Initial Snow Thump Ending In Vermont, But Kinda Ugly Weather Through Tonight

Vermont Agency of Transportation web cams showed
a snowy commute this morning for much of Vermont.
This is Interstate 89 in Colchester at around 6:30 a.m. 

 The first, bigger wave of snow from this long-anticipated winter storm was beginning to wane shortly after dawn today. But don't worry!  There's more fun to be had as the day and night go on. 

Early reports are that central Vermont got a solid six inches or so of snow as of 6 or 7 this morning. Burlington's official total as of 7 a.m. was 5.9 inches so far. 

Up near the Canadian border, dry air hung tough, so less snow fell there than expected. At my place in St. Albans, Vermont, we only had 3.2 inches of new snow as of 6:30 this morning. 

Forecasts had sort of hinted at that, with snowfall prediction maps showing a little less in the far north of Vermont. The snowfall was even a little less than forecast.  Northern zones should make up for some of that "missing snow" tonight. More on that in a bit. 

In far southern Vermont, as expected, sleet and a little freezing rain held down snow amounts. 

This is a colder storm than any we've had this winter in Vermont. Most of them featured temperatures not far from 32 degrees, which, when it did snow, it was wet and heavy. This time, readings this morning are in the teens north, 20s south. That led to a more powdery snow.

It also meant it's a little harder to scrub the snow from Vermont's highways. Traffic cams, especially in central and northern Vermont, showed Interstates and main state highways still snow covered as of 7 a.m. today.

We do see quite a few school closings in Vermont this morning. 

The winter storm warning in effect in central and northern Vermont expires at 1 p.m. today, but that doesn't mean travel trouble on the roads will go away. 

During the day, we won't see much of anything.  But a few snowflakes will fall, and we will see  lovely patchy freezing drizzle. Or frizzle as I call it. That "frizzle", still mixed with a little snow, had already started in St. Albans as of 7 a.m., despite temperatures in the teens. 

Traffic cam also shows a snowy Route 7 in 
Brandon this morning. 

Another wave of precipitation is still expected to come in later this afternoon and tonight, sent here by another storm rippling along a stalled front to our south, and a push of warm air aloft.

It'll stay cold enough down near ground level today and tonight, with temperatures not getting out of the 20s north. This will be the first day Burlington stays below 32 degrees all day since February 4.

At least for awhile this evening, sleet and freezing rain will push further north than it did this morning.  

Sleet and a little freezing rain looks like it might venture as far north as Route 2 this evening. Maybe even a little further north than that. It'll eventually switch back to snow later on pretty much everywhere in Vermont. This new burst of snow and ice should come in after 6 p.m. and last until at least midnight. 

Areas up by the Canadian border have a good shot of staying all snow, which is why I said that area will partly make up for this morning's lackluster accumulations. Expect a good two or three inches of additional snow tonight north of Route 15. A few areas could get a little more than that.

 This evening's round of snow or ice won't be nearly as heavy as this mornings. Away from the Canadian border, expectations are people will see an inch or two of snow and only a thin layer of ice. 

Friday still looks blustery and cold. It's become a Friday tradition this month. This will be fourth Friday in a row in which temperatures fall all day, instead of rising toward a peak in the afternoon. 

We're also still expecting subzero cold Friday night and Saturday. Saturday will also be quite a chilly day, with highs just in the teens. Sunday will reach well into the 20s. Both days contain a risk of some pretty non-consequential snow showers.

Another, larger storm is still due Monday night and Tuesday.  So far, forecasts have been trending a little more toward a mostly snow scenario with that system, but there's still a lot of time for forecasts to change one way or another.