Peaceful Tropical Vacations Blasted By Wild Hawaiian Storm

So much for peaceful, tropical vacation.

Damage in Hawaii from an intense storm
that hit over the weekend and Monday. Image
from Hawaii News Now/Facebook

Residents and vacationers alike in Hawaii last weekend and early this week endured a storm that packed winds as high as 70 mph and dumped up to 30 inches of rain in at least one spot. 

As AccuWeather tells us:

"Winds gusted over 70 mph on the islands of Maui and Molokai, with gusts over 60 mph on Oahu, Lanai and the Big Island. Rainfall amounts exceeded 30 inches at Laupahoehoe on the Big Island, with 23.22 inches at Waikamoi on Maui." 

Needless to say, there were lots of power outages, along with property damage, torn away roofs  and flooding on the islands.

The storms brought widespread problems to Honolulu. "The Honolulu Fire Department reports that since Saturday, they responded to nearly 100 calls, with 60 of them for downed tres, 22 for blown roofs and 1 for downed power lines," Hawaii News Now reports. 

An apartment building was one of the structures that lost its roof. That incident displaced 12 people. Elsewhere in Honolulu, video captured winds tearing the roof off of a house. Luckily, the house was vacant, so nobody was hurt or displaced.  

In Manoa, near Honolulu, residents said downslope winds were "far, far worse" than a hurricane. In immense, ancient tree in one neighborhood was uprooted.

Elsewhere, a large landslide shut down a major highway on Maui .

A storm south of Hawaii and high pressure north of the islands created an atmospheric squeeze play that created the strong winds. 

The storm began in earnest Sunday and continued Monday. The state of Hawaii basically shut down as schools, the courts, libraries and many businesses closed. The State Legislature opted not to meet on Monday.

Tourists had to hunker down, too as parks camping areas, zoos, botanical gardens and other attractions all shut down. 

The storm had eased by Tuesday so most offices and businesses were reopening.  Breezy, unsettled weather will continue in the Hawaiian islands for at least the next week or so, but no more extremes seem to be in the islands' immediate future. 

Video:

News account of the strong winds and damage on Oahu. Click on this link to view, or if you see the image below, click on that. 

 

Thump Of Vermont Snow Long Gone, Light Snow To Continue; Arctic Air Disappears

Traffic got backed up on Interstate 89 southbound
in Colchester due probably to lingering snow and slush
on the road causing a slide off or two. More light
snow is expected for the rest of today. 

 Last night's storm is mostly over in Vermont, aside from a bit of last hurrah coming this afternoon and evening. 

But the effects still linger. For instance, I noticed Interstate 89 near Milton was a parking lot for awhile this morning due to slide offs or crashes or, whatever went on along that slushy stretch of highway. 

The traffic trouble along the Interstate looks like it improved by around 8 a.m., but I'm sure there will be trouble here and there.

Traffic cams as of 8 a.m. were showing most roads across Vermont were slushy. Some were still snow covered.  A little light snow was still falling around the state, but that bigger thump of snow from last night is long gone. 

Judging by preliminary reports, it looks like accumulations were in line with expectations. Burlington reports 4.1 inches of snow so far.  My  place here in St. Albans had received 3.8 inches of new snow as of 8 a.m. and it was still snowing lightly.  Most of the few reports that have come across so far seem to be in the three to five inch range.

As I mentioned last evening, the bulk of the snow was driven by a surge of warm air coming from the west in tandem with the storm system itself.  As expected, nobody to my knowledge in Vermont got above freezing, like places western New York did. 

But the warm air aloft over performed a bit. Some areas in eastern New York and Vermont had a little freezing rain or drizzle after the band of heavy snow passed by after 10 p.m. last night. There was a thin ice layer in the snow outside my door when I checked this morning. I also notice Burlington reported a little freezing rain around 2 a.m. today. 

REST OF THE DAY

Any risk of freezing rain or sleet is definitely over. As expected, the original storm that came in from the west is fading or has gone away in favor of a new storm off the Maine coast. Because of this, winds have shifted into the north. 

As we go through the day, that offshore storm will get a little better at pulling moisture from the North Atlantic, southwestward across Quebec, then southward down on northern New England. 

That means the snow will pick up a little in intensity this afternoon and early evening, at least in some parts of Vermont. 

This will deposit another one to three inches of snow in most of northern Vermont, and along the Green Mountains all the way down to the Massachusetts border. The Connecticut River valley and valleys in southwest Vermont will see less than an inch. 

