Long Vermont Sunny Spell Is Over; But Another Long Vermont Sunny Spell On The Way

A very clear, nearly haze-free view from near the summit
of Mount Mansfield, Vermont on Friday. It was the last
day of a long stretch of sunny weather in the Green 
Mountain State. After an interruption in the good
weather this weekend, another long spell of 
fair weather seems likely next week. 

 Gosh, that was a gorgeous few days in Vermont wasn't it. 

Lots of sunshine, comfortable temperatures - it was perfect.  

All good things must come to an end. But all good things must also return!

I'll explain. 

A slow moving high pressure system through deep layers of the atmosphere ensured a lot of slowly sinking air over us the past few days. 

Sinking air suppresses clouds, which is why we saw so few of them Tuesday through Friday. 

Friday's scattered clouds amid a still gorgeous day hinted that the high pressure system was departing. Sure enough, we have a sharp dip in the jet stream, which means a storm system, a cold front, and plenty of rising air. 

Rising air means rain. Hence, an ill-timed burst of Saturday afternoon and evening rain and a sharp drop in temperature is on the way. 

SUN INTERRUPTED

Clouds were noticeably increasing across Vermont this morning, and that cold front should come through this afternoon. Be ready for changing weather during the day, for sure.

We'll have a few hours of soaking rain with the cold front this afternoon and tonight. Along with the umbrellas, bring a hoodie, since temperatures will start to crash through the 60s and into the 50s this evening. 

The rain will mostly shut down later tonight, within a few hours after sunset, but the chill will keep flooding in. That dip in a jet stream is bringing a flow of chilly Canadian air. We're getting into autumn, remember?

I had the opportunity to take the Stowe Gondola to near the Mount Mansfield summit with visiting relatives Friday, and it was really gorgeous up there. We saw lots of comfortable temperatures (70s in Stowe Village, probably low to mid 60s mountain summit), lots of blue sky, and remarkably light winds for a Vermont mountain summit.

Video from the trip is at the bottom of this post.

I'm glad we didn't plan that trip for tomorrow. The National Weather Service in South Burlington is warning hikers of near winter conditions on the summits during Sunday. Atop the mountains Sunday, expect temperatures in the 30s to low 40s with winds gusting to at least 40 mph. That translates to wind chills in the upper teens and 20s. Definitely dress right for a hike

Down in the valleys, it'll be cool but reasonable (near 60 degrees or so for highs). There might be a few light showers, but nothing to get too worried about.  Monday will also be cool, with some clouds, maybe a light shower or two. 

WARM SUN COMES BACK

If you liked the past week, the signs are growing that we're going to do it again. Forecasts call for another strong high pressure system to park itself over the Northeast through next week, and quite possibly beyond.

That would mean another long stretch of sunny weather with a warming trend. It could be 80 degrees again toward the end of next week.  The overall pattern features high pressure to mostly dominate the Northeast possibly into the third week of the month. 

If that happens, we'll end up with overall a gorgeous September. Even if today's rain interrupts some of your outdoor plans.  

Video: Views from near the top of Mount Mansfield on Friday, courtesy of the Stowe Mountain Resort gondola.  Click on this link to view, or if you see the image below, click on that.