Friday Evening Storm Update: A Real Mess In the Northeast. Even Vermont Is In Play Now

That weird storm diving down from the Great Lakes
to the Mid-Atlantic states seems to be taking a jog
a little further north and east than earlier expected.
Southwest Vermont is now in play for several inches
of snow and up to two inches might fall
along the Interstate 89 corridor 

 The expected path of that weird storm in the Northeast has taken a jog north compared to previous forecast. 

That means we here in Vermont tonight will get more snow out of it than expected. We won't get hammered the way central New York and the New York City metro area will, but parts of southwest Vermont are now in play for as much as eight inches of snow.   

A winter weather advisory has been hoisted for Bennington and Windham counties as those places could get six inches of snow, give or take. That's a lot more than the one or two inches that was in the forecast for those areas less than 24 hours ago. 

The expected snow totals on a line from Springfield to west of Rutland might get perhaps three inches. Along Interstate 89, total accumulations would be about 1.5 inches, give or take. At least that's what the forecast is calling for as of late this afternoon. The Northeast Kingdom should only see nothing to as much as an inch o snow.  

The problem with forecasting this thing is that under the most intense band of snow in central New York, the flakes could come down at a rate of up to three inches per hours. The gradient between super heavy snow in central New York and virtually no snow at all in we're guessing central New England is steep. 

The computer models even right before the snow begins don't have the track of this thing nailed down. If it goes just a little further north and east than expected, there could be several inches of snow in some parts of Vermont, especially southwestern areas. If it jogs a little south and west, we get next to nothing 

This is a very quick mover. Where it snows, it'll start sometime between 8 and 11 p.m. tonight and finish up by 4 or 5 a.m. Saturday. 

If you're driving anywhere, you still might encounter snowy roads through Saturday morning, especially  in southern Vermont. 

Whatever happens it'll pretty much be over by Saturday morning, so it would just leave behind some iffy roads. Temperatures during the snow and early tomorrow morning will be around 10 degrees, give or take That's too cold for road salt to work well. 

It'll be a fluffy snow, so it will be easy to shovel. And it will settle quite a bit over the next few days. Eight inches of snow would become four inches within a couple days. 

NORTHEAST HEADACHES

It's much worse elsewhere in the Northeast. 

Nearly 1,500 U.S. flights were canceled as of 4:45 p.m. today, according to FlightAware. Another 5,900 domestic flights are delayed. This is all hitting on the busiest travel day of the year. 

Over a quarter of today's flights, or about  350 of 'em were canceled today at John F. Kennedy International Airport, CNBC reported. More than 200 flights were scrubbed at Newark's airport. 

The snow hadn't even started in New York yet when the flights were canceled, but airline often cancel flights before big storms begin so that planes, crews and connecting travelers don't get stuck. 

New York City has been experiencing a snow drought in recent years. The last time the city got a snowstorm the size this one is expected to be was on January 28-29, 2022. On that occasion, the storm total at Central Park was 8.5 inches. 

Much of Pennsylvania and parts of New Jersey are either experiencing an ice storm or are about to

This storm will zip out to sea Saturday morning to make way for the next, warmer storm Sunday night and Monday. Back up here in Vermont, that one still looks like it'll give us our dose of freezing rain.

 

California Endures Storms Again Today, But It's Finally Ending

A home buried in mud and rocks after a
debris flow in Wrightwood, California
Widespread storms and atmospheric
rivers have plagued California
for more than a week now 

The giant storm in California is starting to ease today, after causing days of havoc from the Oregon border all the way down to Mexico. 

The storms targeting southern California over the Christmas holiday have so far claimed at least three lives. 

Another person died in San Diego when a large tree branch fell on him, reported television station KGTV.  At least 90 trees fell across the city of San Diego. 

Videos are at the bottom of this post. 

A number of people were plucked from flooded cars on streets and highway throughout southern California. 

One of the hardest hit areas is the community of Wrightwood in the San Gabriel Mountains, where several homes were buried under several feet of mud, notes KTLA.

Video showed some houses with four feet of rocks and mud inside them. Cars were buried halfway up their windows Two people died and six others were injured on a wet freeway..

Downtown Los Angeles on Wednesday received 2.53 inches of rain, which is a bit more than what normally falls in the entire month of December. Other totals from just December 24 include 3.96 in Woodland Hills and 3.39 in Burbank. 

Before the storms hit the L.A area, the atmospheric rivers targeted northern California. Redding, California was probably the hardest hit. The city had 5.3 inches of rain from December 16 to 22, with much more in the higher elevations nearby. 

A 74-year old man died when he drove around barricades and got swept up in the flooding. 

High winds also tore through the Golden State. 

 Santa Cruz Harbor reported a gust to 91 mph. Several boats were not surprisingly damaged. Likely not a tornado, say NWS. Pablo Point, about 20 miles northwest of San Francisco reported a gust to 108 mph. 

About 125,000 people lost power in central and northern California over the Christmas holiday.  

Heavy snow has been falling in the Sierra Nevada range, with some places clocking in with several feet of snow.

Interstate 80 through Donner Summit was impassable at times over the holiday as vehicles got stuck, crashed or spun out. 

 Rain continues in southern California today, though it's not coming down as heavily as it did Wednesday and Thursday. But now that the ground is sodden from the storms, so the somewhat lighter rain could really set off more debris flows and mudslides. Los Angeles itself could get another one to two inches of rain today. The mountains could get another three inches. 

After that, practically no rain is expected in California until later Wednesday or Thursday. 

Videos:

A scary tour of flooded Redding, California on December 21. Click on this link to view, or if you see the image below, click on that. 

Next video shows a motorist stupidly driving into fast flowing water and getting swept away. So what does the next car do when they see this? Drive into the fast flowing water and get swept away. People are dumb. They were both eventually rescued, by the way. This was in Palmdale, California. Click on this link to view, as always, or if you see the image below, click on that. 

Aftermath of the huge debris flow in Wrightwood, California. Click on this link to view, or if you see the image below, click on that. 

Vermont Christmas Is Over, Winter Weather Drags On

The sky looking west from St Albans, Vermont at dawn
today had those pink and baby blue tones that I've 
always associated with a subzero winter cold snap. 

We woke up this day after Christmas in Vermont to the coldest morning since December 7. 

Skies cleared out above a blanket of fresh snow and a big supply of Canadian air to drop large sections of Vermont and surrounding areas below zero as dawn broke. Those of us who stayed above that frigid zero mark did so just barely. 

The chill isn't that unusual for late December - Burlington got down to 2 above this morning, missing the record low for the date by a huge 28 degrees. But it's not comfortable out there, either. 

From my perch on St. Albans hill, I can see that St. Albans Bay appears to be frozen, earlier than in recent years. This really has been a colder winter than usual so far. Pretty stormy, too. 

That trend is going to continue. 

WEIRD STORM

High thin clouds will make an appearance over Vermont today and thicken as the afternoon wears on. It'll stay cold as highs only make it into the teens. 

This is due to a weird storm that will just brush by us, but cause havoc from Ontario to New Jersey. An Alberta clipper, as scheduled, is diving southeastward from Michigan to an eventual path that will take it off the Mid-Atlantic coast'.

The path of this storm is odd. So is it's strength, given it's a clipper, which usually aren't all that impressive. It was spreading snow through southern Ontario this morning and mixed precipitation in Michigan. 

