Thump Of Vermont Snow Long Gone, Light Snow To Continue; Arctic Air Disappears

Traffic got backed up on Interstate 89 southbound
in Colchester due probably to lingering snow and slush
on the road causing a slide off or two. More light
snow is expected for the rest of today. 

 Last night's storm is mostly over in Vermont, aside from a bit of last hurrah coming this afternoon and evening. 

But the effects still linger. For instance, I noticed Interstate 89 near Milton was a parking lot for awhile this morning due to slide offs or crashes or, whatever went on along that slushy stretch of highway. 

The traffic trouble along the Interstate looks like it improved by around 8 a.m., but I'm sure there will be trouble here and there.

Traffic cams as of 8 a.m. were showing most roads across Vermont were slushy. Some were still snow covered.  A little light snow was still falling around the state, but that bigger thump of snow from last night is long gone. 

Judging by preliminary reports, it looks like accumulations were in line with expectations. Burlington reports 4.1 inches of snow so far.  My  place here in St. Albans had received 3.8 inches of new snow as of 8 a.m. and it was still snowing lightly.  Most of the few reports that have come across so far seem to be in the three to five inch range.

As I mentioned last evening, the bulk of the snow was driven by a surge of warm air coming from the west in tandem with the storm system itself.  As expected, nobody to my knowledge in Vermont got above freezing, like places western New York did. 

But the warm air aloft over performed a bit. Some areas in eastern New York and Vermont had a little freezing rain or drizzle after the band of heavy snow passed by after 10 p.m. last night. There was a thin ice layer in the snow outside my door when I checked this morning. I also notice Burlington reported a little freezing rain around 2 a.m. today. 

REST OF THE DAY

Any risk of freezing rain or sleet is definitely over. As expected, the original storm that came in from the west is fading or has gone away in favor of a new storm off the Maine coast. Because of this, winds have shifted into the north. 

As we go through the day, that offshore storm will get a little better at pulling moisture from the North Atlantic, southwestward across Quebec, then southward down on northern New England. 

That means the snow will pick up a little in intensity this afternoon and early evening, at least in some parts of Vermont. 

This will deposit another one to three inches of snow in most of northern Vermont, and along the Green Mountains all the way down to the Massachusetts border. The Connecticut River valley and valleys in southwest Vermont will see less than an inch. 

All this is basically a heads up that chances are, you'll hit some snow covered or slippery roads once again on your trip home from work or school today. 

THURSDAY AND BEYOND 

The weather actually looks boring for the next several days. Which means it'll be the peak of awesomeness for people who want to go outside and enjoy winter. This might have been the "crown of winter" storm, in the valleys at least. Crown of winter storms are the ones that bring the deepest snow cover of the winter. They usually come shortly before a thaw that starts to reduce the snow pack. 

We're having a decent snow year, especially in the mountains. In the valleys, it's OK, too. Through yesterday, Burlington has had 62 inches of snow for the season, which is 8.5 inches ahead of normal for the date. 

There's lots of snow outside to play in, and for once temperatures will be comfortable enough to enjoy it Daytime highs should be in the mid-20s to low 30s daily Thursday through Sunday. 

That's the sweet spot: Mild enough to not kill yourself from frostbite, chilly enough to keep the snow nice and powdery and sweet. The only bummer is that last night's snow buried some absolutely perfect smooth skating ice on Lake Champlain. 

If you're a winter lover,  all good things must come to an end. If you hate your fuel bills, all bad things must come to an end. 

By that I mean our long stretch of below freezing temperatures will probably concluded on Monday.  Q

As of yesterday, Burlington had been through 19 consecutive days in which the temperature stayed below freezing. That's the longest such spell since a 27 day stretch in January an February, 2015. I'll  have more on this in a separate post. 

It looks like a small pocket of fairly cold air will sweep down from James Bay to somewhere near Maine by early Sunday morning. We'll be on the western edge of that, so Vermont will actually just have some average February weather that day with highs in the 20s to near 30.

But that's OK, because that pocket of cold air will kick off a new storm that will hit Canada's Atlantic provinces. 

Meanwhile, another storm will be developing Sunday in the southeast U.S.  Earlier this week, we thought that storm might come up the coast to give us another slap of snow or mixed precipitation. 

It turns out that newer  Canadian storm will probably deflect that southeast U.S. storm to our south.  We originally thought that southern storm might spread some snow or ice our way Sunday and Monday. Now, it tentatively looks like we're in the clear with that one.  We'll keep you posted if there are any changes, but for now, don't worry about it.

It's a little too soon to know how far above freezing it'll get next week and how long that would last.  Early guesses are the next shot at any substantial precipitation after day won't come along until at least the middle of next week.