A Rude Interruption To Spring Is Coming For Us On Sunday

Person in this photo looks glum, probably because we're
going to sink into another period of winter cold 
Sunday through Tuesday

 Yesterday, I waxed poetic of sorts to the fact that springtime in Vermont comes earlier than it did decades ago due to climate change. 

I also noted wintry interruptions to these early springs also seem rougher than they once did. 

Case in point will be Sunday through Tuesday, with a quick shot of Arctic air arriving to remind us we live in the North Country. 

Though particulars of the forecast might change a bit, many parts of Vermont should get a couple or even a few inches of snow. Worse, temperatures will plunge to mid-winter levels. 

Here's the particulars:

We're starting this Friday morning relatively mild and rainy.  Mostly cloudy and seasonable air will linger through Saturday with scattered light showers here and there. Nothing to get excited about.  

On Sunday, the Arctic cold front arrives. A sort of, kind of mild start to Sunday will wilt under increasing northwest winds, and temperatures will probably fall during the day.  Snow showers will whiten the ground in the valleys. 

In the mountains, snow showers will stay pretty consistent through much of Sunday night, accumulating to several inches.

The real story will be the wind and cold.  The warmer "banana belt" towns will drop into the teens Sunday night. The colder towns will be in the upper single numbers. 

Highs on Monday will only reach the low to mid 20s for most of us. Strong northwest winds will continue from Sunday through Monday evening.  That will lower wind chills to at or below zero

There is nothing springlike about that forecast!  On the bright side, Monday will quite likely be the coldest day until late November or December. 

As harsh as the cold snap will hit, we probably won't have many record low temperatures. Around this part of March in 1923, we had quite a cold snap.  The record low of 5 below set that year for Monday in Burlington won't be challenged. Neither will the record for the coldest high temperature for the date, which was 13 degrees in 1923.

The records don't go back as far in Montpelier, so the Capital City does have a slim shot at setting a record for the coldest high temperature for the date on Monday. The current record is 19 degrees. The record low max temperature in St. Johnsbury is 24 degrees, so that's in play, I suppose.

Lots of us have daffodil shoots and other perennials just starting to come up.  These early plants do have a natural antifreeze in their system, so they should mostly survive this. 

Though the overall weather patter does not look super warm after this cold snap, things will improve.  We'll be closing out March and heading into April after all, so you can't sustain cold weather like we could a month or two ago. 

Next Tuesday should still be cold, with lows in the single numbers and teens and highs in the 30s. But it will probably warm at least temporarily to normal levels again by next Wednesday or Thursday.