Summer Of Floods Continue With Deaths, Serious Damage In Tennessee, Other Floods Pop Up Elsewhere

Flooding in Chattanooga, Tennessee this week. If you
look closely you can see a couple cars floating in
a whirlpool that formed on the highway. 

 The latest victims in our summer of flash floods has hit Tennessee, where four people died in the storms earlier this week. 

The storms that poured more than six inches of rain Tuesday on parts of Tennessee within hours. Chattanooga reported 6.4 inches of rain, its second wettest day on record. In Tuesday's storm, with 5.3 inches coming within three hours and 2.3 inches within an hour. 

A mother, father and child were killed in a Chattanooga suburb when saturated ground caused a large tree to fall on their car, the Associated Press reported. A fourth man died when he ran past firefighters and a barricade blocking a flooded road. 

The flooding came so fast that dozens of cars got stuck on Interstate 24 as water went from two inches deep to as much as four feet before anybody could get out of the way. Bystanders and rescue crews rescued up to 35 people from flooded vehicles there. 

A large whirlpool formed on the Interstate, with debris and even a couple cars floating and rotating in a circle where the water was trying to drain. 

The whole region was swamped by both water and emergency calls.

Per AP:

"There were so many calls for help that 911 calls were 'holding in every minute of every hour for about three hours straight,' with more than 940 calls between 6 p.m. and midnight, said Barbara Loveless, director of operations for Hamilton County 911. "

Elsewhere, flash flooding damaged homes and businesses, and blocked roads in Scranton and Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania on Wednesday. Several cars were trapped, and a local theater group's headquarters suffered flood damage to costumes, props, carpets and floors. 

 The flood death in Tennessee this week adds to an especially tragic year for floods in the United States. In addition to the 135 deaths in the July 4 Texas flood, at least a couple dozen other deaths have occurred in U.S. floods so far this year. Complete figures on flood deaths are not yet available for this year. 

And it's not over. Flash floods are anticipated today, tomorrow and Sunday in parts of Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa. That's bad news in particular for Wisconsin, as Milwaukee just had a serious flash flood last weekend. 

Video:

Scenes from the Chattanooga flood, including inundated roads and homes. Click on this link to view, or if you see the image below, click on that. 

 

 

 

Did Factory Supervisors Cause Deaths Of Workers In Tennessee Helene Flood?

Managers at an Impact Plastics plant in Erwin, Tennessee
allegedly did not let employees leave as Hurricane Helene
floodwaters rose around them. This resulted in six deaths.

Another huge disaster, another case in which a major employer did not protect their workers from danger as they should have. 

At the Impact Plastics factory in Erwin, a small town in eastern Tennessee, employees kept working last Friday as waters in the nearby Nolichucky River rose.

Erwin is in the western foothills of the Appalachians, very close to the North Carolina border and right next to the tall mountains that collected two to three feet of rain from Hurricane Helene and a torrential rainstorm that immediately preceded the tropical system. 

They kept working into the power went out and water swirled into the factory's parking lot. Ultimately 11 factory workers and a contractor were swept away as they tried to escape and only five of them were rescued. The others are dead or presumed dead. Not all the bodies have been found. 

There's plenty of credible stories emerging there that plant managers wouldn't let people flee the rising flood waters until it was far too late. 

Here's part of a report in the Knoxville News Sentinel:

"Jacob Ingram has worked at Impact Plastics for near nearly eight months as a mold changer. It's a role, he said, that keeps him on his feet for the entire first shift.

As the waters rose outside, managers wouldn't let employees leave, he said. Instead, managers told people to move their cars away from the rising water. Ingram moved his two separate times because the water wouldn't stop rising. 

'They should've evacuated when we got the flash flood warnings, and when they saw the parking lot,' Ingram told Knox News. 'When we moved our card we should've evacuated then...we asked them if we should evacuate and they told us not yet, it wasn't bad enough. 

'And by the time it was bad enough, it was too late unless you had a four-wheel drive.'"

