A Perfect Rain, And Not So Perfect Snow For Vermont Next Couple Of Days

Yes, the dreaded snow prediction map from the National
Weather Service in South Burlington has been
re-activated. High elevations can expect
six or more inches of snow from the upcoming
storm. We need the moisture, though.

It was another mild morning in St. Albans, Vermont today when I took the dogs outside but with a HUGE difference from the way this month had been going so far.   

For once, this morning, there was no dust to be found. Everything was wet from early morning showers.  The air had that sweet springtime pungency I absolutely delight in every year as the plants and flowers drink in the moisture. 

Such a wonderful contrast to the clouds of dust I stirred up in the gardens yesterday.  It's all good, even if today will be too rainy to work out in the gardens.

Being Vermont, we have to take the good with the bad, and yes, it is going to snow again.  It looks like most of us will get some snow, even many of us in the Banana Belt valleys.  But it also still looks like the real winter storm drama will be confined to the higher elevations. 

That mild feel to the air this morning will slowly fade into a chill as the day wears on and the rain continues. An cold, upper level low settling into western New York is feeding today's rain and slowly falling temperatures. 

That upper low will encourage and steer that nor'easter we've been talking about toward coastal New England by early tomorrow morning. The upper level storm will capture our nor'easter and make it sit and spin over southern New England for most of the day Friday. 

The cold air pool of air aloft will become well established overnight and Friday.  Snow will probably start to appear on mountain summits of New York and Vermont late this afternoon. The snow levels will descend to valley floors by the pre-dawn hours tomorrow

In the valleys, the air will remain just a little above freezing, which will make it hard for snow to accumulate, especially since the ground is so warm. I imagine lots of us could see an inch or two, especially on grassy and elevated surfaces. Your daffodils and hyacinth might get flopped onto the ground, but will rebound when the snow melts later Friday. 

At least for this go around, your shrubs and trees that are blooming and budding way too early should be fine.  It won't get cold enough to harm tender growth. (We are at risk for a more damaging freeze later next week, so stay tuned).

For your morning commute tomorrow, main roads will probably be just wet or perhaps a little slushy, except on bridges and overpasses, which might be a little more slick.  

Daffodils and hyacinth drink up this morning's very
welcome rain showers in my St. Albans, Vermont 
gardens. These flowers might be dusted with
snow within 24 hours. 

Climb up in elevation late tonight and Friday, and you will have that full blown winter storm on your hands. 

A winter storm warning is up for mostly the high elevations of southern and central Vermont, along with much of New Hampshire and western Maine. 

Wet snow will accumulate pretty rapidly, especially at elevations above 1,500 feet late tonight and Friday morning.  

The heaviest precipitation with this storm will be in southern Vermont and parts of New Hampshire, so high elevation accumulations could reach six to 12 inches, with more than a foot at summit level. 

Travel over mountain passes will be hazardous at best.  Power outages will be a problem, too, in these higher elevations. 

With the storm pretty much stuck over New England Friday, light rain and snow will continue all day.  Snow levels will rise with the "heat" of the day, but heat is really a relative term here.  It'll be a raw, breezy day, with most of us not even cracking the 40 degree mark.  

That'll be a shock to the system, since we've gotten used to the balmy 60s and 70s we've experienced for more than a week now. For reference, normal high temperatures for this time of year are at a happy medium between these two extremes - mid 50s. 

The snow is surely a bummer for those of us who love spring, but this storm is a total godsend. 

The rain, and occasional snow will be slow and steady, and last a long time. Now that precipitation has started this morning, it pretty much won't end until at least tomorrow evening. The slow, soaking nature of this storm is just perfect in terms of denting our drought. 

Total rain and melted snow is expected to amount to around a healthy inch, with a little more than that in southern Vermont and a little less in the Northeast Kingdom.

As for that snow you might find on the ground, it'll quickly melt, even as temperatures this weekend stay well below the toasty readings we had the past week. The melting snow will keep adding moisture to the ground. All good.

We'll need several more soaking storms to fully erase the dry conditions, but the weather today and tomorrow is a nice start, or at least a nice break.  

No new, big storms seem to be on the horizon after this one, but some showers will probably make it back into the picture midweek. Maybe the anti-rain force field has been removed, or at least weakened?  I really hope so!