Vermont Update: Yesterday's Extra Snow Melts Away To Warmth, Maybe Few Strong T-Storms?

Vermont Agency of Transportation Web cam along 
Interstate 89 in Brookfield looked like mid-winter
at dawn today after yesterday's heavier than anticipated
snow. That snow should melt fast in mild weather today. 

 We got an early April Fool's Day "gift" on Friday as snow once again over-performed in Vermont. 

What had been forecast to be a brief, light interlude of wet snow before changing to rain ended up being more than that. 

Most of us got some snow accumulation, and some places went right back into winter. Some of the deeper snow reports are 4.1 inches in Bradford, 4 inches in Brookfield, and 2.8 inches in Greensboro. 

Even the Champlain Valley had some unexpected accumulation with one inch in Charlotte and 0.8 inches in both Burlington and St. Albans. 

A fairly brief but soaking rain was beginning to wash that snow away as dawn broke today. The rain was a warm front that is heading through the region. We'll only see a few hours of this cold rain. Then, as advertised, we get a brief squirt of nice, warm air. 

Sun will break through the clouds for most of us, and temperatures will soar into the 50s to low 60s.  That'll be a welcome change from yesterday, won't it?

In the unstable air in that patch of warm weather we'll experience today, it still looks like some showers and thunderstorms will blossom. 

The best chance is in the southern half of Vermont. NOAA's Storm Prediction Center has upgraded the risk there to "slight" level two out of five alert levels. That means we could end up with scattered reports of wind damage from some of the strongest storms. 

A little further to the south, in southern New York, New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania, there's actually a low but real chance of a tornado or two today.

Back in Vermont, showers and storms will tend to be more scattered and weaker in the north.   There's a minimal, at most, chance of any really gusty thunderstorm up there. 

There's actually a slight chance of severe thunderstorms
in much of the Northeast, including southern Vermont
today, which is an early sign of spring. 

This is kind of early in the season to have any kind of severe thunderstorm threat in Vermont. Not unprecedented, but it's definitely before we see this sort of thing. 

The snow melt, and the rain, and the scattered showers and storms will produce enough runoff to raise river levels. But if there's any flooding between now and Sunday morning, it will be pretty minor. 

Just don't be stupid enough to drive your car into any low lying roads that get covered by water in this wet spring episode. 

If you like today's short visit by the forces of spring, don't get used to it.  That sharp cold front will come through tonight, and by morning it will be far below freezing. Probably in the low 20s

The sun will come out on Sunday, but most of us will see daytime highs struggle to reach the 30s.  Some colder spots might not even get above freezing.

At least temperatures will warm back up to kind of average readings, or maybe even a tad above that. The expected highs in the 50s for most of us Monday through Thursday isn't so bad for this time of year.