It will intensify further as it heads southeast. An ice storm warning is up for western Pennsylvania today and tonight. Freezing rain there today and tonight will make travel scary to say the least. It also risks causing tree and power line damage. Today's not the day for a road trip to Pittsburgh, that's for sure. 

As the storm heads further south, it'll trigger a snowstorm from central New York down to the New York City metro area. That zone is in for five to nine inches of snow tonight. 

We in Vermont will just be mostly bystanders to this spectacle.  It'll snow a little in the Green Mountain State overnight, mostly south and west of Interstate 89. A little snow might get north of that, but it'll be inconsequential. There might be a couple inches down by Bennington. If the storm somehow manages to jog north a bit, then, of course we get a bit more snow. 

But this won't be a biggie for us. 

THE NEXT STORM 

The next system in the pipeline will be more of a problem for us. Those of  you who are thrilled we're missing out on today's ice storm in Pennsylvania aren't going to like this one. We're in for some ice Sunday night and Monday. 

Saturday and Sunday will be quiet and cold. Though, because we're setting up for freezing rain eventually, Sunday's highs on the Green Mountain summits will probably be warmer than the valleys.You need that type of inversion to get your freezing rain. 

That'll come in Sunday night. If you get your return trip home or to wherever you're headed by sunset on Sunday, you should be fine. 

At this point, fingers crossed, it doesn't look like the freezing rain will be enough to cause much damage to trees and power lines. But it will be more than enough to mess with anyone on the roads overnight Sunday into Monday morning.

If you have to work Monday, it will probably be an excellent day to work from home if at all possible. We haven't had much freezing rain and sleet yet this winter, so this will be our first real experience with it of the season. We don't have our "ice legs" yet.

,Yeah, it sucks. 

It will probably turn warm enough for awhile Monday to change things over to plain rain in much of Vermont. It won't be like a week ago though, when temperatures soared into the 50s and low 60s/

This time. it'll only make it into the mid and upper 30s. Maybe a few low 40s in southern valleys. The snow on the ground won't go away. It'll just get crusty and icy. 

The storm's cold front will probably sweep through later Monday afternoon or evening, as it looks now, anyway. The system will really crank up as it gets into southeast Canada, so expect plunging temperatures and strong northwest winds, which would continue into Tuesday. 

Most of us won't get much snow after the cold front goes through, but the central and northern Green Mountains have the potential to get a decent dump. 

It''ll stay really cold into the first few days of 2026, with a reinforcing shot of Arctic air probably arriving as we ring in the New Year. 

"Norlun Trough" Gives Part Of Maine A SUPER White Christmas

A Norlun trough, the dotted orange line on this map
from the storm off New England to southern Maine and 
beyond, caused heavy snow in parts of coastal Maine
Image from YouTube, Tim Kelley

 Northern New England is enjoying a white Christmas thanks to a mid-sized storm that passed through the region Tuesday and part of Wednesday.  

A section of Maine is really buried in the snow thanks to an unusual and hard to forecast phenomenon known as a Norlun Trough. 

We're geeking out a little, but here's what happened. 

As WMTW in Portland, Maine tells us, this trough is named after Steve Nogueira and Weir Lunstedt, two meteorologists who coined the term in a 1993 paper describing the phenomenon.  

They were researching a storm that dumped one to two feet of snow in parts of Maine in March, 1992. 

A Norlun trough is an elongated trough of low pressure extending outward on the northwest side of a storm sitting offshore.

The air over the ocean is cold, except for a thin layer near the surface which is heated by the relatively warm water. 

The trough is essentially a weakness in that fortress of cold air keeping that warm ocean air near the water surface. The warm ocean air shoots upward into that weakness/trough. It hits cold air above, and the moisture condenses into snow and blasts down on a small area along the Norlun trough.

More warm ocean air gets sucked into the vacuum created by that initial sharp updraft to keep the snow going. Heavy snow will fall in one spot until the Norlun trough moves away or breaks up. 

Norlun troughs are very hard to forecast, since they drop their heavy snow in a very small area. The National Weather Service office in Gray, Maine did manage to anticipate the Norlun trough Monday evening. Their forecast discussion at that time forecasted two to six inches so snow in most places. 

The forecast discussion also noted, "A Norlun trough setup may bring isolated amounts of up to a lot somewhere on the central Maine coast."

They underestimated it a little, but forecasters almost always do. But kudos to NWS/Gray for catching in advance. That doesn't always happen. 

Wednesday's Maine Norland trough meant business. Brunswick, Maine was buried beneath 16.8 inches of snow. Durham and Litchfield, Maine reported 15.5 inches. Freeport has about 16 inches. But just 20 miles away, around Portland, there was just five or six inches of new snow.  

Norlun troughs can extend inland all the way here into Vermont but their effects are often diminished this far inland.  I notices the trough Wednesday morning extended into the Northeast Kingdom, and snowfall was slightly higher there than in other parts of the state. 

Christmas Day In Vermont Is Wintry, Will Get Even More So

Henry the Weather Dog is seen here wishing 
everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.
He's staying inside as temperatures plunge'
through the teens today. 

Merry Christmas, Vermont!!

As you're opening your presents this morning, the landscape outside is nicely covered in snow. In some areas of the Green Mountain State, more light snow is drifting down. 

The white Christmas we're experiencing is mostly due to that storm we had Tuesday and Tuesday night, which behaved pretty much as expected, at least here in Vermont. 

Almost everyone in Vermont got three to six inches of snow, so it was a pretty uniform distribution. Everybody had a piece of the snow party. There were a couple exceptions, both on the high and low end of the tally.

The most snow I could find out of the storm was nine inches in Northfield and eight inches in both Woodbury and Moretown.  Parts of southwestern Vermont got cheated a little. Western Rutland and Bennington counties, along with the extreme southeastern corner of the state only got 1 to 2.5 inches of snow.

TODAY

It's wintry out there, and it's going to get more even more wintry.   

Map showing total snowfall from the storm that 
ended yesterday. Click on the map to make it
bigger and easier to see. Most of the state 
received three to six inches of snow. 

The scattered snow this morning is due to an Arctic cold front pressing down on us from the north. As the frigid air starts to blast in this afternoon, the temperature will plunge and the winds will pick up.

Temperatures in most of the Green Mountain State are in the 20s this morning and will fall through the teens this afternoon. 

Winds will pick up and gust to 35 mph tor so his afternoon. If you're doing anything outside today, like taking a walk, or a quick ski or snowshoe, it's best to do it this morning. 

The snow will stop by this afternoon in most of the state but there will be a few exceptions. The mountains could continue to get flurries, that's not weird. 

The weird part is some lake effect snows. Parts of the Champlain Valley and adjacent hills to the east could get some lake effect snow off of Lake Champlain. This could affect road conditions a little in southern Chittenden, Addison and maybe northwestern Rutland County. 

Tonight, the wind will eventually die off,  and skies will clear out. The combination will help cause temperatures to plunge to zero or below in most of the state.

SATURDAY

Skies will tend to cloud up on Saturday due to a weird storm passing by to our west, and there might be some weird wrinkles to it. Most storms travel from southwest to northeast, or sometimes just west to east. Sometimes, Alberta clippers, those small, quick moving storms with light precipitation, do move southeastward to some extent.