Ingram went on to tell the paper that he and 10 others fought their way through waist deep water when a semitruck driver called them over and helped them get on an open-bed truck, which was packed full of large flexible gas pipes.

A piece of debris smacked into the truck, knocking a woman off and sweeping her away. Then another piece of debris did exactly the same thing. Now two women were gone. 

Then the truck was hit by a much larger piece of debris, overturning the entire vehicle. Ingram thought to grab onto the plastic gas pipes, because he had seen some other pieces of the material floating downstream rather than sinking. 

Ingram and four other employees floated a half mile downstream until they hit a large pile of debris they could hang on to. An hour after that, a Tennessee National Guard helicopter plucked them from the pile to save them.  

We know one of the women who fell off the truck died. The body of Bertha Mendoza, 56, was found on September 29. Others from the truck are missing. 

Ingram managed to post some harrowing videos on Facebook that make it clear at least to me that employees of Impact Plastics should have been evacuated far sooner. 

Impact Plastics officials are circling the wagons on these damning accounts. As the Associated Press reports:

"Impact Plastics said in a statement Monday that it 'continued monitor weather conditions' Friday and that managers dismissed employees 'when water began to cover the parking lot and the adjacent service road, and the plant lost power.'"

But in a separate interview, Ingram told WVLT: "I actually asked one of the higher ups (if we should leave) and they told me, 'No, not yet.'. They had to ask someone before we was able to leave. Even though it was already above the doors of the cars."

 Ingram told WVLT that employees were made to stay on site for 15 to 20 minutes after the power went out. 

CBS News reported another employee, Robert Jarvis, gave exactly the same account as Ingram.  Jarvis also asked this question during an interview with television station WBIR: "Why would you make us stay there? Why would  you keep us there if you knew it was going to be bad, if you were monitoring it? Why were we still there?"

Well, my cynical but possibly accurate answer is some mucky muck with Impact Plastics somewhere was loathe to let their commodity, I mean human beings, get out of harms way. That is until the power failed, at which point the factory could no longer make revenue. By then, of course, it was too late for many of the employees to flee.  

Or, if I'm more charitable, the culture at Impact Plastics is that supervisors were tyrants, and there's not a lot of jobs in eastern Tennessee so employees were fearful of getting fired for, you know, trying to save their own lives. 

Notice how carefully Impact Plastics statements are worded. The statement said that while most employees left immediately, some remained on or near the premises. Yeah, because by then they were trapped by the raging floodwaters. 

The owner of a manufacturing plant near Impact Plastics had sent his employees home before they could become endangered and tried to drive a piece of heavy equipment to Impact Plastics in a rescue attempt. 

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is now looking into the allegations against Impact Plastics at the direction of a local prosecutor. 

EMPLOYEE DISASTER SAFETY OFTEN IGNORED

I admit part of all this might be Monday morning quarterbacking. I'm sure nobody in Erwin could have imagined things would get that bad that fast.  This is why in the same town, close to 60 people ended up trapped on the roof of a small local hospital as rapids raced around and through the building. 

Still, it fits a pattern in which too often, keeping employees safe during dangerous weather is just a drag on profits, sure to make shareholders unhappy. What's a few dead employees it allows you to buy a second yacht, right?

I've covered other examples like what allegedly happened at Impact Plastics. 

After a deadly tornado outbreak in December, 2021, employees of a Mayfield, Kentucky candle factory hit by a powerful tornado that night said managers would not let them leave to seek safer shelter ahead of the approaching twister. Nine people who were in the factory died in the storm. 

During that same, December, 2021 tornado outbreak, six people died in an Amazon distribution center in Illinois when a tornado hit. Employees there said they were not given the opportunity to seek safer shelter when tornado warnings blared.

In that same tornado, an Amazon driver said she was told by supervisors to keep driving instead of taking shelter despite the fact a tornado warning was in effect.

Also, legislators in Texas and Florida prevented municipalities from enacting ordinances that would have mandated water and rest breaks for outdoor workers toiling in those states' excessive summer heat. 

