Nor'easter Is Pummeling East Coast Today, Vermont To Have Varying Experiences With The Storm

The nor'easter was centered off the Virginia coast as of
around 8 a.m this morning. It's at the center of that
swirl of clouds. The thick clouds well to the 
north and west of the storm center signified the
roughest weather at the time, with wind and 
heavy rain through far southern New England 
Long Island and down into New Jersey and
Delaware, Vermont will remain on the edge of storm

The nor'easter we've been watching all week is now in full force along the East Coast from Virginia northward. 

It's already a mess along the Northeast coast. 

Along the Delaware and New Jersey shores, major coastal flooding was expected at this morning's high tide. When they start throwing around the words "major flooding", you know there's going to be damage.

Even before this  morning's high tides, there was widespread flooding along coastal streets in New Jersey, and some homes had been flooded.

The timing of this nor'easter is bad. The full harvest moon is today, and that is causing  higher tides, even without a big storm make things exponentially worse. 

In southeastern Massachusetts, mainly Cape Cod and the islands, winds have already been pretty ferocious. Gusts have reached 64 degrees on Nantucket, 62 mph on Martha's Vineyard and 59 mph in Hyannis. 

The Associated Press was reporting 60,000 power outages already, and that number will go up as the storm continues to rake the Northeast. 

VERMONT EFFECTS

Here in Vermont, parts of the state are already feeling the fringe effects of the nor'easter this morning. The Green Mountain State looks to stay largely on the fringes throughout the event. But the experience will be sharply different depending on where you are in the state. 

If I were completely selfish, I'd wish this storm was moving about 50 to 100 miles further north than expected. That would have made the storm worse in southern New England, but would have also given all of Vermont a very nice, needed soaking of rain. 

Instead, rain bands are, and will rotate north and westward into Vermont today and tomorrow. Those rain bands will peter out as they head deeper into the state. Dry air connected to strong high pressure to our north and west will eat up the moisture, probably leaving the northwestern part of the state with mostly just occasional sprinkles. 

Let's get into the daily details

Today

As of 8 a.m this morning the first rain band from the nor'easter had already made it into southeast Vermont. The rain should become a little more steady and heavier this afternoon down that way. Under the clouds and rain, temperatures will probably hold hear 60 degrees

The further north and west you go, the drier it will become. Northwestern Vermont should actually have a decent day. It'll be cloudy, with maybe some breaks of sun and mild, with highs up in the 70 to 73 degree range. 

In between those two extremes, central Vermont will have a mediocre weather day with clouds, perhaps a very light shower and temperatures well into the 60s. 

Tonight/Sunday

This period will contain  the bulk of the storm in southern Vermont. Tonight and tomorrow down there will be decidedly rainy and in some places windy. In southeastern Vermont, some of the rain bands could bring some briefly heavy rains. 

As those rain bands work north and west, they'll weaken just as they will today. But they will have a little more oomph. That means central Vermont will have a somewhat showery, cool day, though rainfall amounts won't be huge. Maybe a few hundredth of an inch of rain. Maybe 0.1 to 0.2 inches in the wetter spots. 

Northwest Vermont is in for an OK day again. It will be cloudy and a little cooler than today. (upper 60s). There's a chance of a few sprinkles in the afternoon and evening, but certainly nothing to really wet things down. 

Winds will pick up too. In most of the state, it will just be a north to northeasterly breeze but nothing weird.  However, along the western slopes of the southern and maybe central Green Mountains, it could get quite gusty. 

Some of those gusts could be between 40 and 50 mph.  I don't see any wind advisories for this area yet, but the National Weather Service might issue such an alert later today. 

Monday

Northern and probably central Vermont will have the wettest period from this nor'easter, but that isn't saying much. By then, the nor'easter would have greatly weakened and started moving toward the northeast, through New England. 

Showers should fall statewide, but the rain won't amount to much north. Maybe a quarter inch in many places, but maybe a tenth of an inch or less far northwest. Because of the showers, it will be a little cooler with highs in the 58 to 65 degree range. 

Total rainfall from the nor'easter is now forecast to come up to as much as two inches in the far southern Green Mountains. Most of the southeastern quarter of the state can expect maybe an inch. Central Vermont is due for between a quarter and a half inch, with locally higher amounts.   

The far northwest can expect a quarter inch or less, with some areas getting only a tenth of an inch or less.

Bottom line: Beneficial rains in the southeast, but mostly a whiff for the rest of Vermont

CAVEATS

Nor'easters are notoriously tricky. Especially slow moving ones like this character.  Some areas of the state might receive more or less rain than forecast. I'm hoping for a miracle that would bring heavier rain to northern Vermont, but so far it doesn't seem to be in the cards. Doesn't mean it can't happen. 

The storm will continue to batter the northeastern coast today and at least part of tomorrow before weakening. So you'll see dramatic videos of waves and coastal floods on the news. In Vermont, it'll just be another so-so autumn weekend.