The next storm in the pipeline is heading toward the southeast. Current projection have it in Michigan tomorrow morning, and somewhere around New Jersey early Saturday. The difference is this storm has more oomph to it than most Alberta clippers.

Most of Pennsylvania and New Jersey are under winter storm watches because several inches of snow, -plus dangerous amounts of freezing rain are likely to assault those areas Friday into early Saturday. 

I'm bringing all this up because this might affect at least parts of Vermont. Earlier forecasts indicated we would only see some light flurries south. Now, the computer models have edged the projected path of the storm northward a bit. 

At this point, the forecast has a little snow falling Friday night south and west of Interstate 89. Areas down around Bennington County would get one to three inches of snow. 

But if the trend continues with a more and more northward path for this storm, more of Vermont might get more snow. Stay tuned.

There's still yet another storm for later on Sunday, and this one looks like it will probably consist of a messy mix of snow, sleet, freezing rain and rain. We'll have more details as we get close to that icky, icy storm. 

Our Annual Darlene Love Christmas Greeting To Everyone

Darlene Love performing this year's rendition of
"Christmas Baby (Please Come Home) on the Tonight
Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" I hope everybody
has a great holiday!

It's Christmas Eve. That means we're upholding tradition, and presenting you with our Darlene Love holiday greeting. 

"Christmas Baby (Please Come Home)" is my favorite holiday song so every year, I send out a greeting with that song. 

Love has been on TV every Christmas for decades, doing the song perfectly every time. 

This year, she was on the "Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon."  She's 84 years old now, but still looks fantastic and sounds amazing. She was rocking sort of a 1970s look this year with those bell bottoms. 

Old pros like Paul Shaffer, Little Steven and The Disciples of Soul made the performance complete. 

It's been a rather tough year for many of us, including myself. I've had a few setbacks, some life complications, but with wonderful people surrounding me, everything is still worth it. 

I hope (almost) all of you have a great holiday, with calmness, love, laughter, warmth and a break from life's worries. I say "almost" because there's a few people in Washington who decidedly are not in the Christmas spirit.  I don't wish any of them harm, other than receiving a lump of coal in their stockings. 

Now, let's let Darlene Love do her thing.  Click on this link to view, or if you see the image below, click on that.  

Trump Finds New Way To Stop Clean Energy: "Security Concerns" Over Offshore Wind

The Trump administration's latest tack to stop offshore
wind generation is to claim "national security"
Not everyone is buying that argument. 

 The Trump administration has found a new excuse to halt his nemesis: offshore wind installations 

He hates "clean energy" and for some reason loves just LOVES oil and coal. 

He's put out all kinds of false narratives about wind turbines causing cancer, killing off all birds and, being unreliable because the wind doesn't always blow. Maybe he's never heard of batteries? 

Trump keeps losing court cases in which entities sue his administration over efforts to shut down the turbines. Now, we have the latest effort.  

Here's Fox New's lead on the report:

"President Donald Trump's Department of Interior announced on Monday that, effective immediately, leases for all large-scale offshore wind projects being constructed in the United States will be paused.

In a press release, DOI wrote that the pause is due to 'national security risks' identified by the Department of War in 'recently completed classified reports.'"

There were not many hints as to what those supposed security risks are. 

As an aside, Trump and Pete Hegseth want to call it the Department of War, but the legal name of the agency is still Department of Defense

Anyway. the Department of Interior gave these details, which aren't very detailed: 

"Today's action addresses emerging national security risks, including the rapid evolution of the relevant adversary technologies, and the vulnerabilities created by large-scale offshore wind projects with proximity near our east coast population centers."

Well, that word salad doesn't help much. 

The pause on offshore wind farms affect projects off the New England, New York and Virginia coasts

The Interior Department referenced unclassified reports that large offshore turbine blades can cause "clutter" which is radar interference that can obscure moving targets or generate false radar returns. 

In some radar images, wind farms do cause clutter. For instance, on some days, you see what appears to be a persistent, stationary shower on Doppler weather radar over northeast New York. That "shower" is a large wind installation.

However, the Trump administration has been so untrustworthy, you have to wonder if this national security story is legit. Wind turbines have been around for a long time. You'd think the Defense Department would have figured out how to deal with them by now. 

This "national security threat" might be just another tactic to stop the offshore wind installations  

As the Associated Press reports:

"The pause.....is the latest step the administration has taken to hobble offshore wind in its push against renewable energy sources. It comes two weeks after a federal judge struck down President Donald' Trump's executive order blocking wind energy projects, calling it unlawful."

There are other indications that the "national security" might be just an excuse to scuttle wind projects. "The record of decision all show that the Department of Defense was consulted at every stage of the permitting process," said Kirk Lippold, a national security expert and former Commander of the USS Cole. 

Cole noted that the projects had been awarded permits following years of review by state and federal agencies.  You'd think the Department of Defense would have raised red flags ages ago if these wind projects were interfering with our defense capabilities. 

I imagine there will be lawsuits out of this. 

We're already hearing grumblings of some sort of court action. Probably from more than one source. 

The Conservation Law Foundation called the offshore wind development pause "a desperate rerun of the Trump administration' failed attempt to kill offshore wind."  The Foundation, in their statement, already noted courts have already rejected Trump's attempts to kill offshore wind.

Then there's this from Ted Kelly of the Environmental Defense Fund: 

"For nearly a year, the Trump administration has recklessly obstructed the build-out of clean, affordable power for millions of Americas, just as the country's need for electricity is surging.....Now the administration is again illegally kneecapping America's largest source of renewable power, especially the we need more cheap, homegrown electricity"

 Kelly said the Trump administration's actions are especially rich since they're propping up aging, expensive coal plants "that rarely work and pollute our air."

Speaking of things that rarely work, the Trump administration seems to lose most of their court cases, except in the Supreme Court, which is solidly MAGA.  The new roadblock is the "classified documents" The Interior Department claims. It sounds like it could be a way to avoid sharing documents in the discovery phase of any lawsuits.  

In any event, some lawyers are going to have a great 2026, thanks to the Trump crowd.  

Christmas Eve Vermont Weather Update: Snowstorm Mostly Over, But Busy Weather Regime Continues

It's a winter wonderland out there in St. Albans,
Vermont this morning. Same for the rest of the 
state as yesterday and last night's storm ensures
a white Christmas. Weather conditions going
past Christmas will be kind of harsh. 

 Our small snowstorm behaved about as forecast, as the few initial reports that have come in so far indicated a lot of people got four or five inches of new snow. 

We have our White Christmas, 2025 in the bag.

The most new snow I've seen so far is eight inches in Woodbury and  6.5 inches, in Moscow, which is right near Stowe. Where I'm at in St. Albans, we collected 4.7 inches of new snow.

Burlington had five inches of snow on the ground this morning. White Christmases had been declining in the Queen City, but with this storm, four of the past five Christmases had snow on the ground.

If there's still five inches on the ground tomorrow, that will be the deepest Christmas snow since 2017.

DEPARTING STORM

The storm is consolidating now along off the Maine Coast. The southwestern part of that state is getting a good dump of snow, with a total of 6 to as much as 14 inches expected in that part of Maine by the time it ends later today.

Back here in Vermont, some of the storm's upper level support was still over us so area of light snow were continuing even after dawn broke. Traffic cameras show most main roads aren't perfect, but pretty good. 

