Ah, Spring! But This Is New England. A Trip Down Snowy Memory Lane

A leafed out, nearly blooming lilac bush smushed almost
to the ground by wet snow on April 28, 2010 in St. 
Albans, Vermont. The tree was normally 12 feet tall.
The lilac bush recovered.

Since the immediate weather forecast seems pretty quiet, I've decided to make you depressed.

Well, not really.  If you take this post in the right frame of mind.  You'll need to think of it this way: The rest of this April will not be nearly as bad as the ones I'm about to describe.  Let's just say it's time to go down a snowy springtime memory lane. 

First, the setup. 

Spring storms tend to be wetter than those in the winter. It's warmer, after all. Warmer air can hold more moisture. Thankfully, since it is balmier, most of these wetter New England storms in April are mostly or completely rain. April showers bring May flowers, right?

Sometimes, though, the warmer spring air collides with errant batches of cold air, making epic snowstorms in April a possibility. I don't see signs of anything like this happening in our immediate future, but you never know. (Spoiler: The next couple of storms look rainy for us) 

However, I have lots of examples of what could happen if things take an unexpectedly white turn.

April, 1874 

This was probably the worst month for April snow in Vermont history. According to the Vermont Weather Book snow fell on 13 days that April, amounting to 49 inches. Two large snowstorms there toward the end of that month left 31 inches of snow on the ground on May 2. Ugh.  The last of the snow on the ground in Strafford didn't disappear until May 27.

April, 1874 is ancient history, of course, so let's zoom ahead by exactly a century. Modern April snowstorms aren't like 1874, but they still pack  punch. 

April, 1974

On April 3-4, arguably the worst tornado outbreak in U.S. history struck the Midwest. Ahead of that system on April, temperatures in Vermont reached 70 degrees. But we were in for a bit of a surprise. 

The powerful system that caused the tornadoes left behind a deep dip in the jet stream over the East, and a new storm system took advantage of that. On April 9 that year, 13 inches of snow fell on Burlington, and the high temperature that day was only 27 degrees. The snow was widespread, with most locations in Vermont reporting a foot of snow or more. 

At least the warm weather quickly returned in 1974. By April 14, it was in the 70s again. The next year, we weren't so lucky. 

April, 1975

A vast and powerful nor'easter slammed New England on April 3-4, then stalled over the Canadian Maritimes while slowly weakening until around April 12.  

Damage from an April 28, 2010 snowstorm in St. Albans,
Vermont. Heavy snow fell on partly leafed out trees,
causing many of those trees to collapse. 

The initial hit of the storm, then the cold, wet northwest flow around the storm, caused a long period of winter weather in Vermont. Snow totaled 30 inches in Peru, Vermont and around two feet in Enosburg and Montpelier. 

The upslope snows along the western slopes and summits of the Green Mountains were particularly impressive. Mount Mansfield had 45.5 inches of new snow from April 3-9 and snow depth reached 22 inches. 

The cold was incredibly persistent for April. Burlington endured eight days in a row in which the high temperature never got above 38 degrees from April 3 to 10. No days reached 50 degrees until April 15 that year. 

April 7, 1982

Vermont was on the northern edge of a remarkably deep, and remarkably cold blizzard that struck much of New England and New York State  on April 6-7, 198.

Albany, New York had 17.7 inches of snow, its biggest snowstorm on record. Fifteen inches pelted Worcester, Massachusetts.

Far northern Vermont missed out on the snow, with just 0.2 inches falling in Burlington. Southern Vermont received a general 3 to 6 inch snowfall. In the far south, high elevation Peru, Vermont got slammed with 15 inches. Woodstock had nine inches.

The remarkable aspect of this storm were the low temperatures.  Highs across Vermont were generally in the low 20s, and those readings came in the morning. I was in West Rutland, Vermont that day, and the temperature at 3 p.m. was an incredible 13 degrees. Normal high temperatures for the date were around 50.

Snowy Week, April 16-22, 1983

A deep dip in the jet stream that week created quite a snowy week in northwestern Vermont. The leading edge of the colder air came in the form of a cold front, with a juicy wave of low pressure riding north along that front on April 16 and 17.

The copious moisture was able to dump a ton of snow on western Vermont especially. Burlington had 15.6 inches of snow on April 16-17.

A total of 21.3 inches of snow fell that week as other weaker storms circulated through a trough of low pressure over the Northeast.  ..

St. Albans had 18 inches of snow in that initial storm on April 16-17 and 24.5 inches for the entire week.

April, 2000 Snow Week

A weather setup remarkably similar to that in 1983 settled over Vermont. Another cold front with deepening low pressure riding north along it with plenty of moisture dumped 14.3 inches of snow on Burlington.   A secondary storm deposited an additional 4.7 inches of snow on April 11-12.

The snow on the ground was mercifully short-lived. By April 15, it was 77 degrees in Burlington.

April, 2001 Deep Snow.

Honestly, it didn't snow much in Vermont that April. But incredible snows that March left Vermont deep in drifts as April 2001 arrived.  On April Fool's Day, 2001 there was still 49 inches of snow on the ground in Chelsea, 48 inches in Eden, 42 inches South Lincoln. Even Burlington still had 16 inches of snow on the ground that day. 

The deep snow pack led to fears of severe spring flooding, but April, 2001 ended up being among the driest on record.  Though there was widespread minor flooding throughout much of the month, nothing serious happened. 

April 28, 2010

The month had been very warm in Vermont, with record highs of near 80 in the opening days of the month. Trees were leafing out earlier than normal as residents of St. Albans enjoyed an afternoon high of 64 degrees on April 27.  

However, on April 28-29, a whopping 13.5 inches of wet snow fell on St. Albans. Eden reported 18 inches of snow, and some spots on the western slopes of the Green Mountains reported 20 inches. 

It didn't get cold enough to freeze the foliage on the trees. But the wet snow, piling up on all those leaves caused many trees and branches to collapse, especially in St. Albans, where the leaves were further along than in the hilly towns to the east. 

The storm disrupted St. Albans annual Maple Fest, but power was restored and most of the hundreds of fallen branches and trees were cleaned up within two or three days. 

And by May 3, the afternoon high was a muggy 86 degrees in St. Albans.

Finally, a video from last year, showing how spring can turn on a dime. Two days before the video was taken, daffodils were blooming everywhere and the trees were budding, with hints of green. Then this hit. If you can't see the video, click on this hyperlink. Or, if you see the image below, click on it to view. (Two days after this video, temperatures were back up in the 60s).