Tornadoes Near Houston Wrecks Homes, Part Of "Second Tornado Season"

Menacing clouds about to put down a tornado 
yesterday near Klein, Texas. 

Tornadoes swept through suburbs northwest of Houston Monday, leaving homes smushed under trees, roofs ripped up and walls collapsed. 

Surprisingly and luckily, nobody was seriously injured.  Other severe storms also swept through other parts of the South. A couple more tornadoes might spin up around Alabama, Mississippi and Georgia today. 

Peak tornado season is usually in the spring and early summer.  Very muggy, warm air flows north that time of year, it flows into large storms, collides with colder air from the north, and you get tornado outbreaks. 

The jet stream screaming over the U.S. adds energy for these tornadoes. 

Tornado season fades over the summer because the storms that add the kind of spin in the air that you need for a swarms of twisters. The jet stream retreats into Canada. If you don't strong storms and not much spin, you don't get many tornadoes. 

Right now, there is a second tornado season going on. You wouldn't think so, given that the forces of winter are taking over. Tornadoes don't like cold air, so why are there tornadoes spinning down there.

But now that we're into the cold season, we can get strong storms again. The jet stream is now back down in the United States. That can generate nice strong storms. The kind that add spin to the air.  The kind that can pull warm, muggy air out of the Gulf of Mexico. The kind that can manufacture tornadoes. 

Of course, the late autumn early winter tornado season isn't anything like you'd get in the spring. That warm, humid air can't make much headway. Not with all that Arctic air coming down from the Great White North of Canada. 

So, you can get November and December tornadoes. 

Here's another twist, pardon the pun, since we're talking about tornadoes, the second twister season might be getting worse, thanks to climate change. 

Remember that sticky, yucky hot air that tornadoes need? Climate change is allowing bigger surges of that air that can penetrate further north. That can lead to more widespread cold season tornadoes. 

November is now on average Alabama's third busiest tornado, even busier than May, the Washington Post informs us.  March and April, and November are Alabama's big twister months. In tornado alley November is Oklahoma's fourth busiest twister month.

Throughout history there have been deadly tornado outbreaks in the final two months of the year. But trend lines might be getting worse. 

An example of our stormy late year future might be December, 2021. A tornado outbreak killed more than 80 people in the southeastern United States on Dec. 10-11 of that year. One of those tornadoes basically leveled the city of Mayfield, Kentucky. 

Just days later, on December 15, 2021, a massive derecho with a swarm of 120 tornadoes, including 63 in Iowa alone.  

As for this year, the next chance of severe weather after today will run in the South this weekend and early next week. It's too soon to tell how extensive the bad weather will become, if it develops at all. 

VIDEO

Firefighters on a call in Cyr Fair, Texas take shelter in a home's garage as an apparent tornado passes very close by. Note the sudden wind shift halfway through the video. Video is from a camera on a firetruck. Click on this link to view, or if you see the link below, click on that. 

After A Weird Peak Hurricane Season Calm, Atlantic Ocean Getting Busy.

Hurricane Gabrielle has a classic hurricane look
in a satellite photo taken this afternoon

A very odd spell with no tropical storm activity at the peak of hurricane season in the Atlantic Ocean is over, big time. 

There's a strong hurricane out there now, and there's two more wannabe hurricanes or tropical storms bubbling out there. 

Luckily, there's no real threat to the United States coastline, at least for several days at least. 

Let's go to the hurricane first.

HURRICANE GABRIELLE 

Highest sustained winds in Hurricane Gabrielle reached 120 mph late this morning as it headed slowly northward from a position about 180 miles southeast of Bermuda. 

This qualifies Gabrielle as a major hurricane, because major hurricanes need winds of at least 111 mph. 

It's only the second hurricane of the season, given we had that long quiet period. The trend this year is either big hurricane or wimpy little tropical storms.  All the storms except Hurricane Erin were pretty wimpy, pretty brief tropical storms. 

The exception was Hurricane Erin, which reached Category 5 status in August, them passed well off the U.S. East Coast. It was big enough to cause coastal flooding and beach erosion and dangerous surf, but it thankfully missed us. 

Gabrielle will miss us, too. 

It began its first few days as a wimp struggling with dry air and strong upper level winds. It could have ended up as another lame, small tropical storm.  But in the past three days or so, Gabrielle has really blossomed into a powerhouse. It escaped the dry air, strong overhead winds slackened and warm water fueled the storm.

On satellite pictures today, Gabrielle was a classic looking strong hurricane. It had a distinct eye, with a symmetrical swirl of dense clouds around that center.  It looks like Gabrielle has a chance to strengthen for a few more hours this afternoon and tonight before a weakening trend sets in. 

It'll start accelerating to the northeast and east tomorrow after throwing some gusty outer showers at Bermuda. It's no threat to land, except to the Azores in the eastern Atlantic. It might still be a hurricane when it gets near those islands Thursday night or Friday morning. 

Gabreille will start a weakening trend tomorrow as it encounters colder ocean water and stronger upper level winds 

It will have turned into a nontropical but still powerful storm northwest of Spain by Saturday. The storm could menace the UK as a former hurricane toward Sunday, but we're not sure yet. 

The United States will, like in the case of Erin, see some rough surf and rip currents because of Gabrielle, but that's it for us. But there's other things starting to stir out there.

OTHER SUSPECTS

An area of showers and storms in the central tropical Atlantic is slowly getting better organized, and forecasters think it will develop into Tropical Storm Humberto late this week as it heads northwestward. 

No promises yet, but it's beginning to look like wannabe Humberto might very roughly follow the tracks of Erin and Gabrielle and stay far away from the U.S. East Coast. We'll get a better confirmation of whether or not this is true later in the week, but so far I'm not too worried about this one. Even it develops into a full-fledged hurricane, which seems very possible.

There's another disturbance west of wannabe Humberto that's currently closer to the northern Leeward Islands. It's possible it could turn into Tropical Storm Imelda somewhere over the southwest Atlantic Ocean east of Florida, maybe in the Bahamas. 

Because this one will end up so much closer to the U.S. if it starts to develop late this week, as forecasters expect. Wannabe Imelda could turn into a threat if it develops starting late this week. Nobody is sure on this one yet.  It's nothing to worry about yet, but people in Florida and the East Coast  out to monitor this baby starting this upcoming weekend. 

 

"Slow" Start To Atlantic Hurricane Season Just Started Getting More Interesting

 Now that we're into August, it's time to watch the Atlantic tropics more intently. 

After a slow, but typical start of the Atlantic hurricane
season, the ocean is suddenly abuzz with areas
that might develop into storms. 

