Vermont Week Ahead: MUCH Cooler, Autumn Finally Here

A peaceful autumn late afternoon Saturday around my
yard in St Albans, Vermont. Expect a decided turn
toward colder weather this week. Summer couldn't
last forever, you know. 

First off, the hoped-for northern lights last night fizzled. The solar flare from the sun wasn't aimed quite right, so we didn't have much in the way of an aurora. Oh well, better luck next time. 

It was as chilly as expected, though. Most of us were in the 35 to 40 degree range, and there were some areas of frost in the colder spots here and there. Nothing unusual for this time of year, but it is a change from what we've seen lately.

Those changes will intensify this week. 

We don't face any big storms, but we do have some spots of rain in the forecast for the week. Maybe even a little high elevations snow. It's that time of year. 

More importantly, you will know summer is over this week. 

A couple of cold fronts will introduce us to reality, starting tonight.

We started off crystal clear this morning, but you will notice some clouds coming in this afternoon. That's the first sign of the chillier air. It will still be a gorgeous day for leaf peeping, though, with highs well into the 60s. 

Peak foliage now covers the Northeast Kingdom and mid and high elevations of most of the Green Mountains. Low elevations aren't at peak yet, but the color is coming along nicely.

Tonight, the first of two cold fronts comes through. This will be the wetter of the two, and we can expect maybe a quarter to half inch of rain. Nothing scary at all. Just some rain. 

Monday-Thursday

The first day of the work week actually looks not bad. The first cold front will have past, and we'll see some sun. It will be somewhat cooler, but seasonable - highs in the 58 to 65 degree range.

But another cold front comes through later in the day. This one will only have scattered showers, but it does have the real chilly air behind it.

Expect highs in the 50s all week, with lows in the 30s to around 40.  If you have sensitive plants outside, or houseplants that need to come in to protect from the cold, like I do, you'll probably need to do it this week. 

It looks like the best chance of frosty weather this week is late Tuesday night and early Wednesday. 

During the day, Tuesday and Wednesday, the air will be unstable enough to trigger some light showers here and there. Those showers could take the form of snow up in the mountains. You might end up with some snowliage to look at Wednesday or Thursday, with a smidge of white maybe visible on the higher summits with colorful leaves further down the slopes. 

A few snow flurries could make it down as low as elevations of 1,500 feet Wednesday or Thursday, the National Weather Service said. 

Early indications are next weekend could turn brighter and somewhat milder before the next noticeable weather system arrives in about eight or nine days from now.