Strong Spring Sunshine Takes The Chill Off, Despite Midweek Snow For More Springlike Times Ahead (We Think!)

So close. Will today's expected warm sunshine turn these
daffodil buds into actual flowers? We're getting there
with spring, despite a snowy forecast. 

 It's amazing what sunshine can do this time of year. 

The sun is high up in the sky this time of year, and if it comes out, it really makes a difference. 

In northwestern Vermont Sunday, most of the day wasn't very nice. It was overcast and cool, and the north wind really had a chilly bite to it. 

Late in the afternoon, skies pretty abruptly cleared up. 

In Burlington, the temperature with the late day sun didn't go up to much, zipping upward seven degrees in a short time span from 49 to 56.

But the entire feel of the day changed. With the late day sun, it felt mild, truly springlike. Meanwhile, where it stayed cloudy in Vermont, mostly in central and eastern parts of the state, it felt raw.

Sunshine will be our friend today, too. Clear skies overnight had us mostly below freezing by dawn, but that sun will heat the atmosphere very nicely to make today easily the pick of the week.  We should get up to 60 degrees in most valleys.  That'll get things greening up a little. 

TUESDAY

The weather fronts coming through tonight and tomorrow aren't that strong or wet, but the spring sun is going to influence things in a way we will see more and more of as we head into the summer. 

The sun will heat the ground tomorrow as cold air comes in aloft, This will create some towering clouds that will yield scattered showers or even an isolated thunderstorm or two.  Typical of this scenario, any showers or weak thunderstorms will be hit or miss. 

Unlike on some occasions in the summer, if we do see any thundershowers in Vermont Tuesday, they would be garden variety - not strong or severe.

MIDWEEK SNOW

And of course we have another preliminary snow prediction map
for this week in Vermont. This shows expected snow from 
Tuesday night to Thursday morning. Most places to
get nothing or little, but note the yellow and orange
patches in the northern Green Mountains. That depicts
six or more inches of expected snow in those spots. 

Yes, it's still going to snow in a good portion of Vermont Wednesday into Thursday. 

Deep moisture wrapping around what will be a nearly stalled storm in southeastern Quebec will make the wet air rise up the slopes the Green Mountains and dump what will be in high elevations a lot of snow. 

It'll be cold enough, and the snow will be persistent enough in the central and northern Green Mountains that accumulations could range from 6 to 12 inches in spots, especially above 2,000 feet or so. Sort of impressive for mid-April.

Mount Mansfield still had 91 inches of snow on the ground near the summit Sunday. 

A little of that will probably melt today and tomorrow. But chances are what melts away up there might be more than replenished by the midweek snow. On average, there's about 68 inches of snow up there around April 13.

Lower elevations will be spared deep snow for two reasons. One, the precipitation won't be coming down quite as heavily away from the Green Mountains. More importantly, the spring sunshine will help partially save the day again. 

Snow might accumulate in much of northern Vermont later Tuesday night and Wednesday night. But during the peak of the snow shower activity during Wednesday, the sun's heat will filter through the clouds, limiting accumulations 

You might get something like we saw on April 8 in northern Vermont. Snow squalls come through and dump a quick inch or two of snow. Then it tapers off and the sun sort of melts some of it. Then more snow comes in and the cycle repeats. The snow on the ground never gets that deep.

In the broader, lower valleys, it might well get warm enough Wednesday afternoon for rain showers instead of snow showers. And far southeastern Vermont will pretty much get nothing at all. 

Here's one possible drawback to the sun during Wednesday's wintery weather.  Much like on Tuesday with its possible thunderstorms,  the sun might energize the snow shower clouds on  Wednesday. That would make some of the snow showers heavier than they otherwise would be.

LATE WEEK

The snow showers will taper off Thursday, and a lot of the snow that might accumulate below elevations of 1,500 feet or so will melt. What doesn't go Thursday will disappear Friday as it turns warmer again. 

The weather pattern seems like it wants to change a little starting toward the weekend, too. Although we'll continue to alternate between mild and chilly days, it's beginning to appear the mild days might outnumber the cold ones as we close out the month.