As of 8 a.m the biggest area of lingering snow was slowly moving south through the Champlain Valley, mostly in southern Chittenden and Addison counties so the roads are probably in the worst shape there. 

Secondary roads statewide are still not fully cleaned up, either.  So, as usual, take it easy this morning wherever you're going. 

It got a little above freezing overnight in the Champlain Valley, so the snow you're shoveling this morning might feel a little wet and heavy.  

It could get a little windy at times as the morning goes on. It won't be anything wild like we had last week. But it will blow snow off the trees, so if you're driving through areas that have a lot of pine trees, for instance, you might have brief problems with visibility. 

Today and tonight will be mainly cloud, with a few places getting some clearing. It will be seasonably cool in the upper 20s today, so no big deal there.

WINTRY FORECAST

 This is turning out to so far be the harshest winter in a decade, and there's no rest for the weary. 

But it looks like we're about to get back into the regime we had in early and mid December. That means frequent bouts of frigid air extending into January. In between those Arctic blasts, we'll have mostly small to medium-sized storms. We'll also have those dreaded windy days fairly frequently, too. 

Christmas Day will bring us the start of those series of cold blasts.  The first half of the day will be OK, with temperatures in the 20s to near 30 and some scattered snow showers. But a cold front will come through in the afternoon. That's when temperatures will start to crash and wind will pick up.

By late in the afternoon and the evening, winds will be gusting to 30 or 35 mph again. Overnight, temperatures will tumble and end up close to zero by Friday morning. On Friday itself, highs will only be in the upper single number to mid teens. At least the winds will die down by then.

Friday night and early Saturday, a storm diving down from the Great Lakes to the Mid-Atlantic states might clip southern Vermont with just a little snow. Then, temperatures will hold roughly steady Saturday night and rise into the 20s Saturday. That'll give us a quiet interlude until the next storm.

That one will probably come in later Sunday, as it looks now. Details on this are fuzzy, but it looks like we might be in for that dreaded mixed precipitation later Sunday, into Sunday night. and maybe into Monday morning. 

The computer models are still arguing amongst themselves as to whether will be mostly snow, ice or mostly rain. We'll have this nailed down a little better in a couple days. At least I hope so.

The storm could also bring some gusty winds. Then, on the back side of Sunday night's storm, it looks like we'll have more gusty winds and plunging temperatures. Those cold temperatures looks like they'll last most of next week.

Enjoy or at least endure this year's flashback to what winters used to be like. 

 

Quick Tuesday Evening Vermont Snow Update: Road Conditions Going Downhill

Traffic cam grab shows slushy roads in Burlington
late Tuesday afternoon as the snow continued to fall

Here's our quick Tuesday evening snowfall update for Vermont:

The snow arrived about an hour or so later than forecast in much of Vermont this afternoon, but it did arrive.

As of 5 p.m., it was snowing lightly statewide. This evening, we're in the peak of the storm, though this isn't exactly a scary one. 

Still, the roads for the evening commute, or going shopping, or to holiday events won't be great. Temperatures in some areas were at or just above freezing in some warmer valleys for part of the afternoon. But those temperatures have fallen a degree or two as darkness arrived. 

The snowfall rates also picked up a little at sunset, too. Highways that had been just mostly wet at around 4 p.m. were getting snow and slush covered, and more slippery by the minute. 

The steadiest snow in the valleys should last until around midnight, give or take, depending on where you are. Forecast total accumulations haven' changed, with two to five inches expected across most of Vermont. The mountains are still likely to do better than that, with roughly four to eight inches up there. 

Christmas Eve continues to look as if it will bring us quiet and rather cloudy weather. Forecasts for Christmas Day have changed a little, with a bit more snow than originally forecast. But it won't be much, with maybe an inch or two north and less than an inch south. 

Los Angeles Bracing For Scary Christmas Storm

The most severe Christmas storm since at least 1971
looms in the Los Angeles area as atmospheric 
rivers continue to batter the West Coast. 

Perhaps the scariest of the barrage of atmospheric rivers tormenting the West Coast is now targeting the Los Angeles area. 

The heavily populated, sprawling area around Los Angeles, the coast north and south, and the mountains to the east all face torrents of rain and strong, damaging winds. 

In their forecast discussion this morning, the National Weather Service wrote in all caps, that I'll avoid, "This is a very dangerous holiday storm. Anyone traveling on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day will need to exercise extreme caution. Make sure to take the proper action before the storm hits."

The rain is starting today, then turn more intense tonight, and peak tomorrow morning. Rainfall rates during the peak hours of the storm in and near Los Angeles will be somewhere around an inch per hour. 

Total rainfall between now and Christmas in southern California is forecast to be in the four to seven inch range, with locally higher amounts. 

NOAA's Weather Prediction Center has put parts of the L.A area under a rare high risk zone for a "significant  threat of flash flooding, landslides, rock falls and mud slides. The greater than normal travel during the Christmas holiday will likely expose a potentially larger number of people to these life-threatening hazards."

On Tuesday, as light rain began making inroads in Los Angeles County, residents were stacking sandbags and other barriers in Pacific Palisades, Altadena, Malibu and other areas where there were big fire last year. They're hoping debris flows won't outmatch these efforts. Crews were also installing Jersey barriers in hopes of diverting landslides away from vulnerable homes. 

Some debris-prone roads, like Topanga Canyon Boulevard, were closed even before the first drops of rain fell. 

Thousands of people have been told to pack "to go" bags and be ready to evacuate at a moment's notice.  

High winds will complicate this whole mess. In the L.A basin, winds could reach up to 55 mph, and in the foothills and mountains nearby, those winds could reach as high as 80 mph. 

As the soils get soggier and soggier, it'll be easier and easier for the wind to blow trees over. 

The intensity of the storms should wane somewhat by Christmas Day, but scattered downpours will continue to vex the L.A basin.

Further north in California, atmospheric river storms that caused serious flooding in the Sierra Nevada foothills have diminished somewhat. But more rain, sometimes heavy and mixed with thunderstorms, will continue the flood risk.  There's even a low risk of brief spin-up tornadoes with the thunderstorms. 

High winds warnings remain in effect until the afternoon of Christmas Day for a wide area of central and northern California. 

Meanwhile, in the Sierra Nevada, several more feet of snow are expected in the next few days. 

A Follow-Up To Donald Trump's War On Colorado: Now Denying Disaster Aid

The NCAR building in Boulder, Colorado. There's been
more fallout related to this, including Donald Trump
denying disaster relief from Colorado, and a 
looming brain drain from the United States. 

You might remember my post a few days ago, in which the Trump regime is breaking up an important and renowned climate and weather research center in Colorado. 

The Trumpsters said they plan to break up the National Center For Atmospheric Research or NCAR which conducts a wide array of meteorological and climate research. 

The Trump people said they want to break up the science center because they are guilty of "climate alarmism," whatever that is 

The timing of the announcement was interesting, to say the least. 

Former Mesa County, Colorado Clerk Tina Peters is still cooling her heels in state prison, having been found guilty in a state court for giving Trump supporters unauthorized access to a voting machine after the 2020 election. 

Trump earlier this month tried to pardon Peters, but he can't do that because she's convicted on state charges. Colorado refuses to touch Peters' nine-year prison sentence. So, it appears Trump might be exacting revenge on Colorado for this unforgivable slight - insert major eye roll here).

