A Sunday Soaker, Blah November And A Fish Storm Called Wanda

A bit of late foliage hangs on in St. Albans, Vermont early
this morning creating a spot of brightness on an otherwise
dark, damp and very rainy Halloween morning. 

As the National Weather Service advised us, we got a good drenching overnight and this morning in Vermont.  Anticipate a very wet day, especially during the first half of the day and especially north of Route 4. 

Unlike last week's nor'easter, which went out to sea and avoided Vermont, today's weaker but still potent storm was being captured by an  upper level storm roughly overhead. 

This will bring the center of the storm that was near Cape Cod north or northwestward today, ending up near Sherbrooke, Quebec this evening, notes the National Weather Service in South Burlington. 

It ain't going out to sea this time, folks. 

By the way, that powerful nor'easter that blasted the Massachusetts coast last Wednesday did something interesting over the open Atlantic Ocean last night. More on that in a bit.

First, this morning's weather setup is bringing a juicy train of moisture moving southeast to northwest through Vermont and other sections of northern New England this morning. 

Some of the rain is pretty heavy, especially in places where the wet air is forced to rise up the slopes of the eastern Green Mountains. 

As of 7 a.m., many of us had gotten a half inch of rain or more. By the end of the day, most of the Green Mountain State will have seen more than an inch of rain out of this, with some spots going past two inches.

This is enough to bring many of the state's rivers up to near the top of their banks, or even cause a bit of minor field flooding in spots. This is no disaster of course, but I think it's the first time this year that rivers in northern and central Vermont have been able to get that high. 

The storm has been worse in southern Maine and southeastern New Hampshire. There, three to six inches of rain has fallen and flood warnings are flying. Several roads in that area are impassable.

Just another example of how Halloween seems to inspire damaging New England storms. Read the full post on that from yesterday. It's an interesting history. 

Back here in Vermont, things should taper off tonight, so there's a little hope for trick or treaters tonight. Next it, a week of blah. 

BORING NOVEMBER

I've never liked the weather in November. It's dark, it's usually overcast and chilly and damp. Sure, we get some big storms sometimes. The worst weather disaster in Vermont history, after all, happened in November. That was the Great Flood of 1927 that took the lives of 84 Vermonters.

I certainly don't want that to happen again. Dull is much better than disaster, thank you very much. 

That said. we're about to settle into a typical November pattern of generally cloudy skies, the occasional risk of sprinkles and flurries, and raw temperatures for the next week or so. And possibly beyond. 

This year will certainly be the opposite of the opening days of last November, which brought us near record high temperatures and days of warm sunshine. This year, the first week of November will bring us the typical blahs we get this time of year. 

If you're prone to Seasonal Affective Disorder, I apologize for the bleak forecast.

NOR'EASTER BECOMES WANDA 

That nor'easter from last Wednesday that coastal Massachusetts is still recovering from had the power of a hurricane. After all, winds gusted to 94 mph on Martha's Vineyard and over 80 mph along much of the rest of the Massachusetts coast.

The storm was not tropical in any way, just a powerful nor'easter.

But something interesting happened to the nor'easter as it drifted east to southeast out into semi-oblivion in the central Atlantic Ocean.

The storm moved over warmer waters, and is now a hybrid. It still has the remnants of a cold core like a typical system, but is also acquiring tropical characteristics. As a result, it's now Subtropical Storm Wanda.

The storm is actually quite a bit weaker than when it was a full blown New England nor'easter. Top winds were around 50 mph this morning, and might go up to 60 mph in the next couple days.

Wanda could complete a full transition to a tropical storm in the next day or two as it drifts around the central Atlantic for a few more days.  Since it won't threaten any land areas, I'll call this system a Fish Storm Called Wanda.

Yeah, I went there.