Tuesday Storm Update: Bursts of Snow Hitting Northern Vermont; South Finishing Up

Traffic slogs through a fairly heavy burst of snow 
on Fairfield Hill Road in St. Albans Tuesday afternoon.

That fetch of moist air from storminess of the East Coast developed in northern Vermont this afternoon, and it's been interesting to watch. 

There's been a steady stream of snow moving "backwards" east to west across northern New England. 

Most of it has been fairly light, but there have been brief but frequent bursts of heavy snow in this moisture stream across much of northern Vermont, especially from Route 2 north. 

Here in St. Albans, Vermont one big burst came through around 12:30 p.m with a shorter one around 4 p.m. Burlington reported heavy snow at 5 p.m.

If you're driving around this evening, note that the roads are snow covered and slippery, and those bursts of heavy snow are reducing visibility.  Blowing snow is adding to the mix as we have a stiff north to northeast wind blowing. 

The heavier snow bursts will wane later this evening, except perhaps in a few places along the northeast slopes of the Green Mountains. The northeast slopes of the Adirondacks are particularly prone to this. That's because the best ribbon of moisture, and the axis of the snow band is heading through the International border then into the northern Adirondacks. 

Light snow and snow showers will continue across the northern half of Vermont overnight and Wednesday. The National Weather Service in South Burlington is calling for another two to six inches of snow on top of whatever fell last night to late this afternoon.

For the record, I measured 5.9 inches of new snow in St. Albans as of 5 p.m. Burlington received a respectable 7.4 inches by shortly before 5 p.m., and as noted, it was snowing hard there for a bit. 

The snow is accumulating fast because it is so light and fluffy.

The snow is pretty much over in southern Vermont.  But snow lovers down there are happy anyway.  The first burst of snow that came through overnight and early this morning was especially heavy down there. 

West Windsor reported 14 inches and Woodstock had 12 inches. Hartland, Vermont got 12.2 inches.

It'll be interesting to see if the snow falling over the north will bring storm totals to on par with what southeastern Vermont received.  The snow in the north won't completely stop until Wednesday night or Thursday. 

By the way, things will remain active.

A mini-thaw will hit the valleys Friday, with some wet snow mixed with rain in the valleys.  It won't amount to much, but it will be unpleasant.

A long lasting Arctic air regime is set to take over almost the entire Lower 48 starting this weekend. Here in Vermont, temperatures will be definitely colder than average starting next Monday and continuing more than a week.

There are suggestions we could get another snowstorm starting late Sunday, but generally speaking, the chances of that look low. Some light snow is quite likely, though. 

The core of the coldest air will be in the Midwest.  Since we're on the eastern side of the cold air, that sets us up for frequent snow showers and flurries during that long cold spell. 

Your heating bill, which was so easy until last week, will start to add up, between the cold we had last weekend, and the long cold spell coming up. 

More on this tomorrow.