WIndshield Wiper Weather Front Keeps Moving Back And Forth Over Vermont

Fading yellow leaves try to compete with the gloom 
over St. Albans, Vermont this morning. The state
has been in a weather battleground lately, creating lots of 
clouds and frequent rains. 

 You've probably noticed here in Vermont, especially the further northwest  you go, that we've had a lot of clouds and bouts of rain lately. The forecast calls for more of the same.  

We're in a classic weather battleground.  Off to the west, winter is on the march, unleashing cold air onto the northern Plains.  

There was a surprise snowstorm in part of Iowa two days ago. Another snowstorm, less of a surprise, but bigger, dumped more than six inches of snow on parts of Minnesota. Minneapolis had its second snowiest October day on record, with 7.4 inches. 

A third snowstorm has prompted winter storm watches from Montana, through parts of the Dakotas and Minnesota Thursday and Friday. 

Meanwhile, the Atlantic Ocean off the East Coast is unusually warm, and a toasty ridge of high pressure holds sway out there, just north of Hurricane Epsilon. (Don't worry, Epsilon is not headed toward the United States.

We're caught in the middle between the cold out west and the heat to the east. 

This being later in autumn, the cold air keeps trying to win out, sending cold fronts crashing in with bouts of showers and bursts of chilly air that don't last long.

That's because the warm air is fighting back, flinging those cold fronts back north as warm fronts. Then the cold tries again. On and on it goes. 

Basically, the same weather front keeps going back and forth over us.  One such set up hit last week before  a more decisive cold front came through Friday. 

This week is even more changeable, The front came north as a warm front Sunday, back south over us a cold front Monday, back to our north Monday night, then south through us again yesterday,and then back north today. 

That's why it's been windshield wipering back and forth between warm and humid-ish, and chilly and damp.  It's almost impossible to decide how to dress for the day, other than to bring an umbrella or rain jacket. 

And it goes on.  The front goes back south of us tonight, giving us a sunny break Thursday.  Then back north Friday, then south through us Saturday.  I think we're getting hit be the same cold/warm front almost a dozen times, at least it seems.

The chilly air wins out by Sunday.  But we're still near this battleground.  The weather front between the cold air to the west and the hot air to the east will set back up for the first part of next week. It'll take a position somewhere along the East Coast. Storms riding along this front will bring us even more rain. 

It might even start as a period of snow in the mountains Sunday night. 

This is all very gloomy, of course, because the sun has gotten scarce. But this has been a good month to continue easing the drought. The drought isn't over yet, but it is decaying with all these rain storms.

Rainfall for October will end up above normal for most of New England, including Vermont. 

We do know the cold air will eventually win out and the snows will really fly.  We just don't know when or to what extent.