Big Parts Of Colorado Just Had Their Biggest Snowstorm In Almost A Quarter Century; Up To 28 Inches Reported

Apparently, no al fresco dining in Estes Park, Colorado
after 28 inches of snow fell yesterday and today. 
Photo via Facebook from Matt Levitt Weather

A late season snowstorm has hit large swaths of Wyoming and Colorado which sounds depressing for so late in the season.  

Instead, people are rejoicing, because as the snow melts, it will put the first real dent in the areas's drought in months. 

New snow was reported as deep as 26.1 inches way up in the high country of Boulder County. The city of Boulder itself got about 10 inches. Up in Estes Park in Larimer County, between 22 and 28 inches fell. 

All of Colorado is experiencing a drought. The snow is great news.  What had been expected to be an extraordinarily early start to the fire season might be postponed by a few weeks.  At least in the Front Range.

There was quite a bit of water in that snow. As of late this morning, Fort Collins reported 5.3 inches of snow with total melted precipitation of 1.75 inches. 

Denver itself reportedly got around three or four inches downtown, and around 4.5 to 5 inches around the rest of the city.  This means this was the second or third largest snowstorm of the "winter" even though it hit well into spring.  It was the biggest May snowstorm in Denver since 2003. 

The Denver snow, melted down, amounted to at least 1.1 inches of what is basically rainfall. 

 Final tallies aren't in yet, which is why I"m saying "at least." 

As the snow falls. the warm ground is making it melt from the bottom, and the water soaks into the soil. Once the snow stops, rising temperatures will make the remaining snow melt, which will continue to add moisture to the soil. Gradually, instead of running off like downpours would. So this is perfect. 

Northwestern Colorado is experiencing the worst drought conditions in the state. Many areas in western Colorado unfortunately mostly missed out on the precipitation. Grand Junction, Colorado only had 0.05 inches of precipitation. Gunnison had a little under a quarter inch. 

Which means the drought and potential fire problems are not at all over in Colorado. And most of the rest of the West. 

This isn't to say the storm caused no problems. It did. 

Trees has mostly leafed out in the Denver and Boulder areas thanks to a record warm winter and toasty early spring. Peonies were even blooming. The weight of the snow on leafed out trees caused many branches to snap. Some of them onto power lines. 

About 47,000 Colorado homes and businesses were without power as of early this afternoon. 

Coloradans face some garden misery tonight. The snow is ending, but a snow covered ground means it'll get very cold very fast tonight. A freeze warning is in effect for the entire area that had snow. 

The snowstorm in Colorado will soon be forgotten. The snow will melt and quickly!

 Forecasters expect the highs in the low 60s around Denver tomorrow, near 70 Friday through Sunday and rising to the low and mid 80s by early next week.

And the snowstorm isn't traveling anywhere else to hassle any springtime enthusiasts. It's just kind of dwindling away to nothing and drying up.

After Vermont's Snowstorm Last Night, All Eyes On The Coast For Blizzard Of '26

Yet another winter wonderland this morning in St.
Albans, Vermont after last night's 6.5 inches of
snow. All eyes on the East Coast as what
might well become the Blizzard of '26.

 The snow was just about done here in Vermont by about 8:30 the morning, with just patchy areas of light snow and flurries around. 

The big news next is something that escalated really quickly over the past couple of days. 

The expected path of the  nor'easter we've been talking about went from well offshore to right near the coast. 

A full-fledged blizzard is now expected along the Mid-Atlantic and New England coasts. This includes New York City and  probably Boston.

That storm will mostly hit Sunday night and Monday.

I'll give you all the details on that in a moment, with updates on how all that might affect us in Vermont, but let's catch up with last night's storm in Vermont .

SNOW TOTALS AND FORECAST

It looks like total accumulations were in line with expectations. I saw a lot of five, six and seven inch reports across the state. The most I've seen so far is 8.5 inches in Tunbridge, followed closely 8.2 inches in Morrisville.

Here in St. Albans, I collected 6.5 inches. Burlington collected six inches as of shortly before 7 a.m today. 

Also as expected, the snow slowed down traffic quite a bit. The worst problem locally was in Sunny Hollow on Route 7 in Colchester. Several cars couldn't make it up the steep hills in that area, ad had to be pulled out. That really snarled traffic there.

An accident also had traffic seriously backed up amid heavy snow on the Killington Access Road Friday afternoon. 

Road conditions are definitely improving this morning. There are still slick spots, but just go a little slow and you'll be fine.

A cold front was slopping south through Vermont as of 8 a.m. Temperatures were near 20 degrees in the north and in the low 30s in southern Vermont. Since we're getting into daylight and sunshine, temperatures will hold in the low to mid 30s south and rise only into the mid and upper 20s central and north.

But I'm burying the lede. Here's the big story

BLIZZARD OF '26?