All this is basically a heads up that chances are, you'll hit some snow covered or slippery roads once again on your trip home from work or school today. 

THURSDAY AND BEYOND 

The weather actually looks boring for the next several days. Which means it'll be the peak of awesomeness for people who want to go outside and enjoy winter. This might have been the "crown of winter" storm, in the valleys at least. Crown of winter storms are the ones that bring the deepest snow cover of the winter. They usually come shortly before a thaw that starts to reduce the snow pack. 

We're having a decent snow year, especially in the mountains. In the valleys, it's OK, too. Through yesterday, Burlington has had 62 inches of snow for the season, which is 8.5 inches ahead of normal for the date. 

There's lots of snow outside to play in, and for once temperatures will be comfortable enough to enjoy it Daytime highs should be in the mid-20s to low 30s daily Thursday through Sunday. 

That's the sweet spot: Mild enough to not kill yourself from frostbite, chilly enough to keep the snow nice and powdery and sweet. The only bummer is that last night's snow buried some absolutely perfect smooth skating ice on Lake Champlain. 

If you're a winter lover,  all good things must come to an end. If you hate your fuel bills, all bad things must come to an end. 

By that I mean our long stretch of below freezing temperatures will probably concluded on Monday.  Q

As of yesterday, Burlington had been through 19 consecutive days in which the temperature stayed below freezing. That's the longest such spell since a 27 day stretch in January an February, 2015. I'll  have more on this in a separate post. 

It looks like a small pocket of fairly cold air will sweep down from James Bay to somewhere near Maine by early Sunday morning. We'll be on the western edge of that, so Vermont will actually just have some average February weather that day with highs in the 20s to near 30.

But that's OK, because that pocket of cold air will kick off a new storm that will hit Canada's Atlantic provinces. 

Meanwhile, another storm will be developing Sunday in the southeast U.S.  Earlier this week, we thought that storm might come up the coast to give us another slap of snow or mixed precipitation. 

It turns out that newer  Canadian storm will probably deflect that southeast U.S. storm to our south.  We originally thought that southern storm might spread some snow or ice our way Sunday and Monday. Now, it tentatively looks like we're in the clear with that one.  We'll keep you posted if there are any changes, but for now, don't worry about it.

It's a little too soon to know how far above freezing it'll get next week and how long that would last.  Early guesses are the next shot at any substantial precipitation after day won't come along until at least the middle of next week. 

Big Snow Thump Hitting Vermont This Evening

At 4 p.m., Interstate 89 in Williston the pavement was dry
and it wasn't snowing yet, but..........

 As expected a burst of snow was moving into Vermont as I wrote this around 4:30 p.m. The roads should start getting snow covered and slick, if they aren't already.  

 If  you weren't home by 4 p.m. in western Vermont and if you're not home by 5 p.m. in the Connecticut Valley,  you'll deal with the snowy roads. 

The overall forecast hasn't changed much since the morning  Which means it will get worse as we head into the evening as the heaviest band of snow will come through west to east. During the peak of this, snow will come down at a rate of one to one and a half inches per hour. 

At that rate, the plows won't be great at keeping up with the snow, so it might not be worth it to wait the snow out before going home. Unless you want to wait until 9 or 10 or 11 tonight before driving home.  By then, it probably won't  be snowing as hard. 

Since this storm means road conditions will go from great to bad pretty quickly, I think some people might be caught off guard. Which is why for the next few hours, you might get stuck behind some slide offs and wrecks and fender benders and people whose vehicles have bald tires. 

Though this will storm will be poorly timed and fairly intense while people are driving home for the day, this is no blockbuster. 

By 5 p.m., that same stretch of Interstate was getting 
covered with snow and traffic was starting to back up

Considering this is a rather fluffy snow, and will only amount to 3 to 6 inches of new snow for most of us. The mountains might get a bit more. We're basically just getting our snow cover freshened up a bit. 

Our evening burst of snow in Vermont is being created in large part by a squirt of warm air that is approaching us, drawn northward by an Alberta clipper storm heading in from the west and northwest.

 It got up to near 40 degrees in Buffalo, New York today and 55 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania today. The abrupt shove of warm air is rising up and over a mass of chillier air. Moisture in the rising air condenses and falls out of the sky as snow

Hence the thump of snow we're getting. 

