Winter Storm Battering Flood Ravaged Kentucky As Nation's Intense Winter Weather Continues.

 Kentucky just can't catch a break.

Flooding with snow on the ground in
Kentucky on Sunday. A winter storm
is dumping several inches of
additional snow on the flood-
ravaged state this morning. 

The death toll from this past weekend's flooding in the state has risen to 14. An additional three people died from the flooding in adjacent West Virginia. 

The flooding hit all of Kentucky, from near the Mississippi River in the west to the Appalachians in the east.

The flooding prompted something like 1,000 water rescues, and at least 300 roads were shut down by the high water.  

The flash flooding from the weekend is over, but some rivers haven't crested quite yet. Moderate and sometimes major flooding was still going on along at least three Kentucky rivers as of early Tuesday morning. 

Now, a winter storm is about to hit Kentucky, with two to six inches of snow falling on the flood zones tonight and Wednesday. Temperatures are expected to fall into the single numbers Wednesday and Thursday nights

This weather misery comes as Kentucky has endured other outsized disasters in recent years. 

In December, 2021, a swarm of tornadoes in Kentucky killed more than 80 people and left trails of destruction behind. 

An enormous Kentucky flash flood in July 2022, left 45 people dead and left widespread destruction. 

Now this.  

It's hard enough to start digging out from a flood in warm weather. Imagine trying to do it while temperatures are well below zero and there's a few inches of snow on the ground. The mud freezes into a hard concrete, so you can't shovel it away. Wet items that need to be removed from wrecked buildings are frozen together. 

People trying to deal with all the wet, destroyed property are especially prone to hypothermia and frostbite. 

It's really a tough week in Kentucky,

The rough late season winter blast isn't just affecting Kentucky. Winter storm warnings extend to the Carolina and Virginia coastlines, where five to nine inches of snow is forecast.

Extreme cold warnings and advisories extend from Montana and North Dakota all the way down to the Gulf Coast.

Minot, North Dakota was enjoying a comparatively mild morning today as it got down to 23 below.  It was 33 below there Tuesday morning and 30 below Monday.  Those are actual temperatures, not wind chill. 

The frigid temperatures and snowstorms are forecast to at least temporarily relax over the next few days, giving some places, mostly areas west of the Mississippi River an early taste of spring next week.

VERMONT EFFECTS

For once, a storm is going to miss us completely. First time that's happened all month\

The winter storm that's been hitting from the Midwest to North Carolina and Virginia is going to eventually evolve into a pretty substantial nor'easter. But it will be far, far off the coast, passing about a couple hundred miles southeast of Cape Cod.

Instead, it'll stay very cold today and to extent tomorrow before a slow warming trend arrives. A weak disturbance could put down a dusting to two inches of snow Thursday, but nothing big for a change. 

We will still probably get into a brief warm-ish spell Sunday through to the middle of next week, where valleys should get above freezing daily, maybe even 40 degrees in the banana belt towns. 

But this does not herald spring.  The overall trend is for colder than average weather well into March, at least as it looks now. 

Deadly Storm Causes Catastrophic Floods, Tornadoes, Winds, Widespread Damage

Flooding in Kentucky killed at least eight people over the
weekend as an intense winter storm spread havoc to
most places in the central and eastern U.S. 

 The storm affecting us in Vermont also as expected caused deadly havoc in other parts of the nation as moves coast to coast. 

At least eight deaths have been reported in Kentucky due to the flooding. The death toll could rise as flooding is still ongoing as of this afternoon. 

All of Kentucky was under a flood warning this morning, as was much of West Virginia and parts of Ohio, Indiana and Tennessee.

To add insult to injury. snow fell in much of Kentucky Sunday as flood waters continued to swirl. Louisville suffered widespread flooding Saturday. Sunday morning, snow swept into the city, helping to cause on a highway in the city. 

On Sunday, a levee along the Obion River failed near the town of Rives, rapidly flooding the town and forcing hasty water rescues. 

Mudslides were reported in eastern Kentucky, and a rockslide temporarily shut down Interstate 69 in Dawson Springs, Kentucky. 

Damaging floods also extended into western Virginia. 

 Also, depending on where you were in West Virginia, you might be under a flood warning, a blizzard warning or possibly both. 

Further south, tornadoes and severe weather were the issue. 

Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport reported a gust to 69 mph during the early morning storms.   At least one death was reported in Atlanta where a tree fell on a house. 

Two confirmed tornadoes were reported near Monticello, Georgia, southeast of Atlanta. 

A remarkably huge area is under high wind warnings or wind advisories. They extended this morning from Mississippi and Florida all the way through New England. 