Well, there's even more signs of possible revenge by the Trump folks. President Trump has rejected requested disaster declarations for two wildfires and a serious flood earlier this year in Colorado. 

The denials got strong responses from Colorado's governor and the state's congressional delegation. 

"President Trump's decision to deny Colorado's request for critical federal assistance is unacceptable," said Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colorado. "Trump continues to use Coloradans for political games; it is malicious and obscene. A disaster is a disaster, regardless of what state in the country in took place."

Gov. Jared Polis said: "Coloradans impacted by the Elk and Lee fires and the flooding in southwestern Colorado deserve better than the political games President Trump is playing."

Colorado will appeal Trump's decision.  

Trump's denial of disaster assistance echoes what he's done in other blue states where he is especially unpopular. In October, Trump denied federal assistance for flooding in Illinois, Maryland and Vermont, all blue states. But Trump did approve disaster aid in red states like Alaska, Nebraska and North Dakota. 

In their joint statement today, Colorado's Polis, Bennet and Sen. John Hickenlooper hinted that they could play Trump's game, too. 

The three pointed to a recent study that showed that for every $1 Coloradans pay in federal taxes, the state only receives $0.90 in federal investments.  

Meanwhile, the potential breakup o NCAR could well contribute to a brain drain from the U.S. brought on by Trump's virulently anti-science agenda. 

Canadian climate scientists say dismantling NCAR would not only harm climate science worldwide, it would also cause a loss of expertise on emergency responses, and innovations in weather forecasting.

But as CTVnews.ca reports, Trump's actions could be an opportunity for Canada and Europe. American scientists have already left the U.S to work elsewhere. Canada has already announced funding to attract top talent to the nation, including U.S. researchers. 

"This is an opportunity for Canada to really establish itself as a leader," said Anna Soer, co-president of the Environmental Studies Association of Canada.  

Tuesday Morning, White Christmas Creator On Vermont's Doorstep, Few Inches Snow Coming

Snow accumulation forecast for the small storm today
and tonight hasn't changed much. Expect two to five
inches in the valleys, with a little more than 
that up in the mountains. 

As of this Tuesday morning, we're still on the verge of receiving our small storm that would guarantee a white Christmas in Vermont. It'll arrive just in time for the holiday, Bing Crosby style. 

But then again, an unexpected snow in some parts of Vermont Monday already did the job. 

Flurries had been predicted, but instead, a steady light snow fell in northern Vermont Monday afternoon and evening. The mini-storm left behind an inch or so of snow in a several places. 

Burlington had 1.3 inches and here in St. Albans, my yard is now covered by 1.1 inches of powder. That  qualifies for a white Christmas. 

In any event, we're still going to get our pre-Christmas snow today, , and it will come down statewide. 

SNOWY TUESDAY

A surprise 1.1 inches of snow fell on St. Albans,
Vermont Monday, so we already have a white
Christmas set up. Today's snow will add to 
the holiday cheer, and areas of Vermont that
don't have snow on the ground will by
this afternoon and evening. 

The forecast for this storm hasn't changed much since yesterday. It'll be a small storm by Vermont standards, Most valleys will see about two to five inches of snow. 

The mountains will probably see a little more than that. A winter weather advisory remains in effect across Vermont except in the deeper valleys west and southeast. 

As dawn broke, there were a few snow flurries in the air. But the steady snow should start in southwestern Vermont during the mid to late morning. By noon or 1 p.m. or so, it should be snowing along the length of Interstate 89.   

The snow should reach the Northeast Kingdom by mid afternoon. 

It'll never snow really hard, but the steadiest snow will come down between about 3 and 10 p.m. Keep that in mind if you're driving home from work, going to holiday events or getting some last minute shopping done. 

The roads throughout Vermont this afternoon and evening won't be great. Slow it down if you're driving, keep a good distance between you and the car ahead of you, etc. You know, the usual winter safe driving rules. Be patient, as I'm sure there will be a few slide offs and crashes that will back up traffic in a few areas. 

This will be a pretty snow, which should get people in the holiday spirit. In warmer valleys, temperatures might get to near or a degree or so above freezing. That might make some of the snow kind of on the wet side.  

Such temperatures would also suppress snow accumulation. Places right along Lake Champlain and right along the Connecticut River in southeast Vermont might see only two inches of snow or a little under that. 

We won't have much wind, so the snow will stick to the trees nicely. But there won't be enough snow to break branches or power lines, so we're fine there.

CHRISTMAS EVE

The snow will end in most places before dawn Wednesday, but keep going in the mountains. It'll get sort of windy for a time tomorrow morning and that will knock some but not all of the snow off the trees.  The winds won't howl up to near gale force like they have so many times this month. 

Temperatures should stay steady, mostly in the 25 to 30 degree range all day. It'll stay overcast or at least mostly cloudy all day, except in southeast parts of the state, which should get some sun. Up in the mountains, the snow will taper off through the day, leaving behind about four to eight inches on many of the state's ski slopes. 

The clouds will hang tough Christmas Eve night as temperatures fall into the teens. 

CHRISTMAS DAY

Expect no big weather events on the Big Day, but it will get colder and windier toward the end of the day. 

It'll be cloudy again, with a few snow showers around. The northern mountains could pick up a couple of inches of snow, maybe.

The clouds and snow showers will be stirred up by a pretty sharp cold front. Highs near 30 will hit early in the afternoon, then start to drop as the cold Canadian air floods in. By early Friday morning, temperatures will be in the single digits, with a few places below zero.

This will be in contrast to much of the United States,  as record high temperatures are still expected across much of the area between the Rockies and Appalachians on Christmas Day. 

FRIDAY AND BEYOND

We're still in an active pattern, so the weather will change quickly day to day. Also, since it's such a quick pattern, it's hard to forecast exactly what will happen this weekend, but we do have a general idea now. It's a bit subject to change, but here's our first attempt:

Friday looks cold, with highs only in the teens. An Alberta Clipper will zoom into the East on Friday, but current projection take it from Michigan to New Jersey. If that forecast holds, there would be little if any snow in Vermont from Friday's clipper. If it does snow, it's most likely in southern parts of the state.

Another, warmer, somewhat stronger storm might arrive Sunday. This might give us problems with mixed precipitation then, so we'll have to keep an eye on it for you. 

 

A Bit Of Snow Making Vermont Travel Bit Iffy This Evening; Winter Weather Advisory Tomorrow

Light snow falling and blowing around along Route 78
in Alburgh in this traffic cam grab. Roads are a bit
iffy through northern Vermont this evening because
of light snow. We're still on track for a few inches
of snow later tomorrow, too.

A patch of light snow was blowing through central and northern Vermont late this afternoon, so just a heads up: 

The roads on the way home from work today aren't perfect.  This will mostly affect areas from Route 4 north this evening. 

It's a very light snow, and will amount of less than an inch. But a dusting is enough to make the roads just slick enough so that you'd want to slow down. 

Basically, just lay off the gas peddle and the eggnog this evening and you should be good to go. 

The snow is very light and dry, too. If a big truck passes by you, it could stir up enough snow to briefly cut your visibility to almost nothing. 

