"Warming Up Cold": How Two Mild Days In Vermont Won't Feel So Balmy

The sky over St. Albans, Vermont had a blustery feel
to it, and that state of affairs will continue through
Monday. Though temperatures are a bit warmer,
you might not notice it as gusty winds will keep
 a wind chill going throughout. 

 If you're in Vermont and a little tired of the cold-ish weather we've been having lately, you'd think you're in luck today and Monday. 

Temperatures, at least in the valleys, should hit the low 30s both days, the warmest it's been in a week an a nice break before another Arctic plunge that will start Tuesday and last the rest of the week. 

However, this is a classic case of what I call "warming up cold" that we see often in a Vermont winter. What happens is, the temperature goes up, but so does the wind. 

True to form, it's going to be gusty today and especially Monday in the region. Which means a wind chill will cut into that relative warmth. 

Today:

Today, winds will mostly gust into the 25 to 30 mph range, so at least it won't be too wild out there. The combination of those winds and the temperature should leave us with a wind chill in the teens. So, dress for winter today, though it won't be crazy cold. 

There's a weak weather front coming through this morning which was throwing a handful of snowflakes down on us this morning, but that won't amount to anything. The front will shift winds from the south to the west by this afternoon. Some sun will also appear, which will be nice, even if it is sort of blustery out there. 

Monday:

This is when the wind will really howl.  In northern New York, there's actually a high wind watch as the gusts there could get strong enough to cause some issues with trees and power lines. 

In Vermont, we'll see plenty of gusts over 40 mph from the south and southwest statewide.  To me, there's something about winds that strong that start to annoy a bit if you're out in it for a long time.  Not sure why it affects me like that.

In any event, Monday will be another example of a cold style warm day.  Yes, we'll be back up in the low to even mid 30s in some towns, but those strong gusts will make it feel like it's in the low teens. 

A strong storm up by James Bay, Canada will produce all this Monday wind. This storm has a nasty Arctic cold front with it that will sweep through Vermont Monday night with more gusty winds and bursts of relatively heavy snow and maybe even some snow squalls. 

These snow bursts will be brief, so they'll only give many of us a dusting to a couple inches of snow. 

Tuesday Onward

After Monday night, we go back to the deep freeze, with or without wind. Tuesday will be chilly with temperatures falling through much of the day. Wednesday will bring a brief interruption in the deep chill as an Alberta Clipper storm from the northwest blows through with a little more snow.

Then, very cold to close out the week. At this point it looks like Thursday and Friday will bring us highs in the single numbers and lows mostly below zero once again. It'll arguably be the coldest stretch of the winter so far. 

We're not exactly having a snowy season, but it's definitely a more persistent winter than we've gotten used to in recent years.