It's Official: First Autumn Freeze Across Vermont; Record Late; Icy Roads Too

Fog and drizzle and chill made for an appropriate pre-
Halloween mood yesterday before last night's freeze arrived.

 Early this morning, it was below freezing everywhere in Vermont, except perhaps right along the shore of Lake Champlain. 

For most of us, that's the latest first autumn freeze on record.

It's complicated for the official National Weather Service readings in the Burlington area.  Weather measurements have been taken at the airport in South Burlington since 1941.  This is the latest freeze at the airport since at least then, and most likely well before that.

The old record for latest first freeze at the airport was October 28, 2022 - yes, just last year. 

Prior to 1941, weather measurements were taken closer to Lake Champlain, where it is warmer on clear, calm autumn nights. So the record latest freeze from those days was November 1, 1920.  It's unknown if the site where temperatures were taken way back when got below freezing this morning. 

The cold weather this morning prompted one of those dreaded special weather statements from the National Weather Service. Water from yesterday's rains probably froze on some of the roads, especially on bridges and overpasses.

As you're driving to work this morning remember that some areas of the harmless "wet road" is actually glare ice that can send you careening into other cars or off the road.  This includes main roads. I have reports of at least one crash on an Interstate 89 overpass in Richmond.  Other crashes closed stretches of Interstate 89 between Montpelier and Richmond. I'm sure other bridges on the Interstate are icy, too. 

My truck parked in St. Albans, Vermont looking 
very iced over this morning. 

By the way, yesterday's rain brought the month's total to 6.41 inches in Burlington, which makes it the third wettest October on record as well as one of the warmest.

I'll have much more complete climate data for October in a post tomorrow,

Meanwhile, the chill continues on.  Highs today and tomorrow will barely make it to 40 if we're lucky in most of northern Vermont. Southern valleys might be a tad warmer than that. More freezes are coming tonight and tomorrow night, with lows for most places in the 20s.

For the little monsters trick or treating this evening, they can expect temperatures in the 30s, but at least it will be dry, with no rain or snow. 

Another disturbance will probably give us some snow showers Wednesday, mixed with rain in the valleys. Don't worry, any accumulations will be really light to non-existent. 

It still looks like it will turn a little warmer toward the end of the week, but not spectacularly so. For a change, there's no sign of yet another big warmup coming.