Which proves that lawmakers and Florida and Texas, and too many corporations, regard especially low wage workers that to them, it's no big deal if a worker dies because of dangerous weather. To them, these workers are not human beings. Just machines to replace when they are "defective" and break down in rough weather conditions. 

I really hope those responsible for the deaths at Impact Plastics are held accountable. 

Walmart In Tennessee Barred People Fleeing Tornado

This Walmart in Columbia, Tennessee is accused of 
refusing to allow people inside to escape a 
nearby powerful tornado,. 

 Cody Frizzell and his fiance were driving around Columbia, Tennessee on May 8 when his mother called.  

There was a tornado warning, the mom said. You need to take shelter. 

Frizzell drove to a nearby Walmart, figuring they can run into the store and seek shelter in a protected place, such as a restroom without windows.

Then this happened, says television station WVLT:

"Frizzell said he and his fiance approached the store at 2200 Brookmeade Drive in Columbia where employees in blue Walmart vests were standing.

'One of the people stopped (his fiance) and said 'no you can't come in. There's a tornado warning. We're not letting anyone in.' Frizzell said. 'I said, 'Where are we supposed to go?' And she said, 'I don't care but you can't stay here.'"

Frizzell said other people who tried to enter Walmart were barred, too. A nearby store allowed Frizzell and the others to take shelter there. The tornado ultimately missed the shopping plaza where Walmart and the other store are located.

That tornado was dangerous. It was an EF-3 with winds of 140 mph. It killed one person, injured 4 and destroyed a number of homes and businesses. 

A Walmart isn't a great place to shelter from a tornado. Buildings with large free standing roofs and what are usually cinderblock walls can collapse fairly easily in a strong tornado. Still, if you shelter in, say, a windowless restroom in Walmart, that's much safer than being out in a vehicle.

Nobody at the Columbia, Tennessee Walmart would talk to the media, but the WVLT reached out to Walmart corporate who responded with a statement:

"The safety of our customers during weather events like what occurred recently in Columbia, TN is a priority. During the storm customers inside our store as well as other individuals who requested to enter were allowed to shelter in place. While we can't confirm who this individual spoke with, we do allow people to shelter in place inside our stores."

If that's Walmart's overall policy, good. But it needs to communicated pretty clearly to all its individual store. 

I suspect Walmart corporate did investigate or is investigating what happened at the Columbia Walmart, but I think someone there is lying or covering up for coworkers.

My conspiracy theory is Frizzell and others weren't allowed in because the Walmart employee somehow  thought that if anybody who entered who was ultimately injured would sue Walmart. They were potential liabilities.

But that thinking, if it happened, is absolutely appalling.  Did someone at the Columbia, Tennessee Walmart decide it was better that to have somebody die in a tornado instead of potentially saving their life over liability?

I'm sure glad the tornado missed that retail complex.  

 

Proof That You Can't Bomb A Tornado Out Of Existence

The moment last Saturday when a Tennessee tornado 
struck an electrical substation, causing a massive 
explosion. The explosion did not really disrupt the
tornado circulation, and it went on to cause more damage

 Full disclosure: I have mixed emotions watching tornado videos. 

On the one hand, a as a weather geek, those damn things are so fascinating. Each one is so different. The violence, and yes, sometimes the beauty is something to behold.  

On the other hand, tornadoes obviously kill people. So there's a sense of guilt when watching a tornado video, knowing the storm ended the lives of innocent people caught in the path of these twisters.

That disclaimer aside, one of the most interesting tornado videos I've seen in ages was from this past Saturday in Tennessee.

One of the strongest tornadoes - one that killed three people - scored a direct hit on a Nashville Electric Service substation.  Video of the event is at the bottom of this post. 

When it hit the substation, it caused an explosion that caused a big orange fireball to erupt inside the tornado. Smoke from the explosion appears to get sucked into the tornado, but at the same time, you lose sight of the tornado's funnel.

Did the explosion weaken or even at least temporarily short-circuit the tornado? Unfortunately, the answer is no. 