The big news, of course, is tomorrow's somewhat bigger storm. This evening's update is that there's a winter weather advisory is now up for most of Vermont except the Champlain Valley, western Rutland County and the lower Connecticut River Valley. 

Those of you under the advisory can expect three to five inches of fresh snow between tomorrow and Wednesday morning.  If you're not under the advisory, you'll still probably get a good two or three inches of snow out of the deal. 

The mountains will of course get more snow than the valleys. Forecasters are still talking four to eight inches at the ski areas, fingers crossed. 

I'll have a full update on this with tomorrow morning's post. 

Hot Christmas Week In Much Of U.S. Already Breaking Records: Santa Will Need Shorts, Sunscreen

One of the most scant expected Christmas snow covers
in years. All areas that are just white, with no other
colors, won't have snow on the ground Christmas. 

 It's been a hot December in much of the United States, with the exception of the Northeast. 

Scores of record high temperatures have been broken almost daily this month. In the seven days ending on December 20, weather stations in the U.S. had a total of 1,564 record highs and just 74 record lows. That's as lopsided as it can get. 

In the past two weeks, most of the record highs have been in the western U.S. That is about to change. 

A summer-like "heat dome" is about to set up across the middle of the U.S. An enormous zone from the Rockies to the Appalachians can expect record high temperatures. 

Most will occur on Christmas Day, or the days immediately leading up to and after the big day. 

Fox Weather has a map that shows more than 100 expected record highs this week stretching from Nevada to Indiana. Most of the record highs would be in the Plains from South Dakota to Texas.  At least 40 cities are expecting record highs on Christmas Day. The final number will probably be well over that.  

,Some examples of toasty Christmas forecasts include 76 in Oklahoma City which would exceed the previous record high by three degrees. Wichita Falls, Texas is expected a record Christmas high of 81 degrees. Wichita, Kansas is expecting highs in the mid-70s. 

Apparently, Santa will need to bring a change of clothes, so he can go down to a t-shirt and red shorts by the time he gets to the U.S. 

Temperatures will get into the mid-60s as far north as Rapid City, South Dakota. 

The far north will escape the Christmas heat wave. The extreme northern Great Plains, most of the area around the Great Lakes and New England will stay seasonably chilly.   

The only places in the nation that expect a white Christmas are highest elevations in the western United States; much of North Dakota, Minnesota roughly north of Minneapolis; Wisconsin roughly north of Madison, northern Michigan, northern New York and most of central and northern New England.  

The Constant Gusty Winds In Vermont Will Ease For Now.. Next Question Is Will We Have A White Christmas

Forecast snow accumulation from our expected small
pre-Christmas storm. It looks like most of us should
see two or three inches of snow with more in the 
mountains. It looks like we might have a 
white Christmas after all. 

Sunday was another day of holding on to your Santa hat and hoping your outdoor Christmas decorations don't fly away to the next county. 

A surge of west wind behind the cold front Sunday morning created Vermont power outages that peaked at more than 1,100 shortly before noon. 

 Gusts to 58 mph were recorded in Grand Isle and 51 mph in North Hero. I'm sure several other places saw winds of 50 mph, too.

The National Weather Service office in South Burlington saw a gust to 48 mph. Remarkably, it was the fifth day in a row with gusts reaching at least 39 mph. 

Out of 21 days so far this month Burlington has had 17 days with gusts to at least 30 mph.

I have a feeling we're all going to be cleaning up a lot of sticks and branches from our yards next spring. Especially since we have more chances coming up for more gusty winds.

For now as of this morning, things have quieted down. Amid the much colder air this morning, winds almost everywhere in Vermont except in the high elections were at 10 mph or less.

WHITE CHRISTMAS?

The big thaw and record breaking high temperatures from Friday have left the ground bare in lower elevations across Vermont. The question for the kiddos is, will we still manage to have a white Christmas?

The answer appears to be.........YES! 

A few places got a bit of snow yesterday and last night. A batch of clouds coming in this afternoon will probably yield some flurries. But that isn't really enough to make the ground officially snow-covered.

Then let me introduce you to a Christmas miracle of sorts. A clipper system - one of those quick moving, usually moisture-starved little storms that zip across us with a quick shot of show showers - is on its way. 

This time, however, we have some very warm air to our south to thank. Which seems odd. But our clipper will create a warm front that will stay to our south. The warm front will force balmy, fairly moist air to rise over a stubborn layer of cold air over us. That will wring out the moisture as snow.

This sounds like a recipe for sleet and freezing rain, but this time the cold air over us will cover the entire atmosphere, not just a thin layer aloft. So it will just snow, with little or no mix. Some of the warmest valleys might see a couple rain drops mix in, and the snow might be a little on the wet side in some areas. But it'll be snow

Then, early Wednesday, the actual clipper storm will move almost overhead with some more snow. 

The result should be a decent two to four inch snowfall across all of Vermont valleys between Tuesday afternoon and midday Christmas Eve. This will be nice, as the snowfall will be minimal enough so that we don't kill ourselves shoveling out. But it will be deep enough to cover the grass on our lawns, giving us a clean, white landscape. 

Skiers are going to be happy, too. The snow will keep going in the mountains Wednesday, so their totals should be in the four to eight inch range. Maybe a little more than in some of the northern Green Mountains. That'll further improve skiing and riding conditions that took a dent in last Friday's thaw.

Jay Peak Resort reports a whopping 199 inches of snow so far this season. This pre-Christmas snowfall will easily push them over 200 inches.

The snow will mostly dry up as night falls Christmas Eve.  Santa should have good flying conditions. It'll probably stay rather cloudy, so Rudolph's nose might come in handy. 

Christmas Day itself will probably remain cloudy with average temperatures. That means highs should be within a few degrees of 30. 

Another little storm should zip eastward on Friday, but it might go too far south of Vermont to cause us much weather. We'll have to wait and see on that. Then another fast moving storm could give us snow or a mix on Sunday. 

The good news is it looks like we'll have a reprieve from our near constant gusty December winds until that storm starts moving in Sunday. 

Pink Light Amid Washington Flood Fuel For Conspiracy Theories

Pink sky/air over Buckley, Washington earlier this month.
Photo from Michael Bradbury via X.

In the midst of those atmospheric river storms in Washington State this month, there was a break in the bad weather right at sunset, the day before yet another brutal storm swept in. 

People in the Seattle area flooded social media - pardon the pun - with photos of a spectacular sunset. It really was gorgeous. 

However, some other people in western Washington posted photos of gloom, but with an odd, distinct pinkish, lavender-ish glow that filled the atmosphere. 

This odd glow was noted as far east as Spokane, not far from the Idaho border. 

Given the times we live in, everybody and their brother has an ominous conspiracy theory for everything. Including the pink glow in Washington. 

It was supposedly a sign the government was unleashing terrible storms on us, for whatever reason they come up with. Maybe it was aliens. Strange energy forces. Maybe even chemtrails. 

To be Captain Obvious, none of those theories are true. 

Here's what likely happened:

The sky over Washington indeed filled with gorgeous sunset colors that late afternoon. Oranges, yellows, reds and pinks. 

In some places, however, all that moisture from the downpours created lots of lingering low clouds and fog,  which obscured that colorful sky. But those colors tried to soak into that fog. The likely result was that otherworldly pink glow. It was just nature doing something interesting and cool.

