First Totally Subfreezing Day Of The Winter In NW Vermont

Despite clear skies over Vermont this afternoon, 
temperatures in the Champlain Valley didn't rise
above freezing for the first time since March 28

 It doesn't look like the temperature made it above freezing in Burlington, Vermont today.  That would make this the first totally subfreezing day since March 28.  

Today's chill is despite wall to wall sunshine this afternoon.  As we well know, the sun angle is very low this time of year, so it doesn't do a great job of heating us up.  A cold flow of air from the north easily overwhelmed the sun's lame "heat." 

It was actually a little colder today in the Champlain Valley than in much of the rest of Vermont. That is opposite the usual state of affairs.

 This is cold, dense air, so it tends to hug the valleys. There's no mountains to block the air from Quebec, so it chills us down nicely.  The coldest air can't get up and over the Green Mountains, so it's a little warmer there. But not by much..

The skies will be clear tonight. The night will be long. It's December after all.  So we'll have a cold one, with the warmer spots in the teens and the colder spots in the single digits. That's nothing unusual for this time of year, of course. But we were spoiled by the warm, if murky weather earlier in the week,. 

The record low in Burlington Saturday morning is 9 below, and it will be nowhere near that.

Interestingly, one computer model has much of Vermont going below zero tonight, but that model is wrong and an outlier.  The model apparently assumes a snow cover this time of year. 

Snow cover makes clear, calm winter nights much colder than they otherwise would be. Since there's no snow, we won't have that extra refrigeration. 

One thing that worries me is that a clear night like this will make some nice, smooth ice on ponds.  It'll be tempting to go ice skating, but don't do it!!!!!!

The ice will be too thin, and you'll likely fall through.  It doesn't take long to die in super cold water if you fall through ice. 

Looking ahead, we have a relative cold period to get through through the middle of the week, with temperatures just a tad cooler than average. There might be a little snow Sunday night, but it won't amount to anything special.  Areas north and east of Interstate 89 might well get nothing at all.

There is the potential for a larger storm at the end of next week, but we really don't know if it will happen, and if it does, what kind of storm. We have to wait and see.