this could add to the destructive drama. 

Saturday

The "fun" is forecast to keep going in Iowa tomorrow, and spread into Nebraska and northern Kansas, where the best chance of bad storms arises. 

The risks look similar to today's. A couple tornadoes could spin up, but the biggest threat is huge hailstones and strong straight line winds. Remember, hail storms can easily be more damaging than tornadoes. Hail usually covers a much wider area in a storm than a tornado path would. 

Sunday

This looks like it might be the more dangerous day of the string of severe weather days. The early thinking is some supercells will develop in Nebraska and southern South Dakota and move east. That raises the risk for a tornado outbreak. 

The supercells will then congeal into a line of powerful storms moving into Iowa. Those wild storms could well include embedded tornadoes, and some of them could be strong, says NOAA's Storm Prediction Center. 

Monday

Monday will probably be the most dangerous day
out of the next several for severe storms in tornadoes
The darker orange area has the highest risk. 

This is the day to really watch the weather closely. Especially if you're anywhere between Texas and Michigan. The highest risk looks to be in some of the places that are likely to get hammered this weekend. Plus some new areas. 

That means Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, much of Missouri, Oklahoma and eastern South Dakota need to be on their toes. 

The Storm Prediction Center says that some of the tornadoes expected to touch down might be strong to intense, which is never a happy prediction. 

Most tornadoes are relatively week EF-0s and EF-1s.  

Stronger tornadoes, EF-2s and EF-3s, with winds of between 111 and 165 mph, represent about 15 percent of all U.S. tornadoes and account for about 25 percent of U.S. tornado deaths, give or tak

Less than one percent of all U.S. tornadoes are EF-4s or EF-5s, with winds of 166 mph and up. But those powerful twisters cause roughly 70 percent of all U.S. tornado deaths.  

The bottom line: Pray for weak tornadoes because the strong ones create the worst tragedies. 

Tuesday and Beyond

Severe storms are expected to continue in the Midwest Tuesday, then move more toward the south and southeast Wednesday and beyond. Exactly where the worst storms might fire up later in the week is till TBA

 

Impressive Rain Ending This Morning, Sharp Vermont Warmup Due, With Picky Details

National Service Weather radar shows moderate to 
heavy coming from New Hampshire and through all but far
southern Vermont around 9 p.m. last night. 

That rainfall yesterday and last night turned out to be impressive, and just the ticket for soaking gardens, crops and forests on the cusp of summer's heat. 

Complete rainfall totals weren't quite available yet as of 8 a.m. Montpelier and St. Johnsbury look like they have a storm total from yesterday morning to this morning of about 1.8 inches. 

Montpelier set a record for the wettest May 14 on record with 1.62 inches. We have a report from Woodbury of 2.19 inches. 

The moisture feed and the rain moved northwestward off the Atlantic through southern and central New Hampshire and across most of Vermont. 

In this type of setup, the Champlain Valley usually doesn't get as much rain because the Green Mountains block the moisture. But it looks like Burlington got a respectable 1.4 inches or so. My unofficial rain gauge in St. Albans collected 1.62 inches. 

Instead falling in short, sharp bursts, the bulk of the rain fell over an 18 hour period, ensuring a lot of it soaked in rather than running off. 

Far southern Vermont - roughly south of Route 30 largely missed out on this moisture bonanza. Bennington only had 0.11 inches of rain yesterday and last night The lower Connecticut Valley was in the moisture feed early in the day, but the rain moved north of them .

It'll be interesting to see who got what amount of rain once the National Weather Service compiled the totals, probably later this morning or this afternoon. 

TODAY

Fuscia later season magnolia buds get set to bloom after
the soaking rains we just received in St. Albans, VT

That moisture feed this morning was now across far northern Vermont and southern  Quebec and much weaker as its source from the Atlantic Ocean is getting cut off. Another batch of light rain was moving westward across the northern half of New Hampshire. 

