New Snow Might Keep Us Refrigerated All Week, Even After Intense Weekend Cold Departs

Steam and warmth from Lake Champlain was still
creation clouds over the lake near Burlington this
morning, as this hazecam.net screen grab shows,
but the lake effect snows of yesterday are over. 

Yes, yes, I know, it's nasty cold out there in Vermont and surrounding areas. 

Jackson the Weather dog here in St. Albans really cut short his early morning observations when we went out before dawn today.

  He's not into this type of chill at all. Can't say I blame the little guy. 

Low temperatures this morning were pretty uniform statewide in Vermont this morning.  That tends to happen when there's a steady winds. 

 Burlington was the banana belt town as usual, dipping down to 5 degrees this morning.  Everyone else was pretty much between 5 below and 2 above, even in the valleys of far southern Vermont. 

Wind chills this morning were mostly in the teens below zero.  You'll really want to dress for the weather today, as most of us won't even make it to 10 above, and the north wind will continue to blow steadily. Don't be fooled by the sun when it comes out. The low angle light won't help with the chill at all. 

Yesterday's lake effect snows in the Champlain Valley might well contribute to the end of Burlington's longest continuous stretch of above zero temperatures. Today was the 663rd day in a row that was above zero, as measured at the National Weather Service office in South Burlington. 

Usually, the Champlain Valley receives the least snow in any given winter storm. This time, they got the most, thanks to that lake effect snow Saturday. 

Six inches of snow covered Shelburne, Vermont. In a rare feat, The National Weather Service office in South Burlington was the snowfall winner, with a storm total of 6.3 inches.  

Because the snow cover around Burlington is deeper than what had been forecast, that improves the chances that the record long stretch of temperatures continuously above zero will end.

Deeper snow tends to encourage lower temperatures on clear, calm winter nights. Monday morning could well end the long, long streak of continuously above zero temperatures. 

But it's not a slam dunk.  If any clouds move in off Lake Champlain, or the wind stirs a bit at just the right time, it'll stay above zero in Burlington. The current forecast for Monday morning's low is 1 above. But it honestly could end up at up to five degrees either side of that figure. 

If you're away from the lake, it's pretty much guaranteed you'll be below zero early tomorrow morning.  temperatures will vary early Monday much more than they did this morning. The cold hollows could make it into the mid and upper teens below zero.

CHILLIER OUTLOOK

It's not going to warm up as much or as fast during the upcoming week as originally thought. A quick Alberta Clipper will probably sneak through real quick Monday night and Tuesday, throwing a couple more inches of snow our way. 

Meanwhile, the high pressure that's bringing our weekend nasty chill will park itself over southeastern Quebec much of the week. The air mass will modify, so that temperatures will become seasonable and comfortable - highs in the 20s to low 30s.

But since there won't be much in the way of south winds, and the snow cover will help chill the air near the ground, there won't be any wholesale warmup at least until the end of the week. 

However, it could warm up a lot toward the New Year.  A strange weather pattern is setting up that will roast most of North America, relatively speaking, in oddly balmy air for winter. I'll get into that in an upcoming post.