Winter Weather Isn't Over, But Spring Is Asserting Itself

Jackson the Weather Dog was out Tuesday testing the
consistency and melt rates of the snow to determine how
rapidly it will disappear in this week's expected warm
weather. Jackson's conclusion: Wicked fast. 

 A bit of sugar snow fell here and there in Vermont overnight, not amounting to much but adding just a touch more moisture for the maple industry, which is currently in full swing. 

In full swing, anyway, at least judging by how fast the sap tank fills up at the sugaring operation next door to my St. Albans, Vermont house.  

The only worry I have about the whole thing is the lack of subfreezing temperatures. It got above freezing Monday afternoon here and has been at  or above 32 degree since. And chances are we won't get below freezing again until Monday.

Great sap runs come after overnight freezes, so we'll see how this plays out. 

Meanwhile, people who like spring are having a good and improving week here in Vermont.  The snow from Saturday is rapidly melting away, and should be largely gone from valleys by later today or tomorrow at the latest.

We've got some warm weather to get through, at least for this time of year. It was murky in some spots early this morning, but a little sun later on should boost temperatures in many towns to 50 degrees or so.

Tomorrow is pick of the week, as temperatures should hit 60 degrees in banana belt towns across Vermont, and 50s in most other places. 

Then after a slightly cooler Friday, at least in northern Vermont, we have yet another Saturday storm to deal with.  They seem to come along on Fridays and Saturdays lately. 

We're dealing with mostly rain this time, to continue our spring trend.  Sure, there might be a bit of a mix in the Northeast Kingdom at the start, and maybe some mountain snows as the storm departs Sunday and Monday.  

Saturday won't exactly be gorgeous day, with those frequent showers, raw temperatures and dark clouds, but at least most of us won't have to deal with snow and ice for a change.  It doesn't look like the rain Saturday will be enough to cause flooding, unless we see some sort of surprise influx of moisture. But I doubt that. 

It's only March, though. I would not count out another winter blast or two before spring truly gets here. It usually snows in April, after all. Sometimes really hard.

However, it's nice, for the third March in a row, to signs of spring like the first daffodil shoots and tentative crocus attempts so early in the year.