Right on schedule, there are signs of life in the tropical Atlantic.  There's nothing dire going on. But it's a sign the danger season is about here.   

As of today, Sunday, there are now two sort of interesting areas in the Atlantic. Neither is a big threat but one of them has potential to be quite a ways down the road. 

The first semi-exciting thing is a small storm forming along an old cold front off the North Carolina coast. The National Hurricane Center gives this thing a 70 percent chance of turning into a tropical or subtropical storm. 

Like the first three tropical systems of this year - Andrea, Barry and Chantal - this thing off the North Carolina coast will be pretty weak and short-lived, if it forms into the fourth named storm of the year, they'll name it Dexter.      

Even weak tropical storms can turn dangerous. The remnants of Barry contributed greatly to the tragic, fatal July 4 weekend flood in central Texas. And Chantal set off destructive flooding in central North Carolina. 

In Wannabe Dexter's case, it should move out into open water and not be a concern. Although a couple models keep it as a weak system but have it hugging the East Coast from North Carolina to New England.   

Since Wannabe Dexter looks lame, it does seem like the 2025 hurricane season is off to a slow start. 

That's actually pretty typical for the early season.  But compared to the hyper-active past few years, the summer of 2025 just seems anemic in the tropical storm department. 

But there's other parts of the Atlantic that's making hurricane forecasters sit up and take notice. One of them is a disturbance off the Southeast Coast that could develop into something late in the week. 

Another, possibly more ominous disturbance is expected to come off the west coast of Africa.  This type of disturbance usually have the potential to develop into a real hurricane, if overall conditions in the Atlantic Ocean work out. 

This one is the first African disturbance that has the potential into developing into something a bit scary. It will be watched carefully once it reaches the central Atlantic Ocean.  It's way too early to figure out for sure if it will indeed turn into a hurricane if so, where it will go. For now, it has a 40 percent chance of developing into...something. 

The bottom line the heart of the hurricane season is just beginning, and hurricane forecasters have to be at the top of their game for the next couple of months at least.  

Nation's Flash Flood Season Off To A Bad Start

The remains of a vehicle are wrapped
around a San Antonio bridge abutment
 after it  was swept away by intense
 flash flooding early Thursday. 

 Deadly flash floods can happen anywhere in the United States at any time of year.

But the humid days of summer tend to bring these tragedies on most frequent. As we in Vermont have seen in the last two summers. 

Hot, humid air can hold a lot of water, and even a small weather disturbance under the right conditions can release torrents, creating flash floods almost in an instant.

Climate change has made this whole situation worse. The hotter, often more humid air brought to his by a warmer atmosphere can store more water in the air than ever before. Which in general leads to more intense rains than we are used to seeing.

It's only mid-June, and we're already starting in with the local, but deadly flash floods in different parts of the natiom

The worst of it so far was in and around San Antonio early Thursday. 

Slow moving thunderstorms settled over the San Antonio area, dumping eight inches of rain in just a few hours, with four inches of rain in just one hour between 3 and 4 a.m. Thursday. 

The flash flood killed 13 people, mostly in cars abruptly swept off a highway into raging waters.  

NBC News reports that at least 15 vehicles were swept into rapidly rising and rapidly flowing water on or near Perrin Beitel Road in San Antonio. At least 10 people from those vehicles were rescued. But other cars were found far downstream, their wreckage sometimes wrapped around bridge abutments or other debris. 

At least 70 water rescues were performed throughout the city. 

San Antonio lies just east of a an escarpment that sometimes helps trap Gulf of Mexico moisture in the region, which can sometimes get dumped in intense thunderstorms. San Antonio is the nation's seventh largest city.

Miles of concrete and asphalt and development gives no place for water to soak in, so downpours rush off in great gushes through parts of the city. Plus, of course, those more intense climate-change driven downpours make things worse.   

It hasn't just been San Antonio lately.   

 Severe flooding hit in and near Wheeling, West Virginia Saturday. At least three people were killed in this flooding and others are missing. Authorities performed numerous water rescues.  Some areas around Wheeling received 2.5 to 4 inches of rain within a half hour. 

On Friday, a flash flood emergency and particularly dangerous situation was declared around Evansville, Indiana. Three to six inches of rain fell within a couple hours there, instantly flooding streets. Numerous people had to be rescued from stranded cars. 

Also on Friday and Saturday, flash floods hit scattered parts of the central Appalachians.

Sunday morning, Oklahoma City was under a flash flood warning for the second time this month. Meteorologists were deeply concerned Sunday about a risk of flooding today in North Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia.   

Even before summer started, it's been a bad year for flooding in the U.S. Extreme flooding hit areas in and around Kentucky back in February and again in April. 

So far, we in Vermont have been spared the worst of the flooding, but we've already had our share of problems in 2025.  Flash flooding on May 17 damaged roads and homes in Waitsfield, Warren, Hartford, White River Junction and other towns, 

Roads in southeastern Vermont were damaged in flash flooding on June 6-7.   

Looking ahead at the nation's upcoming flash flood prospects, a humid, sluggish airmass is forecast to linger over much of the eastern and southern United States for the next several days.  At least scattered instances of flash flooding are possible daily in various parts of the eastern two thirds of the U.S.

For us in Vermont, the next chance of any flood problems would be this Thursday. It's possible downpours expected Thursday could be intense enough to create isolated instances of flash flooding. However, it's too soon to know for sure.  

New Head of FEMA Apparently Did Not Know U.S. Has A Hurricane Season. He's Also A Bit Of An A$$hole

Not exactly inspiring confidence here,
acting FEMA director reportedly said that
he did not know the United States 
has a hurricane season.

Acting FEMA director David Richardson, who should know better being, you know, with FEMA, reportedly just said he was unaware of the United States has a hurricane season.  

It is another example of how the Trump administration thinks that in general, the best people to lead the U.S. government are white, boorish airheads. 

According to an incredible report in Reuters:

"The remark was made during a briefing by David Richardson, who has led FEMA since early May. It was not clear to staff whether he meant it literally, as a joke, or in some other context."

As pretty much everybody except Richardson knows, especially those living along the Gulf Coast, Florida and much of the East Coast, hurricane season in the United States runs from June 1 through November 30, with the peak of the season hitting in August and September. 

The Department of Homeland Security, headed by Kristi ("ICE Barbie") Noem, which oversees FEMA, did some furious backpedaling, which only seemed to make matters worse. 