I've seen this sort of thing around here in Vermont, too. When it happens, it's just an opportunity to enjoy some new colors of nature. 

An example came on June 29, 2024. A warm front was coming through, creating gusty winds, and low, fast-moving clouds. Above those clouds, there was apparently a bright orange sunset. The result down on the ground here in St. Albans was a weird pinkish, purplish, windy summer evening. The video of that evening is below. The pink hue starts at about 1:20 into the video. 

Click this link to view the video.  Or if you see the image below, click on that to watch. 

 

Deadly Atmospheric Rivers Swamp West Coast From British Columbian To Oregon, Now Targeting California

As rain began in San Francisco
Saturday it was already chaos
A power blackout meant many
driverless Waymo taxis stalled 
in intersections because they
didn't know what to do with
traffic signals that weren't working. 

After trashing British Columbia, Washington, and eventually Oregon this month, atmospheric rivers continue to harass the West Coast, and now the main target has shifted to California. 

The storms have caused hundreds of millions of dollars in damage in the Pacific Northwest. The wind energy from these storms has spread further damage from Idaho to New England. 

By the time we're done with these storms after Christmas. the entire area from north of Vancouver, British Columbia to San Diego, California will have been soaked and flooded and blasted. . 

I think this has turned out to be the nation's latest disasters costing $1 billion or more. And the damage will keep adding up. 

Let's take stock of what has already happened, and what we're bracing for, moving north to south. 

BRITISH COLUMBIA

The storms this month have caused a lot of power outages and flooding in British Columbia. Hundred of thousands of people lost electricity as surges of powerful winds blew through on several occasions in mid-December.

Ironically, drought in recent years has made the storms more damaging in British Columbia. Trees are weakened and damaged from the drought, making them more likely to snap and blow over in storms. 

Flooding hit British Columbia's Fraser Valley, damaging hundreds of homes   The Noosack River, which crossed into British Columbia from Washington, caused much of the flooding. 

Chilliwack, British Columbia had about 15 inches of rain between December 9 and 15, causing plenty of flooding and some landslides around the city, which is not far north of the border with Washington State. 

Power has not yet been 100 percent restored in British Columbia and some roads and highways remain closed due to flooding, washouts and mudslides. 

WASHINGTON

The last big atmospheric river surge finished crashing through Washington this past Tuesday into Wednesday with another gush of downpours and an even bigger gush of wind, as we noted the other day. 

Since then, the downpours have mostly devolved into the usual Pacific Northwest drizzles and mountain snows. But the damage is done and new post-storm problems keep popping up. 

Continued light rain, with a few bursts of heavier rain, falling on already super-soaked soil, is seriously increasing the risk of landslides in western Washington State. 

Sharp slopes on coastal bluffs, steep hillsides, road cuts and recently burned wildfire areas are most at risk. There have been several landslides already this weekend, The threat should continue for several days. 

A large marina in Tacoma was badly wrecked by debris and wind. Multitudes of trees were washed into the harbor by flooding rivers. Then, high winds turned those floating trees into battering rams, destroying docks and boats. 

Rainfall has been pretty incredible in some areas right along the Pacific Coast and in higher elevations. Forks, Washington, a little inland from the Pacific Ocean in northwest Washington, has received 22.1 inches of rain so far this month. 

Rain during the atmospheric rivers reached high into the mountains, melting the snow that usually forms a thick blanket way up on those slopes.  The snow levels are now down to normal elevations, and the fluff is finally piling up in the Cascades.

OREGON

In Oregon, one person died when he drove around flood barriers and got caught in swift, deep floodwaters. Elsewhere in Oregon, a family of five was rescued from a pickup truck that got caught in swift water. 

In Tillamook County, five drivers had to be rescued from floodwaters, most of them after they drove around barricades. 

The Clackamas River rose 26 feet, flooding through homes and leaving yards littered with large trees and other debris. 

Landslides closed many roads in Oregon, including several near Mount Hood National Forest; along a section of the Columbia River Highway and in Oregon City.  

The rain in Oregon has tapered off some, but rivers are still flooding, even if they are gradually receding. Forecasts of daily rain coming up through the next week, will slow the Oregon recovery. 

CALIFORNIA

Next on the atmosphere river hit list is California.  

The first blast of atmospheric river downpours is hitting California from roughly the Bay Area north. Flooding is a good bet today and tomorrow in many areas of northern California, but areas near Placerville, Oroville and Paradise, in the Sierra Nevada foothills. These areas could get five to seven inches of rain in the next 24 hours. 

Heavy rain would continue in those same foothill areas tomorrow, making any flooding even worse.

Another surge of deep moisture off the Pacific will renew heavy rains in California, and those downpours will spread south.

By Tuesday night and Christmas Eve, rainfall rates through much of the L.A area, especially higher elevations, could reach to an inch per hour or more. This sets the stage for lots of mudslides and debris flows, especially in areas that saw wildfires in the past couple of years. 

Moisture content in the storm will be near record high levels, according to the National Weather Service office in Los Angeles. The flood watch for northern California is lasting a long time. It starts today, and goes into next Friday. 

 In less than a week, Los Angeles could receive more than five inches of rain. Normal rainfall for the entire month of December in L.A. is 2.3 inches. 

Snow levels will be high in the Sierra Nevada, so some places that usually get snow in the winter will see rain. Rain today is falling at elevations below 8,800 feet, and the snow level should slowly drop to 7,400 feet, give or take, by Tuesday night  

Way, way up there in the high Sierra, accumulations this week will range from four to ten feet, or even more.

It's going to be a long, long, tedious Christmas week for California.   

Today Is Winter Solstice, But Sun Began Setting Later Several Days Ago. Here's Why

At 3:55 p.m. Saturday, the sun was already close to
setting over St. Albans, Vermont. Today is the winter
solstice, the shortest daylight of the year. But 
strangely, sunsets started getting a bit later
starting December 10. There's a reason for that. 

The winter solstice hits today at 10:03 a.m. 

It is the shortest daylight of the year, but even, the earliest sunset and latest sunrise of the season don't exactly line up.  

Believe it or not, our earliest sunset was about a week and a half ago. And our latest sunrise won't hit until just before the New Year arrives.  

Why?

It's a little complicated, but here it goes: 

As Timeanddate.com explains:

"This is because of a discrepancy between our modern-day timekeeping methods and how time is measured using the Sun, known as the equation of time."

The equation of time is the difference between time measured using a sundial, also as true or apparent solar time, and the time measured using a clock, also known as mean solar time.....

Most clocks run on the idea that a day is exactly 24 hours. Technically a day is the duration between one solar noon, the time of day the the sun is at the highest point in the sky, to the next."

A solar day is not exactly 24 hours long. It varies through the year because the elliptical shape of Earth's orbit and the tilt of our planet. A solar day is longer than 24 hours in the summer and winter solstice. It's a little shorter than 24 hours at the spring and autumn equinoxes. 

This means solar noon comes at a different time than the noon you see on your watch or smart phone. For instance, in New York City, solar noon hits at 11:54 a.m. clock time.  By January 3, the Big Apple's solar noon and "watch" noon both hit at 12 on the dot. On January 4, solar noon as at 12:01 p.m., and it keeps getting later through January, as Timeanddate.com explains. 

That shift in solar noon means both sunset and sunrise keep getting later into the first days of January. 

