Frigid Vermont Morning, Then Today's Clouds Will Try To Rain, But Fail. Fire Risk Continues

Late autumn in Vermont, as seen yesterday near Sheldon.
Blue skies, a harvested corn field, and stick season
nearly completely underway.

As dawn broke this morning, the atmosphere here in St. Albans took on a temporary pinkish hue. That was the sun breaking past the horizon and lighting up some high clouds that had moved in overnight.  

Those high clouds prevented temperatures from bottoming out as low as they could have. Still it was cold. Really cold.

Everybody in Vermont was down in the 20s early this morning. A few places in the Northeast Kingdom might have seen the upper teens, since they were the last place in the state to see the high clouds. 

The dry weather has prompted brush fire problems in Vermont, which seems to be an increasing issue in recent autumn in the Green Mountain State. 

On Tuesday, a vehicle burst into flames on a remote access road in Jericho, the fire spread into the woods, burning about an acre before firefighters stopped the blaze. 

It's been a busy fire year, at least in terms of Vermont acreage burned. So far in 2026, 296.5 acres have burned, the most since 2016. It's even more than the super dry autumn of 2024.

More fires are definitely possible in the coming days as little or no rain is coming. Now, the daily forecasts. 

TODAY

Today's clouds are now established in Vermont, and they'll lower and thicken a bit during the day. Usually that means rain, but nope, not for us. 

Actually, it probably will rain some from the high and mid-level clouds that cover the skies today. Chances are, weather radar will light up at times with what appears to be rain. 

But, remember, our air is still quite dry. In their forecast discussion this morning, the National Weather Service office in South Burlington says rainfall will evaporate by the time it gets down to 5,000 or 6,000 feet elevation, so it won't even hit the tallest peaks of the state.

Sometimes the clouds will be thinner at times, so a little sun might get through at times. The clouds will keep high temperatures in the low 50s.  

THURSDAY

The sunshine will return tomorrow. South to southwest winds will increase, boosting temperatures into the 60s. Maybe 70 in the warmer valleys. Since the air will be dry and the winds will be gusty, it'll be a real fire risk day.  So be especially careful with fire tomorrow. 

Another weak cold front will come through at night. There could be a few hundredths of an inch of rain north, probably little or nothing south. It won't make a difference in the dry weather. 

FRIDAY

The cold front will have gone through and somewhat gusty west winds. The air mass coming in won't be as cold as the one we had yesterday, despite the fact that another big, fat, high pressure system coming in.  Highs should reach the 50s. 

The sky won't turn crystal clear like recent cold fronts, so we'll call it partly cloudy.   It'll be another high fire risk day with the dry air and wind. 

SATURDAY

Back to the routine we've been in. A cold, subfreezing start, then sunshine, blue skies and highs in the low 50s. Beautiful, but too dry. At least the winds will be light, which means existing or new fires won't spread especially fast. 

SUNDAY AND BEYOND

Broken record weather again. A subfreezing dawn, a sunny day, a little milder, highs well into the 50s. 

Speaking of broken, the pattern of big fat, dry high pressure systems will finally begin to break. A little rain might come through Tuesday. One last big, fat high pressure might brush past us mid-week. 

It's beginning to look like a much wetter storm could, maybe hit us late next week. It's a long range forecast, so no guarantees that we'll actually get the rain. But at least there's hope. 

 

Back To The Constant Sunshine In Vermont After Monday Clouds

It actually rained a little in St. Albans, Vermont 
Monday. Just a little. But it's back to the dry weather 
through next weekend. Perhaps a few light rain
showers Thursday night north, but that's it. 

 If you are somehow sick of sunshine, you must have enjoyed yesterday, unless you are in southern Vermont, where the sun stayed out for at least a decent part of the day. 

Far northern Vermont actually had a little rain during the day. Enough to dampen the ground. 

Here in St. Albans, we actually measured 0.03 inches of rain. Burlington had a trace - nothing measurable - so officially, the dry spell there goes on. 