Reuters reports that a Homeland Security spokesperson said FEMA is indeed prepared for hurricane season. "FEMA is shifted from bloated DC-centric dead weight to a a lean, deployable disaster force that empowers state actors to provide relief for its citizens."

The translation of that statement is, FEMA officials will make photo ops and do practically nothing else in disaster zones while local and state official try, and fail, to gather enough local resources to handle the crisis. You're on your own, disaster victims! 

Yes, I'm exaggerating, but not by much, I don't think.

FEMA staffers, at least the ones who are left after a Trump administration staff purge left them shorthanded, were reportedly stunned by the "I've never heard of hurricane season" remark by Richardson. 

Many fear the cutbacks will make FEMA unprepared for the expected busy hurricane season, and this would just make it worse,

Not surprisingly, sarcasm reigned after Richardson's apparent hurricane ignorance. 

Turns out Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer was unaware of something, too, though the Senator does seem to have a working knowledge of hurricane season. Schumer said of Richardson that he is "unaware of why he hasn't been fired yet."

Maybe Richardson thought that hurricanes are not those very big bad, dangerous tropical storms but instead  a Hurricane, that fruity rum drink mentioned in the famous Alan Jackson/Jimmy Buffett collaboration "It's 5 O'Clock Somewhere."

Sure, those hurricanes are always in season, as far as I'm concerned. Especially after a long day of listening to Trump administration news.  

RICHARDSON BOORISH AS A BOSS 

Earlier this spring, Richardson  made quite an impression on his FEMA staff at their first all hands meeting. "Don't get in my way," he barked. 

"Obfuscation, delay, undermining," Richardson complained about at least some of his staff. "If you're one of those 20% of the people and you think those tactics and techniques are going to help you, they will not, because I will run right over you. I will achieve the president's intent."

Richardson really does like the autocratic tone endemic in the rest of the Trump administration.  "I, and I alone in FEMA, speak for FEMA," he said, according to CBS, warning staffers not to leak any of their own opinions to the public. 

Richardson is a former U.S Marine Corps ground combat officer and commander, which explains a lot   What works well in the military isn't necessarily appropriate for the civilian work space. I mean, I'd quit my job if it resembled a Marine boot camp.

Yes, the reasonable expectation at any job is for staff to work hard and well.  But what is Richardson going to do. Have FEMA staff march out in formation into a hurricane storm surge when he finally disbands the agency?

CBS reports, tellingly, that Richardson said during the earlier meeting with staff, "I have never read a book on leadership."  Great. Which probably also explains his obliviousness to hurricane season. 

Regarding other types of disasters, I hope Richardson isn't like the lunatic in Pennsylvania a few years back who claimed an increase in tornadoes in his state was because the Pennsylvania DOT was building more traffic circles. (The cars going around in circles apparently spin the air into these "tornaders" as the dude explained on a radio show).   

In any event, Richardson also told the spring staff meeting that "I'm fine operating in chaos and a very ambiguous environment."  That makes him perfect for the Trump administration anyway and for managing those mysterious hurricanes later this summer and fall.

Vermont's Season Of Thunderstorms Has Arrived, Nothing Intense In The Offing, Though

A supercell thunderstorm near Sheldon, Vermont on 
May 4, 2018.  Severe thunderstorms are rare this
early in the spring across Vermont, but we've entered
the season where we'll see garden variety storms'
more and more often. Some thunder is possible
in northern Vermont tonight. 

 Last evening, tornadoes and gorilla hail menaced large sections of eastern Nebraska and Iowa as yet another spring weather system rolled through. 

That same weather system is coming our way, but you can relax. We in Vermont will be seeing no tornadoes, and no bombardments of hail..

In northern Vermont, at least, this system could send some rumbling thunderstorms through in the middle of the night, waking us up toward midnight tonight or a little after. 

As we hear the word "snow" less and less in the weather forecasts, we're hear the word "thunder" more and more often as we head through the spring. 

We already had our first round of thunderstorms of the season back on April 3.  But as the atmosphere warms with the season, it'll be more and more primed for thunder and lightning if any weather disturbance  happens to be coming through. 

Thunderstorms need warm, moist air to survive and thrive. Of course, that kind of air is sorely lacking around here during the winter.  But that type of humid air gains strength starting about now. 

The warmer and more humid the air, in general, the more likely you are to have a thunderstorm.  If the air above is cool, the warm, wet air can billow upward, forming the towering clouds that produce thunder and lighting.

In tonight's case, a warm front will push a batch of relatively balmy, humid-ish air in, causing that wave of showers and possible thunderstorms. Because of the trajectory of the weather system coming in, the storms are most likely near and north of the Canadian border. 

On Saturday, we'll be in that warm air so many of us will see temperatures reaching at least 70 degrees. A weak weather front might touch off a few widely scattered showers or storms during the day, but if they form, they will be very few and far between. 

More thunder is possible toward Monday or Tuesday, but we are not sure on that yet.

SEVERE STORMS COME LATER

While thunderstorms are getting more common in Vermont starting about now, severe storms are pretty rare until you get into late spring and especially summer.  Storms packing damaging winds, large hail and flash floods are most likely in Vermont from around Memorial Day to late August. 

Of course, under the right conditions, severe storms can happen earlier in the spring, too. One notable incident was on March 26, 2021 when an EF-1 tornado in Middlebury packing winds of up to 110 mph severely damaged one home, caused lighter damage to a few others and injured two people. 

It was the earliest in the season tornado on record.

Another storm system on May 4, 2018,  prompted tornado watches and some supercell thunderstorms that caused areas of serious wind damage in parts of the Green Mountain State. Hundreds of trees blew down in and around Shelburne in one of those storms. 

A rotating supercell over far northern Vermont that day prompted worries about a tornado, but the Green Mountains disrupted the circulation enough to prevent anything from touching down. 

Strong Spring Sunshine Takes The Chill Off, Despite Midweek Snow For More Springlike Times Ahead (We Think!)

So close. Will today's expected warm sunshine turn these
daffodil buds into actual flowers? We're getting there
with spring, despite a snowy forecast. 

 It's amazing what sunshine can do this time of year. 

The sun is high up in the sky this time of year, and if it comes out, it really makes a difference. 

In northwestern Vermont Sunday, most of the day wasn't very nice. It was overcast and cool, and the north wind really had a chilly bite to it. 

Late in the afternoon, skies pretty abruptly cleared up. 

In Burlington, the temperature with the late day sun didn't go up to much, zipping upward seven degrees in a short time span from 49 to 56.

But the entire feel of the day changed. With the late day sun, it felt mild, truly springlike. Meanwhile, where it stayed cloudy in Vermont, mostly in central and eastern parts of the state, it felt raw.