As of late afternoon, at least 310,000 power outages were reported, mostly in Virginia, Georgia, Alabama and West Virginia 

Meanwhile, intense cold was plunging southward through the Plains. 

Parts of North Dakota were expecting three consecutive nights in the minus 30s, with wind chills in the 50s below zero. 

Frigid temperatures are plunging south into Texas. Extreme cold weather watches for expected wind chills below zero are in effect as far south as central Texas. 

In the snowy, icy Northeast, a blizzard warning was in effect for the mountains of south central Pennsylvania where heavy snow was forecast to combine with winds up to 65 mph. A blizzard warning was also up in the northwest corner of New York around Massena. 

I'll have an update on the storm in Vermont very late this afternoon or early evening. 

Intense Cold; Harsh Winter Storms Continue Much Of U.S.; Vermont Stays On Fringes

Not in the mood for a nice al fresco breakfast out on the
deck this morning, St. Albans, Vermont. Too snowy,
chilly for outdoor dining, and it will stay like this for awhile.

 Some pretty nasty winter weather - some of the roughest in  years in some parts of the nation are ongoing. If anything, things are about to get worse.  

Think deep freeze, lots of ice in places, and of course, snow. 

Meanwhile, here in Vermont, we'll see some effects of this, but not to the extreme other places will see. More on that in a bit. 

The Northern Plains in particular have been locked in some brutal Arctic air for a few days now and that will only intensify.  And spread south and east. 

An example of the persistent cold comes from our friends in Grand Forks, North Dakota, who by next Monday will have spend 11 consecutive days below zero. 

 Lucky them! Similar chill is widespread from Montana and Upper Michigan and south to Nebraska.

This Arctic air is going to ooze southward toward Texas and spread east to an extent over the next few days. Some forecasts have parts of northern Texas as much as 50 degrees below normal. For instance, normal afternoon highs in Amarillo are in the upper 50s this time of year, but they'll be lucky to make it to 10 above zero by Sunday afternoon.

Meanwhile, warmer, wetter air over the Southeast is fighting tough against this Arctic invasion. The result has been, over the past few days, a series of winter storms along the battle zone between the Arctic chill and the southern warmth. 

This winter weather battle zone has mostly extended from the places like Arkansas east-northeastward to the Middle Atlantic States on up to southern New England.

Another storm is going by with a stripe of snow today out of the Ohio Valley and into southern New England with several inches of snow 

The warm air from the Southeast keeps trying to glide north but is forced to rise up and over the cold, dense air to the north and west.  This sets the stage for a lot of freezing rain in the coming days in parts of the Tennessee and Ohio valleys and - once again  - parts of the Mid-Atlantic states tomorrow and Thursday. 

Yet another storm in the east is possible over the weekend. 

VERMONT EFFECTS

We've definitely got cold weather coming up in the Green Mountain State, and some chances for snow here and there, but for now, the worst of the weather seems to want to stay to our west and south. 

Remember that battle zone I just described? We're north of it. Some snow does manage to sneak into Vermont from time to time, but we're escaping much of it. 

Today's little system isn't a blockbuster, but will provide another three to seven inches of snow to a good chunk of southern New England.  Far southern Vermont should share in that mini-dump.

Northern Vermont is further away from the storm and will only get light snow. The National Weather Service in South Burlington is going for one to as many as three inches north and east of Interstate 90 and two to four inches south and west of that line. 

The snow will be very fluffy and easy to shovel. However, roads are slick in spots for this morning's commute and the same can be said for the trip home late this afternoon.

Next up: The cold.  Remember how I said that huge blob of Arctic air over the middle of the nation was being blocked in its southward progress by stubborn warm, humid-ish air over the Southeast.

Well that cold air has to go somewhere, so some of it is heading east - towards us.  Luckily, it'll get modified on its trip toward Vermont. Which means it will get very cold, but we won't exactly be East Grand Forks (see above).

Instead, temperatures will decline as we go through the rest of the week.  Afternoon highs Friday and Saturday will only be in the single numbers and low teens with lows a little below zero. Yes, uncomfortable, but we've seen worse. 

The cold, dry, dense air over us will keep the storm track well to our south Wednesday through Saturday, so very little if any snow will fall during that period. 

The core of the cold air will stay to our west through the weekend, and that warm air will stay to the Southeast, so the winter storm battle line continues.

The weather forecasting computer models are having a terrible time figuring out how storms and precipitation will play out more than a couple days in advance. So anything starting I'd say Saturday is a wild card. 

Originally, a decent storm was suppose to come up our way Friday, but as noted, that will stay way south of us. Now, some of the models give us some sort of decent storm Sunday, but not all of them. The computer models have all been flip-flopping between snow, even mixed precipitation later on Sunday, or just continued dry, cold weather.

