Vermont Weather Stays Busy With Two Storms As Winter Systems Affect Much Of Nation

My snowy back yard in St. Albans, Vermont glistened in
the late afternoon sun Tuesday after snowfall earlier
in the day. It looks like we're in for at least two more
installments of snow over the next few days. 

 Those atmospheric rivers that have been bringing flooding rains and feet of snow to the Sierra Nevada range in California are having their effects on lots of other people coast to coast, too.  

Those California atmospheric rivers are spinning off one fast moving storm after another. 

 They eventually end up here in New England as quick hitting snow or mixed events, and that's what we will have in storm for a good chunk of this month, apparently.

The latest zipping storm is prompting winter weather advisories and other similar warnings from Kansas to New England. 

Spoiler: Vermont is getting this one, too, but at least we won't have the worst effects of it. 

The big losers, if you will, with this storm would be central and southwestern Pennsylvania, western Maryland and some small sections of West Virginia. Those areas are under a dreaded ice storm warning. 

Those areas tonight can expect a quarter to a half inch of ice accumulation from freezing rain. That'll make travel practically  impossible, and probably be enough to cave in some trees and power lines, so it's a mess down there. 

VERMONT EFFECTS

The quick hitting snow expected Thursday is only expected
to deposit another two to four inches of snow for most
of us in Vermont, with a little glaze of freezing 
drizzle at the end of it later Thursday. 

For us here in Vermont, we get a quick burst of snow midday Thursday .  It might come down pretty hard - as much as inch per hour. 

But the storm's fast motion means it won't last long. It'll probably only really snow for five or six hours from roughly mid morning to mid afternoon, give or take where you are in Vermont.  

Most places will get yet another modest snowfall, generally two to four inches.  

The Green Mountains will probably get a little more than that, especially on southeast facing slopes. Parts of the Champlain Valley might see just under two inches. 

The fast pace of the snow will make roads get ice covered and slick remarkably fast on Thursday. 

The twist on this storm is we're going to get a small taste of that ice in Pennsylvania.  The snow will end as freezing drizzle for a lot of us Thursday afternoon and evening. In Vermont, it'll amount to just a thin glaze, we don't have to worry at all about trees or power lines with this. 

Untreated roads and sidewalks will be a mess, as will the drive home from work Thursday afternoon and evening.  I can imagine the hospital emergency rooms could get busy with people suffering injuries and falls.

Pro tip: If you can get away with it, don't shovel your driveway or sidewalk, and if you're not driving, don't brush the snow off your car tomorrow afternoon after the snow tapers off.   If you shovel, the freezing drizzle would leave a slippery glaze of ice on pavement. If you clear the snow off your car, you'll eventually have to scrape the ice off the windshield.

Wait until the freezing drizzle ends later Thursday night or very early Friday. 

If you don't clear the snow, the freezing drizzle will form a thin crust on top of the snow, but it will still be easier to remove and you won't have to scrape ice or deal with as icy a driveway. 

SUNDAY STORM

After a couple of chilly but quiet days Friday and Saturday, we have another fast moving storm to deal with later Saturday night and Sunday. Though things could still change, the forecasts as of this morning have the storm zipping by just to the south of Vermont. 

It would also carry more moisture with it than what we're getting Thursday. So, there's the potential, anyway, of seeing a good six inches of new snow out of the weekend system. We'll keep you posted.