That warm air west of us will get cut off at the pass before it can ever make it to Vermont. 

 The storm that's helping cause this snow is still going to fade away over northern Vermont, or nearby overnight. A new storm will takes its place off the Maine coast. That'll ensure the winds shift to the north before the warm air can get here. It'll shunt that hint of spring to our south instead. 

During the period early tomorrow morning when the original storm is fading and the new one off the coast of Maine hasn't gotten its act together yet, we'll see a lull I'm the snowfall.  It might even stop for awhile in the morning. You might still want to get an early start tomorrow morning as roads could still be on the iffy side. 

The snow will probably blossom out again a little bit tomorrow afternoon and evening, mostly across northern Vermont. By then, the storm off the coast of Maine will have matured.  That storm will be strong enough to pull some moist air down from the North Atlantic Ocean via Quebec. You'll probably be driving around on some snow a slush in many areas tomorrow afternoon and evening, too.

By contrast, southeastern Vermont will probably be mostly done with this storm by tomorrow morning. 

We are also done with the subzero cold for at least a week, and probably longer than that. Above freezing temperatures might arrive as soon as this Sunday. I'll have more on that in  my morning report. 

Western Snow Drought. Florida Snowier than Utah. But Is Relief Finally Coming To Rockies?

Judging from the white residue on the rock in the top
photo, Lake Powell was already very low several months
ago. Bottom photo is a recent picture. A Year Without
a Winter is creating dangerous water shortages
in much of the West 

While the East is having the kind of bitter cold and winter storms not seen in years or even decades, the West is enduring the Year Without A Winter. 

And that's getting worrisome. 

 Most of the Rocky Mountains are already in drought. This winter out west has been anything but wintry. The region has experienced springlike temperatures all season and it has barely snowed. 

Unless it snows hard and soon, the ground will dry out quickly in the spring, setting the stage for a horrific fire season.  Reservoirs and other water sources could get critically low. 

Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, Idaho and Colorado have all been running at least six degrees warmer than average this winter.  

Precipitation  is also running below normal this winter through most of the Rocky Mountain region. 

Much of what little has fallen came as rain, instead of the snow that normally falls. You need that deep mountain snow cover to feed reservoirs and to keep the forests fairly moist heading into wildfire season.  Thawing has been seen at elevations of 10,000 feet this winter, a time of year when snow should be continuously piling up on the mountaintops

Salt Lake City, Utah only had a trace of snow during January.  Marianna, Florida had 1.3 inches of snow in January. Snow flurries fell as far south as Sarasota, Florida.  

It didn't rain much in Utah either. Salt Lake City had 0.42 inches of precipitation in January, compared to a normal of 1.43 inches. On Sunday, SLC  tied their record high for the date at 64 degrees.

 As the  Washington Post tell us: 

Jon Meyer, the assistant state climatologist in Utah, said that Utah is 'officially in uncharted territory' in terms of the low snowpack,

It's even weirder than you'd think in Utah. Usually there's little evaporation during the winter in Utah as the landscape is normally mostly frozen or covered in snow. Oddly warm temperatures have left bare ground, and that is driving up evaporation rates, making drought worse. 

The snow pack in Washington State was just 26 percent of normal as January closed. The state was slammed by atmospheric rivers in December But those storms were so warm that rain fell almost all the way to the summits of the Cascades and volcanoes in the Pacific Northwest. 

In Colorado, snow cover as of February 1 was the lowest on record for the date, if  you measure through federal satellite data that began in 2001. Most snow monitoring stations in Colorado with records stretching back to the 1980s are at record or near record low levels, Colorado Public Radio reports. 

The lack of precipitation this winter in the headwaters of the Colorado River is the worst in the region. The Colorado River water ends up in Lake Powell, which stores \water for millions of people. Lake Powell water is also released to generate hydropower. The reservoir is the second largest in the United States.

So yes, Lake Powell is pretty damn important, and it turns into a crisis if it empties out too much. Which it is poised to do. 

Lake Powell is only about 25 percent full, and the water supply flowing into Lake Powell will be just 38 percent of normal through July, if current projections hold. 

In California, the winter got off to a pretty good start with some heavy storms depositing inches of rain and feet of snow in the Sierra Nevada mountains. But that moisture supply shut off in January. Statewide, snow water equivalent was only about 59 percent of normal as of January 30. The Sierra snowpack supplies about 30 percent of California's water needs.