After hitting the substation, the tornado continued on with its path of destruction.  The fact that the funnel disappeared doesn't mean the twister went away, too. 

As the Washington Post explains, tornadoes can be invisible.

"The reason we can see a tornado is due to moisture, which produces a 'condensation funnel.' Water vapor the gas form of water is invisible - until it condenses and forms a cloud droplet. That happens when the tornado's low pressure expands and cools the air (and the water in it) to the point of condensation - described by meteorologists as the 'dew point.'"

Many tornadoes, especially in the drier Plains states, don't have a condensation funnel. Or at least don't have one that reaches the ground. The air is dry enough so the tornado doesn't form that condensation funnel, which is basically a cloud. 

Even though the visible funnel isn't touching the ground, the tornado will still damage or destroy any  house or other building that it encounters. 

In Tennessee, the air was wet enough so that when the tornado formed, the condensation funnel became visible. Then the explosion at the Nashville Electric Service substation hit.  The flames from the explosion heated the air within the tornado, making the temperatures rise above the that dew point. 

That made the condensation funnel disappear.  We'll let the Washington Post explain the next step:

"And for a moment, viral video captures footage of the tornado's vortex appearing to disappears the fireball explodes. But it doesn't, in reality.

Tornadoes themselves are technically, invisible. The definition of a tornado is just a 'rapidly rotating column of air extending vertically from the surface to the base of a cumuliform cloud,' according to the American Meteorological Society. And you can't see air."

The heat released by the fireball made that condensation funnel go poof. You couldn't see it anymore. But the tornado continued to spin violently. 

Sure, the explosion might have briefly disrupted the very bottom of the tornado circulation. If there was a house immediately next in line from the electrical substation, it might not have suffered as much damage as it would have had there been no explosion. 

But the overall tornado circulation remained intact, and the very bottom of it quickly regained its footing, do the twister continued on with its path of destruction. 

You would need a huge explosion to disrupt a tornado. You'd basically have to blow up the entire parent thunderstorm. And the heat released by a massive explosion could make the updrafts in the thunderstorm even more intense, worsening a tornado or other dangerous weather associated with the storm. 

The tornado gods and goddesses at the National Severe Storms Laboratory answer the "Can we blow up a tornado" question for us: 

"No one has tried to disrupt the the tornado because the methods to do so could likely cause even more damage than the tornado. Detonating a nuclear bomb, for example, to disrupt a tornado would be even more deadly and destructive than the tornado itself. Lesser tactics (like deploying huge piles of dry ice or smaller conventional weaponry) would be too hard to get into the right place fast enough, and would likely not have enough impact to affect the tornado much anyway."

So we're stuck with the only method of surviving a tornado: Getting out of its way. That means fleeing to a storm shelter or basement. Or, failing that, getting into an interior room without any windows, putting on a bicycle or motorcycle helmet, perhaps surrounding yourself with mattresses and hoping for the best. 

And don't even get me started on the idea of blowing up hurricanes out of existence. Even a weak tropical storms would be harder to murder than a supercell thunderstorm with a tornado.

In 2019, during his presidential administration, Donald Trump, while being briefed by a meteorological expert,  ridiculously said he wanted to blow up hurricanes to end them. 

According to Axios, the person giving the brief. politely said something to the effect of, "Sir, we'll look into that. Which is the exact equivalent of my husband telling me "Yes, dear." when I say something completely off the rails, which I tend to do.

The bottom line is, we have enough trouble waging war against our geopolitical enemies. Weather can be even a more formidable opponent.

Next: Video of the tornado and explosion:

In the video below, taken from a traffic cam,  you see power flashes for the first 11 or so seconds of the tornado footage. Those are power lines and transformers being destroyed by the twister. Then you see the big explosion.  After the explosion ends, you can see the tornado continuing to move on, smoke from the explosion entrained in its circulation. 

Judging by the power flashes of more power lines and transformers being destroyed the tornado after the explosion, you can tell it really lost none of its power.

To watch the video, click on this link, or if you see the image below, click on that. 

