Storms Blasting Across Nation Causing Constant Problems, Vermont Gets Part Of The Action, Too

Early guess at snowfall through Thursday. An inch or less
of this is the snow showers today. The rest is what happens
Wednesday night and Thursday. Forecasters say this
is a really uncertain forecast and subject to change. 

Storm clouds are gathering over America, and for once, I'm not talking about politics. 

That spray of storms blasting west to east across the United States are coming even more fast and furiously than they were last week. 

They're coming with new intensity, and will be causing plenty of varied problems now through the weekend.  And probably beyond.

There's going to be a lot of weather headlines in the next few days. We in Vermont get to participate in this, too. 

More more on that in a minute. First, the big picture.

THE STORM PARADE

It's gotten almost hard to keep track of which storm is doing what, but we'll give it a go. 

One storm has spread winter storm warnings today from Kentucky to Maryland, Delaware and southern New Jersey. 

The storm is spreading an ugly mix of several inches of snow, along with freezing rain along its path.  An ice storm warning is up for parts of West Virginia. Washington DC is expecting three to six inches of snow, with four to eight inches just to the south and west of the nation's capital.

This one should zip off the Mid-Atlantic coast later today. 

Another storm is hot on the heels of that one, but it's going much further to the north than the first. It has already brought winter storm warnings to Kansas, Missouri and Iowa, where five to eight inches of snow is forecast.

The storm will bring rain to some areas of the Mid-Atlantic States and Tennessee Valley that are seeing snow and ice today, so that could bring some flooding problems. Freezing rain is expected again in areas around Pennsylvania that already saw two ice storms last week.

The third and most powerful storm of the series is next up in the queue. The storm is prompting flood concerns up and down the California coast for later this week. They're really worried in areas that had those horrible wildfires in southern California. 

Torrential rains will probably to lead to debris flows in the wildfire zones, as a few inches of rain could fall.

The storm will eventually head east from California, triggering severe weather and possible tornadoes in the South on Saturday.  The storm carries a large area of flood risk this weekend from Louisiana to West Virginia.  This storm will eventually evolve into a nor'easter that will spread snow into the Northeast over the weekend. 

VERMONT EFFECTS

So what does this all mean for us in Vermont? What follows is the breakdown, as best as we can tell now. There's so many moving parts that the confidence in the accuracy of what you're about to read is just so-so. Expect changes to the forecasts, especially for Thursday and the weekend. 

Storm #1, 

The one hitting the Mid-Atlantic and Tennessee Valley today will completely miss us here in Vermont, but that doesn't mean we have a calm day ahead.

A cold front set to arrive this afternoon should set off some snow showers and possible snow squalls, especially across the northern half of the state. The timing is such that they would arrive for the afternoon and evening commute, so it might be a challenge getting home later today - for some of us anyway. 

Accumulations won't amount to much, maybe an inch or two in spots. But sudden changes in road conditions and visibility out on the highways is a recipe for chaos on Interstate 89 and 91. Mostly caused by the minority of drivers who still cannot fathom how to drive in the winter, and thus screwing things up for the rest of us. 

Storm #2

This next one, the one going much further north than the first, will introduce a burst of snow to the region mostly late Wednesday night and Thursday morning. 

The main part of this storm is going by just our northwest, which introduces a twist to our recent snowy regime.

The storm's path will pull in some warm-ish air. The snow that will start light and fluffy will turn heavier and wetter Thursday, then mix with or change to sleet, freezing rain and even rain briefly for many of us.  There's still a lot of questions as to how much schmutz will mix in, and how warm it will get.  Areas west of the Green Mountains will probably briefly rise above freezing. 

An early guess on total snow and ice accumulation is two to four inches, with more in northern New York. But there's a big bust potential with this.  There could be more ice and rain than expected, which could cut down on the totals. Or, less likely, it could stay unexpectedly chilly and keep everything snow.  Stay tuned, I guess on this one. 

Storm #3

Ah yes, the more powerful one, the devil that will cause chaos from California to Canada. We will almost definitely get something out of this in Vermont, but exactly what is a question mark. I've seen forecasts giving us a bullseye of heavy snow, perhaps the biggest of the winter.

Other models take the storm inland, which would mean we get to experience the joy of mixed precipitation again. A few other models take the storm too far south to give northern Vermont much of anything. 

If you have weekend plans, just keep an eye on this one and be ready to adjust those plans if needed.