That means this morning will probably stay damp and drizzly and showery across most of Vermont.

 But the air mass is drying out, so the showers will, too. The forecast still calls for some sun this afternoon. Even so, some widely scattered showers might lurk around until sunset, as some instability will linger behind our storm. 

The partial sun should bring highs this afternoon into the 60s, which would make today our hottest day since Sunday. Yay! Even though mid-60s is still a touch cooler than normal for this time of year. But much warmer times are at our doorstep. Promise!

SATURDAY

Here comes the warmth. Strong May sun and southwest breezes will pump those temperatures up into the 70s. It'll be the balmiest day in nearly two weeks. But this is Vermont, so nice weather almost always includes an asterisk. 

That asterisk comes in the form of a weak disturbance sweeping in late in the day.  The air will be dry, so it will be hard to generate many showers. I'm guessing shower clouds might form late in the afternoon in some areas. 

Most of the rain from those showers will probably dry up on the way down. For those caught under these "showers" that means sprinkles, suddenly gusty winds and a brief, sharp drop in temperatures. 

The scattered showers could last into Saturday night. Many places won't see a drop of rain. Those who do get hit will see a trace to maybe few hundredths of an inch

SUNDAY

Mostly sunny skies again! And warm!  That disturbance from Saturday will include a very poor excuse for a cold front. Meaning highs Sunday should "only" be near 70 on Saturday in the north. It won't get any colder south, as highs could touch 80 in places like Bennington and Brattleboro.

MONDAY

A major warm front should pass through in the morning. Most forecasts call for no rain with the passage of this front. But I'm suspicious. Warm fronts that pass through in the morning ahead of a warm to hot spell usually kick off a few showers, mostly in northern Vermont. 

Given that history, I wouldn't be surprised if a few spots start out with showers Monday. But the afternoon should be sunny, breezy and warm. Could easily be the first 80 degree reading of the season in some parts of central and northern Vermont 

TUESDAY

This will be the first true summer day in most of Vermont. (It won't be the first in far southern Vermont, because they had a couple classic summer days in mid-April)

How hot it gets depends on whether we see showers and thunderstorms and if we do, when they'll arrive. If it manages to stay sunny all day, I wouldn't be surprised to see a couple 90 degree readings in some of the broader valleys. 

 But  I kinda doubt that. Preliminary forecasts seem to indicate a messy area of slight instability that would create clouds and possible scattered showers and storms. So it will probably "only" be in the 80s. 

If you're planning vigorous outdoor work or exercise, you're not used to that heat. Take more breaks ad drink more water than you think you'll need.

LATER WEEK

At this point, Wednesday looks fairly warm, too. We have a decent shot of making it to 80 degrees. But a cold front will be approaching with a risk of showers and thunderstorms. Later in the week, we'll cool down again, but not downright chilly like we've seen this week. 

Instead, Thursday might bring us a brief moment of cool weather, as temperatures might not get out of the low 60. But then somewhat warmer air will quickly return. Not necessarily in the 80s, but seasonably warm, which means close to 70. 

The weather pattern that kept sending nippy air to us from Canada is kaput 

Chilly And Rainy In Vermont Again Today, But Big Changes Are On Their Way

My "pink tree" as a call it, bloomed out this week despite
relatively cool weather. This tree was just about dead
when I bought the property nearly 20 years ago, 
but I managed to save it and I've gotten it to thrive. 

We endured another nippy May day on Wednesday, with the afternoon arguably being the coldest of the month. 

Light rainfall held temperatures in the 40s until evening, when the rain temporarily ended and parts of Vermont made it into the low 50s. 

That's still ten to 15 degrees colder than average for this time of year. Even the fleece I was wearing yesterday didn't seem warm enough. Shiver me timbers indeed!

Not far upstream in New York yesterday, though, things were different. Watertown and Fort Drum were at 61 degrees at 3 p.m. The air was warm an humid enough to trigger a few severe thunderstorms in western New York.

