Almost Nicest Stretch Of March Weather Imaginable, But Watch Those Fires!

With wet ground from some morning rain, I got a burn 
permit for my brush pile in St. Albans, Vermont yesterday.
It's going to be dry, though for the next week, so fires
like this will probably be a bad idea for awhile.

 Yesterday morning in St. Albans, Vermont we got a few drops of rain, enough to wet down the dry brush around town.   

Which allowed me to get a burn permit for my brush pile, which I took full advantage of.  Had I missed yesterday's opportunity, I wouldn't be able to get a burn permit for quite awhile.

The reason: The continuing dry weather across Vermont this March.  We only managed a few hundreds of an inch of rain in most places across the state yesterday. We're already more than an inch shy of normal in the precipitation department this month. 

March in Vermont is usually characterized by cranky, often downright lousy weather.  March is almost always the month of wet snow, rain, ice, wind and fleeting, false promises of spring. 

Not this year. We've already had a number of pleasant, spring-like days and we're about to get a bunch more. 

Sure, today is cold.  Nothing outlandish for March, but chilly enough for your winter overcoat. Get through today and tonight, and you'll be rewarded with bright spring weather through about Wednesday at least. 

Temperatures will get well into the 40s Saturday, then well into the 50s daily through Wednesday. There will probably be a few low 60s thrown in here and there from time to time during that period 

This will make this March in Vermont a rare, generally pleasant spring month. The only March I can think of that exceeds this in terms of niceness is the weird, weird March of 2012.  That was the record warm month that peaked with five incredible days in a row with temperatures in the upper 70s and low 80s.  

There's nothing like that on the horizon this month, but still, this week will be a pretty rare one. 

Of course, this dry weather brings us back to that brush and wildfire risk. We've already had one episode this month with an eight-acre brush and grass fires disrupting traffic along Interstate 89 in Colchester, Vermont March 15. 

With the last of the snow rapidly disappearing, except in the mountains, this dry weather can really touch off some fires. 

If you have brush piles to burn, like I did, I wouldn't even bother asking for a burn permit until after it finally rains. (That could happen at the end of next week, we'll see). 

You idiots who throw lit cigarette butts out of your car window should never do that, but especially with the upcoming dry weather. 

Bottom line: Enjoy the upcoming great weather, but without open flames, please.