Vermont Snowstorm Dumping Big South and Central, Almost Nothingburger Far Northwest

Screen grab from Vermont Agency of Transportation
web cam along Interstate 91 in Thetford early this morning
showed cars slogging through heavy snow.

 A pretty, but also pretty nasty winter storm is underway early this morning in southern and central Vermont, while the far northwest corner of the state wonders what all the fuss is about. 

As of 7 a.m., the storm seems to be playing out about as forecast. If anything, the band of heavier snow as depicted on radar was a bit further  north than I imagined, running from Rutland and southern Addison counties up to northern Windsor, Orange and southern Washington and Caledonia counties.

Orange County so far is actually the big winner, receiving more snow than expected. As of 7 a.m. Braintree and West Newbury had already received 8.5 inches of new snow. 

 So far at least, the heaviest snow has actually been a little north of places like Bennington and Brattleboro, but they have gotten wet snow there, too. 

The snow is a little wetter and soggier than at least I anticipated in southern and eastern Vermont. This has messed with power lines and trees.  As many as 3,400 homes and businesses were without power, mostly in southern Vermont early this morning.

I anticipate more issues along those lines until the snow tapers off toward noon.

Expect a nightmare of a morning commute in the heavier snow zone, all through central and southern Vermont. 

Vermont Agency of Transportation web cams showed snow covered, slippery roads in much of the state.

Vermont Agency of Transportation web cam along 
Route 7 in Brandon also depicts slow going in
snow early this morning. 

Do note there are a TON of school closings and delays in central and southern Vermont. 

A zone from Burlington into areas north of Montpelier and along the Canadian border are only getting light snow this morning. 

 In the far northwestern tip of Vermont, it's a nothingburger. Here in St. Albans, we had an inch of snow early in the storm. As of 7 a.m., it hadn't snowed here in hours.  There were signs on radar, though, that light snow might briefly move back north into Franklin County.

That band of snow in southern and central Vermont will hold on for a few hours yet. Things will taper off this afternoon, but until then, the substantial snowstorm is on.  I'm thinking some spots in central Vermont will over-perform with this and receive a little more snow than anticipated. 

UP NEXT

The weather will be quiet tonight, but things are now looking interesting Tuesday morning, especially in  northern Vermont. 

A cold front looks like it might have enough energy to kick off some fairly heavy snow showers. Temperatures could also briefly get above freezing, then drop back below 32 degrees. That's a recipe for briefly, but surprisingly icy roads. So we'll watch for that. 

The big news of course, is the next substantial storm due Wednesday night and Thursday. Early guesses are this one will be windier than the one we're having, and could still involve some freezing rain. 

It's too early to say where the heaviest precipitation will set up with this one. It looks like the National Weather Service is wisely focusing on the current storm. Once it gets out of our hair, more detailed computer forecasting guidance will have come in later today, and we can start hearing some more details on how this one will affect us.