The American computer model from this morning
has a super intense storm with serious coastal
flooding and blizzard conditions for areas 
near the coastline from Delaware to New England. 

Forecasts for the coastline from Delaware north into New England have gotten rather  dire and extreme. 

The Nor'easter that just three days ago was supposed to harmlessly head out to sea is now going to bring a potentially historic storm to the the Northeast. Especially along and east of Interstate 95. 

Delaware, the Jersey Shore, New York City, Long Island and coastal Connecticut are under blizzard warnings for Sunday into Monday.

 I think those blizzard warnings will be extended into southeastern New England, too. 

Places under the blizzard warning look like they might receive one to two feet of snow, driven by winds of up to 55 mph.  

The early part of the storm will feature wet and heavy snow. That, combined with the strong winds, could cause some widespread power outages.T

Serious coastal flooding is also in the cards.

All the computer models agree the nor'easter will develop explosively on Sunday and quickly become perhaps the most intense storm in years. It's definitely a red alert storm. 

What we don't know is whether the northwestward drift in the expected path of the storm will continue or not. Which leaves questions about how far inland the heavy snow will get. For now. winter storm warnings for more eight to 16 inches of snow cover New Jersey away from the coast, southeast Pennsylvania, and the Hudson Valley north of New York City

In case the predicted storm track keeps going further northwest, winter storm watch covers Maryland,  a good chunk of Pennsylvania, New York as far north as Albany and New England as far north as the border between Massachusetts and Vermont and New Hampshire. 

As mentioned, this will probably be an historic storm. 

VERMONT EFFECTS

Until now, we didn't think Vermont would be affected by this nor'easter at all. Now it looks like the Green Mountain State will feel some effects, but it still doesn't look particularly scary for us.  

The forecast might still change, but for now Vermont's southernmost two counties could receive around six inches of snow Sunday night and Monday. A couple inches of snow might pile up as far north as Route 4.  Northern Vermont would get no additional snow under this scenario

Winds will probably pick up on Monday, especially in southern and eastern Vermont. It won't be anything damaging like near the coast, but gust to 30 mph will add to the late winter chill.

The nor'easter will also probably tug down a shot of Arctic air toward Tuesday. We'll have a 24 hour or so spell where daytime highs Tuesday would barely crack 20 degrees with an overnight low in the single number or even below zero.

And no rest for the weary. It looks like two more smaller storms might affect Vermont next Wednesday and Friday.  

I'll have much more on this nor'easter in future posts as this develops. 

Vermont, And Rest Of North Country Still On Target For Blast Of Snow Today

The latest National Weather Service snow forecast
issued this morning. Areas in yellow and orang can
expect six to 10 inches of snow. Blue areas will
be closer to five inches. 

The sky overhead as we woke up this morning was the polar opposite of yesterday's weather. 

Instead of that beautiful bluebird sky we enjoyed on Thursday. there's an ominous gray overhead.

 That's our sign that Vermont and the rest of the North Country is in for a blast of wet snow this afternoon and evening that will have some of you crying "uncle."

It's not that this storm will be much bigger than usual. Instead, it's another installment in a long, long winter. And, as we've noted previously. the timing and consistency of this thump of snow is bad. 

TIMING

You'll want to get any driving and errands done by noon today to be on the safe side

The snow should arrive in southwestern Vermont by around noon.  Along Interstate 89, the snow will start maybe around 3 or 4 p.m., give or take. The Northeast Kingdom might be able to squeak through the evening commute before the snow starts there at around 6 p.m., again, give or take. 

The snow will come in fast. Very soon after you see the first raindrops or snowflakes, the precipitation will get heavy and quickly. Those caught out on the roads will see conditions go from great to terrible in no time. 

AMOUNTS

Overall, the forecast hasn't changed much since last night. Broad brush, most of Vermont and surrounding areas should get five to 10 inches of snow. The bulk of that snow will come down within a few hours starting in the mid to late afternoon and continuing into the evening. 

If there's any changes, the amount of expected snow in the southern and central Green Mountains has ticked up by about an inch. I wouldn't be surprised if a couple spots along the east slopes of the southern or central Green Mountains come close to a foot of snow. 

Along the valley floor along Route 7 in southwest Vermont, above freezing temperatures combined with east winds might cut accumulations down closer to three or four inches. Perhaps as little as two inches around Bennington.  

When the wind comes out of the east, the wind flows downhill along the western slopes of the mountains. Air flowing downhill tends to dry out somewhat, which explains the potentially lower snow totals there. 

In the immediate Champlain Valley, the precipitation might start out with a rain/snow mix, then quickly shift to all wet snow. The initial mix might keep total accumulations down to five or six inches. 

WET, HEAVY SNOW

I bring up the mix of rain at the start west of the Green Mountains because of an interesting temperature set up this morning. East of the Green Mountains, temperatures were only in the single numbers early this morning. West of the Green Mountains, temperatures were in the 28 to 33 degree range. Bennington was already at 36 degrees.

