Weird Vermont Temperature Contrasts A Hallmark Of Early Vermont Spring

Traffic camera image from Route 7 in Bennington Monday
shows no snow on the ground, part of the reason why
temperatures were able to rise to 56 degrees there. 

 Whether or not you had a true springlike day in Vermont Monday really depending on where you were. 

Down in places like Bennington and Brattleboro and Springfield, temperatures under sunny skies reached the mid-50s so spring was definitely in the air. 

Up by the Canadian border, not so much. Highs barely struggle into the mid 30s in some towns, and the few inches of snow that fell Sunday night didn't entirely melt. 

In between the two extremes, the north and the south, Vermont had a pleasantly enough mild March day, but it wasn't hard core spring. 

These kinds of weird temperature extremes in the Green Mountain State happen frequently in the late winter and early spring. You're going to see a little more of that today, too.

MONDAY WEIRDNESS

Part of the reason there were such temperature contrasts in Vermont came up in a post I filed last week.  . This time of year, frigid air - lingering winter - often stays firmly in place over the vast frozen forests and lakes of central and northern Quebec. 

If winds are light northerly, a thin layer of that cold air can bleed southward into far northern Vermont, so places like Highgate and Alburgh and St. Albans and Newport can occasionally get that frigid Quebecois feeling in early spring. 

That's what happened Monday. Newport only managed a high of 36 degrees Monday. 

Meanwhile, daytime temperatures, especially on sunny March afternoons, depend greatly on what's on the ground. 

Still a good amount of snow on the ground around
my house in St. Albans, Vermont Monday, part of the
reason why high temperatures never got out of
the low 40s during the afternoon.

Bare ground absorbs the sun's heat, and thus warms the air in the lowest couple thousand feet of the atmosphere. Those places would be noticeably balmier than places that are snow-covered.

There's pretty much no snow left on the ground around Bennington. So, the sun was able to heat things up nicely, which is a big part of the reason why high temperatures there on Monday was 56 degrees.  . 

Southeastern Vermont, around Brattleboro and Springfield, does still have some snow on the ground, but that snow is thin with plenty of bare spots  A northwest wind Monday also helped the air warm up. 

When the air flows down the slopes of mountains, in this case the southern Green Mountains, it compresses. Compressing air tends to warm up. Which meant the valleys of southeast Vermont also enjoyed some mid-50s  in the afternoon

Central Vermont was in a sort of unaffected middle. There's still plenty of snow on the ground in most of the area between Route 4 and Route 2. So the sun's heat reflected off the white snow cover. Which means it couldn't get quite as warm as it would have with bare ground. Also, some of the sun's energy went into trying to melt some of the snow rather than heat the atmosphere. 

However, that cold air from Quebec wasn't able to bleed southward all that much, so none of that Canadian chill could make it as far south as Route 2.  

The end result was a happy medium with highs well into the 40s. Montpelier had a high temperature of 46 degrees Monday. It probably resulted in a decent sap run in the sugar bushes, so we can't complain about that. 

TODAY

Strong south to southwest winds will briefly bring temperatures well up into the 50s to near 60 statewide.

An exception to the warmth will be right along the shores of Lake Champlain. Those southwest winds will pick up the chill from the icy waters of the lake and blow it ashore Places like Burlington's Waterfront Park will be stuck in the 40s at best for most of the day. Meanwhile, communities a few miles inland from Lake Champlain will be flirting with 60 degrees this afternoon.  

These lake breezes will often keep the immediate shore of Lake Champlain cooler than other areas well into early summer at least. 

Large scale storm systems are still strong this time of year too, so those bring sharp changes in temperature. 

A cold front will turn our balmy Tuesday of near 60 degree weather to a subfreezing shiver fest for Wednesday afternoon. Then, we're still expecting that massive storm in the Midwest to pump us right back up into the 60s again this weekend.

Those are the typical wild temperature gyrations we expect out of a March and April in Vermont.   As always, expect a wild ride and some surprises as we move through the first part of spring. 

Southern U.S. Gets A Break With Early February Record-Smashing Warmth. Won't Last Forever, Though.

