Weird Rain Band Hit Parts Of Vermont Saturday, Showery Weather To Continue Until Possible Midweek Break

Rain to the north from a persistent rain band. This is
looking north along Interstate 89 in Colchester, VT

 Saturday was an odd weather day in at least parts of Vermont. We knew there would be showers and rumbles of thunder around as disturbances moved down into the Green Mountain State from Quebec. 

But one band of rain, only maybe 20 miles wide most of the time, enter Vermont's northwest corner and went southeastward into central Vermont. 

 And it stayed there from late morning until well into the evening.  Had this occurred in a very warm, very humid atmosphere, there probably would have been a terrible flash flood within that band.

Luckily, the airmass couldn't hold that much water, so the rain was light, with bursts of moderate rain and very quick downpours. The rainfall tended to get lighter the further south and east the rain band went. 

But still, it was strange. Here in St. Albans, we were right in the path of this narrow band, and we received  1.21 inches of rain from late morning until well into the evening. During that time, Burlington, just 30 miles to the south, got nothing. And the rain in St. Albans was constant.  It was reduced to a sprinkle at times, but at other times it came down at a brisk pace. 

National Weather Service radar from about 5:30 p.m. 
Saturday. It shows a persistent, nearly stationary rain 
band extending from well northwest of Montreal in 
Quebec southeastward through Vermont into 
New Hampshire. Though the band weakened in
eastern Vermont and New Hampahire. 

Rainfall from this band extended up into Quebec, where amounts were reported to be heavier than in Vermont. 

I'm not sure why that band didn't move. It might have been a weird deformation zone, which is an area on the outskirts of a storm in which a band of heavy precipitation sets up. But the storm itself was way up in the Canadian Maritimes, so that doesn't make much sense.  

Anyway, my unofficial rain gauge in St. Albans has now collected. 3.26 inches of rain since Thursday morning. It's pretty sodden out there. 

And more rain is in the forecast. For all of Vermont, not just St. Albans, of course!

TODAY

We're in for the same type of weather we had on Saturday, though perhaps minus the stalled rain band. 

There might not be quite as many showers and storms as yesterday, but many of us, especially central and north, will get wet today. Rainfall amounts should be in the tenth to a quarter inch range. Southern Vermont should see less than a tenth of an inch. 

Some places will have heavier showers or garden variety thunderstorms, and may get hit repeatedly. Those few and far between spots could get up to an inch of rain. But that will be the exception. 

Highs today in the valleys should hit the low 70s again, with a few mid 70s in banana belt places like the southern Champlain valley and the valleys of far southern Vermont. 

MONDAY

Southernmost Vermont has been missing out on most of the heavy rain, and they could actually use a good dousing. They might be in luck Monday afternoon and evening. 

A small, but very wet storm system is forecast to move about Indiana tonight to somewhere near New York City by Tuesday night. But there are still some questions about its eventual path. If it goes further south than expected, all but areas of Vermont pretty close to the Massachusetts border will miss out on most of the rain. 

If it goes a little further north than expected, a substantial rain could make it as far north as Route 2. 

As it stands now, areas south of Route 4 could get 0.75 to 1.25 inches of rain out of this from Monday afternoon to early Tuesday morning. Central Vermont could get a quarter to a half inch. Soggy areas near the Canadian border might get a break and see little rain out of this. 

These amounts are subject to change depending on how forecasts get updated.

TUEDAY/WEDNESDAY/THURSDAY

This will sound to many like good new: The middle of the upcoming week looks mostly dry in Vermont.  Fingers crossed.

The skies should clear Tuesday for a relatively sunny afternoon. Wednesday looks sunny, too. Some clouds and showers might return later in the day. 

The air should be summery without being hot. Highs will be in the 75 to 83 degree range all three days, depending mostly on elevation. Lows will be in the comfortable 50s to low 60s. 

More showers and maybe thunderstorms look like they'll return late in the week and next weekend, but it's too soon to say whether the rain will be heavy and widespread, or more scattered and light.