Messy Vermont Morning As Expected, Highly Variable Weather

Traffic cam grab of Interstate 89 in Bethel, Vermont this
morning, showing the ongoing snow and sleet is
still not doing road conditions any favors in
Vermont this morning. 

 Our complicated storm at least here in Vermont has played out pretty much as expected so far. 

And after we get done with today, we still have that likely bigger storm over the weekend. I'll limit this post to today's weather, and later today I'll do another post with an update on the weekend.   

TODAY

It was almost all snow thorough 7 a.m. statewide except in extreme southwest Vermont, where Bennington had been dealing with freezing rain during the early morning hours. 

Also as expected, southeast facing slopes have been getting the most snow due to the wind direction, while western slopes are warmer and drier, with not much snow at all. Not many snow reports have come in yet, so it's hard to say who got what. 

Interstate highways, at least according to traffic cameras, looked at least greasy if not partly snow covered as of 8 a.m., so I'm sure the morning commute was a little slow in spots. 

Now that we're solidly into morning, one more wave of moderate precipitation is coming through. The atmosphere is warming, both at the surface and aloft, so what comes down from the sky for the next few hours is a complicated question. 

For most of us, it looks like it'll be mostly snow and sleet, with maybe a little freezing rain thrown in just for fun.  As of 8:15 a.m, here in St. Albans, it was a mix of snow and sleet. The rest of the morning does not looks fantastic on the roads, so maybe postpone your travels until this afternoon when it gets a little better.

It will warm up faster along the western slopes of the Green Mountains and in the Champlain Valley in general than it will east of the Greens.  Many areas east of the Greens will probably stay below freezing until we get a couple hours past noon, so the iffy roads and sidewalks and such will last longer over there. 

I know the wind has been cranking on the west slopes of the Green Mountains, as forecast, but I haven't seen any specific wind reports so far. As of 8:15 a.m. there was a smattering of power outages in far southwestern Vermont. That's probably due to a combination of strong downslope winds, plus trees are slightly weighted down with a little accumulation of freezing rain.

This last wave of precipitation should be mostly out of here by noon, maybe early afternoon in northeastern Vermont. 

This afternoon and evening will be quieter with just scattered raindrops or snow flakes. If you get above freezing, it'll most likely be mid to late afternoon. 

Tonight, it will get windy again, this time from the west, and temperatures will once again tumble downward. Any water from this afternoon's mini-thaw in the valleys will freeze, so watch for that. 

There could be some snow showers overnight, too, but no biggie. Most of any snow showers we do get will be up in the mountains again