This morning, we were back to the same routine. As dawn broke, skies were clear, temperatures statewide were below freezing.  

This clear sky trend will continue for the next few days, at least generally. But signs are pointing toward this sunny stretch ending, eventually. 

TODAY

As expected, the sun will stay out all day under blue skies. It'll be chilly, with temperatures holding the 40s. A steady north breeze will make it feel even chillier. Super dry air will make things feel especially crisp. 

WEDNESDAY

We're sticking with the forecast for a frigid start to the day, with lows across Vermont still expected to be mostly between 18 to 25 degrees. But the sunshine will draw afternoon temperatures back into the comfortable 50s. 

It might not be completely sunny. A weak disturbance looks like it might thrown some high clouds our way. Still absolutely no rain, though. 

THURSDAY

Another chilly start, another sunny day. Southwest winds will bring temperatures up to the low and mid 60s. This is a day we might have to really watch the fire danger. The dry spell, and all the fallen leaves, have raised the fire danger. The winds could spread any fires that start, so be particular careful. 

The next cold front is scheduled to come through Thursday night. It'll be very similar to yesterday's. Maybe, just maybe it'll have a tiny bit more oomph to it. That means northern parts of the state could eg a few paltry hundredths of an inch of rain. Probably nothing further south. 

FRIDAY/WEEKEND

The next big, fat high pressure system comes in. As a sign that this pattern might eventually break down, this big, fat high pressure system might not be quite as big, quite as fat as the last few. Still, it will ensure more sunny skies.

It'll be a little cooler, but perhaps not as cool as today. We'll be back to subfreezing mornings and highs in the 50s. Same conditions on Saturday. Sunday could be a little warmer, with readings maybe in the upper 50s. 

NEXT WEEK

At first, we might be in a battle zone between a last big, fat high pressure from Canada and a storm coming up from the southwest. This would be our best chance of rain since mid-month. It won't be huge, and there's still a chance the high pressure could deflect the storm to our south. So stay tuned.

If that misses us, we have a shot at another rain late in the week.  

A Gorgeous Vermont Saturday, Isais Clouds Arrive Sunday; Some Rain Sunday Night/Monday

Dark clouds and late afternoon sun lights up trees with
yellow leaves Friday in St. Albans, Vermont. 

Today dawned clear and chilly in Vermont, heralding a classic fall day. As we've long expected, we'll enjoy a gorgeous Vermont landscape, with tourists crawling everywhere. 

Stay off the roads in tourist towns if you don't want to sit in traffic. If you want to leaf peep, take the back roads.

Under the sunshine, temperatures will rise only into the 50s, just a bit cooler than average. Frost will whiten lawns in much of the state by tomorrow morning. 

Some high clouds from former Hurricane Isaias were already making it into southern Vermont this morning. They'll head north, so we'll see some pretty high clouds in the blue sky today. 

Enjoy the day. Here's an update at what's coming up next.

SUNDAY

We'll see increasing cloudiness as the remnants of Hurricane Isaias approach. Isaias roared ashore near Dentin, Florida, with top winds of 105 mph. There's lots of damage in that area, as you'd imagine. 

By the time what was Isaias approaches the Northeast, it will just be a weak, wet storm. Rain will roll into Vermont Sunday night.

Since it still looks like it's going by to our south, we'll have a range of rainfall amounts. For now, continues to look like we'll have a half inch to an inch of rain south, a quarter to a half inch rain central and as little as a few hundredth of an inch near the Canadian border. 

The computer models are still disagreeing on exactly how much rain will fall. Some models give less rain, some a little more. We'll look forward to updates. But whatever happens, it won't be a huge storm. Certainly no flood risk.  Southern Vermont will get some beneficial rain, northern Vermont will get dampened a little, which is better than nothing.

MONDAY 

Many of us will have they day off, and it will be an OK day. A few lingering showers might drop a few raindrops early in the day.  Overall, Monday will stay mostly cloudy and mild, with highs in the 60s. 