Sunshine will be our friend today, too. Clear skies overnight had us mostly below freezing by dawn, but that sun will heat the atmosphere very nicely to make today easily the pick of the week.  We should get up to 60 degrees in most valleys.  That'll get things greening up a little. 

TUESDAY

The weather fronts coming through tonight and tomorrow aren't that strong or wet, but the spring sun is going to influence things in a way we will see more and more of as we head into the summer. 

The sun will heat the ground tomorrow as cold air comes in aloft, This will create some towering clouds that will yield scattered showers or even an isolated thunderstorm or two.  Typical of this scenario, any showers or weak thunderstorms will be hit or miss. 

Unlike on some occasions in the summer, if we do see any thundershowers in Vermont Tuesday, they would be garden variety - not strong or severe.

MIDWEEK SNOW

And of course we have another preliminary snow prediction map
for this week in Vermont. This shows expected snow from 
Tuesday night to Thursday morning. Most places to
get nothing or little, but note the yellow and orange
patches in the northern Green Mountains. That depicts
six or more inches of expected snow in those spots. 

Yes, it's still going to snow in a good portion of Vermont Wednesday into Thursday. 

Deep moisture wrapping around what will be a nearly stalled storm in southeastern Quebec will make the wet air rise up the slopes the Green Mountains and dump what will be in high elevations a lot of snow. 

It'll be cold enough, and the snow will be persistent enough in the central and northern Green Mountains that accumulations could range from 6 to 12 inches in spots, especially above 2,000 feet or so. Sort of impressive for mid-April.

Mount Mansfield still had 91 inches of snow on the ground near the summit Sunday. 

A little of that will probably melt today and tomorrow. But chances are what melts away up there might be more than replenished by the midweek snow. On average, there's about 68 inches of snow up there around April 13.

Lower elevations will be spared deep snow for two reasons. One, the precipitation won't be coming down quite as heavily away from the Green Mountains. More importantly, the spring sunshine will help partially save the day again. 

Snow might accumulate in much of northern Vermont later Tuesday night and Wednesday night. But during the peak of the snow shower activity during Wednesday, the sun's heat will filter through the clouds, limiting accumulations 

You might get something like we saw on April 8 in northern Vermont. Snow squalls come through and dump a quick inch or two of snow. Then it tapers off and the sun sort of melts some of it. Then more snow comes in and the cycle repeats. The snow on the ground never gets that deep.

In the broader, lower valleys, it might well get warm enough Wednesday afternoon for rain showers instead of snow showers. And far southeastern Vermont will pretty much get nothing at all. 

Here's one possible drawback to the sun during Wednesday's wintery weather.  Much like on Tuesday with its possible thunderstorms,  the sun might energize the snow shower clouds on  Wednesday. That would make some of the snow showers heavier than they otherwise would be.

LATE WEEK

The snow showers will taper off Thursday, and a lot of the snow that might accumulate below elevations of 1,500 feet or so will melt. What doesn't go Thursday will disappear Friday as it turns warmer again. 

The weather pattern seems like it wants to change a little starting toward the weekend, too. Although we'll continue to alternate between mild and chilly days, it's beginning to appear the mild days might outnumber the cold ones as we close out the month.  

Hurricane Season 2024 Finally Comes To An End, Good Riddance!

Hurricane Helene approaching Florida in September. This
hurricane proved to be the United States' deadliest hurricane
since Katrina in 2005. The 2024 hurricane season, which
ended Saturday, was among the most destructive on record.

 Back on Saturday, we said our goodbyes to the Atlantic hurricane season of 2024.

And we also told it to don't let the door hit you on your ass on the way out.  It turned out to be a troublesome one, that's for sure. 

As NPR reports, it was the deadliest hurricane season in two decades and easily one of the costliest. Five hurricanes hit the continental United States in 2024, a near-record for the most hits in a single season. 

Hurricane Helene alone snuffed out 150 lives, the biggest death toll from a single hurricane in the United States since 2005's Hurricane Katrina.

Damage from this year's hurricanes amount to at least $190 billion, the second most costly hurricane year after 2017. That was the year that brought us Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria.

As we head into the Christmas season, thousands of people are still experiencing heartache, loss, fear, homelessness and financial ruin because of this year's hurricanes 

For the record 2024 brought us 18 named storms with winds of at least 39 mph. Eleven of those storms became hurricanes (74 mph or greater) and five were major hurricanes (111 mph or greater)

The second half of the season was when most of the action happened. Twelve named storms formed after what is normally the season's peak in early September. Seven hurricanes formed after September 25, which is the most for that late in the season. 

We were warned back in the spring this would be a hyper hurricane season, as near record warm ocean temperatures and a favorable atmospheric setup would turbocharge the season, leading to a possibly record number of hurricanes.  Some estimates indicated we'd have more tropical storms and hurricanes than names in the 2024 queue for these storms.

But the last tropical storm of the season was Sara, leaving three unused names this year, Tony, Valerie and William.

Normally there would have been additional storms in August and the first week of September, which is near the peak of the season. All the ingredients seemed to be there for storms, but they just didn't materialize during that period. It was an odd mid-season lull

Meteorologists will probably spend years studying why the hurricanes mercifully shut down during those weeks in August. 

Some leading theories include the idea that disturbances moving off the west coast ofAfrica - which often eventually develop into hurricanes - were too far north this year, missing out on the very warm waters further south that would fuel these storms.

Also, to get a hurricane going, the upper atmosphere should be cooler than the air near the surface. That would create instability to few the thunderstorms that are the seeds of hurricanes.

This year, the atmosphere was warm through tens of thousands of feet in elevation. That prevented the needed instability to create nascent tropical storms. 

Those meteorologists will study if these really were the factors preventing hurricanes in August and whether climate change had anything to do with these atmospheric conditions. That research will help with predictions of future hurricane season, and individual hurricanes. 

Two of the season's hurricanes managed to cause damage here in Vermont. 

In July, the remnants of Hurricane Beryl (which was the earliest Category 5 Atlantic storm on record in the Caribbean) teamed up with a stalled weather front to unleash intense downpours, especially across much of central and northern Vermont. The result was the state's third catastrophic flood within a year.   

In early August, the remnants of Hurricane Debby blasted much of Vermont with high winds, especially the Champlain Valley. 

Both storms proved you don't have to be anywhere close to where a hurricane made landfall to have those storms cause real trouble.  

