A Wintry Period In Vermont, But Is A Warmer Reprieve In The Works?

Workers in snowy Taylor Park in St. Albans Thursday
install Christmas lights near a still oddly green 
maple tree. About an inch of snow fell there Thursday.

We survived the first wintry day in Vermont Thursday (I'm not really counting the light snow on November 1) so is this it? Is winter here to stay?  

Indications are, maybe not. We might see a warm reprieve mid month. More on that in a minute. 

The forecasts ahead of the wintry precipitation Thursday ended up being quite accurate. Most places got about an inch of snow, or just a wee bit more than that. This was close to the forecasts of about an inch.

There was a weird localized area of about two inches in and around Burlington, Colchester, Winooski and Essex The official total at the National Weather Service office in South Burlington was 2.0 inches.  I'm not sure why. Those areas aren't usually the snow winners in any storm. 

Video scenes of the snow around St. Albans are at the bottom of this post. 

Temperatures actually stayed fairly mild overnight, as there was no real push of cold air behind the weakening storm that brought Thursday's snow. For most of us, temperatures stayed steady or actually went up a little last evening and overnight. 

Snow that didn't melt during the damp, overcast weather Thursday did so in many valleys last night. The snow cover was pretty, but short lived. 

We're not done with the cold weather, though. Another cold front is coming through later today, and that will keep us on the chilly side for a few days. Today will actually be kind of mild ahead of the front, with highs well into the 40s - about normal for this time of year.

After that, it gets pretty chilly again for a few days. Nothing wildly cold for this time of year, but you'll probably want your winter jackets. Highs Saturday through Monday will be in the 30s, with lows in the 20s. We could see some teens in the colder spots. 

Very little precipitation is in the cards for us over the next few days. There might be a few scattered showers with today's cold front, flurries in spots overnight, that's about it. The next shot of any light precipitation is Tuesday.   

But yeah, not exactly late season gardening weather, huh?  

Forecasts for six to ten days out from now indicate
most of the United States, including us here in
Vermont, are in for a switch to warmer weather. 

But there's hope for those of you (like me!) who haven't gotten their fall outdoor chores done yet. We have increasing signs of a pattern change for mid-month, probably starting later in the upcoming week.

Actually, almost the whole nation looks like it will be quite warm, with the heat centered in the Plains and western Great Lakes. They'll probably see some more record highs out that way in a little over a week or so.

Between climate change and El Nino, it seems hard to have any sustained cold anywhere lately. 

Long range forecasts are iffy but meteorologists seem pretty confident that we in Vermont will share in at least some relatively mild air mid-month.  I'm not yet sure how warm it will get, but it will certainly be toastier than this weekend will be. 

The first week of our potential warmer spell looks mostly dry, too, so you can get out there and get some last minute stuff done. 

Video: Scenes of snow around my house, Jackson the Weather Dog takes careful measurements and readings of the snow, and workers install Christmas lights in St. Albans Taylor Park amid the snow and near a still oddly green maple tree.

To view, click on this link, or if you see the image below, click on that.