Luckily, reservoirs in California are still full because the previous three winters were on the wet side. California is not in drought, though abnormally dry conditions crept into the extreme northwest corner of the state recently. 

The ski industry has taken a hit out west, too.  Vail in Colorado, for instance, is enduring a 20 percent drop in skier visits this winter. 

It's usually the western ski areas that are buried deep in snow while the east struggles. Usually, it's the western resorts that enjoy a few hundred inches of snow per winter. Not this year.  Mount Baker which has a national record for most snow in one season, with 1,140 inches, in Oregon, had only 280 inches of snow through the final days of January.

For perhaps the first time in memory, it's an eastern ski area that was, at least at the end of January, leading the charge. By the time January closed out, Jay Peak in northern Vermont had already collected 300 inches o snow. 

 SOME RELIEF

The persistent high pressure over the western U.S. that blocked storms from affecting the western third of the United States is breaking down, and storms are finally starting to move in. Forecasts give almost everyone in the Rocky Mountains region some precipitation over the next week.

Some areas of the Rocky Mountains are in for more than a foot of snow. The Sierra Nevada in California might see a few feet of new snow in the coming 10 days or so.

Any rain or snow will be welcome, but it's unclear how much precipitation will drop and how long the stormier pattern might last.

Still, the West needs much above average precipitation before the winter and early spring rainy season peters out. So far, at least, none of the storms in the forecast look exceptionally large .

The West might be looking at a long, hot, dangerous summer. 

 

  

 

Decent Thump Of Snow In Vermont/New England Later Today. Evening Commute To Snarl

Latest National Weather snow prediction map, covering
this morning through Thursday morning. Most of us
are in for 3 to 6 inches of snow, maybe more in the
mountains, a little less extreme southeast. 

 Our little Alberta Clipper storm coming into Vermont today looks like it might over-perform.

The National Weather Service is calling for a general three to six inch snowfall across the Green Mountain State and surrounding areas. 

Winter weather advisories are up for all of Vermont except the western parts of Addison and Rutland counties, where they might be just under the amount of snow needed to trigger the advisory. 

A tiny section of the immediate lower Connecticut Valley south of Springfield is also exempt from the advisory. 

It doesn't really matter, as it's going to snow everywhere in Vermont. Most of the snow will come down in a big thump late this afternoon and evening. 

THE DETAILS:

We're starting the day off cold once again, but not nearly as bad as it was 24 hours earlier. The coldest I could find in Vermont Monday morning was 29 below at East Haven. St. Johnsbury takes the prize for most dramatic warmup. The temperature there went from 20 below to 24 above within about 10 hours. That's a rise of 44 degrees, which is really impressive. 

Temperatures this morning were mostly back down in the single numbers above zero at dawn. An exception is Plattsburgh, New York that got to at least 4 below. Burlington was right at 0,  which was a bit chillier than many places around the region. 

An interesting thing happens when Lake Champlain is frozen or mostly so. Places like Burlington and Plattsburgh, New York stop being the warm spots in the region because we've lost the influence of the relatively warm water. It's now sealed under ice. 

Until the ice melts, the only way the Champlain Valley would be warmer than elsewhere only if there's south winds. The south winds funnel easily northward between the Adirondacks and Greens, ,so balmier air brought by the south winds reaches the valley first. 

The lake isn't going to help. In fact, as we head into late winter and spring, wind coming off the frozen lake, or very winter-chilled lake water once the ice breaks up, will make places along the immediate shore of Lake Champlain often much chillier than places further away. 

Basically, Lake Champlain has turned into a gigantic beer cooler. 

Anyway, back to today. 

THE STORM 

It's going to warm up nicely - at least by our standards - everywhere this afternoon as the snow approaches. We should get well into the 20s.  Any sun you see this morning will quickly fade behind clouds as our Alberta Clipper rapidly approaches. 

The best guess is the snow coming in from the west will reach Champlain by roughly 3 or 4 p.m. today and quickly cross the rest of the state in the hour or two after that. 

Once it arrives, the snow will go from flurries to heavy snow very, very quickly. Most of the storm's snow will come in the initial three to four hours of this episode. This evening's dump will probably go at a rate of an inch per hour,  which is pretty fast. 

That means, unfortunately, on your drive home from work or school late this afternoon and this evening, you're going to run into rapidly deteriorating road conditions, bad visibility and the maximum amount of idiots surrounding you since the 4-7 p.m. time frame will be the busiest on the roads.

