Much Of Vermont Remained Frost-Free Last Night, Continuing Odd Lack Of Cold

 It appears most reporting stations in Vermont did not have a freeze last night or this morning. 

Gorgeous sunrise today in St. Albans, Vermont. The clouds
that caused the pretty skies also prevented many Vermont
towns from having their first freeze of the season. 

There were plenty of reports of fog, and I'm sure there was patchy frost as many places got into the 33 to 35 degree range. 

This ensures that records for latest freeze will be established in many cities.

Montpelier got down to 33 degrees. There was likely some frost in the area, but for official records, they avoided a freeze. At  least since 1970,,the latest freeze on record in Montpelier was on October 31, 1975. 

The forecast calls for continued above freezing temperatures in Montpelier at least through Monday, October 30, and quite possibly beyond, so the record for latest first freeze is in jeopardy.

Same is true at the official National Weather Service measuring site at the Burlington International Airport. The overnight low there was 35 degrees. 

I made a slight error in a post the other day. I claimed the record for latest first freeze of the autumn at the airport was on October 26, 2018.  But I just can't keep up with this onslaught of warm autumn in recent years. 

Last year, in 2022, the first freeze at the airport didn't hit until October 28, and that's the record to beat. 

The record to beat, that is, unless you want to include data prior to 1941.  Weather data shifted to the airport in 1941. The airport is further inland from Lake Champlain than prior measurements. That inland location has less influence from the warming effects of the lake than when measurements were take right in the city of Burlington proper.

So, in that sense, the record to beat is November 1, 1920.

Bottom line: The October 28 record at the airport will surely be broken. It's dicey for the November 1 record. If the Weather Channel's 10-day forecast is to be believed, the expected low temperature on November 1 is 33 degrees, which is a close shave.

Most of us would have had a freeze this morning had skies remained relatively clear and winds light. This morning's low temperatures hit around 2 a.m. today.  Usually temperatures keep heading downward until dawn.

But clouds and winds arrived in the pre-dawn hours, so temperatures actually began to slowly rise after 3 a.m. 

THE OUTLOOK

An unexpected patch of light showers moved through central Vermont this morning, but that will clear out soon if it hasn't already. We're still looking at a warm, but partly to mostly cloudy week. 

Some overnight lows during the second half of the week will be warmer than normal highs for this time of year. Those high temperatures will also flirt with 70 degrees, compared to average highs in the mid 50s.

The extended forecast is uncertain, but it looks like we will gradually step down in temperature this weekend and actually be chillier than average in about a week from now. 

To give you another idea just how warm this autumn has been, September in Burlington tied for the fourth warmest on record.  Given the forecast, this October is almost guaranteed to be among the top five warmest, and has a slight chance of besting the record for the warmest October. 

This year is also likely to yet another in the top ten warmest in Burlington. Already each of the top five warmest  years have happened since 2012.  Climate change, anyone?