 

 

Tornado Outbreak Kills At Least Six, Widespread Destruction In And Around Tennessee

Tornado damage in Tennessee from News Channel 5

The same storm system that is menacing the eastern United States including Vermont with heavy rain, snow and wind unleashed deadly tornadoes in the Mid-South Saturday. 

The tornadoes killed at least six people and injured dozens. 

The twisters caused widespread destruction, with the worst of it being in Clarksville, Tennessee and in the northern reaches of Nashville. Saturday's tornado came just three years after an even worse tornado trashed much of the northern side of the city. 

There were at least 25 tornado reports Saturday, and an additional three so far today in an area near where Alabama, Georgia and Florida meet. 

This storm is forecast to possibly spin off more tornadoes and severe weather from Florida to Virginia this afternoon and evening.  As of 1 p.m. today, areas near Raleigh, North Carolina were under a tornado warning. 

Video from Tennessee Saturday shows one tornado creating power flashes as it moved across the landscape, probably created from electrical transformers it was destroying. Then the tornado sets off a large explosion and fireball, which were then ingested into the swirling mess.

Tornadoes often occur in the South during the winter. In fact, today is the second anniversary of a much more serious tornado outbreak, which killed 88 people, and all but destroyed the city of Mayfield, Kentucky. 

An El Nino is ongoing. During winters with an El Nino, tornadoes, severe weather and flooding become more likely across the South.

Which means Saturday's tornadoes might be the opening salvo in what could be a long, terrible winter from Texas to the Carolinas. 

UPDATE: Increasing Fears Of South Severe Weather

Model simulation of storms this afternoon shows discrete
super cells in Mississippi and possible tornadic circulations
along the main line further west, which spells lots 
of potential trouble. 

UPDATE, 5:30 P.M.

So far, so good.  Not a lot of tornado activity had developed since early afternoon.

Trend lines earlier this afternoon seemed to point toward a really bad afternoon.  So far, super cells ahead of the main line of convection have failed to really get their act together.

So the severe activity has settled down, at least for now.  It's not turning into another December 10.

Things could still develop and turn bad overnight, but so far, the trends are sort of friendly. There will be more severe thunderstorms and possibly tornadoes But all hell is NOT breaking loose. Let's hope that continues:

PREVIOUS DISCUSSION: Conditions over the South, especially in Kentucky, Tennessee and Mississippi, were getting more and more worrying as of early afternoon New Year's Day.  

Tornado warnings were firing over Kentucky, the state hit so hard on December 10 with twisters.  One of the warnings went up for Bowling Green, which was it hard on December 10. I don't have any confirmation of whether anything touched down as of this writing. 

The Kentucky tornadoes were along a squall line.  That type of tornado can obviously be dangerous.  This can be even worse if thunderstorms along the line are not one solid wall, but a series of discreet storms, which at least for now seems to be the case.

Along that line as of 1:45 p.m EST, one particularly worrisome tornado warning was southwest of Nashville, heading rapidly toward that city's southern suburbs. We'll see if that develops into anything. Hope not!  

At least one town in Kentucky has already received damage that seems to be consistent with a tornado.

Even worse, perhaps, are tornadoes that form in super cells ahead of the main squall line. There was some question this morning as to whether that would happen or not. Unfortunately, short term computer models and trends on radar indicate those super cells ahead of the main batch of storms want to form.  These "out in front" storms have some potential to create strong tornadoes.

An extreme version of that is what happened back on December 10.

Things could get even more dangerous in northern Alabama and northwest Georgia later. That's because the severe weather won't get there until after dark.  It's harder to see tornadoes coming at you after dark, and people late at night would more likely be sleeping and not hear warnings.

Stay tuned on this developing worrying situation. 

Horrific Flash Flood In Tennessee; Vermont Dodges Henri's Bullet

Destruction from extreme flash flooding in central

Tennessee this past weekend. Up to 17 inches

of rain fell in a few hours, sending a tsunami-like

flash flood that killed at least 22 people. 

