Northwest Vermont Slammed By Doozy Of Surprise Snow

Aftermath of the 8.6 inches of snow that fell
on St Albans, Vermont last night. The surprisingly
heavy storm in northwest Vermont last
evening turned into a roadway nightmare
for thousands during the evening commute

Sure, snow was forecast in northwest Vermont, but not like this! 

What had 24 hours earlier been billed as an expected one to three inch Monday evening snowfall turned into a commuter nightmare as a burst of snow lasting just a few hours dumped nearly nine inches of snow on parts of northwest Vermont. 

The snowfall turned into a roadway nightmare as people were stranded on highways sometimes for hours. Crashes were rife. A snowplow was even reportedly off the road and in a ditch near St. Albans.

The road I live on  the steep hills of Route 36 in St. Albans -  was closed due to snow for the first time I can remember. It's been closed before due to fallen trees and car crashes, but not snow as far as I can remember, anyway. 

The St. Albans area appears to be the epicenter of this big snow. I measured 8.6 inches of new snow, which is pretty incredible since I'd only been expecting about two inches as of yesterday morning. Swanton and East Enosburg both reported 8.8 inches.  South Hero had 8.5 inches.  

I'm guessing I might see reports of even deeper snow than that once all reports are in. 

Burlington clocked in with 4.8 inches of snow. That surprisingly wasn't the snowiest November 10 on record. The city had 5.3 inches on that date in 1990. That 1990 storm was huge in Vermont, dumping 2.4 inches of rain and melted snow on Burlington. That 1990 storm also deposited more than two feet of snow on some high elevations.

The snow is not quite over, but rest assured we're not going to get two more feet of it. More on the forecast in a bit, but first, how did last night's mess happen?

CONSPIRACY OF SNOW

Everything that could possibly go wrong went wrong with Monday's snow. 

To begin with, the first snow of the season, no matter how light and how well predicted, always catches people off guard. The timing of the snow was horrendous, right at the evening rush hour.   

Monday's snow was unexpectedly heavy, so it took people by surprise. By Sunday night, there were hints that Champlain Valley could be the focus of a little extra snow, but at that time, meteorologists thought it would only be a couple inches.

That forecast held Monday morning.  The National Weather Service again said the focus of late afternoon and evening snow would be Champlain Valley. But the morning forecast called for about two inches of snow for St. Albans, and about an inch in Burlington. 

With that, people set off for work, not especially troubled by their expected commute home.  An inch or two of snow is not that big a deal, right?

It probably didn't even cross some people's minds that they should try to work from home, if possible. I also imagine some state and municipal snowplows and trucks weren't fully geared up for winter yet. 

By about noon, the National Weather Service realized that the snow was going to be tougher than they thought.  They issued a winter weather advisory for northwest Vermont, with forecast totals of two to five inches. The advisory warned of difficult driving at around the evening rush hour. 

The snow blasted in abruptly, on schedule. It started as light rain and drizzle shortly before 4 p.m. (It was freezing drizzle here in St. Albans). Then it quickly flipped to wet snow and by 5 p.m. it was coming down hard. The rather heavy snow continued well into the evening. 

Wet snow is terrible on the roads. The slush packs down into ice beneath the weight of car and truck tires. It was rush hour, so everyone, well, rushed out of work to get home before things got too bad.

But it was too late. Cars slid off roads or into each other everywhere. In many places, vehicles couldn't make it up even modest hills. Roads and highways turned into parking lots. Parts of Interstate 89 between Burlington and Swanton were a parking lot. Plow truck drivers scrambled, but couldn't fight their way through the gridlock.   

It was easily one of the worst travel messes I can remember. I'm so glad I got home at around 3 p.m. yesterday, when the freezing drizzle was just starting. 

To make matters even worse, nearly 2,100 homes and businesses lost electricity at times Monday evening. 

Meanwhile, rain lasted longer in eastern Vermont, and only changed to snow toward the end of the storm. Central Vermont, in places like Worcester, Barre and Elmore only received about an inch and a half of snow. 

The Connecticut Valley in southeastern Vermont got nothing.  In southwest Vermont, traffic camera images from around Rutland and Bennington makes it appear they got around an inch of snow.  

TODAY

Predicted snowfall this morning through Friday morning.
Not much additional in the valleys, but the northern
Green Mountain summits could see as much as
 a foot of snow over the next several days. 

Well, we made it through our first big snow nightmare of the season. The good news is we're not getting another mega snow in the near future. The bad new is it's going to keep snowing in much of Vermont. 

In fact, in the higher elevations especially, it will snow off and on pretty much all week. 

Roadways are much better this morning, but there are still some slick spots. Especially once you get off the main highways. Additional snow showers will also make things tricky at times. 

Today will be blustery and cold with snow showers. It looks like St. Albans and much of the rest of Franklin County can expect another one to three inches of snow today through tonight. It won't come down nearly as hard as it did last evening. 

Highs today still look like they'll stay near or below freezing in much of northern Vermont, while warmest areas in southern Vermont sneak into the mid-30s. 

It'll turn a little warmer, if you can call it that, tomorrow and Thursday, so as weather disturbances keep coming through, the snow showers will change to rain showers in the low and some mid elevations. The mountains will keep getting snow. 

The valleys should get more snow showers as it gets colder again Thursday night, but again, accumulations will be light. At least in the low elevations.  

By Friday morning, Green Mountain summits in northern and central Vermont should receive six or more inches of additional snow. I wouldn't be surprised if places like Jay Peak clock in with an additional foot. 

There's also no rest for the pre-winter weary. A storm could bring some mixed precipitation again toward next Sunday.