It's That Windy Time Of Year In Vermont/Northeast, Unlike Most Novembers These Winds Are Fiery

Gusty winds last week tossing these chaotic clouds
around over St. Albans, Vermont. We've entered
Vermont's gusty season

 Especially if you live in or near the Champlain Valley or in upper elevations of Vermont, you might have noticed it's been pretty windy lately. 

We've definitely entered the Green Mountain State's gusty season.

Nine of the first 11 days of November in Burlington have featured gusts to at least 34 mph. Three of them gusty over 40 mph. 

The wind in Vermont was strong enough Friday to cause a few scattered power outages. 

Now that we're into November, the weather systems crossing the nation are energized by a jet stream that's usually right over the United States this time of year. 

That means bigger storm systems, which translates to windier systems. Routine low pressure systems or average areas of high pressure for this time of year and still make it plenty breezy. 

It's usually windiest in the Champlain Valley, especially when the wind is from the south. The topography of the Adirondacks and Green Mountains funnels south winds. 

Of course, we also have surges of strong wind from the northwest behind cold fronts and departing storms. That's the situation we find ourselves in today. 

We'll see gusts to 40 mph.  Today will also be an example of how we are now also getting into wind chill season.  Highs today will only be in the 30s to near 40 for most of us. Those gusty winds will make it feel more like it's in the 20s. In other words. Winter. 

FIRES

 In almost all Novembers, all this wind in the Northeast is not a big deal, unless the storm in question is so strong that the winds start blowing down trees or causing structural damage. But that's an exception. Usually it's just hang on to your hat weather. 

We're in a much worse situation this year, though. 

This autumn has featured record dryness in the Northeast, and the brush and forest fires rage on, spread by erratic winds that blow from a particular direction one day, and the opposite direction the next.

Rain that fell on the region Sunday and Sunday night was disappointingly light and din't make a real difference in the situation. What little moisture fell dried out quickly and it's still crunchy dry in much of the East. 

In northern Vermont, we should be OK Tuesday as early morning rain showers, changing to some snow showers in higher elevations have wetted things down again just a little. It'll get us through most of the day, anyway. 

The southeastern half of Vermont got very little or no precipitation last night, and drought conditions are worse there than in  northern Vermont. That means today's blustery northwest could really spread any fires that get going there. The humidity in the air will crash as the sun comes out later, too, which won;t help.

One piece of good news: A 10-acre brush fire in West Brattleboro, Vermont that started Friday was brought under control Sunday. 

From Massachusetts on south and west to the Mid-Atlantic States, it's even worse. Paltry showers early Monday quickly dried out, and existing wildfires continue to burn today. The dry windy weather today just make matters worse. 

A burn ban that was in effect until Monday has been extended another week in southern Vermont. But anywhere in Vermont, you probably shouldn't do any outdoor burns until we get a decent amount of rain and.or snow. 

A red flag warning for fire danger is in effect today for all of southern New England and southeastern New York.  

I think what worries everyone is, if it doesn't rain soon and an intense, dry wind hits, that could drive the eastern wildfires through neighborhoods and destroy houses and other structures. We don't need something like the deadly firestorm that trashed swaths of Gatlinburg, Tennessee back in late November, 2016.

After today, it looks like we'll see a semi-break from the winds for a few days, though Saturday might prove to be blustery.

That seeming anti-rain force field will hold strong over southern New England and much of the Mid-Atlantic States for at least the next week.  Little or no rain is forecast for that region for at least th next seven days.    

Fog Season In Vermont Has Arrived And This Year Could Be A Doozy

Sunflower stalks on a foggy morning late last
fall in St. Albans. Vermont 

 Every year, in the final days of summer and the first half of autumn, dense morning fog is a frequent visitor in Vermont.  

The nights begin to get a little cooler. Meanwhile, lakes, ponds, rivers, even the soil is near its peak temperature of the year. 

These bodies of water, and the soil, and the leaves on the trees, emit moisture. When the temperature drops overnight, that moisture condenses into fog. It clings to the river valleys and can cut visibility to near zero until it burns off by mid morning. At least usually. 

The season has started already, as it often does in August. Patchy dense fog was scattered around Vermont early this Saturday morning. 

This autumn could well be an especially foggy one.  It was a much warmer than normal summer, last week notwithstanding, so water and soil temperatures are higher than they usually are. 

The increased contrast between the cooling nights and the warm water and soil is a recipe for fog.

Satellite view this morning shows fog in river 
valleys, especially the lower White and Connecticut
River valleys. 

You surely noticed this summer was also really, really wet. Soils moistures are high, so that adds a lot of water to the atmosphere. The more moisture available in the air, the more likely you're going to have fog.

Even in nights when humidity is low, the moisture coming from the ground, the rivers, the lakes, the leaves on the trees can really add plenty of ingredients for fog.

From now into October, any night that is at least sort of clear and calm will give us a bunch of fog. 

The morning fog in the autumn can be spectacularly beautiful. When foliage season hits, I always recommend people get an early start. The photographs of the fall foliage emerging into sunshine from the fog can be incredibly gorgeous. 

Of course, the autumn fogs can be dangerous. You're blasting down the road in clear air, and all of a sudden you punch into a fog bank. 

Visibility goes to zero, and you don't even see the car braking ahead of you, until it's too late. And yes, the fog can be dense enough so that you don't see the brake lights.  

Over the next few weeks, the sun is still strong enough that the fog will surely burn off by mid morning. The sun heats the air, the contrast between the cool air and the warm ground disappears, so blue sky and sunshine quickly re-appear by 10 a.m or so.

Dense fog cuts visibility to near zero on a 
St. Albans, Vermont street last year. 

Later in the autumn, the sun angle is lower, so the heat is not as strong. Especially this year, I imagine, we'll end up with several days that on paper should start out foggy then turn sunny. Instead, those days sometimes turn out to be entirely gloomy. The fog lingers, then maybe lifts into a low, gray overcast. The mountain tops end up in the sun, but us valley dwellers experience a dreary day. 

On some of those days, the sky finally clears late in the afternoon, only to fog up again that night. 

Fog can be beautiful, giving our surroundings a mysterious air. But much like in the winter, plan on leaving a few minutes early for work on calm mornings. Patches of fog will mean you'll need to drive more slowly. 

Hurricane Ernesto Ensures Start Of Hurricane Season Fairly Busy, But What's Next?

Hurricane Ernesto today as it began its departure
from Bermuda. 

Hurricane season so far is a bit quieter than the gangbuster predictions we saw earlier this year.

But it's still a busy one, especially since we've already had a few strong ones and it's only mid-August. and there's also plenty of time for the season to really, really ramp up. 

