Impressive Rain Ending This Morning, Sharp Vermont Warmup Due, With Picky Details

National Service Weather radar shows moderate to 
heavy coming from New Hampshire and through all but far
southern Vermont around 9 p.m. last night. 

That rainfall yesterday and last night turned out to be impressive, and just the ticket for soaking gardens, crops and forests on the cusp of summer's heat. 

Complete rainfall totals weren't quite available yet as of 8 a.m. Montpelier and St. Johnsbury look like they have a storm total from yesterday morning to this morning of about 1.8 inches. 

Montpelier set a record for the wettest May 14 on record with 1.62 inches. We have a report from Woodbury of 2.19 inches. 

The moisture feed and the rain moved northwestward off the Atlantic through southern and central New Hampshire and across most of Vermont. 

In this type of setup, the Champlain Valley usually doesn't get as much rain because the Green Mountains block the moisture. But it looks like Burlington got a respectable 1.4 inches or so. My unofficial rain gauge in St. Albans collected 1.62 inches. 

Instead falling in short, sharp bursts, the bulk of the rain fell over an 18 hour period, ensuring a lot of it soaked in rather than running off. 

Far southern Vermont - roughly south of Route 30 largely missed out on this moisture bonanza. Bennington only had 0.11 inches of rain yesterday and last night The lower Connecticut Valley was in the moisture feed early in the day, but the rain moved north of them .

It'll be interesting to see who got what amount of rain once the National Weather Service compiled the totals, probably later this morning or this afternoon. 

TODAY

Fuscia later season magnolia buds get set to bloom after
the soaking rains we just received in St. Albans, VT

That moisture feed this morning was now across far northern Vermont and southern  Quebec and much weaker as its source from the Atlantic Ocean is getting cut off. Another batch of light rain was moving westward across the northern half of New Hampshire. 

That means this morning will probably stay damp and drizzly and showery across most of Vermont.

 But the air mass is drying out, so the showers will, too. The forecast still calls for some sun this afternoon. Even so, some widely scattered showers might lurk around until sunset, as some instability will linger behind our storm. 

The partial sun should bring highs this afternoon into the 60s, which would make today our hottest day since Sunday. Yay! Even though mid-60s is still a touch cooler than normal for this time of year. But much warmer times are at our doorstep. Promise!

SATURDAY

Here comes the warmth. Strong May sun and southwest breezes will pump those temperatures up into the 70s. It'll be the balmiest day in nearly two weeks. But this is Vermont, so nice weather almost always includes an asterisk. 

That asterisk comes in the form of a weak disturbance sweeping in late in the day.  The air will be dry, so it will be hard to generate many showers. I'm guessing shower clouds might form late in the afternoon in some areas. 

Most of the rain from those showers will probably dry up on the way down. For those caught under these "showers" that means sprinkles, suddenly gusty winds and a brief, sharp drop in temperatures. 

The scattered showers could last into Saturday night. Many places won't see a drop of rain. Those who do get hit will see a trace to maybe few hundredths of an inch

SUNDAY

Mostly sunny skies again! And warm!  That disturbance from Saturday will include a very poor excuse for a cold front. Meaning highs Sunday should "only" be near 70 on Saturday in the north. It won't get any colder south, as highs could touch 80 in places like Bennington and Brattleboro.

MONDAY

A major warm front should pass through in the morning. Most forecasts call for no rain with the passage of this front. But I'm suspicious. Warm fronts that pass through in the morning ahead of a warm to hot spell usually kick off a few showers, mostly in northern Vermont. 

Given that history, I wouldn't be surprised if a few spots start out with showers Monday. But the afternoon should be sunny, breezy and warm. Could easily be the first 80 degree reading of the season in some parts of central and northern Vermont 

TUESDAY

This will be the first true summer day in most of Vermont. (It won't be the first in far southern Vermont, because they had a couple classic summer days in mid-April)

How hot it gets depends on whether we see showers and thunderstorms and if we do, when they'll arrive. If it manages to stay sunny all day, I wouldn't be surprised to see a couple 90 degree readings in some of the broader valleys. 

 But  I kinda doubt that. Preliminary forecasts seem to indicate a messy area of slight instability that would create clouds and possible scattered showers and storms. So it will probably "only" be in the 80s. 

If you're planning vigorous outdoor work or exercise, you're not used to that heat. Take more breaks ad drink more water than you think you'll need.

LATER WEEK

At this point, Wednesday looks fairly warm, too. We have a decent shot of making it to 80 degrees. But a cold front will be approaching with a risk of showers and thunderstorms. Later in the week, we'll cool down again, but not downright chilly like we've seen this week. 

Instead, Thursday might bring us a brief moment of cool weather, as temperatures might not get out of the low 60. But then somewhat warmer air will quickly return. Not necessarily in the 80s, but seasonably warm, which means close to 70. 

The weather pattern that kept sending nippy air to us from Canada is kaput