Will It Snow In Vermont Today? For Many It Will Be Close

Soggy daffodils this morning in St. Albans, Vermont.
I wonder if a few snowflakes will land on them today.

 As expected, it's damp and drizzly and chilly and showery out there this Sunday morning in Vermont. 

Yesterday's cold front has passed through. It gave all of Vermont a soaking rain Saturday. Which was actually a good thing, since rainfall has been spotty this month. Some places were doing OK, others were a little on the dry side. Saturday's rain evened things up a little. 

As of around 7 a.m., a cold upper level low looks like it was centered roughly over far northwest Vermont. 

Moisture and rain was curling around the north side of this low, moving eastward across southern Quebec and then southward across northern New York. At higher elevations, some of that was snow.  Even low elevations were close to snow. 

At 7 a.m. Montreal, Quebec reported moderate intensity rain with a temperature of 36 degrees.  At higher elevations, precipitation hadn't quite started in Saranac Lake, New York, yet, but it was only 34 degrees there. 

As of 7:30 a.m, traffic cameras on high elevation roads, like Route 17 in Buels Gore and Route 242 in Westfield, were showing light rain, not snow. 

TODAY'S RAIN/SNOW

Clouds from the storm that is causing rain and snow
in Vermont today cover New England. Those
clear skies you see in far western New York
and adjacent Ontario could reach western
sections of Vermont toward sunset. 

As the upper low continues to trudge east today, that southward moving precipitation that was over New York will cross Vermont. For the most part, valleys will just see cold rain showers. With the onset of precipitation, temperatures will fall slightly, so you'll see more snow at mid and high elevations. 

With the upper low overhead, high elevations will chill further during this morning and early afternoon, so that's when the snow in some areas should start. 

If you're in Vermont and at an elevation of 1,000 feet or more, I'm guessing you'll see at least a few wet snowflakes today. The Green Mountain summits still look like they're in for one to as much as four inches of new snow. 

Lower elevations are iffy. It's so late in the season for snow, so it's hard to come by.

Plus, this is hitting during the day, not at night. Despite the thick clouds, very strong late April sunshine can still send some meager heat through the clouds, keeping temperatures just high enough to avoid snow in the valleys.

Still, if a patch of heavy precipitation passes over a particular spot, it might be enough to briefly drag snowflakes down to the ground, even in the northern Champlain Valley. 

Overall, the atmosphere over Vermont is just a smidge warmer than the forecasts I saw later Saturday. That could limit the extent of any snow today, which I'm sure most of you won't mind. 

There's also going to be quite a gradient in precipitation amounts to day in Vermont. Far southern Vermont should see only a few hundredths of an inch. By the time you get to Route 2, it'll be roughly quarter inch. Up by the Canadian border towns like Highgate, Montgomery, Newport and Island Pons will see a half inch or so of rain (or if you're high up, melted snow).

If you're driving through the mountains today, I don't think the roads will get too bad. Pavement temperatures are warm, and that weak heat from the sun should keep pavement wet, not white. 

ABRUPT SPRING RETURN

Late this afternoon, a sharp line of clearing - and warmer air - will start to work eastward from northern New York. This clearing should reach western Vermont toward sunset or maybe even a little before.

This should belatedly bring temperatures west of the Green Mountains upward from the low 40s in the early afternoon to low and mid 50s toward sunset. 

The clearing will probably  hit eastern Vermont too late to have much of an effect on temperatures. But at least in parts of Vermont, the sunset should be interesting with bright sun blasting in from the western horizon with dark clouds to the east. 

With the balmier air moving in, it won't get all that cold tonight. Monday is still looking like it will turn into a full force return to spring.  Under strong April sun, high temperatures should easily get into the 60s most places.

SEVERE WEATHER?

The heat should continue to build Tuesday as highs get well into the 70s.  A few banana belt towns could touch 80 degrees.

We're still watching what will be a big outbreak of severe storm and tornadoes Monday in the Midwest.

The slowly dying remnants of that severe storm blast will come at us Tuesday night.  There's still a chance a few storms could be strong when they reach Vermont later Tuesday.  The chances of that were low, with the best chance in northwest parts of the state. 

Still, it's the first time this season that we even have to question the risk of severe storms.  Another sign that summer is fast approaching, despite today's Sunday chill.

We'll keep an eye on all that for updates.