Gentle Vermont Snow/Northeastern Storm Begins Volatile Weather Week For United States

One of many depiction of a major storm Wednesday
in the Northeast.  It will cause a lot of issues from the
Rockies to southeastern Canada. Vermont is in
play for high winds, among other problems. 

The snow falling in Vermont today is actually quite nice, in my opinion. 

We've got a gentle, powdery snow brightening up the landscape.  It's light and fluffy, so not hard to shovel. The winter sports industry is rejoicing. It's pretty out there. 

Enjoy it, because it's not going to last. It's not going to be a pretty weather week. In Vermont, and in most of the rest of the good ole US ofA. 

This storm isn't so nice for much of the rest of the eastern United States. It clogged southern New England roads with snow, canceled hundreds of flights and spun off a tornado in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. 

This first storm was the mildest of a series of storms set to affect much of the nation, including Vermont. I'll get into effects here in the Green Mountain State in a bit, but first an overview. Because millions of people are going to be coping with rough weather. 

MAJOR STORM FORMING

Large tree toppled in a strong wind storm in St. Albans,
Vermont in October, 2019. A destroyed Jeep is hidden
beneath the tree. A storm Wednesday could cause
similar damage in Vermont. 

The first hints of what's to come are formulating in the southwestern United States today. It's spitting out a major snowstorm and strong winds in the southern Rockies. 

It has also prompted freeze and even hard freeze warnings in southern and central Arizona, and the central valley of California. The developing storm is pulling cold air far southward.

As this thing moves northeastward, it promises to become a monster storm, much stronger than most. Basically, different parts of the U.S. will deal with almost every type of bad and dangerous weather possible.   

The storm will be a newsmaker, that's for sure. Expect lots of news clips and social media videos of dramatic weather.  

This storm will track well west of today's weaker storm, getting stronger and stronger on its entire trip from New Mexico tonight to somewhere over the central or eastern Great Lakes Wednesday.

This storm will be a giant wind bag. On its western flank, heavy snow and strong winds will create a blizzard from the central Plains to the western Great Lakes. Further to the northwest in the northern Plains and Rockies, the first truly super bitter cold air blast from Canada will send temperatures wicked far below zero. 

The cold air might or might not infiltrate all the way to the Pacific Northwest. If it does, cities like Seattle and Portland could be in for some Vermont-style January air and winter storms later this week. 

 However, the forecast out there is as uncertain as it can get. Right now, temperatures in Seattle midweek could be i the single numbers, could be in the 50s.

Just keep 'em guessing, I guess. 

The storm will draw warm, humid air from the Gulf of Mexico into the South and Southeast, setting the stage for severe thunderstorms and tornadoes tomorrow and Tuesday. 

Along the East Coast, the storm will create strong winds, heavy rain and probably flooding, some of it possibly pretty extensive in New York, New Jersey

This could easily be the nation's first of the year disaster or weather event causing a $1 billion or more in damage. 

VERMONT EFFECTS

Just what Vermont doesn't need: Another storm capable of causing a lot of damage. But the potential is there with this one Tuesday night and Wednesday.

I see a ton of similarities between this storm and the one that blasted Vermont in December, 2022 with destructive winds. It might not be as bad as December 2022 ,but it's definitely one to keep an eye on.

Chances are it won't be as destructive as that flood on December 18-19, but a lot of nastiness is on the table for us. The worst problem will probably be high winds, power outages and tree damage. The other issues might be flooding again, and some snow and ice at the onset and end of the storm. 

High winds

The storm will still be intensifying as it goes by to our west Wednesday. Meanwhile, it will be bumping up against strong high pressure up in eastern Quebec.

This will cause a squeeze play that could cause some impressive winds in Vermont. Since the winds would be coming from the southeast, it should set up a classic downslope windstorm along the western slopes of the Green Mountains. 

It's a little too soon to tell just how strong the winds will get and how widespread they'll be.  Gusts to or over 70 mph aren't out of the question, at least if current forecasts hold.

The potential is definitely there. A high wind watch is already up for the length of the western slopes from the Canadian border at least down to the Rutland/Bennington county line. 

Similar downslope winds could cause trouble in the Northeast Kingdom, too. 

Snow/Ice

The start of the storm could create a quick thump of wet snow, then freezing rain for parts of the state as wet, warm air blasts into Vermont. The snow and mix could hit just as the winds are ramping up, so that could contribute to additional power outages.

The tail end of the storm could also feature crashing temperatures that will quickly freeze water on the roads and cause a mess. Did I say water? Why, yes I did. Because it's going to rain, too.

Rain/Flooding

All this beautiful snow we received today isn't going to last long. A blast of warm air looks like it will sweep into Vermont on those strong southeast winds and change everything over to rain.

It could rain pretty hard, too. That'll have to be watched because the combination of heavy rains and snow melt can easily cause flooding. Once again, it doesn't look as bad as December, but still worth noting. 

On the plus side, the water content of the snow we have now is less than the wettest of the snow on the ground prior to December 18. It won't get as warm as it was on December 18, so the snow won't melt as fast, either. 

On the other hand, the ground in much of Vermont is frozen, at least near the surface, so rain and snowmelt would run off into rivers and streams instead of soaking in. 

It's a little early to predict how high rivers will get, but at this point, the chances of minor flooding on some waterways looks pretty decent.

The forecasts for this storm, like all storms, will get refined, updated, shifted and eventually more detailed as we get close to the event. As always, I'll chime in with updates as this comes along.

After this storm goes by, long range forecasts are starting to suggest another large storm affecting Vermont and the rest of the Northeast next Saturday. 

A busy month indeed.