Getting Set For That Big Dump Of Snow (For Some Of Us)

This morning's snow forecast map from the National Weather
Service in South Burlington. The main change was to 
increase snow totals in the southern Green Mountains. 
Areas in yellow and orange are forecast to see at 
least six inches of snow.

 If  you're one of those crazy people who actually like to go out for Black Friday shopping, be one of those even crazier early birds. 

At least if you're in or near Vermont.

The weather will be worsening as the day wears on with more and more snow filling in. That means increasingly slick roads with nobody yet used to driving in the snow.

If anything, the forecasted amount of snow has increased, at least in some areas. The bulk of it will come tonight.  So I guess the best thing to do this evening is stay in and watch those really icky Hallmark Christmas movies. 

The winter storm warning now extends down the entire spine of the Green Mountains from Canada to Massachusetts. 

Part of the reason for that is the swoosh of wet air that will wrap around a developing storm near Maine tonight will go further south than anticipated. That will help produce a pretty good dump in the southern Green Mountains.  

The northern summits are still probably going to get at least a foot. I wouldn't be that surprised if the summits of Mount Mansfield and/or Jay Peak come in with 20 inch storm totals. 

The western slopes of the Green Mountains are also under the winter storm warning for a pretty solid 6 to 10 inches.

Except for Grand Isle County, the rest of Vermont that is not under a winter storm warning is under a slightly less dire winter weather advisory. Most places in the state, except right along Lake Champlain and in the southern Connecticut River Valley, should see at least two inches of snow. 

As of 7 a.m this morning, precipitation was beginning to blossom across the area.  A lot of it was rain, with snow in the higher elevations. There might even be a touch of freezing rain early today in some of the protected valleys east of the Green Mountains.

Snow levels will keep coming down in elevation during the day. By sometime at or after sunset, even the low elevation Banana Belt towns in the Champlain Valley should be seeing snow. 

The snow will really come down hard along the western slopes tonight. Plus, winds will gust to at least 35 mph in many areas, causing a lot of blowing and drifting and problems with visibility on the roads. 

It won't be as bad elsewhere, but it will be no picnic.  Snow and blowing snow will be a problem even in many valley locations. It just won't be as extensive as up high. Almost everyone will see icy, slippery roads tonight.  Sigh. 

It'll get cold enough tonight so that the snow will become more powdery and less wet and sticky. That's a piece of good news because that way, we won't have to worry so much about trees and power lines falling under wet snow and strong winds. There might be a few power outages here and there, but I don't think it will be too widespread.

Expect some pretty big variations in conditions. If you're right along the shore of Lake Champlain tonight, you'll probably wonder what all the fuss is about. Drive east a few miles inland from the lake, and you'll hit hardcore winter. 

This storm is, of course, a boon to Vermont ski areas.  Some of them had to open later than planned this month, because it wasn't really cold enough to make snow. 

This big thump of snow is certainly helpful, but it's largely PR for the ski areas. Everybody's going to hear that it's dumping in the mountains, so that'll attract business.

Even better for the ski areas, though, is they're in for an extended period of subfreezing weather, probably lasting to at least Thursday. That brings plenty of opportunity to make snow and build up the bases.

The snow should taper off fairly quickly Saturday, leaving you time to shovel it all off the driveway and sidewalks. 

Little weather systems will continue to keep coming through during the first half of the new week, keeping us cloudy and cold with little bits of snow coming down now and then. It won't amount to too much

One or two of these disturbances seem like the might generate some bigger storms off the New England coast, but it looks like they'll develop too far to our east to give us any more big weather troubles.