NEXT WEEK

The weather pattern continues to favor dry weather, but tropical moisture sometimes benefits us. One cold front boosted by the remnants of a Pacific hurricane gave us some extra rain. Former Hurricane Isaias will give us at least a little rain tomorrow. 

And a new cold front will come in Tuesday. It won't be that impressive, but it will get a little moisture boost from Tropical Storm Rachel, which this weekend is causing tidal surges and inland flooding in southern California. 

Rainfall amounts again will probably only amount to a quarter inch or so, give or take. Not much, but more than we would receive without Rachel. 

Then, the rest of the week will be dry, with somewhat cooler than average weather. 

Scattered Showers In Vermont Could Contain Rumbles Of Thunder; Isaias Rain Getting More Iffy

Foliage isn't peak in the Champlain Valley yet, but
it's peak elsewhere in Vermont. Best day to enjoy
the views will be Saturday. 

A little after midnight here in St. Albans, Vermont, I heard a rumble of thunder. 

That proves how dynamic the weather system is that's going through. Unfortunately, the fronts and such with this system are also moisture-starved, so don't count on much rain. Which we need. 

The rest of the day is more of the same. Scattered showers, maybe another rumble of thunder. A couple places might even see a few tiny hailstones. 

But many of us will get no rain at all, or just sprinkles. The best chance of rain is in the northern mountains. It looks like everyone will get less than a tenth of an inch of rain, with maybe a little more than that in the Green Mountains north of Mount Mansfield. 

At least it will be pretty mild, with highs in the low to mid 60s.  

The atmosphere's fast flow from the west-northwest ensures that we'll have lots of changes in the weather, but no extreme changes.  Which means we won't get a lot of rain, either. But at least some showers are in the cards. 

Let's get into what's going on for the next few days, as we always do.

FRIDAY

You know how I just said that things will change pretty fast? Well here we go. Sure, we'll have scattered showers like we did today, mostly during the first half of the day.  But no thunder. And it will feel much colder than today. 

Again, some places, especially south, could get nothing, or sprinkles. The north will be cloudier with up to a tenth of an inch of rain in a couple spots. And, the summits of the northern Green Mountains will probably have a  few snow showers. 

Tis the season. It snowed a little atop Mount Mansfield Monday and Tuesday. They'll have a little more Friday morning. Start digging your skis and snowboards out. That season is coming. Not yet, but we're getting there. 

Anyway the broader valleys will have some sun mixed with the clouds, so we'll manage to get into the 50s for highs, with some 40s in the Northeast Kingdom.

Another frost and freeze is likely Friday night, including in the Champlain Valley.  

SATURDAY

We're in for another perfect peak foliage leaf peeping weekend day, seemingly custom ordered once again by the Vermont Department of Tourism and Marketing.

It'll be sunny and crisp, with highs in the 50s. Maybe near 60 in the lower Connecticut River valley. 

The gorgeous trees and the gorgeous weather might be too much of a good thing in some towns. Stowe and Woodstock, and a few other tourist towns will be absolute zoos.  And if you're looking or a hotel room anywhere in Vermont Saturday night, good luck!

SUNDAY

Another day with big changes. It'll be mostly cloudy, and much warmer. The high pressure system that we believe will give us a gorgeous Saturday will be off the coast, and milder air will be pushing north toward us. 

The remnants of Hurricane Isaias will approach us, too. The promise of needed rain will come with it. But remember that west-northwest flow I talked about? It looks like it will shunt the best moisture with Isaias off to our south. 

There's still questions about how far north Isaias's rain will come. Early guesses are there could be some sort of decent rains in southern Vermont, but lighter rain up north. The amount of rain we'll ultimately see is still in doubt. Stay tuned for updates. 

It'll be warm, with highs getting up to near 70 degrees.

MONDAY

Columbus Day will also be generally cloudy and warm, with highs up in the 60s. 

TUESDAY/WEDNESDAY

More big changes, as it looks like it will turn much colder, probably colder than tomorrow will be. We're on a downhill race toward winter. More showers will accompany the cold front. There could also be more mountain snow showers as temperatures drop.