Vermont Spring Hint Didn't Last Long; Now For Some Wintry, Very Changeable Active Weather

My St. Albans, Vermont driveway was finally completely
clear of ice and snow after thawing this week, but a 
burst of snow this morning covered it 
right back up again. 

 UPDATE:  It appears the burst of snow really caused some havoc and trouble in northwest Vermont.

As of 8:45 a.m. Interstate 89 southbound between St. Albans and Georgia was closed. There's reports of a 15-vehicle pileup, with injuries.  Reports are there's some "satellite" car crashes near the main pileup.

There really wasn't much snow, but the wet snow suddenly coating what had been a dry or just wet road appears to have contributed. 

If these reports are true, this will be the worst winter-related car crash in Vermont this winter.

Hoping the injuries aren't serious!

Though road conditions will be improving soon, take care out there. 

PREVIOUS DISCUSSION

Wednesday afternoon in Vermont really felt like our first embrace of spring. 

Sure it was actually a few degrees cooler  than it was Tuesday. But the sun came out. The sun angle is better, too, than it was early in the winter. It gets as high in the sky now as it did in mid-October. 

Between that sun, the light winds, it felt downright warm out there. That sun even opened up some bare patches in the snow cover on a few south facing slopes and under evergreen trees. 

It was back to reality this morning. 

An ill-timed batch of snow lifted from north to south across Vermont this morning, screwing up road conditions in time for the morning commute.  Roads  might be in rough shape in a few spots by the time you read this. 

In most places, those roads will improve by later this morning. But only temporary.

BIG PICTURE

We're in for a kind of a wild ride over the next week.  March of all months tends to bring us the most wild swings in temperature and storminess.  (For instance in Burlington, it has the widest potential swings in temperature. It's been as cold there in March as 24 below and as hot as 84 above).

There's also big differences between valleys and mountains. While the snow has been melting in the valleys, it's continued to pile up on the Green Mountain summits. Burlington's snow cover has dropped from 18 to 12 inches in the past week. 

Meanwhile atop Mount Mansfield Wednesday, the snow depth reached 97 inches, the most so far this winter. They'll probably break 100 inches over the weekend. 

Yes, I know March doesn't officially start until Saturday, but in the weather department, March has gotten off to an early start right now. 

There's going to be changes in the weather almost minute by minute over the next week and probably beyond. And confidence in forecasts is a little lower than usual. But let's take you through the next few days, looking at how we think it will shape up. 

TODAY

The burst of snow will taper off briefly as temperatures warm. Then some rain will move in this afternoon. The exception might be eastern and northeastern Vermont, where enough cool air could hang tough to keep most of the precipitation as snow. 

The National Weather Service's forecast of snowfall
around the region between this morning and Sunday
morning. The Green and White Mountains and
Adirondacks could see locally near a foot of snow
while most valleys will be in the three to eight
inch range. Results may vary. 

Highs for most of us should get into the 30s to low 40s. 

The warm air should hang on into the evening but big changes are on the way, of course!

FRIDAY

It will be one of those backwards days. The high temperature for the day will probably hit just a minute after midnight early in the morning and fall all day, bottoming out near 20 degrees or so in the late afternoon, when you're normally supposed to have the high temperature for the day. 

Snow showers will grace the mountains in the morning and then taper off.

Then at night temperatures will start to rise again as the next storm heads our way with another batch of snow starting in the hours before midnight.

SATURDAY

A quick moving, pretty strong Alberta clipper type storm is the culprit here. This should deposit a good two to six inches of snow on most of us by mid-morning Saturday, with more possible in the mountains. 

The path of the storm suggests temperatures could briefly rise above freezing Saturday morning before the storm's powerful cold front crashes through. Temperatures should fall fast during the day, and we will be at risk of snow showers and some heavy snow squalls here and there. 

Overall, between this morning and Sunday morning total snow accumulation should be in the two to four inch range in the Champlain Valley and southern Vermont valleys, four to seven inches in central and northern Vermont, and eight to 12 inches in the central and northern Green Mountains. Maybe more than that in a few favored summits. 

SUNDAY AND MONDAY

Mid-winter cold.  Highs only in the teens Sunday will lead to lows near or below zero Monday morning. It'll start to warm up only a little Monday afternoon, getting into the 20s before a bigger warmup starts Tuesday. 

MIDWEEK WORRIES

Some computer models are hinting at a hit from briefly warm temperatures, and worse, heavy rain toward Wednesday. If that happens, we'll need to worry about flooding and ice jams.  . Could be bad, but we don't know enough about it yet. There's still time for forecasts to change radically, so this could still very much be a false alarm. We'll keep an eye on it.