Unfortunately, I have an important appointment in Burlington today at 3 p.m., which means I'm going to spend my entire evening parked on a snarled Interstate 89.  I'll wave to you if you're one of the hundreds or more people stuck with me. 

The snow will tend to lighten up later tonight, leaving behind a general three to five inches of new snow. If it's still snowing at dawn, it'll barely be flurries in many areas. 

But for some of us, anyway, that won't be the end of it.  The Alberta Clipper will tend to fade out somewhere near or over northern Vermont late tonight, to be replaced by a new storm that will crank up east of Maine.

That offshore storm will strengthen, creating winds from the east that will blow into Quebec, then southward over Vermont. The moist air will wring out additional snow, especially over much of western Vermont and the Green Mountains. Those areas can expect another one, two, maybe even three inches of additional snow over those areas.

As mentioned, the total snowfall from today through Wednesday evening, as mentioned, looks like it'll amount to three to six inches for most of us. 

The western slopes and summits of the Green Mountains will do the best in this episode with several ski resorts likely seeing eight, nine or even ten inches of total accumulation. The western slopes of New York's Adirondacks and the White Mountains over in New Hampshire should be just as deep in the snow by later tomorrow. 

This has been the best winter for skiing and riding in Vermont I've seen in years. We've never gotten any extreme snowstorms, but the conditions have been great most of the time really since mid-November. 

This will be a pretty fluffy snow, so I'm not worried about the weight of snow on trees and power lines. And we won't be trying to clear wet cement from our driveways tomorrow. 

BEYOND WEDNESDAY

Finally! I'll be quiet and warmer for a few days at least. By "warmer" I don't exactly mean beach weather. Wednesday through Saturday should bring highs mostly in the mid and upper 20s and lows in the single numbers to low teens.

We have a shot at going above freezing on Sunday. If that happens, it would be the first time since January 22 we've cracked 32 degrees.

There also might be some sort of coastal storm toward Sunday and Monday. The computer models are still all over the place with this thing. Given the limited and conflicting information we have now, that storm could bring us in Vermont a snowfall, an ugly mix or absolutely nothing at all. As always, stay tuned! 

Fascinating Huge Crack Opens In Lake Erie As Water Keeps Freezing

Satellite view of the large crack that developed Sunday
on the ice covering almost all of Lake Erie.

 Lake watchers got really fascinated with Lake Erie on Sunday. 

In just a matter of hours Sunday, a huge crack opened across the mostly frozen lake.

Satellite loops caught it. So did passengers on planes flying over Lake Erie. And people who live on bluffs in Cleveland looking out over the lake. 

The crack quickly widened on Sunday to about 80 miles long starting near Port Burwell in Canada to around Cleveland, Ohio. It's fascinating to watch the split appear on satellite loops.

Before this weekend, Lake Erie was about 95 percent frozen.  Strong northwest winds on Saturday   The northwest winds also piled up  chunks of Lake Erie ice up to 20 feet deep on its southeastern shore.  That movement probably weakened the ice in the middle of the lake.

Then on Sunday, light northeast winds helped  la"unzip" the crack southwestward across the lake.  The crack is another demonstration that a frozen lake isn't necessarily safe to walk or drive on. 

A person with the handle Rebsjoy on Threads
took this photo Sunday of the Lake Erie ice cracks 
while aboard a plane crossing over the lake

Lake Erie freezes more readily than the other Great Lakes because it's the shallowest of the five. Since it's shallow, you get less upwelling of slightly warmer water from the depths. 

Still, if Lake Erie freezes over entirely this week, it'll be only the fourth time since 1973 that has happened. 

Overall, the five Great Lakes were 53 percent frozen over as of yesterday. The least frozen of the lakes is Ontario. It was only 26 percent frozen. 

As weather patterns shift, there is other ice news to report. After quite a cold spell, record high temperatures were hitting central Nebraska today. Ice on the Platte River has broken up, leading to ice jams and flooding. 

As of this writing, around 2 p.m. today, I don't yet have word yet on whether Lake Champlain has entirely frozen over. The National Weather Service office in South Burlington will make the call. 

Even if it is frozen, Lake Champlain is not necessarily safe to walk on. 

Earlier this month, five skaters had to be rescued from the lake when the ice they were on broke off and started floating into a then-open section of the lake. 