 While all eyes have been on Tropical Storm Henri over the weekend, a incredible, and terribly tragic  flood just struck middle Tennessee.

On the western side of the upper level low pressure system that tugged Henri toward New England, an incredibly prolific training thunderstorm focused on an area west of Nashville.  

Training thunderstorms, as you might remember, are basically a series of thunderstorms that go over the same path, much like boxcars moving along railroad tracks.

This type of setup often causes scary flash floods, but this one went above and beyond, with tragic results.  At least 22 people died in the flash flood in and near Waverly, Tennessee and many more are missing. 

Up to 17 inches of rain fell in less than 24 hours, shattering Tennessee's record for 24 hour rainfall by at least three inches.

What was described as a tsunami caused by the rain roared into Waverly, sweeping away cars, houses, buildings and people. It came so fast and so hard that nothing could be done to rescue people caught in the torrents.i'm reading terrible story after terrible story about this flood.  Twin babies were killed when they were swept from their father's arms. 

A man names Wayne Spears, a foreman at Loretta Lynn's ranch, went out to the barn to check on the animals when the flash flood roared in, sweeping him away to his death. 

This type of mega-flash flood is getting more common as climate change continues. The warmer air can hold more moisture than before, so under the right circumstances, this moisture can be wrung out in greater quantities than before.

This really was a sneaker attack, in a way.  Everybody, including me, was all Henri, Henri, Henri, during the weekend, when sadly, the real awful death and destruction was in Tennessee.

Waverly wasn't the only place to have such record rainfall this weekend.  This wasn't nearly as dramatic, but New York City had its wettest hour on record Saturday night when just under two inches of rain fell within 60 minutes.

HENRI UPDATE

That was part of a storm total of 4.45 inches Saturday night. So far, Central Park has gotten 7.3 inches of rain from Tropical Storm Henri, and it was still coming down as of early this morning.   

The cloud pattern over the Northeast for what was Tropical

Storm Henri makes for a pretty pattern in this 

satellite photo. From the ground, Henri's clouds have

been photogenic from the ground, too. Vermont dodged

a bullet with Henri, with little if any flooding so far

Most of Henri's flooding was a west and a little south of where it had been anticipated a few days ago.

 The Catskills, the New York City metro area, the northern half of New Jersey and the northeastern corner of Pennsylvania got the worst of it.   Most of this area got four to nine inches of rain, and it was still coming down as of early this morning. 

The remains of Henri having made it west to the Catskills, will stagger back to the east today, prompting more flood warnings in places like Connecticut and the lower Hudson Valley of New York.

Vermont really dodged a bullet with this one.  There was potential for some serious flooding in the far southern part of the state, but that did not happen.  There is still a flood watch in the southeast corner of Vermont, but I don't think the trouble will be widespread.

Flood watches that had extended into central Vermont have been lifted, as no flooding is anticipated now. Though some showers and thunderstorms might develop as a result of Henri in southern Vermont, most of them will not be enough to cause flooding, except maybe in Windham County.

There's a very low chance of showers and thunderstorms in northern Vermont. The only effects we've had from Henri so far is beautiful skies and incredibly clean air. 

We've had a lot of haze and even smoke from wildfires out west all summer so the deep blue skies in northern Vermont yesterday and this morning were a treat.  As was the total lack of haze. The Green Mountains finally looked, well, green, and not blurry and slate blue from the haze in the air.

The air we are enjoying now has come all the way from the currently wildfire-free tropics, so it's pretty pristine.  Basically we in  Vermont are breathing air that was in Barbados or some place like that a week ago.

Video from Tennessee.  Mobile uses click on the hyperlink, others, click on the video itself for a better view.

House being swept away in Tennessee:

Serious Flooding/Storms Continue In South. Here In Vermont, Active, Windy, Weather Whiplash

Severe flooding in Nashville and much of the rest of 
Tennessee as a rough spring weather pattern continues.

Dangerous weather struck parts of the nation again with tornadoes, severe flooding high winds and more as an active spring weather pattern continues to cause trouble for many of us. 

