November Heat Lasts (Part) Of Another Day; Eta Surprises Again

A last gasp of fall color on another unseasonably warm
November day yesterday in Burlington, Vermont.

 We're nearing the end of some really remarkable November warmth in Vermont.  All good things must come to an end.  

Though it won't be sunny like past days, and some showers will move in, we still have a shot at hitting 70 degrees once again today.  

If that happens in Burlington, Vermont, that would make it five days in a row in which temperatures reached 70 degrees. Previous, the most consecutive days on record in November with such days was three.

At dawn, it was 63 degrees in Burlington, which is a bit warmer than the normal morning low temperature in mid-July. 

This really has been quite the break.  The heat in  my house in St. Albans, Vermont hasn't been on for a week. Like we do in the summer, we've left the doors to the deck wide open so the dogs (and us "hoomans" for that matter) can come and go as we please.  Bonus: No bugs fly into the house this time of year. 

A cold front will pass through Vermont later today, ending this heat wave. Unfortunately, there won't be much rain coming with this cold front.  We need the rain. Even more so now that we've had such a dry November so far. 

This cool down will, at first, be nothing scary. Temperatures Thursday through Sunday will be near or a little above normal for this time of year. That means highs in the upper 40s and low 50s, lows near the freezing mark, in general.

A balmy sunset Tuesday over St. Albans, Vermont 

This IS November, though, so you have to expect some wintry weather eventually. Monday night and Tuesday, we can expect a quick shot of some Arctic air, with maybe some snow showers around. 

This cold snap doesn't look remarkable by November standards. Highs Tuesday won't get out of the 30s, and probably won't even get above freezing in some places. 

That chilly weather also looks like it will be short-lived.  We won't see 70 degree weather again until next spring, unless something truly bizarre happens.  But it seems that chances are, based on long range forecasts, that near to somewhat above normal temperatures are a fairly good bet on most days until at least Thanksgiving. 

TROPICAL STORM ETA

Eta continues to confound forecasters as it continues its meandering path it started in the western Caribbean around October 29.

Now, it's off the west coast of Florida and strengthening again. It appears it has a shot of regaining hurricane status again today.  A hurricane watch is now in effect for part of the west coast of Florida.

Eta is now forecast to come ashore north of Tampa as a strong tropical storm, or possibly even a category one hurricane. It'll then, hopefully, finally die on its trek across northern Florida and then off the coast of the southeastern United States.

It's been such a busy tropical storm season that an unprecedented 97 percent of the U.S. Atlantic coastline has been under some sort of tropical storm or hurricane warning or advisory this year. 

Way out in the Atlantic Ocean, Tropical Storm Theta continues to churn with no threat to land