Well, Sunday was unpleasant, wasn't it?
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| The light snow we had Sunday morning melted into slush and cold water as we endured a dark and drizzly November day across Vermont. |
I noticed there wasn't much activity out on the streets. I think everyone was inside, huddled in blankets watching football or Netflix or something.
It could have been worse, and in northern New York it was. Freezing rain hung on most of the day.
Over in Massena, they had 0.34 inches of freezing rain, so I'm pretty sure the trees are sagging under the weight of the ice there.
A cold, but not freezing rain continued on an off all night here in Vermont. We can write that off as a little more drought relief. As of 6 a.m. Burlington had received roughly a half inch of rain out of this so far. Montpelier and Rutland were closing in on two thirds of an inch. Bennington and Springfield had accumulated just under an inch of rain through dawn today.
Unfortunately, it looks like the Northeast Kingdom, where the drought is the worst in Vermont, is sort of missing out again. At least so far. St. Johnsbury had about a third of an inch of rain so far. Though it was still raining up there as of 6 p.m., and more rain and snow is headed their way.
Most of Vermont is going to get into the snow today and tomorrow. Maybe not a blockbuster winter storm, but certainly some weather to pay attention to.
Here are the details:
TODAY.
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| National Weather Service snowfall prediction map today through early Wednesday. I suspect totals could possibly go slightly higher than this in the eastern Champlain Valley and western slopes of the Green Mountains. We'll see! |
However, I've noticed that in the northern Champlain Valley, a little sleet was mixing with the rain as it came close to tapering off at around 7:30 a.m.
That rain should mostly clear out of Vermont by around mid-morning.
But this isn't over.
The forecast is tricky, but there's still one last area of low pressure riding northward, passing near Cape Cod this afternoon and into Maine this evening.
It looks like that storm will make precipitation blossom again this afternoon and evening across Vermont. Meanwhile, colder air will be blasting in from the west and north.
The western edge of the precipitation from a storm like the one that will pass through eastern New England today often contains a band of heavier rain or snow. The National Weather Service says that relatively heavier band might set up in or near the Champlain Valley.
With the cold air coming in, western Vermont - including busy areas around Burlington - look like they're in for a period of at least moderate snow for the afternoon and evening commute.
Accumulations won't be spectacular, maybe an inch or two, but that's more than enough to seriously mess up the roads. Especially since half of us don't have snow tires, some of us are just maniacs that don't know how to drive in the snow, and many more of us don't have our "snow legs" yet.
Meaning we haven't driven in the snow in many months and are not used to the tricks of the trade of winter driving.
So, if you can work from home today, do it. Just to be on the safe side.
This won't be just a Champlain Valley thing. Snow or sleet will come down in most of the rest of Vermont, too. So, if you're driving through Montpelier, or Newport, or even mid and high elevations around Rutland and east of Bennington, you're going to have to watch your step on the roads, too.
Temperatures will be marginal and we're still a little shaky on where the heaviest snow or rain will set up later today. Be ready for surprises.
TONIGHT
Snow will probably continue into this evening. Toward midnight and before dawn, the snow showers should mostly retreat to the western slopes of the Green Mountains and the summits overnight. Lighter flurries will come down elsewhere.
Most places will have a dusting to two inches of new snow out of this, with a little more of course in the mountains. It'll get well down into the 20s, so things will freeze up pretty well. Expect icy patches to stay on some of the roads and sidewalks.
TUESDAY
Regrettably, it's going to be a rough time for the Veterans Day parades and such, since it will be the coldest day so far this autumn/early winter.
Many places in central and northern Vermont won't even get above freezing. The warmer, banana belt towns will barely make it to 34 or 35 or so.
Winds will make it feel worse. It'll be a stiff northwest
breeze, gusting to 25 mph or more. The wind chill will be in the teens to low 20s. Ugh.
The snow showers that will have been falling in the mountains will tend to spread out into the central and northern Vermont valleys during the afternoon. We'll blame a disturbance racing along through the northwest flow for that.
Once again, we won't get much new snow, maybe another dusting to two inches. Obviously the mountains will get a little more than that. The valleys of southeast Vermont will probably miss out completely, aside from maybe a few flurries.
BEYOND TUESDAY
In two words: Not great.
Wednesday will be slightly warmer (yay!) but still a little cooler than average for mid-November. But another weak storm zipping on through will through will bring some more light snow and light, cold rain.
It'll be mostly snow up high, and mostly rain in the lower valleys. It will all be enough to make Wednesday an unpleasant day, even if rain and melted snow amount to less than a tenth of an inch of rain.
Thursday and Friday both look like they'll be drab and chilly, with the ever-present risk of snow flurries, maybe mixed with sprinkles in the "warmer" valleys. By warmer, I mean the banana belt towns could make it to 40 degrees. Not exactly beach weather.
There is some hints of hope for a little sun Saturday as north winds keep us cold. The next potential storm still looks like it would come through next Monday. But at this point, we still have no idea whether it will come close enough to bother us. And if it does, will be snow, rain, mix, or all of the above?
And how much potential schmutz would we get? All answers we won't know for several days.
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