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| The latest snowfall prediction map released late this afternoon from the National Weather Service in South Burlington Expected totals have been upped some more, with pretty much everyone from Rutland and Windsor counties expecting a foot or more |
Before we go into Vermont, let's glance a bit at people even less fortunate than us with this storm.
As of mid-afternoon, more than 260,000 people were without power, mostly in places like Tennessee, Kentucky and Texas due to the ice. The number of power outages was still growing fas.
You have to feel especially sorry for the city of Memphis and people in much of Kentucky, where the ice is heavy enough to tear down a lot of tree and power lines.
North of the ice band, snow continued to pile up from Texas to Maine. Behind the storm, it was wicked cold, as you might imagine. International Falls was at a lovely 42 below this morning.
As if the heavy ice and snow wasn't enough, a large, dangerous and long-tracked tornado was reported moving through an area south of Tuscaloosa, Alabama Thursday afternoon. Social media is already showing photos of badly damaged buildings in the tornado zone. Injuries have been reported.
The ice and snow is slowly spreading east into the western Appalachians. Heavier snow has gotten into New York State and is poised to reach Vermont soon.
VERMONT UPDATE
First, some quick stats and then the meat of the update:
Heaviest snow: 7 p.m. this evening to 10 a.m. Friday.
Storm totals: Adjusted upwards for Vermont north of Route 4, most places receiving 10 to 18 inches.
Road conditions: So-so this evening with icy spots along with snow and ice atrocious Friday morning, better but still kind of dicey late Friday afternoon.
Power outages: Almost nil north, isolated central, scattered south central Vermont, possibly numerous along Massachusetts border.
Schools: Very likely closed tomorrow.
The details: As advertised, subfreezing temperatures and snow spread southward across Vermont this afternoon, setting us up for the main show tonight.
The rain turned to snow today in the Montpelier area around 1 p.m. and in Rutland around 2:30 p.m. Snow accumulations have been light so far, as expected. That's going to start changing in the next few hours.
The snow has been falling lightly all afternoon. It was showing signs of gradually intensifying late this afternoon. It'll come down pretty hard tonight. It's going to be a very, very snowy night in most of Vermont. The heaviest snow for most of us will probably come down between midnight and dawn.
Signs point to an even somewhat deeper snowstorm that forecasters were predicting this morning. Total accumulations are not progged to be in the 10 to 14 inch range for most of us, except 12 to 18 inches in parts of central Vermont.
You've probably seen all the snow forecasts that the National Weather Service has been releasing the past few days. Notice how there's not a lot of variability in the amount of snow expected in central and northern Vermont. The map released late this afternoon pretty much has everybody between Rutland and Windsor counties north to the Canadian border receiving a narrow range of 12 to 14 inches of snow.
That's in large part because this storm does not feature a strong low pressure system. Most of the snow is being produced by surges of warm, moist air being forced up and over cold air north of the weather front.
A large storm would have strong east winds, which would "shadow" western slopes of mountains and reduce snowfall there. It ain't happening this time because there's no strong storm to produce heavy winds aloft.
Many forecasters remain concerned about far southern Vermont, especially along and south of Route 9. The forecast for sleet vs freezing rain is iffy but if it's more freezing rain, areas near the Massachusetts border could have between a quarter and a half inch of ice accumulate.
Elsewhere in southern Vermont, the first part of the storm will feature a wet snow, which could bring about a few isolated power issues.
The snow will taper off in most places during the late morning and early afternoon. Light snow will probably continue in the Champlain Valley and many areas along and north of Route 2 well into the afternoon and possibly evening, but additional accumulations after noon will be light.
Brace yourself for some, well, bracing air tomorrow and tomorrow night. Temperatures will only be near 10 degrees during the day and drop off to below zero Friday night.
Temperatures will be much better starting Sunday afternoon. There's still no signs of any substantial storms on the horizon after this one goes by.
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