Vermont Thursday Morning Update: Still Windy, Keep Digging Out Your Winter Clothes

A winter wonderland along Route 242 in Westfield, 
Vermont this morning as this traffic cam photo
attests. Several inches of snow piled up in some
of the higher elevations overnight. 

 We just got through the latest quick hitting storm in Vermont with little trouble, but with reminders that winter is just around the corner. 

A moderate amount of rain fell in the north, and high elevations got an additional coating of snow. As of early this morning, some lingering rain showers were going on in the lowest elevations, and mid and high elevations were still seeing some snow showers. 

In the north, the rainfall probably put another small dent in our drought. Speaking of which, the Weekly U.S. Drought Monitor comes out any minute now.   I'll have an update on that in a separate post later this morning. 

Burlington clocked in with a little under a half inch of rain. As of 7 a.m. Montpelier and St. Johnsbury reported around a quarter inch, but it was still raining lightly in Montpelier at that hour.  As expected, southern Vermont was cheated out the rain, with around a tenth of an inch reported. 

Snow accumulated in higher elevations pretty much all along the Green Mountain chain. Judging from traffic camera images, anywhere from a slushy coating to a few inches came down, depending on elevation. It looks like most places under roughly 1,800 feet didn't get any snow accumulation. 

The snow is piling up on the summits. As of late Wednesday afternoon, the snow stake near the summit of Mount Mansfield had 11 inches of snow. Normal for the date is two inches. It kept snowing up there overnight, and more snow is in the forecast for the next few days. 

The wind last night didn't result in too many problems, and the wind advisories have been lifted. 

OUTLOOK

We'll continue to get that spray of frequent little storms coming through. None of them look spectacularly big, but clouds and wind will dominate most of the time between now and the middle of next week. Rain and snow will continue to harass us, though amounts so far look like they'll be pretty light. 

However, this kind of weather pattern can yield some surprises, so it might not always be easy.

If you haven't finished digging out your winter coats and hats and mittens from the closet yet, today's a great day to do it. Outside, blustery winds will make the wind chills feel like it's in the 20s and 30s out there. Actual high temperatures will only make it to within a few degrees either side of 40. There might be a lingering sprinkle or flurry for awhile, but that will tend to disappear this afternoon. 

Most of us will get well down into the 20s tonight. A few cold spots will be in the upper teens. That's not really unusual for this time of  year, but it's still chilly. 

It still looks like the next disturbance will zip through Friday afternoon and night, with some light rain and a bit of snow near mountain summits. 

Then a somewhat stronger storm will come through Sunday and Monday. It looks like mostly or entirely rain at first on Sunday. The we have a blast of cold air coming in Monday to change the rain to snow. 

It's still not clear how much snow will be involved with this. We'll need to wait for updated forecasts. But it seems pretty clear at least a few snowflakes will make it down to many of Vermont's valley floors for the first time this season 

After that, a series of weak cold fronts and Alberta Clippers will keep us unsettled and chilly most of next week. 

You'll be living Thomas Hood's poem "November" for the foreseeable future:

No sun — no moon!  No morn — no noon —  No dawn — no dusk — no proper time of day.   No warmth, no cheerfulness, no healthful ease,  No comfortable feel in any member —  No shade, no shine, no butterflies, no bees,  No fruits, no flowers, no leaves, no birds! —  November!