There was even a tornado warning for northwestern New York. I don't have any word on whether anything touched down, but if it did, it would have been not far from Pulaski, New York. That's an area south of Watertown that is much more famous for epic lake effect blizzards than it is for tornadoes. 

Our (sort of) proximity to severe weather and warmer temperatures is a sign that our cool weather will end soon. 

On the bright side, this morning was much warmer than in recent days. As a gray, rainy dawn broke, temperatures across Vermont were within a few degrees either side of 50.  That makes it probably the warmest morning since May 

Clouds and rain,  however, will give us one more cool day. But that's OK, we need the rain. Vermont got about a tenth of an inch of rain yesterday, give or take, so we still need a good soaking. Meanwhile, the warm weather that's been knocking on our door will finally begin to make its move into Vermont tomorrow. 

Here are the details. 

TODAY

The upper level low that was in New York yesterday has settled down to our south a bit, and is trying to funnel a band of deep Atlantic moisture into New England. Vermont is sort of near the western edge of that moisture, but we should still get a good soaking. 

If you're in the western Adirondacks or St. Lawrence Valley of New York, you're out of luck for rain today. You'll only get a little. But you guys got more rain than Vermont yesterday, so let's call it even. 

For Vermont, most areas should have a storm total of at least an inch of rain. That includes rain from yesterday and last night and whatever falls today through early Friday. 

The wild card is western Vermont. One decent slug of rain went through all of the state, including the Champlain Valley early this morning. Will the rest of the rain hit that area? This morning's forecast seems to say yes. Maybe places like Burlington and St. Albans will get slightly less rain than the rest of Vermont, but still get a little under an inch total.

But, if the moisture feed shifts just a tiny bit east, far western Vermont could get cheated. As of this morning,  the forecast seems to suggest after a bit of a morning lull, western Vermont will still share in the bounty of the rain. Fingers crossed. But if the rain doesn't materialize, now you'll know why. 

The big winner for Vermont in this storm looks like it will be southeastern Vermont. The U.S. Drought Monitor still has drought conditions in the lower Connecticut Valley, and New Hampshire, and western Maine. 

In fact in Vermont, this week's U.S. Drought Monitor, hot off the presses at 8:30 this morning, shows the drought expanded across a much larger portion of southern Vermont since last week. Drought now covers all an area from the Green Mountains east below White River Junction. 

Those drought areas should get the most rain today and tonight. We're talking a good inch or inch and a half, with locally higher amounts. 

So in a sense, this is a perfect storm. Not the violent, scary, deadly Perfect Storm of 1991, obviously. But a perfect storm of drought-denting rains, which should make everyone happy. 

The only unhappy aspect of the day will be the temperatures. The rain and clouds will hold us down in the mid and upper 50s. Normal highs this year should be between 65 and 70 degrees. 

FRIDAY

This will be our transition day toward what I call "pre-summer." During pre-summer, which usually goes from late May to mid-June, most days are pretty warm, in the 70s. You still get some nasty cool days that hold in the 50s, but other days are full-on summer with temperatures getting into the 80s or even to 90.

That's what we have coming up. 

Tomorrow might still be a wee bit on the cool side for this time of year. Early showers will give way to clouds, then some afternoon clearing. Instability in the air might allow Ma Nature to sneak in a scattered afternoon shower, but those should be few and far between. And those temperatures will get into the reasonable 60s. It'll be the hottest day since this past Sunday, and that's only the beginning.

WEEKEND

Ah! Pre-summer arrives full on. Under sunny skies, temperatures should soar way up into the 70s on Saturday. A weak disturbance might bring us a few scattered hit and miss showers Sunday morning, but it won't be anything widespread. The disturbance will probably knock temperatures back down to near 70 north Sunday, but southern parts of the state should still get well into the 70s. 