Chart from Pivotal Weather shows a "heat dome"
over the southern and central U.S. that has helped
cause widespread record high temperatures
across the southern half of the United States
from Utah to the Carolinas. 

 While we hear in Vermont and most of the northern United States continue to slog through winter, most of the southern U.S. is experiencing an early taste of spring. Or in some cases, summer. 

At least 80 cities mostly but not exclusively in the southwestern United States experienced record highs Monday. 

Faith Ranch, Texas roasted in a summery 93 degree high temperature Monday. Lubbock, Texas was not far behind with 91 degrees. That tied the record for the hottest winter reading on record.

Grand Junction, Colorado also had its hottest winter day, as they got up to 71 degrees. Amarillo, Texas reached a toasty 89 degrees, breaking the record for the date by a big eight degrees. 

Other record highs Monday included 86 in Phoenix, 84 in Oklahoma City, 83 in Houston, 80 in Las Vegas and 70 degrees in Cincinnati.

On Tuesday Salt Lake City reached 69 degrees on Tuesday, tying the record for the hottest February day on record.  Since the month is usually warmer toward the end, you'd expect a monthly record high to be set on the closing days of the month. 

Salt Lake City also had a low temperature Tuesday of 59, the warmest low temperature of any date in February.  Tuesday was also Salt Lake City's third consecutive record high.

Like on Monday, record highs were widespread across the South and parts of the Rocky Mountains on Tuesday. Among those record highs were 57 in Laramie, Wyoming; 82 in Beaumont, Texas; 80 in both Raleigh and Charlotte, North Carolina, and 81 in Greenville-Spartensburg, North Carolina, which also tied the record high for the entire month of February. 

More record highs are expected across the southern half of the United States over the next few days. 

This is a huge turn around from the record snows and cold that hit the Deep South on January 21 and 22. New Iberia, Louisiana, which set an all time record low of 3 above on January 22 is anticipating a humid week through Sunday with highs in the upper 70s to near 80, which are near daily record highs. Overnight readings there should in the low 60s. 

Near record highs are also anticipated in New Orleans this week, a city that received an unprecedented eight inches of snow on January 21 .

The southern warmth has been driven by a storm track that has gone from California east northeast to near New England. The storms have helped brought warmth northward, and helped establish an out-of-season heat dome in the South. 

Anyone north and west of the storm track is missing out on the warmth, which is why it hasn't been particularly mild here in Vermont. 

It is still winter, so the record warmth will slowly become more and more suppressed to the south and east as we go through the next week to ten days. By a week and a half from, chances are the only spot in the continental United States that will be oddly warm is Florida and maybe places like Georgia, South Carolina and Alabama. 

A Tale Of Two Vermonts This Morning: Snow Globe Or Snow-Free

A tale of two Vermonts today. Traffic cam this
morning along Interstate 89 in Colchester shows no
snow and clear sailing for motorists there......

 As expected, the Green Mountains of Vermont are being blasted by snow, while the valleys, not so much.  

The temperatures were slow to fall overnight, and were only getting below freezing in the lower elevations  as dawn broke.

The wind was cranking from the northwest, and that air had plenty of moisture in it. Trouble was, that moisture was skipping over the valleys and slamming into the mountains instead.

We're still looking at snow totals of over a foot in some spots along the central and northern Green Mountains.  Could be two feet or more at the end of it all up near Jay Peak.

As of this morning, Jay Peak has already reported at least 10 inches of new snow. 

This is probably one of the more extreme contrasts between Vermont snow winners and snow losers I've seen in quite awhile.

The heaviest snow is coming down this morning, but it will continue in the mountains through tonight, and probably into Friday and Saturday.  Those mountain accumulations won't be as rapid as they are this morning, but a couple to few inches a day still seem likely Friday and Saturday.

The bulk of the snow today is falling closer to the summits and on the upper east slopes of the Greens. But if you live in the Champlain Valley, in the lowlands along Route 7 in southwest Vermont, or lower to mid Connecticut River Valley expect just flurries at most today. 