The current storm is Hurricane Ernesto, out in the Atlantic Ocean. 

Ernesto made landfall on west side of Bermuda at around 4:30 a.m. Saturday with top winds of about 85 mph.

It's a slow mover, so Bermuda was hit by hurricane force winds from Friday night well into today. A third of the island's electricity was out.  Bermuda is a rather wealthy nation with sturdy buildings, so not much structural damage is anticipated. 

Bermuda is often affected by hurricanes, but since it's such a small target, actual landfalls are relatively rare. It was reportedly the 12th landfalling hurricane on Bermuda since 1850. Of course, scores of other hurricanes whose eyes never touched the island still managed to unleash hurricane force winds there. 

Ernesto is something like 1,000 miles off the East Coast of the United States, but its effects are still being felt. 

In Rodanthe, on North Carolina's Outer Banks, an oceanfront house collapsed Friday evening into the Atlantic Ocean as swells and high tides from Ernesto hit the East Coast.

Seven houses in Rodanthe have collapsed into the ocean in the past four years due at least in part to sea level rise, climate change and storms. Two of the houses collapsed in May and were on the same block as the one that went Friday. 

According to The Island Free Press:

"Chicamacomico Fire and Rescue posted video of the house located at 23214 East Corbina Drive floating into the breakers Friday evening.

Dare County property records show the 1,428 square foot residence was built in 1973, and owned by a couple from Hershey, Pennsylvania. The total tax value of the property and structure was $356,400.

The house, which had been an active vacation rental until earlier this summer, was unoccupied at the time of the collapse. No injuries were reported."

Reports indicate prior storms earlier this summer weakened the house and its supports, making the building unsafe. That's why it was unoccupied on what was otherwise a lovely Cape Hatteras summer Friday evening. 

Elsewhere on the East Coast, beachgoers  from Atlantic Canada to Florida are advised to be wary of rip currents and high surf emanating from Ernesto.

This year was forecast to be a supercharged hurricane season.  There hasn't been a lot of storms at any given time so far. 

But this hurricane season has so far been somewhat busier than it looks.

One measure of hurricane activity is something called Accumulated Cyclone Energy, or ACE. It's a measurement that incorporates storm intensity and duration. 

Because Beryl, Debby and now Ernesto were powerful and lasted quite awhile, the ACE count so far this year is way above normal for this point in August. 

The ACE count for the Atlantic hurricane season as of August 15 is a bit under 50, compared to the normal of around 1

The fifth tropical storm of the year, the one that begins with "E" normally on average forms on August 22, so Ernesto was a little early.

The "F" storm, which will be Francine this year, on average forms on August 29. So we'll wait and see whether Francine forms by then or not.  

We're waiting and seeing because at the moment, after Ernesto, the folks at the National Hurricane doesn't see anything on the radar forming over the next five days at least. There's still a lot of dry air and some Saharan dust circulating over the tropical Atlantic, which is suppressing tropical storms for now. 

Even though forecasts for tropical storm and hurricane activity in the Atlantic look fairly minimal in the short term, it could really start popping at the end of this month and in September. By then, dry air is forecast to start moistening up. Ocean temperatures where hurricanes tend to develop are at near record highs. That's jet fuel for tropical storms and hurricanes.

Plus wind shear, which tends to rip apart wannabe tropical storms before they really can get going, typically declines over the tropical Atlantic in late August and September. 

No guarantees, but we might not have escaped a wild season just yet. Hell, it's been difficult to begin with. Hurricane Beryl caused damage from the Windward Islands to Texas to Atlantic Canada, including here in Vermont. 

Hurricane Debby trashed parts of Florida before causing serious flooding and wind damage in many parts of the eastern U.S. Debby is why we had such a nasty wind storm in Vermont last Friday.

Ernesto, before harassing Bermuda, caused damage in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Whether the rest of the season is busy or not, where hurricanes go is even more important than how many.  If big ones keep plowing into land, this could be a super expensive season. If we're fortunately and they keep curving out to sea, then we've obviously dodged a bunch of bullets. 

Lack Of Early Season Hurricanes No Reason To Relax, Lot Of "Em Still On The Way

Screen grab from a 13News Now video shows an example
of the chaotic flooding in Florida this week. 

There has been no tropical storms or hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean and eastern Pacific Ocean so far this year.    

If no tropical storms form in the western hemisphere by this coming Monday, it'll only be the third time since 1970 that no named storms had formed by then. It's possible, but not likely we'll have our first tropical storm by Monday. 

That's not to say there's no signs of life in the eastern Pacific or Atlantic Ocean.

Just ask all those unfortunate flood victims in Florida. Up to 20 inches of rain have fallen on parts of South Florida since Tuesday, and more downpours are moving in. 

Blame that on something called  Invest 90L. No, it's not some weird watery investment scheme. Invests are a name the National Hurricane Center gives to disturbance in the tropics that bear investigation. It's a way to focus on patches of bad weather than might (or might not) develop into a tropical storm or hurricane. 

Invest 90L proves that you don't need a full-blown tropical storm or hurricane to cause havoc. The storm unleashed rain that fell at rates of up to four inches per hour.  The flooding, as you'd image is widespread, with numerous houses, mobile homes, businesses and countless cars destroyed or severely wrecked.

Nearly a foot of rain fell on Fort Lauderdale, making it one of the Florida cities hit with catastrophic flooding. This week's storm comes a little over a year after an incredible 22.5 inches of rain on a single day inundated Fort Lauderdale. 

Climate change might have made this worse. Downpours tend to be heavier as a warmer atmosphere can hold more moisture. Given the right conditions, this extra atmospheric water can unload in the form of extreme downpours. 

For the record, Invest 90L seems to be moving off the east coast of Florida to an eventual position off of Georgia and the Carolinas.  The National Hurricane Center is giving this only a 20 percent chance of developing into a tropical storm.

NHC is also watching an area in the southwestern Gulf of Mexico that stands a somewhat better chance of developing into a tropical storm sometime next week. 

Despite the unusual dearth of tropical systems in the western hemisphere, this isn't all that strange. Hurricane season doesn't really ramp up until August. The ingredients are still there for a terrible season. 

Ocean waters in the main areas where hurricanes develop are still far above normal. That's jet fuel for any cluster of thunderstorms tempted to develop into a hurricane.

We're still finishing up the transition from an El Nino to La Nina weather pattern. El Nino tends to suppress tropical storms in the Atlantic, which might help explain the lack of activity so far. But La Nina does the opposite, encouraging tropical systems to develop.

