Vermont Weather This Week: Springtime Arrives, But With A Big Interruption

A couple inches of new snow from overnight in St.
Albans, Vermont this morning should quickly
start to melt today as temperatures rise into the 40s

If you've been waiting for spring, this will definitely be your week. 

But being Vermont, it's not like it's all going to be balmy breezes and sunshine and rainbows and bird song all the time. But you'll see your share of that, too. 

There's always interruptions to springtime here. If you're not used to that by now, I don't know what to tell you. 

Many of us awoke this morning to a fresh coating of snow, thanks to a quick moving disturbance that zipped through this morning.

 Some places got a fair amount of snow. I measured 2.0 inches here in St. Albans, Vermont. Stowe reported 3.5 inches as of 1 a.m. and it was still coming down at a good clip at that hour. Calais, Vermont reported 3.8 inches of new snow. 

I'm sure we'll see a couple five inch reports from some of the higher elevations. 

TODAY

That snow is pretty much over. And if you're in the maple sugar industry, get ready for another sap run! 

Temperatures before dawn in the Champlain Valley were already starting to sneak to above freezing levels, so last night's snow should start to melt fast. Sunshine should break out later this morning or by afternoon and we'll see temperatures up into the low and mid 40s  for many areas of the state. There could be some readings near 50 degrees in warmer southern Vermont valleys. 

That's nothing weird for mid-March, but it's still welcome, considering also the wind will be fairly light. The sun angle is similar to the way it was in late September, too. It will actually feel a little warmer than it actually will be.  

More or less clear skies and light winds tonight will drop us all below freezing tonight, which is - again - a good thing if you're in the maple industry. 

TUESDAY

It wasn't very warm in St. Albans late Sunday afternoon 
with temperatures only in the mid-30s, but the sky sill
managed to have a sort of springlike look to it. 
The moon is visible as the white speck in the middle 
of that patch of blue sky. 

We're getting a quick squirt of warm air Tuesday ahead of a cold front. The broader valleys will get well into the 50s   

Maybe even low 60s in banana belt low elevation towns in southern Vermont like Bennington, Brattleboro and Springfield.  This will be the mildest air we've seen all year so far. Again, those of you in the maple industry better prepare for a busy, busy day.  

Then there's that cold front. There's always a cold front. It's Vermont, after all. This front means business, not in terms of any precipitation, but what it's going to do to our temperatures. 

 It might trigger some late Tuesday afternoon showers central and northern Vermont, and then...

WEDNESDAY

After just a few scattered snow showers with the front overnight Tuesday, we'll be in some pretty chilly air. We'll start Wednesday in the teens, and everybody except the warmest southern Vermont valleys should stay below freezing all days.  That's a good ten degrees colder than average. 

But at least the sun will be out at least and winds will be light, so it won't be awful. Plus the cold air will be out of here in a jiffy

THURSDAY

A warm front should come through early, perhaps throwing down a handful of snowflakes or rain drops early in the day. It'll be the start of a huge warm up.  Though highs Thursday will only be in the seasonable low 40s

FRIDAY/WEEKEND

 A new, massive spring storm will gather forces and blast through the central Plains this weekend. Typical of these storms, it will spread misery through vast parts of the nation.  We'll see a blizzard to the northwest of the storm; tornadoes and severe thunderstorms to the south; wildfires and dust storms again in New Mexico and Texas, and lots of wind from the Rockies to the East Coast.

As this storm forms, it will pull huge amounts of warm air from the Gulf of Mexico into the eastern half of the United States. (You can call it Gulf of America if you want, but that's not what it is, despite the demands of our Dear Leader).

For us, Friday and this weekend promises to bring us some true spring weather. We could get into the low 60s in some parts of Vermont maybe Friday, but more likely Saturday and Sunday. If this pans out, it will be the hottest weather the Green Mountain State has seen since early November, 2024. 

If any sun manages to linger into Sunday, it could actually hit 70 degrees in a couple spots that day. 

We will have to watch for the possibility of flooding with this early season hot spell.   The warm air coming in is humid, as it's coming from the Gulf.  The snow will be melting rapidly anyway, and humid air melts snow faster than dry air. 

Also, the massive storm will probably drag a wet cold front through Vermont sometimes on Sunday or Sunday night. We don't know how much rain will fall with it, but it could come down hard for a time.   If this forecast pans out, then by Monday, virtually all of the snow below 1,000 feet in elevation will be gone.  A good chunk of mountain snow will have run off into melt water, too. 

That's an awful lot of snow to get rid of in a short period of time. And an awful lot of run off, too.  We'll have to watch carefully as this could well result in a flood. 

It's way, way too soon for specifics. I would say at least minor flooding is going to happen. But we'll have to wait and see how widespread that will get, and how serious the flooding might be. 

As wonderful as it will feel to have those days of springtime warmth, it could prove to be too much, too soon.