As if the United States had enough problems without continued bad weather. 

Here in Vermont, Friday's tornado notwithstanding, we don't have much super scary weather coming, but we can expect a lot of wind, some whiplash back and forth between seasons and possible a nasty April Fool's Day surprise. 

I'll get to more of the Green Mountain State outlook in a bit, but let's look at the ongoing weather issues, especially in the South. 

SOUTH HIT AGAIN

The storms yesterday and last night unleashed at least 16 tornadoes from Texas to Tennessee and unleashed the worst flooding around Nashville since the epic, catastrophic floods of May, 2010.

Nashville recorded seven inches of rain in 24 hours, flooding swaths of the city.  Emergency responders spend last night pulling dozens of people from flooded cars, homes and apartment buildings. At least one death has already been reported.

Video from Live Storms Media showed fast moving water in a Nashville area commercial area, including a Walmart that appeared to be badly flooded. 

The serious flooding extended across most of Tennessee and parts of eastern Kentucky, which was hit hard by flooding last month. 

The storms are forecast to move into the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic States today, bringing with them the risk of some tornadoes, and likely lots of severe thunderstorms with strong, damaging straight line winds. 

Meanwhile, a huge area from Washington State through the northern Rockies into the Dakotas and Nebraska are anticipating strong winds today.  Gusts will be in the 60 to 70 mph range.

Additionally, most of these areas are in drought.  Today's winds are dry and warm, so wildfires are a concern, especially in Montana and the Dakotas.

The national weather pattern looks like it will calm down somewhat after Thursday's storm departs New England, which will be a welcome break.

VERMONT IMPACTS

Today will be a pretty good stay inside kind of day as gusty winds and frequent rain showers breeze through.

This storm isn't super strong, but it's going to bring a fair amount of wind to the region, something we've had to get used to in recent week.  Winds have gusted past 30 mph in Burlington on 14 days so far this month, and it looks like we'll get a couple more.  

It's been so warm around my house in St. Albans, Vermont
that some of the daffodils are forming flower buds, the
earliest in the season I've ever seen them do that. Hope
they survive a brutal blast of winter at the end of the week!

South winds will channel up the Champlain Valley today, with gusts over 30 mph.  Downslope winds along the western slopes of the Green Mountains will gust over 40 mph. Winds are even stronger aloft, but a temperature inversion will help keep the strongest winds from reaching the surface. 

So despite somewhat above normal temperatures today, it will feel raw and stormy. The heaviest rain will probably come through along and just ahead of a cold front late this afternoon and evening.

As the departing storm strengthens over southeast Canada, northwest winds will really pick up, especially later tonight and the first half of Monday.  Wind advisories are up for much of Vermont.  In eastern Vermont, winds flowing down the slopes of the Green Mountains will pick up momentum, so gusts will be strongest there - up to 55 mph.

Expect a few issues with power lines and tree limbs down.

Colder air coming will change rain showers to snow showers overnight, and we could get a dusting here and there. Monday will be cold and blustery, with temperatures staying at or below 40 degrees.

On Tuesday and Wednesday - here goes the whiplash again - we'll abruptly turn warm again. Tuesday will be a spring beauty with sunshine and temperatures sneaking above 60 degrees again.

Wednesday will be just as warm, but showers will start to move in. 

Which introduces us to a wild card. 

A cold front will come through later Wednesday or Wednesday night, and a storm is expected to develop along the New England coast. 

Much colder air will be rushing in.  Will that cold air rush in fast enough to change the rain to snow before the air mass dries up? Or, will that coastal low bring deep moisture back inland, giving Vermont a surprise snowstorm on April Fool's Day. 

Right now, computer models seem to be all over the place between "No Big Deal" to "A Huge Dump of Snow.

What's somewhat more certain is we're likely going to see another quick shot of winter weather Friday, kind of like those brief shots we've seen all month during an otherwise warm March. And yes, we can expect another blast of strong winds from this one. 

Friday's high temperatures could end up staying entirely below freezing.  Very chilly for early April!