Earlier this week, the closely watched Colorado State University updated its April 4 hurricane forecast by not really making any changes at all. They're still going with an extremely busy season of 23 named storms in the Atlantic Ocean between now and the end of November or so. This includes a predicted 11 full-fledged hurricanes. 

Hail Of A Year In U.S. Damaging Ice Balls Worse Than Usual This Year

A 

 Last past Sunday, I published an account of a terribly destructive hail storm in and around Denver, Colorado.  

This giant hailstone landed in Texas
last Sunday. 

That was one of many hail storms in a nasty, busy hailish here in the United States. (Yes, I invented a new word, so sue me).

As the Washington Post reports, spring is a busy time for hail, as it is severe weather and tornado season. This year seems to be even worse than usual.  

That makes sense. The weather pattern has featured extra doses of tornadoes and severe thunderstorms this spring. It follows that we'd have more hailstorms in that pattern, too. 

WARMER PLANET, MORE ICE BALLS?

Paradoxically as it might seem, a warming planet might be making hail storms worse than in the past. 

Hail forms when big thunderstorms create big updrafts that keep ever-growing balls of ice adding more layers of water that freezes. Finally, the hail stones get too big for the updrafts to keep them up there, so they plummet to earth. 

The stronger the updrafts, the longer the hail stays up there, getting bigger and bigger. Which is why these giant things come crashing down sometimes, smashing up cars, dinging and puncturing roofs until they leak and causing other havoc. 

The Washington Post picks up the story:

"As temperatures warm along Earth's surface, those updrafts may be getting stronger - and that may allow hail to grow larger before the winds can no longer keep it aloft.

The warmer the air, the more moisture it can hold. And when thunderstorms develop, a greater contrast between hot, moist air close to the ground and cold, dry air overhead can supercharge the upward winds needed to produce hail."

The Gulf of Mexico has also been abnormally warm all year so far. That means south winds blowing from the Gulf inland into the United States can grab more moisture from those waters to help intensify thunderstorms across much of the nation.

MORE TARGETS

Another big reason hail has been getting a lot more expensive is because they have a lot more targets to hit. 

Big hail storms tend to strike in narrow streaks, much like tornadoes. The areas affected by hail storms are wider than those hit by tornadoes. While hail might fall in a ten or even 20 mile wide path, the worst of the hail - with the biggest stones and the greatest amount of them, only tend to fall in paths one to three miles wide. 

By comparison, the widest tornadoes are 1 to 2 miles across, but those mega-twisters are extremely rare.  If there's a lot of open country, a streak of wannabe destructive hail can thread the needle and avoid towns and cities. 

Back in the old days, cities and towns were pretty compact. Now, those suburbs spread out all over the damn place and they keep spreading outward. That's so many more opportunities for hail stones to crash down on cars, roofs, windows, siding and such.    So the costs and the insurance claims skyrocket as a result. 

On top of the, climate change might (or might not, the jury is still out) be spreading big hail northward and eastward into more highly populated areas that could really get nailed. 

The reason I said the jury is still out on that question is because, as the Washington Post reports, climate change might be in general reducing wind shear in severe thunderstorms. Wind shear is changes in wind speed and direction with height. Hail storms tend to thrive when the wind shear is higher. 

Scientist hope to launch an intensive research project during next spring's storm season to help answer the questions about how climate change affects hail and other severe storms 

RECORD BIG HAIL

Last Sunday in Texas, storm chasers near Vigo Park, Texas found a hail stone that was 7.25 inches in diameter. If verified, this spiky hailstone would set the mark for the largest hailstone on record in Texas. The old record was 6.4 inches in Hondo, Texas in 2021.

For the record, the Texas hail monster wasn't the biggest ever seen in the United States. That honor goes to an 8-inch diameter hail stone that landed in Vivian, South Dakota (right in the middle of the state) on July 23, 2010. For comparison, a bowling ball is 8.5 inches in diameter.

For Vermonters reading this, our record big hailstone is pretty small in comparison. A supercell thunderstorm on July 16, 2009 unloaded a 3.3 inch diameter chunk of ice on Westford. That's about midway between the size of a baseball and softball. 

We even had our own bouts with hail this season in Vermont, though the episodes were relatively minor. Hail struck areas in eastern Franklin County back on May 21. The hailstones weren't big enough to cause a whole lot of damage, except to gardens and perhaps some farm crops. 

And of course, we had that half dollar sized hail down in Waltham, Vermont Friday, and a few other reports of penny sized hail the same day.  

Some hail also fell across Franklin County on April 28 as a batch of thunderstorms rumbled through. 

So far, knock on wood, Vermont is yet to see any hail that's too damaging. The severe weather season is young, though. 

It's nearly impossible to predict a risk of hail more than a few days in advance. Any thunderstorms we see in Vermont over the next day or two will have at worst harmless pea sized hail. Most, if not all storms will contain no hail at all because they won't be strong enough. 

Spring Is Over, Looking Back At How Beautiful The Season Is In Vermont

Sun shines on some colorful daffodils in St. Albans,
Vermont back on May 6.  Spring, now over, is
my favorite time of year. 

 Basically, it's summer now. 

Oh, sure, astronomical summer doesn't officially start until 4:50 p.m. June 20.  But meteorological summer is here, having started June 1. And the weather has quite often surely felt like summer lately. The landscape looks like full summer, too. 

Spring, though, is my favorite time of year, with summer a close second. I just low how the drabness of winter disappears into the bold colors of spring.

Every day during the spring looks different and more colorful than the day before.   

I try to spend as much time outdoors that time of year, despite the clouds of black flies. 

Here's a look back at the spring, through my eyes (and the lens of an old iPhone).

For each of the videos, click on the hyperlink, or, if you see the image below that link, click on that.  

Here's the first one:

Early spring can be wet and cold and windy, but it's still beautiful. Eventually, the sun does come out. Not sure if the rain or sun is more beautiful in this one.  Click on this link.

I'm a daffodil nut.  The following video checks out some of the many, many  daffodils around my yard.   Again, click on this link or image below if you see it. 

As I've said in past posts, the height of spring is peak foliage season. Here's a video to prove it, by clicking on this link, or seeing below. 

Finally, spring brings us lilacs. You can almost smell their aroma in this video, clicking on this link or viewing below. 

 

Northern Vermont Gets Wake Up Call Announcing Start Of Thunderstorm Season

Daylight before dawn. Screen grab of video as lightning
lit everything up in St. Albans, Vermont around
5:30 a.m today. 

