A Bout Of Icy Weather In Some Parts Of Vermont Then a Brief, Warm Interlude

We can't quite shake winter. Areas in yellow and orange
can expect a glaze of ice tonight before much warmer
air arrives tomorrow, 

 It's another overcast morning in Vermont, with some rain falling far southern sections of the states. 

The wide-ranging temperatures we saw over the past few days have finally evened up for now. 

Pretty much the whole state started today in the low to mid 30s. Early April in Vermont can be a little like November. But at least we're not facing along winter like we would be in November, so we have that optimism. 

Although it was cold enough this morning for snow in southern Vermont, there's warm air aloft, so it's rain. Some sleet might be mixing in at a few spots, but web cams so far show little direct evidence of that. Still, a special weather statement notes the risk of freezing rain this morning, mostly at elevations above 2,000 feet in the southern Greens. 

That warm overhead cold surface have wintry implications for tonight. It's April, but here in Vermont that doesn't necessarily mean wintry weather is over 

A winter weather advisory is for Vermont from the Green Mountains east and from about Springfield north to the Canadian border tonight. 

It's the same problem we've frequently had in late winter and early spring. Warm air is trying to push in, but cold high pressure in Quebec is feeding in low level cold air. The result is the risk of freezing rain

We know there won't be much precipitation of any kinds, and what does fall over and east of the Green Mountains won't be entirely freezing rain. 

However, as usual in these cases, the freezing rain will be spotty. If you're driving anywhere in the winter weather advisory zone overnight and early Friday, you'll encounter patches of ice alternating with above freezing areas, so this will keep you on your toes.

Western Vermont should be too warm for freezing rain.  Some of the overnight showers north and west could actually contain a rumble of thunder or two. That's not exactly a sure bet, but since it's spring, thunder is beginning to become more possible with storm systems. 

WEEKEND

It will warm up really quickly Friday as a warm front blows by, so any freezing rain will stop being an annoyance pretty early in the day. There should be showers around especially during the first half of the day and especially north an west as another storm blows by far to our north. 

The cold front with this storm will be incredibly lame, so not chilly air will be able to work in. Which means Saturday should be fairly mild with highs into the 50s. As the next storm approaches Sunday, the chances of showers will ramp up. It'll stay on the warm-ish side as we once again reach the 50s 

 BEYOND THE WEEKEND:

Unfortunately, we can't sustain spring quite yet. The first half of April is known for its excursions back to winter. 

So, at least the first half of next week will be cold, with highs in the 30s and 40s with subfreezing temperatures overnight. That might keep the sugaring season going on a little longer in parts of the state that haven't had too much warm weather yet. 

And let's face it, the chill early next week won't be anything extreme. We can still have huge snowstorm this time of year, and historically, record cold would mean temperatures in the single numbers to low teens. 

Neither of which will happen next week,  Our world will soon green up regardless of whether we get a little cold air or not.

This Time Of Year, Temperatures Are Usually All Over The Place

Cold and gloomy early this morning in St. Albans, Vermont.
Temperatures before dawn ranged from near 32 at Canadian 
border to near 60 by the Massachusetts border. 
Temperatures will continue to swing wildly over the
next few days, which is common this time of year, 

 Before dawn today, temperatures were either cold or balmy, depending on where you are. 

At 5 a.m. it was 34 degrees in Burlington. Ice is underfoot closer to the Canadian border.  Meanwhile, it was 61 in Bennington. In between readings were in the 40s and 50s. 

Depending on where you are today in Vermont, you'll need your tired old winter coat or that cute new spring lightweight sweater  you just bought. 

Yesterday, it was more of the same. In far southern Vermont was actually sort of humid, with springlike showers and thunderstorms. 

Up in the far north, yesterday ended up overcast, dark, foggy, drizzly and cold, the temperatures having dropped to chilly levels shortly after midnight

In the middle of the state, most of Vermont, really  it either stayed mild into early today, or it was still on the warm side. 

The relative warmth combined with rain that's been melting the mountain snow has created sharp rises along the rivers of Vermont .  Most have stayed within their banks, but a flood warning was in effect along the Walloomsac River in Bennington County for minor flooding. The warning has since expired. 

 Looking over the past week, we have seen the same the same big temperature swings. It was 58 degrees on March 26, then we endured a couple days in the 30s. 

By Monday, it was back up to 68 degrees in Burlington. Dry south winds created perfect conditions for brush fire starts, and they certainly got going in a couple places. A brush fire on Monday in Ferrisburgh, burned through more than 100 acres, which is unusual for a Vermont fire, It took about 75 firefighters several hours to put out the flags. 

Another, much smaller brush fire in Waterbury on Monday was also extinguished.

WILD SWINGS CONTINUE :

These wild swings in temperature are because Vermont is usually near the border between frigid winter air in Canada and balmy air across  the southern United States. The contrast is usually greatest from mid-March to mid April, give or take. 

Ma Nature doesn't celebrate April Fool's Day. It celebrates April Fools Month. 

By April Fools Day, spring hasn't usually made many inroads across most of Canada In the central and southern U.S., it's hard core spring. When the front essentially separating winter an spring pass over Vermont, which is frequently, the weather goes wild.

Every once in awhile, this can create big disruptive, damaging storms in Vermont. That's not the case this time, which is great news.

For the next couple of days, it'll be on the cool side, especially north. 

An approaching warm front could spread a little rain in the warmer areas, and a little ice mainly east of the Green Mountains. The National Weather Service is toying with the idea of issuing a winter weather advisory for that potential ice Thursday night and early Friday, 

They'll wait for a little more data to come in before deciding whether to trigger such an advisory,

By Friday, temperatures should reach the low 60s across many areas of Vermont, so if we do get any ice from freezing rain, it'll disappear fast. The warm front's parent storm will pass far to our north and west. It won't really be able to pull down much of that cold air from Canada. 

Which means for now, it looks like it'll be a springlike weekend. Springlike means a risk of showers, of course. The warm temperatures and the rain will make rivers rise again. But just like yesterday, no flooding is expected. 

There's also a wrinkle. There's always a wrinkle, Some forecasts keep Saturday and Sunday in the 40s, so we'll have to keep an on it. 

Variable weather is hard to predict sometimes. 

By early next week, it'll be breezy and chilly once again and the Canadian air will flood back in. It is April, so daytime highs next week should get into the low or mid 40s.