Blustery Snow Today To Introduce A Very Wintry Vermont Week

This the National Weather Service's initial attempt
at a snow forecast for the week. It includes the light
snows today and the potentially heavier dump
Tuesday. While this map shows more than 
six inches in southern and central Vermont, this
is a SUPER uncertain forecast. Definitely
expect adjustments up or down as we get
closer to the event. 

With December starting tomorrow, the Vermont forecast is right on cue: This will be the first hardcore wintry week of the season. 

True, we won't be setting new record low temperature or breaking snowfall records. But if you like snow, bitter temperatures and biting winds, this will be your week. 

TODAY

As we get into the bulk of today, it will probably be the "warmest" day of the week, but it surely won't feel balmy.

Light snow had spread into most of Vermont as of 8 a.m. this morning.  This is part of the same storm that created a huge dump of snow across the Midwest yesterday. 

No huge dumps for us today, but we'll still feel the storm's effects. We won't have much precipitation, but it will be a dark, blustery, raw day.  South winds were picking up this morning, especially in the Champlain Valley and the narrow valleys along Route 7 in southern Vermont. 

Even though the snow is falling lightly, the gusts will blow it around, so there will be some visibility.  The winds will continue to pick up through the day, especially in the central and northern Champlain Valley. There, a wind advisory for gusts as high as 45 mph is in effect until 7 p.m. this evening. The wind advisory is also up for northeastern New York. 

The rest of Vermont will stay gusty, but not quite as bad as in the Champlain Valley. The south winds will transport in some warmer air, so many valleys will go over to light rain this afternoon.

Tonight, the storm's cold front comes through, throwing some more snow showers at us. 

For us, this is a small storm. Most of us will get an inch or less of snow. The combination of rain and melted snow should be around a tenth of an inch or less. No biggy, just a raw, blustery, yucky day, the kind you stay indoors for watching NFL games or Netflix. 

MONDAY

The calm before the next storm. It'll be colder than normal, as that is the trend of the week. As chilly as it's been lately, Burlington has surprisingly not had a high temperature yet this season that is below freezing. That could change tomorrow as most of us should stay in the 25 to 32 degree range during the day. 

TUESDAY

Here's where it gets interesting. 

A storm will start to get going somewhere near New Orleans Monday night. It will rocket northeastward to off the southeast New England coast Tuesday night, strengthening along the way. 

We still don't know if this means a dump of snow in Vermont or not. The exact track of the storm isn't nailed down yet. Somebody in New England will get a bunch of snow out of this, but we don't quite know who yet. 

If it goes right over the New England coast, all of Vermont will see at least a couple to several inches of snow. If it goes further east, it'll be mostly a southern Vermont thing. 

The weather models have been wonky, so I'm not trusting anything until we get closer to the event. Just know there will probably be snow for many if not all of us on Tuesday. For some of us, especially in southern and eastern Vermont, it could be quite a lot. 

We do know this storm will race by, so very few, if any people will get more than a foot of snow in New England, But the storm will be big enough to have real impacts on somebody, somewhere.. 

Adjust your plans accordingly and keep an eye out for updates. 

LATE WEEK

Wednesday will be calmer, ahead of the next system. Some sun should break out, and temperatures will rise into the 28-36 degree range for most of us. That's still a little cooler than average, but you ain't seen nothin' yet. 

The forecast for Thursday is actually more certain than it is for Tuesday, which is weird. An Arctic cold front will blast through with a band of snow showers and maybe snow squalls. The snow accumulation with the front won't be the biggest problem, but abrupt snow showers and gusty winds probably Thursday morning will make the roads a bit tricky.

The real issue is temperatures will crash amid howling northwest winds Thursday. Depending on the front's timing, we might make it into the 30s early in the day, then temperatures will fall through the 20s and teens through the day. 

Thursday night will be awful, with continued strong winds and temperatures falling to within a few degrees of zero for most of us. Wind chills should be well below zero.  I'm already planning on hiding under a pile of blankets at home that night. 

After Thursday night, temperatures will sort of warm up a little for the end of the week, but remain well below normal.