Back To (Relatively) Normal In Vermont After Weird Weather Day

Plants just emerging in my St. Albans, Vermont gardens
look drowned in yesterday's downpours. But they'll be
fine, given the forecast of a long dry spell, with 
temperatures turning dramatically warmer next week. 

Well, no ice is in the forecast today and we almost certainly won't see any thunderstorms, which is a big change from yesterday, at least in northern Vermont. 

The payoff, eventually, will be a long stretch of gorgeous spring weather. If you want things to really start greening up, next week will be your time to celebrate.

We're actually starting off pretty warm today after the cold, raw, rainy, thundery weather we had. Yes, I know it wasn't that bad in southern Vermont, but still.

Parts of the Northeast Kingdom did have some ice accumulations yesterday. But unlike far northwestern New York, and southern Quebec, including Ottawa and Montreal, the ice didn't really cause much harm in Vermont. 

The Green Mountain State really dodged a bullet with that ice storm.  More than 1 million customers in Quebec were without power yesterday. Plenty of trees and branches came down with the weight of the ice, in some cases smashing cars in the process. Schools are closed across much of southwestern Quebec today. 

Back here in Vermont, the wind picked up last evening, too, but it wasn't quite strong enough to cause too much damage. At one point, about 1,000 customers were without electricity last evening, but that number is pretty small compared to some recent storms. 

The sprawling storm's cold front will come through later this morning and early afternoon without much fanfare. Some spots will see some showers, but it won't be anything heavy.

Temperatures will stay mild, with readings poking up into the low 60s for many of us. That comfortable air will begin to feel less so later this afternoon as colder air comes in.

COLD, DRY SHOT

Friday and Saturday won't feel particularly springlike, as temperatures stay in the mid  30s to mid 40s by day and dip into the 20s at night. If you hate static electricity, you won't be fans of this. The air will be very dry. 

This kind of weather is a bit chilly for early April, but it's not nearly as cold as it can get this time of year.  Cool spells like this or nippier happen every April in Vermont. 

THEN SPRING, BUT TOO DRY?

Temperatures will start to recover nicely on Sunday, and keep going up day by day during next week. The first half of the week will  feature pleasant highs in the 60s, then there's an excellent shot of 70s later in the week. 

Extended national temperature outlook for next Tuesday through
Saturday. That's about as strong a signal as you can get 
for warmer than normal temperatures in Vermont and
a broad stretch of the Midwest and eastern U.S.

In a way, this might be too much of a good thing, if you're a bit of a pessimist. The air during this spell will continue to be very dry, with humidity about as low as it can get. 

Despite all the rain we just had in northern Vermont, things will dry out pretty quickly in the arid, mild air. 

It'll be maybe even worse in southern Vermont, which did not get much rain yesterday. 

There's all that dead stuff from last year still out there. The leaves aren't on the trees yet. All that sunshine will dry things out, and brush fires will become a risk. This is the time of year they're most likely in Vermont, so there you go.

After the nice moisture we had over the winter and early spring, we don't want a drought to start. A couple weeks of dry weather, like what's coming, shouldn't be much of a problem. It will turn into one if it stays dry. 

However, it seems like in many Aprils in Vermont, there's often a long period of dry, warm (sometimes hot!) and tranquil weather during the middle of the month. For example, the Aprils of 1976, 1977, 1998, 2002, 2020 and 2021 were like this, among many others. 

In almost all these cases, decent rains returned by the end of the month. 

So we should relax and enjoy the great weather coming next week. Just don't burn your brush pile during this interlude.