In Burlington, Vermont, the earliest sunsets of the year hit on December 8 and 9, at 4:12 p.m. With both sunrises and sunsets getting later, today is the shortest day of the year with a sunrise at 7:26 a.m. and sunset at 4:16 p.m.

Our sunrises will keep getting later for awhile yet. The latest sunrises are at 7:29 a.m. each day between December 30 and January 5. After that, sunrises start getting earlier while sunsets keep getting later. 

Basically. days get longer from now until January only very slowly. Once we get into January, the pace of lengthening days begins to pick up. 

COLDER TIMES AHEAD?

There's an old saying that as the days lengthen, the cold strengthens. 

And it's true: On average, the coldest weather of the winter comes around the third week in January. Every winter is different, of course, so the most frigid days in some years can come in December or February instead. 

But, the depths of winter are generally in the second half of January. 

Even though the northern hemisphere begins to get a little brighter after today, the high Arctic remains deep in darkness. What little warmth might be left up there radiates out into space. The supply of gelid air keeps growing, just waiting for a chance to rush southward onto poor unsuspecting people like us Vermonters.   

Meanwhile, lakes in southern Ontario and Quebec continue to freeze up. Parts of the Great Lakes do, too. That means Arctic air coming from the North Pole can't as easily absorb a bit of the warmth of the lakes to modify those pushes of frigid air. 

Also, as the lakes freeze, they're less able to transfer moisture to the air. That means fewer clouds downstream from the lakes here in Vermont. Nights are a little more likely to be clear in January than they were in November and December. Clear, calm nights tend to be the coldest. A clear January night a mean the bottom falls out of the thermometer. 

Though the days will slowly lengthen over the coming weeks, you probably won't get much of a break from our cold winter winds. 

But slowly, you'll eventually notice a change. Maybe on a February day, the winter sun will actually feel a little warm. As we get through the late winter, thaws start to become a little more frequent. Before you know it. balmy spring breezes will ruffle your hair and brighten your mood.  

Trump Administration Breaking Up Renowned Climate Center; Retribution Against Colorado Governor Suspected

The National Center for Atmospheric Research in
Boulder, Colorado. The Trump administration
wants to break it up saying the scientists there
are "climate alarmists" with no evidence to back
that up. It appears the announcement might
be related to Colorado refusing to release
from jail a 2020 election conspiracy theorist.

One of the world's leading climate research centers, in Boulder, Colorado, is targeted for closing because Donald Trump has his head in the sand. 

And also probably because he's still butthurt that Colorado won't release a 2020 election conspiracy theorist from jail.

At issue is the National Center For Atmospheric Research, or NCAR. It was founded in 1960 and has resources like supercomputers, data sets and high-tech research planes that conduct meteorological and climate research. It's also an educational center for future scientists. 

As you'd expect, scientists are almost uniformly outraged by the plan to dismantle NCAR. 

Katharine Hayhoe, a Texas Tech University professor and chief scientist at the Nature Conservancy, called the center "quite literally our global mothership," and said "Dismantling NCAR is like taking a sledgehammer to the keystone holding up our scientific understanding of the planet."

Hayhoe also said on her post on the social media platform X: 

"(NCAR) supports the scientists who fly into hurricanes, the meteorologists who developed new radar technology, the physicists who envision and code new weather models and yes, the largest community climate model in the world" 

Casper Amman, a former research scientist at NCAR, told the Washington Post the center plays a unique role by bringing together soiled specialists to collaborate on some of the biggest climate and weather questions of our time. 

"Without NCAR, a lot could not happen....A lot of research at U.S. Universities would immediately get hampered, industry would lose access to reliable base data."

Weather and climate services around the world use NCAR modeling and forecasting tools. It also supplies real time data to people dealing with events like big wildfires and floods. 

Of course, the Trump camp has a completely different view about their plans to dismantle NCAR.

 Here's a Trump minion on X:

"The National Science Foundation will be breaking up the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colorado......This facility is one of the largest sources of climate alarmism in the country."

One of Trump's favorite whines is climate change. Every chance he gets, he says climate change is a hoax and a con job, his words. He apparently thinks that he's smarter than the vast majority of scientists who tell us climate change is real. Those scientists are growing increasingly alarmed about that warming. 

 USA Today, which first reported this development, reported:

"The administration plans to identify and eliminate what it calls 'green new scam research activities' during an upcoming review of the center, according to the White House while 'vital functions' such as weather modeling and supercomputing will be moved to another entity or location. 

Efforts to dissolve the National Center for Atmospheric Research will begin immediately, the official said, with the plan being to fully close the center's Mesa Laboratory in Boulder."

NCAR's staff consists of 830 employees who are part of the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, a nonprofit consortium of more than 130 colleges and universities. Those universities focus on earth system sciences. We don't yet know how many jobs or programs this dismantling would affect.

THE REAL REASON

There's almost certainly more to all this than just Trump's aversion to any true information about climate change. Trump's focus seems to be suddenly all about Colorado 

 As USA Today reports:

"The move to break up the National Center for Atmospheric Research comes after the Trump administration earlier in the day announced the cancellation of $109 million environmentally focused transportation grants in Colorado that sought to boost electric vehicles, rail improvement and research into hydrogen and natural gas-powered trains."

Amid these announcements, and on the same day the NCAR breakup was announced, Trump called Polis "weak and pathetic" and "incompetent" because he refused to release former Colorado County Clerk Tina Peters from prison.

And there it is: Revenge. 

Peters was once the top election official in Mesa County. She's part of the election 2020 conspiracy gang, convinced the election that year was "stolen" by the Joe Biden campaign. There's no evidence that ever happened. 

Eventually, in 2024,  a Colorado jury convicted Peters of giving Trump supporters unauthorized access to a voting machine after the 2020 election. She's serving a nine-year sentence on those state charges. 

Recently, Trump said he is pardoning Peters. There's one teeny, tiny problem with that. The president can only pardon people who were convicted on federal charges and are in federal prisons.

Peters was convicted on charges brought by the State of Colorado and is in a state prison. 

"Tina Peters was convicted guy a jury of her peers, prosecuted by a Republican District Attorney and found guilty of violating Colorado state laws, including criminal impersonation. No President has jurisdiction over state law more the power to parse a person for state convictions," said Colorado Gov. Jared Polis. 

How dare Polis stand up to Glorious Leader Trump!  So the Trump people brought out their usual mob boss schtick. "Nice state ya got there. Would be a shame to see anything happen to it."

Here's the quote to prove it:

"'Maybe if Colorado had a governor who actually wanted to work with President Trump his constituent would be better served,' a senior White House official told NOTUS in an email on Wednesday."

NOTUS.org is a nonprofit, nonpartisan digital news outlet.

The Washington Post said an unnamed White House official declined to say how Polis is not cooperating with the administration, but denied the move was in response to Polis and his team not releasing Peters from prison.

Sure, Jan. 

Colorado is already fighting back 

According to Politico,  the U.S. Senate adjourned for the holidays this past week without passing a government funding package that would prevent a partial government shutdown starting January 30. 

One big part of the holdup are Democratic Colorado Senators Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper, who said they would hold up the spending package because of the plan to dismantle NCAR.  

Trump appears to be in a weaker position politically than he was earlier this year. Stay tuned at this bat channel to see whether the plan to end NCAR really happens.

We should all hope not.