 It's about that time of year when we start seeing thunderstorms, and northern Vermont got a wake up call regarding that early this Sunday morning. 

A nice big cluster of thunderstorms move from southern Ontario and Quebec crossed the international border into New York and Vermont early this morning at dawn.  The storms were by no means severe.

But they did produce impressively frequent lightning, downpours and small hail.  

Here in St. Albans, there was lightning and thunder for more than two hours beginning at roughly 5 a.m.  The strongest storm here dumped a pretty good amount of pea sized hail mixed with a downpour at around at around 5:45 a.m. 

The National Weather Service office in South Burlington issued a couple of special weather statements alerting people to the possibility of hail up to the size of dimes. 

Those of you who saw lightning this morning might have noticed the thunder sounded a little weird at times. 

The storms were elevated above a temperature inversion. That means there was a layer of the atmosphere that warmed a little with height, instead of cooling like you'd normally see. The inversion formed sort of a lid over us. That lid bounced around the sound waves from the thunder, giving them this deep rolling, at times almost crackling sound. 

Screen grab from lightningmaps.org shows plenty
of stakes across northern Vermont, southern Quebec
and northeastern New York around 6 a.m. today.

In any event, the batch of storms moved south and gradually weakened as the morning went on.

After a bit of a break from the rain and lightning, latter this morning we have more convective showers and maybe another couple of rumbles of thunder in the plan for this afternoon. The sun's heating will help create some instability with will work with a cold front coming in from the north. 

The result will be hit and miss showers this afternoon. Especially in the northern half of Vermont

Today's thunder was just a taste. Going forward through May and into the summer, you'll see forecasts of thunderstorms pop up more and more frequently. Eventually, we'll have a few bouts with potentially severe thunderstorms. Nothing like that is coming in the immediate future, though. 

In other words, let's get ready to rumble. 

UPCOMING WEEK

The work week will start cooler than forecasts issued a few days ago indicated. Cool high pressure from Canada will keep highs Monday in the upper 50s north of Route 2 to the low and mid 60s down to Route 4, and upper 60s in low elevations far south. 

That's close to normal, or a smidge below normal north for this time of year.

Another weather disturbance in a series brings more cool temperatures and showers Tuesday.  Wednesday and Thursday are looking somewhat drier and warmer before more showers arrive late in the week.  

After that, it's beginning to look like we might get into one those typical but vaguely annoying persistent May weather patterns featuring relatively cool temperatures, frequent clouds and an ever-present risk of light showers. 

Fire Risk When Vermont Ground So Soggy Underfoot? You Bet!

Dry brush Tuesday in the area behind my St. Albans,
Vermont house.  This is the time of year to be 
very careful with fire and matches, because brush
and wildfires can easily start. Even if it 
just rained a couple days ago 

It was still squishy underfoot Tuesday evening as I cleaned up storm damage on my St. Albans, Vermont property. 

Not exactly mud season, but definitely damp. 

So, why am I not seeking a burn permit to get rid of all the trees and branches that fell on my property during two recent storms?

Because despite the mud, it's fire season in Vermont. 

It's the most likely season for brush and wildfires to break out around here.  It hasn't really greened up yet. so there's all that dried up plant debris from last year. The trees aren't leafed out, either, so the strong spring sun can blast through to the ground and dry things up quickly.

Plus, there's a particular weather pattern this time of year that can lead to fire weather. 

Remember that remarkably dry air we were so fortunate to have back on April 8, eclipse day? The weather that kept all but decorative high cloudiness out of the way?

That's what we tend to get this time of year. 

High pressure systems with fair, dry weather often make their way into New England from Canada. At least in southern Canada, much of the snow is gone buy now. And there's no leaves on the trees to add moisture to the air via transpiration. 

So those fair weather systems are often bone dry. Arid.  Even if it's been rainy, a day or two of that super dry air can suck the moisture out of the dead weeds and plants and such from last year.  Plus, as these high pressure systems approach, they often compete with a departing storm up in the Canadian Maritimes. That causes dry, gusty erratic winds. 

Some springs are more fire prone than others. We can go long stretches - a week or more - without any rain and plenty of super dry air. That's when you most often see fires erupting. 

So far this year, showers have been pretty frequent, which is helping to prevent a lot of fire problems.  Over the next few days, wet weather systems will try to work in from the west, but will tend to fall apart as they reach Vermont. 

Which actually will work out to be good compromise. Scattered light showers will keep things damp. But there will be no day long, heavy rains to keep us indoors. We can still go outdoors and do stuff. 

Fire season in Vermont is still young, so we still might have long stretches of dry weather going well into May.  The risk of fire goes down somewhat, but definitely does not disappear once things really green up later this spring. 

As far as my storm debris goes, I'm stashing it in a far corner of my property for now. Next winter, when there's snow on the ground is when I'll make all that mess into a nice, satisfying bonfire. 

Morning Fog Season Is Here; Probably Will Be Even Foggier This Year

Satellite photo from early this morning shows webs
of fog in the river valleys of Vermont, and in much
of the Champlain Valley 

 There was lots of fog in the valleys of Vermont this morning. The National Weather Service in South Burlington even issued a special weather statement noting the fog was more widespread than usual today.  

Get used to it. 

As summer wanes and we get toward autumn morning fog will be a frequent visitor to Vermont, especially in the river valleys.

Any clear, calm night for the next several weeks will probably give us misty mornings.

The ground and water bodies have been warming up all summer. Now, on calm, clear nights, the air temperature will dip below that of the water. Moisture rising from the water will hit that cool air and condense into fog.

This happens every year, of course. Transpiration from trees contributes to it as well. So does wet ground. 

And boy, do we have wet ground!  After all those floods and storms and rainy periods we've had for months, the soil is still soggy as heck.  That will probably make us even more foggy during the early autumn, unless we see weeks of dry weather starting now. 

Spoiler: Some showers are in the forecast Tuesday and Wednesday. 

Fog will mostly be a creature of early mornings in the coming weeks. As the sun rises, it heats the air, causing it to mix around and that disperses the fog. Even the thickest fog banks near rivers usually disappears by 10 a.m. or 11 a.m. at the latest.

On some occasions, a temperature inversion will seal the moisture near the surface more efficiently. On those days, the fog might lift into a low, dreary overcast that might not break up until afternoon. That won't happen often, but it probably will occasionally. 

This morning's fog was more widespread than usual because the same temperature inversion that kept parts of Vermont overcast into Sunday afternoon continued to exist.  Since the air was already moist, it didn't take long for fog to take hold, and spread. 

The fog was burning off at midmorning and today will be a pleasant Monday.