Gusty Winds Thursday Introduced Rainy Vermont Period, Things To Improve Sunday

Trees bend in the wind Thursday evening in St. 
Albans Vermont. Some gusts Thursday reached 40 mph

 I was pretty impressed by some of the wind gusts yesterday, as they were pretty strong for this time of year.   

Normally, we only see gusts in the 30 to 40 mph or more range during strong thunderstorms this time of year.   Non-thunderstorm winds like Thursday's are usually creatures of late fall, winter and early spring. 

Burlington managed a gust to 44 mph, the highest reported in the area so far, but many places were in the 35 to 40 mph range. Leaves on the trees this time of year make them more prone to snapping, and I did see quite a few branches and a couple of trees down in my wanderings on Thursday. 

The wind has died down, and this morning, we've dealt with some light showers, at least in northern areas. 

As expected, we're going to deal with a couple not so perfect late spring days. But the rain is always welcome. It's coming at just the right time to wet down the gardens after a few dry, breezy days. 

It's possible a few storms this afternoon could get on the strong side, but the the risk is marginal at best. We could also see some locally torrential downpours late today and tonight, but again, the risk of any flooding is very low. 

The real serious part of this storm system is hitting the Mid-Atlantic States. There's been a tornado watch since early today in part Virginia, North Carolina and Maryland that's in effect until at least 2 p.m. today. The same areas could see some flash floods as well. 

It's a sluggish storm system, as previously advertised, so showers should linger through much of Saturday. It appears that the air will be unstable enough for renewed showers and maybe some rumbles of thunder  to re-blossom in at least parts of Vermont during the afternoon. 

Sunday is still looking gorgeous with sunshine and reasonable humidity levels.

That hot spell for next week is looking less hot and a bit less humid as well. It will still be very warm for this time of year, and the humidity won't be exactly low. The ridge of high pressure causing the toasty weather is expected to set up shop a little further south than first thought. 

This readjusted setup will allow disturbances riding up and over the ridge to skirt just to our north, which offers the chances of a few showers and storms in northern Vermont by midweek.  The ridge will be starting to break down around Thursday, to allow more showers and maybe storms to move in by then.