The northwest wind is so strong that the snow isn't even really hitting the lower western slopes of the Green Mountains. You usually see some decent snows in situations like this along Interstate 89 in Richmond and Bolton, for instance, but traffic cams show it's not too bad there. You really don't start picking up the snow until you hit Waterbury. 

...but keep heading south along Interstate 89 and you start
hitting snow by the time you get to Waterbury. Pictured
here is traffic cam along Interstate 89 in Brookfield,
which looks like a snow globe. 

Things really change abruptly as you head east from the Champlain Valley into the Greens, so be ready for surprises. At my place on the eastern end of St. Albans, as of 8:30 a.m., it was just overcast, not snowing and barely a dusting on the ground. 

Barely ten miles to my east, there was already six inches of new snow on the ground in Bakersfield as of 7:30 a.m. and it was still snowing hard there. 

So don't be fooled by the easy driving in places like the Champlain Valley. If you have to cross over to eastern Vermont today, prepare for a white knuckle ride in snow and blowing snow. 

The blowing snow is definitely a problem. It is windy everywhere this morning, and that will only get worse as the day goes on.  Gusts were going past 40 mph in many spots this morning, and could reach 50 mph in some areas, especially along the eastern slopes of the Green Mountains, and near the open waters of Lake Champlain today. 

The wind will probably cause some scattered power outages, and I've already seen a smattering of them this morning across the state. 

If you're heading out into the elements to hit the ski resorts for some powder today, just note there are lift holds at most of the resorts because of the wind. You'll need to take your chances on which lifts are operating, and which are not. 

Now that it's below freezing, it's going to stay that way for quite awhile. The blasts of air from the northwest coming out of Canada will keep the next winter storm far, far to our south Sunday and Monday. Looks like places from Kansas to Maryland might get snow and/or ice out of that system, ut nothing for us in Vermont.

Except for every-present snow showers up in the mountains. 

As Northeast Withers/Burns In Drought, Parts Of Canada Soggy

While the parched and fiery Northeast U.S. looks
 on longingly, the west and east coasts of Canada
keep getting drenching rains, which is leading to
some flooding and wind damage up there. 

 Boy, how things have reversed. 

Back in the summer of 2023, drought and wildfires across much of Canada had smoke from those fires belching across the border into the United States, including here in Vermont.

As it rained relentless here in the Green Mountain State, the damp air was tinged with smoke and quite noticeable air quality problems. 

Here we are in the autumn of 2024, and now the Northeast United States is in drought and burning, while parts of Canada soak relentlessly. 

In both cases, persistently stuck weather patterns kept the same conditions going over the same regions for weeks or months. Same thing is happening now, only we're getting the opposite extremes.

In Canada the stormy weather is mostly focused on the Atlantic Coast and way over in British Columbia. 

ATLANTIC

The stuck pattern has storm systems moving northward off the Atlantic Coast of the United States - much too far east to bring any needed rain.  Those storms, though, then get drawn northwestward into places like Newfoundland, Nova Scotia and the far eastern end of Quebec. 

The result is a long slog of rain, snow, ice, and wind in Atlantic Canada. Between Tuesday and Saturday anywhere from about an inch of rain or melted schmutz was expected in eastern Nova Scotia to four inches near St. John's Newfoundland. 

Wind gusts throughout this Canadian region are ranging through the 45 to 65 mph range today. It's really nasty up there. 

Environment Canada, that nation's version of our National Weather Service, is warning of localized flooding and power outages due to this week's wind and rain, 

Up in Labrador, which has never been known for lovely weather, is facing days of snow and freezing rain this week. 

PACIFIC

A series of storms and atmospheric rivers have been slamming into British Columbia this month. The third in a series of storms is hitting British Columbia today, spreading winds strong enough to down power lines, and rains hard enough to cause local flooding. 

The heavy weather is extending down into the United States Pacific Northwest with this round. Flood watches are up for parts of Washington State.

British Columbia is still recovering from an October atmospheric river flood and series of landslides that killed one person and caused damaging floods, including in and around the city of Vancouver. 

THE PATTERN

Those storms that have been hitting British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest have to go somewhere, but they are repeatedly hitting the "wrong" places.

