A Tale Of Two Vermonts This Morning: Snow Globe Or Snow-Free

A tale of two Vermonts today. Traffic cam this
morning along Interstate 89 in Colchester shows no
snow and clear sailing for motorists there......

 As expected, the Green Mountains of Vermont are being blasted by snow, while the valleys, not so much.  

The temperatures were slow to fall overnight, and were only getting below freezing in the lower elevations  as dawn broke.

The wind was cranking from the northwest, and that air had plenty of moisture in it. Trouble was, that moisture was skipping over the valleys and slamming into the mountains instead.

We're still looking at snow totals of over a foot in some spots along the central and northern Green Mountains.  Could be two feet or more at the end of it all up near Jay Peak.

As of this morning, Jay Peak has already reported at least 10 inches of new snow. 

This is probably one of the more extreme contrasts between Vermont snow winners and snow losers I've seen in quite awhile.

The heaviest snow is coming down this morning, but it will continue in the mountains through tonight, and probably into Friday and Saturday.  Those mountain accumulations won't be as rapid as they are this morning, but a couple to few inches a day still seem likely Friday and Saturday.

The bulk of the snow today is falling closer to the summits and on the upper east slopes of the Greens. But if you live in the Champlain Valley, in the lowlands along Route 7 in southwest Vermont, or lower to mid Connecticut River Valley expect just flurries at most today. 

The northwest wind is so strong that the snow isn't even really hitting the lower western slopes of the Green Mountains. You usually see some decent snows in situations like this along Interstate 89 in Richmond and Bolton, for instance, but traffic cams show it's not too bad there. You really don't start picking up the snow until you hit Waterbury. 

...but keep heading south along Interstate 89 and you start
hitting snow by the time you get to Waterbury. Pictured
here is traffic cam along Interstate 89 in Brookfield,
which looks like a snow globe. 

Things really change abruptly as you head east from the Champlain Valley into the Greens, so be ready for surprises. At my place on the eastern end of St. Albans, as of 8:30 a.m., it was just overcast, not snowing and barely a dusting on the ground. 

Barely ten miles to my east, there was already six inches of new snow on the ground in Bakersfield as of 7:30 a.m. and it was still snowing hard there. 

So don't be fooled by the easy driving in places like the Champlain Valley. If you have to cross over to eastern Vermont today, prepare for a white knuckle ride in snow and blowing snow. 

The blowing snow is definitely a problem. It is windy everywhere this morning, and that will only get worse as the day goes on.  Gusts were going past 40 mph in many spots this morning, and could reach 50 mph in some areas, especially along the eastern slopes of the Green Mountains, and near the open waters of Lake Champlain today. 

The wind will probably cause some scattered power outages, and I've already seen a smattering of them this morning across the state. 

If you're heading out into the elements to hit the ski resorts for some powder today, just note there are lift holds at most of the resorts because of the wind. You'll need to take your chances on which lifts are operating, and which are not. 

Now that it's below freezing, it's going to stay that way for quite awhile. The blasts of air from the northwest coming out of Canada will keep the next winter storm far, far to our south Sunday and Monday. Looks like places from Kansas to Maryland might get snow and/or ice out of that system, ut nothing for us in Vermont.

Except for every-present snow showers up in the mountains.