EARLY WEEK

It looks like we'll get a brief burst of full summer weather. It should get into the 70s Monday under sunny skies. That will be a great opportunity to install your window air conditioner. The reason for that is Tuesday. Unless something goes completely wrong with the forecast, it looks like Tuesday's highs could soar well into the 80s. And the humidity might creep up a tad.

We're not used to 80 degree weather, says Captain Obvious. The last time it was in the 80s in Vermont was during a record-breaking heat wave on October 5-7, 2025.

A cold front should arrive later Tuesday and Wednesday, which would knock temperatures back down tot the 60s and low 70s later next week. That's a long range forecast of course, so take it with a giant hunk of rock salt. 

 

 

Heartwarming Hay Donations After Extreme Nebraska Wildfires. But It Doesn't Solve The Climate Change Problem

One of the huge Nebraska wildfires back on March.
Photo from Nebraska State Patrol 

This spring, Nebraska burned. At least a large part of it did.  

Amid a drought and record breaking high temperatures that further dried out the landscape, high winds fanned wildfires that burned through  820,000 acres of Nebraska rangeland. 

The worst of the fires burned in March. One of the fires blackened 600,000 acres. The blazes left numerous ranchers without feed for their cattle. Damage estimates are at least $10 million. 

This is all bad news, of course. And climate change is a prime suspect again. An insane March heat wave contributed to the conditions that led to the huge fires.  World Weather Attribution reported that the March heat wave would have been virtually impossible without climate change. 

The fires burned through just about all of the 11,000 acre ranch Mike and Kayla Wintz lease in the middle of nowhere - deep in the Sandhills of western Nebraska. With the grass gone, the cattle couldn't graze, as CBS's on the road reporter Steve Hartman noted. 

Suddenly, after the fires. Wintz and other ranchers started getting phone calls. The callers said hay was on the way, and where should we put it. At last report Wintz has received $80,000 worth of hay, all donated. 

Highways in central and western Nebraska became busy with convoys of trucks carrying hay to desperate ranchers. Some of the hay came from as far away as South Carolina. The convoys became almost like celebratory parades, as school kids lined streets to watch the trucks, fully loaded with enormous bales of hay pass by. 

"Empathy, charity and grace," Hartman concludes. 

All true. Hartman is always the feel good reporter we need when we need to see someone acting like good humans should. 

Unfortunately, I'm not as kind hearted as Hartman. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely support and love this Nebraska "hay lift," for lack of a better term. And of course I support helping your neighbor in any way you can. Whether that neighbor is literally next door or half a world away. 

However,  like so much havoc caused by, or more often made worse by climate change, massive hay donations like we've just seen in Nebraska aren't going to solve the problem. 

In the first few months of 2026, major wildfires scorched over a million acres in Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma, Nebraska Public Media notes.

NPM continues:

"The amount of Great Plains land burned by wildfires tripled between 1985-1994 and 2005-2014, according to a 2017 study from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The number of incidents also increased from 33 per year to 117 per year."

 Judging from news reports about Great Plains fires in the past three years at least, that trend  detected nearly a decade ago by UNL researchers has continued.

There's always talk of "adaptation" to extreme conditions wrought by climate change. And people in the Great Plains can adapt to an extent. They can make homes and outbuildings more resisted to fire. Improve warning systems. But if there's a drought, strong winds and hot temperatures, there's little you can do to stop the grass from burning. 

While people are contemplating wildfires, the Plains might be in for a temporary reprieve. Climate change makes fires more likely, but so does La Nina. That weather pattern tilts conditions toward dry in the central and southern Plains during the early spring. 

Early spring is peak fire season. A potentially strong El Nino is poised to replace the La Nina. An El Nino more often than not tends to turn the southern half of the Plains wetter. 

Still, El Nino will end at some point. And so the fires will come back, possibly even more ferocious than this year's as climate change continues to heat the planet. 

Here is the CBS report. Click on this link to view it, or if you see the image below, click on that.