Some of them have crossed the U.S Rockies, creating some snowstorms there. Then they've emerged into the southern Plains and parts of the Midwest, spreading rain, and even floods and tornadoes.  Then, they tend to weaken to nothingburgers by the time they hit the Northeast U.S., so we don't end up with needed precipitation here. 

Then, the remnants of these storms hit the Atlantic Ocean, hit other disturbances and draw lots of moisture from the oceans. They turn into bigger storms that keep hitting Atlantic Canada.

I don't see an end to this pattern for at least a week. Maybe toward the end of the month, there might be a few shifts that bring a change in the weather for all these regions. It remains to be seen. 

Wild Differences In Vermont Weather Saturday; Big Changes Coming Statewide

There's that achingly tired old saying that if you don't like the weather in Vermont, wait five minutes, it'll change. 

Saturday in St. Albans, Vermont, some irises enjoy some
warm evening sun.....

On Saturday, the phrase should have been, "If you don't like the weather in Vermont, drive a short distance, it will change." 

There was indeed quite a contrast in weather across the Green Mountain State. Here where I am in the northwestern corner of the state, it was an absolutely lovely late spring Saturday. 

Skies were blue, there was a pleasant breeze, and temperatures got into the upper 60s, just a wee bit cooler than normal for this time of year. 

Drive to southern Vermont, go up in elevation far enough and you hit snow.  Atop Stratton Mountain, it snowed most of the day.  Snowflakes mixed with rain Saturday morning at elevations as low as 2,500 feet.

Many towns in southern Vermont never made it out of the 40s for highs Saturday afternoon.

The reasons behind Saturday's contrast were pretty unusual. 

very once in awhile, you'll have temperatures and weather differences in Vermont this extreme if there's a sharp warm, cold or stationary front somewhere in the state. 

This usually happens in the colder half of the year, when a weather front bisecting the state would give winter conditions to, say St. Albans, while it's 60 degrees or more in, say Bennington.

...while atop Stratton Mountain in southern Vermont, a nice
winter sunset was underway on (checks notes) May 29.
This is a screen shot from the Stratton Mountain web cam

What made Saturday's contrast in Vermont so odd was there were no weather fronts. The strong sun, near its peak intensity this time of year, made all the difference. Making Saturday quite a unique weather day in Vermont.  

In the far north of Vermont, strong, cool high pressure up in Quebec fed very dry air into those parts of the state. That meant plenty of sunshine to heat the atmosphere. 

 The air was also super dry for May. Dew points, a measure of how wet the air is, were only in the upper teens in far northwestern  Vermont.  That's exceptionally low for this time of year. 

he sun can heat dry air much more efficiently that humid air, so temperatures went up nicely in the afternoon. 

In the south, the state was locked under thick clouds.  That cool air from Canada made it into all of New England, but wet air from an upper level storm and a particularly cool pocket of air aloft kept things frigid. The thick clouds blocked the sun, so it stayed nippy.  

Clouds made all the difference in Saturday's weather
The northwestern tip of Vermont was in the sunshine,
will thick clouds socked in the south. 

The Vermont contrasts will even out today and tomorrow.  The northwest will still be a little warmer than the south today, as the day up north is starting with some sun. But that upper level low is re-orienting itself, and will send clouds and rain statewide later today and tonight. 

Everybody will be cool today, with highs in the 50s, with a few low 60s far northwest. 

The cool pool of air aloft is slowly modifying, so I don't expect any more snow. Maybe an outside chance of flakes at summit level, but that's it.  

It'll be chilly tomorrow, too, under lingering clouds and showers. 

More than an inch of beneficial rains are coming to the southeastern half of the state.  The northwest is in desperate need of rain, but those areas won't bet much.  Maybe a third of an inch or even less, especially north and west of a Burlington to Jay Peak line. 

There are signs that we are in for another type of big contrast:  The overall weather statewide might go from a March-like nip to full on summer. 

The ever famous summer feature, the Bermuda High off the East Coast looks like it really wants to strengthen and poke firmly west into the eastern United States.

If forecast holds, we could go from snow in the southern Green Mountains yesterday to oppressive heat and humidity by next weekend.  We'll keep an eye on that.