Some Weather Issues In Vermont Today From Strong Storm

Despite temperatures a little above freezing early this morning
rain was making my driveway rather icy. Temperatures
were rising, and that ice and snow will be 
melted by this afternoon.

The same storm system responsible for the tornado tragedy in the South is causing some much less dire weather issues in Vermont today.  

I'm covering and updating the tornadoes in a separate post, but figured I should give a local rundown for us Vermonters, too. 

Freezing rain was ongoing early this morning in eastern Vermont, mostly. I'd postpone travel to areas east of the Green Mountains until mid-morning because of that. 

The rain and freezing rain is due to the storm's warm front coming through. Once it gets past us later this morning or very early afternoon, temperatures will rocket upward, reaching at least the low 50s west of the Greens and well into the 40 east.

Winds will be picking up as well once we're in the warm sector. That'll be especially true in the Champlain Valley, where south winds will get channeled up the valley. The rain this afternoon will turn much more showery and widely scattered.

The main story with this system, at least here in Vermont, will be the winds along and behind the cold front that's coming through late this afternoon and evening. 

The best moisture with the storm will have gone by to the east by the front gets here, so there will only be scattered showers  with it. I can't rule out an isolated rumble of thunder, but the chances of that are low. No severe weather like in the South, that's for sure.

But winds aloft will be strong along and behind the cold front. Some of those winds will mix down to the surface.   Strongest winds will probably be in far northern Vermont, and along the ridge lines and east slopes of the Green Mountains. 

Winds might be a little stronger than the last episode of windy weather we had this past Monday. Gusts could go into the 45 to 50 mph range in the gustiest zones.   So, we'll see some of the usual scattered power outages. Maybe not super widespread, but still a risk for sure. 

The upcoming week will be on the warm side, but not nearly as warm as points west and south, where the odd December heat will concentrate itself. Temperatures here might spike this coming Thursday ahead of the next quick-moving storm. 

It will be blustery tomorrow, too, but not quite as windy as tonight.