We Just Had Vermont's Coldest Night Of The Winter. Uphill From Here? Snow Looms, Too

The "Haze Cam" looking toward Juniper Island in 
Lake Champlain, showed wall to wall ice cover 
this morning. I'm guessing the whole lake
is now frozen after this morning's subzero cold

Congratulations, Vermonters!

Most of us, anyway, just endured the coldest morning in the winter of 2025-26. Unlike other parts of eastern U.S. we didn't break any record lows. 

And, scattered across the state, there were a few exceptions to the "coldest morning" designation. But you get the picture. 

As expected, areas that were able to stay clear with light winds cooled off the most. Burlington got to at least 12 below, making this the coldest morning since February 5, 2023. The winter of '23 was actually exceptionally warm, except for two brutal days early in February that year.

Lake Champlain was this close to freezing over completely yesterday.  There were just a few holes in the ice left just offshore of Port Kent, New York,  I guessing the lake is entirely frozen today. It sure looked like it is from the Haze Cams at the University of Vermont that are pointed at the lake. If the lake is 100 percent frozen, it's  the first time since March, 2019 that's happened.

Most places across Vermont were in the teens below zero this morning. Newport was at 19 below. Morrisville and St. Johnsbury got to at least 18 below. I saw a reports of 16 below out of Bennington and Rutland.

Across the pond in New York, perennial ice box Saranac Lake was at 26 below. Watertown, New York was 27 below, which is positively balmy compared to the minus 35 they endured there Sunday morning. 

There were some weird exceptions to the cold. Montpelier had a breeze until 7 a.m. So far, their low is an unremarkable 5 below. 

Springfield, snug in the Connecticut River valley, is sometimes colder than many other places in Vermont. But they were at 2 above zero with a light north breeze at 6 a.m.. But things can change rapidly in frigid mornings like this. Springfield's winds went calm, and they had fallen 7 degrees to minus 5 by 7 a.m. 

The warmest place in Vermont was probably the summit of Mount Mansfield, They were at 0 degrees at 6 a.m. The second morning of a cold snap, when high pressure is centered nearby, often creates an inversion. We've got that going this morning. A layer a few thousand feet over our valleys is relatively warm compared to what we've been dealing with in the valleys. 

Except for those "warm" spots this morning, I think there's a decent chance that this morning will turn out to be Vermont's coldest until next winter. No promises, though. 

TODAY THRU WEDNESDAY

A new snowfall map with two to six inches of new snow
expected for most of us between Tuesday and Wednesday
afternoons. Heaviest snow Tuesday evening. 

That inversion will at least partly mix out today. With the sunshine, that'll allow us to get into the teens above zero. A 30 degree increase in temperature from dawn to mid-afternoon is pretty impressive, even if it won't exactly seem toasty warm once we get past noon.  

Tonight, temperatures should initially crash with clear skies and light winds. But changes are afoot. Overnight lows in the single digits to low teens below zero should hit by midnight, and then it will slowly start to get warmer. 

After that, we have some snow to talk about. We haven't had any absolutely tremendous historic winter storms this winter, at least not here in Vermont. (Other places certainly have).

But the timing of most of our mid-sized storms seems to be bad, and that looks like it might be the case on Tuesday. We've got an Alberta clipper coming at us from south-central Canada.

As it approaches, it will have a strong warm front attached to it. That warm front, which will never actually make it into or through Vermont, probably will still bring us a period of heavy snow just in time for Tuesday's evening commute. There's still time for the forecast to change a little, but that's the way it looks now.

The heavy snow will only last two or three hours in any given location, but for many of us, it will dump a quick two or three inches of snow in that timeframe. Slick roads and poor visibility could make the drive home on Tuesday unpleasant to say the least. 

After that initial big burst, some snow will linger overnight Tuesday and into Wednesday.  Again, unless something changes, it looks like we can expect 2.5 to 5 inches of snow. Some places in the central and northern Green Mountains might end up with more than six inches. 

The second half of the week will settle into uneventful weather with average temperatures for this time of year. We're seeing signs temperatures could go a little above freezing over the weekend, more likely Sunday than Saturday. 

If it does get above freezing over the weekend, it will end the longest continuous streak of sub-32 degree air since the January 26 to February 21, 2015, when we had 27 consecutive subfreezing days.  Out of the last 141 years of record, subfreezing streaks lasting as long as the one we're in now have only happened 20 times, according to the National Weather Service.

So, yeah, this is an odd winter.