So, at this point, flip a coin for Sunday. I have no freakin' clue what will happen then and neither does anybody else.  We'll know more in a couple days. 

Hardcore Winter Finally Arrives In New England

A debris flow damaged this California home amid a 
big storm hitting that region today. The same storm or its
offspring could create some "interesting" weather in 
New England early next week.
Photo via twitter  @mcrfd

 New England winters are almost always harsh, or at least parts of them are.

After a long wait, the traditional nasty, unpleasant to say the least winter weather is arriving right now. 

As previously advertised, a broken off piece of the Polar Vortex is coming straight at us and will make things unhappy outdoors for the next couple of days. After that, a possible nasty storm.

More on the storm in a moment, but first the cold. 

A storm that overnight brought snow (and thundersnow!) to parts of North Carolina is headed out to sea and will become a powerful ocean storm. 

It will move northward, well off the coast. And turn big. Really big. 

The storm will be too far away to cause much havoc in New England. However, the difference in air pressure between that big offshore storm and Arctic high pressure up in northern Ontario will propel sharp, strong north winds through here, increasing today and continuing through Friday at least. 

Temperatures will fall here in Vermont all day as the winds ramp up.  By tonight, you'll really feel the wind chills out there. 

Those wind chills will make the air feel as cold as 25 below late tonight and tomorrow. Actual temperatures will go to near zero overnight, and only rise a few degrees during the day Friday as those cold north winds continue to make the bare trees roar. Expect gusts in the 25-30 mph range. 

Skies will remain cloudy Friday, and there will continue to be some snow showers around. In the mountains, a couple or few inches of windblown, light powder might be added to the snow pack. 

Yet Friday won't be the day for great outdoor recreation, given those awful wind chills. 

The wind will be calmer Saturday and the core of the polar vortex piece with its frigid air will be beginning to depart. 

Saturday will still be teeth-chattering, but a few degrees warmer than Friday. Plus the wind will be a little calmer. And some breaks of sun will help. 

With at least partly clear skies and calm winds Saturday night, temperatures will go way below zero in most of Vermont and the rest of northern New England. 

Temperatures will finally start to get closer to normal Sunday afternoon.

This won't be the most epic cold wave ever, but it is a pretty typical blast for this time of year in this part of the world. But that doesn't make it any more comfortable. 

Then there's a potential new problem after that.

EARLY WEEK STORM?

While it's warming up, somewhat, there's trouble on the horizon. Let's put it this way: What happens in California doesn't stay in California.

As I wrote yesterday, the Golden State is receiving less than golden weather. A storm, accompanied by an atmospheric river, is battering California with torrential rains, mudslides, debris flows, damaging winds and feet of snow in the mountains. 

Sounds wonderful, huh?

Energy from that storminess will create a new storm that will start somewhere near Colorado Friday night and then move east to somewhere in the Mid-Atlantic states Sunday.  It'll lay down yet another stripe of snow across the Midwest as it makes this move. 

Then what? Nobody is actually sure what the storm will do once it reaches the Mid-Atlantic States. But there's a lot of early signals this could turn into a big storm involving plenty of snow in the those Mid-Atlantic States and New England. 

Some of the models spin up a really strong storm.  Early indications are the bulk of the snow would fall south of Vermont, but that's is by NO means guaranteed. 

We won't have a good handle on what this storm will do for a good couple of days yet. It seems likely some snow will fall somewhere in Vermont during this, but where and how much is a great question. Same questions exists for the rest of New England. Stay tuned! 

If You Protest Outdoors When It's 55 Below, It Must Be Really Important

Anti-Putin protests in the frigid city of Yakutsk, Siberia,
Russia as temperatures hovered in the minus 50s. 

Many thousands of people across Russia demonstrated Saturday against the jailing of opposition leader Alexei Navalny at the behest of Vladimir Putin's henchmen. 

Navalny was poisoned last year by Russian operatives.  He returned to Moscow recently, and was immediately jailed by the Kremlin.

There appears to be growing revulsion in Russia against Putin, but of course it's such an oppressive regime that it's hard to fight against him.

A measure of how intense at least some people in Russia detest Putin and support Navalny came in the Siberian city of Yakutsk. 

The temperature there was in the mid minus 50s, and the air was thick was freezing fog, typical of towns and cities in the high Arctic amid such extreme cold. 

It looks like it was too cold for violent clashes, the kind they happened in other parts of Russia. But people  had to be really passionate in their anti-Putin positions to go out in such weather. 

Following is a brief video of the Yakutsk protest. Looks brutal: