As Expected, Tiny Little Storm Over-Performs Northern New York/Vermont

Back to winter driving conditions in St. Albans, Vermont
this morning with a fresh two inches of new snow

 Really back to winter in northern New York and Vermont as we recover from a quick cold blast and now, in a few places, several inches of snow.   

A small storm and some disturbances in the west to northwest flow are depositing the snow in northern areas. A few places in the mountains, especially north of Route 2, could end up with three to five inches of snow out of this. 

NWS South Burlington said web cams already indicate a good four or five inches of snow up at Stowe Mountain Resort. 

In the northern Champlain Valley, I had already collected 1.8 inches of new snow at my place in St. Albans, and it was still snowing lightly. 

For northern areas, this is a nice snow freshener for late season winter sports enthusiasts. 

South of Route 2, in the valleys, this is, by contrast, something of a nothingburger. 

The National Weather Service in South Burlington honed into this little over-performer with their forecasts yesterday, going as far as hoisting a winter weather advisory for part of northern New York overnight and into today. 

The initial wave of snow has passed, but additional energy in the flow will produce a little more snow - maybe a dusting to an inch in the valleys and another two inches of snow in the mountains. Valleys south of Route 2 should expect very little snow today, but the Green Mountains all the way to southern Vermont might expect an inch or two.

This obviously isn't Storm of the Century, but it's a reminder that yeah, we're in March, but winter sure ain't over yet. 

You'll alsoknow that by the temperature and wind chill over the next few days, too. 

High pressure in Greenland is trapping a storm in place in eastern Canada. That, in turn, is trapping another Arctic high pressure area sort of near Hudson Bay, Canada. 

The result will be persistent blustery northwest winds coming down on New England through Saturday.  Today will be the warmest of the bunch, getting as high as near normal mid-30s in the warmer valleys. 

Then, we suffer through high temperatures in the 15-25 degree range through Saturday, with lows in the single numbers. Throughout that period, 10 to 20 mph northwest winds, with higher gusts, will keep us wind chilled. 

Little disturbances in this air flow keep us at risk for snow showers through Saturday.  As usual, it won't amount to much in the valleys, but the mountains could pick up a few inches of additional fluff Thursday through Saturday. 

Don't whine too much.  This weather pattern with the so called Greenland block and cold air for us in New England is very common for March. 

This blocked up weather pattern will start to untangle itself starting Sunday. It'll still be cold Sunday, but the winds will be lighter. By Monday, it'll start to feel warmer. Long range forecasts hint at a genuine thaw by next Tuesday.