Those areas are starting warmer than we thought. Before the precipitation starts this afternoon, temperatures west of the Greens could even briefly flirt with 40, especially down by Bennington. Even eastern Vermont should get into the low 30s by the time the snow arrives. 

However, once the precipitation starts getting heavy, that should cool the atmosphere enough to change everyone over to snow fairly quickly. 

Still, temperatures during this evening's big thump of snow should stay close to 32 or 33 degrees. The bottom line is this will be a wet and heavy snow. Not the nice, gentle powdery snowfalls we've seen most of this winter. 

As I've noted before, wet snow turns into a particularly slippery ice when compacted beneath vehicle tires.  The snow will also come down at a rate of an inch or more per hour.  Some spots on the eastern slopes of the southern Green Mountains and southeastern slopes of the Adirondacks could briefly near two inches per hour.

Road crews cannot keep up with that rate of snowfall. People will be stuck on hills, slide-offs will gum up highways. Late this afternoon and evening will be an absolutely mess. I hope some of our readers were able to arrange to work at home today. 

This really is a dynamic storm, judging from the tornadoes it spun off yesterday in Illinois and Indiana. Here in Vermont, I think we have a low, but not zero chance of seeing some thunder snow this evening, especially south. 

As we mentioned yesterday, the snow will turn much lighter and drier in consistency later tonight a Saturday morning. A new storm near the New England coast will steal most of the atmospheric energy later today and whisk it quickly eastward out into the Atlantic Ocean. 

It won't be such a bad day tomorrow with clouds, and maybe some light snow especially in the mountains. There could even by a little sun north late in the day. 

We're still watching that nor'easter for Sunday night and Monday. It still looks like it will miss us here in Vermont.  We'll update after we get through today's mess.  

Vermont Snowstorm Over, Deep Cold Settles In

 Getting a late start this morning, as I decided to sleep in. Sue me. 

The storm is over, but the snow remains on the roads
this morning. This traffic cam grab shows Willliston
Road in the Burlington area as it crosses over Interstate 89.
The Interstate looked pretty good, but other, secondary
roads statewide will continue to have snow 
and ice on them, possibly all week. 

Anyway, snow amounts ended up being pretty impressive from the storm that just departed. And the most impressive amounts weren't where they were supposed to be.

Southern Vermont was going  to be the big winner, with some spots expected to get up to two feet. But I had trouble finding anyone in the far south that had more than a foot. 

The big snows were in central and northern Vermont, where almost everybody except the far northern Champlain Valley had a foot or more of snow.   The biggest totals I saw were 21 inches in Roxbury, 20.5 inches in East Randolph, and 20 inches in Northfield, Moretown and Cavendish. 

"DRY" SNOW

The snow to water ratio in the snow was very low. It was quite a fluffy storm, I guess you could say. In that sense, it wasn't as impressive of a storm as it looked on paper. There have been storms with this much snow with a much greater water content than the snowfall we just got.

This snow is relatively easy to clear. Since there's so much air in it, you'll see the snow depth on the ground decline quite a bit, despite the fact there's nothing close to a thaw in the forecast. 

The snow will just settle as some of the air escapes from it. 

I am puzzled by data from the National Weather Service office in Burlington. According to them, there was 8.6 inches of snow in Burlington Monday for a storm total of 15.6 inches. 

That 8.6 inches of snow yesterday supposedly only amounted to 0.05 water equivalent. Either something is off, or maybe Burlington set some sort of record for "driest" snow. 

Most snowstorms have very roughly a 10 to one snow to water equivalent. In other words, ten inches of snow would equal an inch of rain. A storm like yesterday's with its fluffy snow I imagine would have a 20 to one or even 30 to one ratio. 

I would have expected 8.6 inches of snow to have at least a quarter inch of rain in it if not more. I messaged the National Weather Service office for an explanation.  They replied that they have an automated system that  collects snow and water measurements. When the snow is particularly light and fluffy, the automated systems has a hard time catching the snow, so it under-reports the amount of "water" that fell.

Actual human observers measure the snow, so that 8.6 inches that was measured is reliable.    

FRIGID WEATHER

When there's deep fresh snow, nights can get colder than they otherwise would be.

We saw that last night, as it was even colder than forecast. For instance, Burlington got down to minus 2. Montpelier and Middlebury were minus 7. 

If you like wearing Hawaiian shirts and flip flops outdoors, you've got a looonnnng wait before you can do it. 

It's going to stay colder than normal for the foreseeable future. 

We're still looking at highs in the teens all week and lows near or below zero. They've actually cut a couple degrees off of daily temperatures compared to previous forecasts. It looks especially cold around Friday, when highs might not get out of the single numbers and lows could be well below zero. 

It still looks like we'll have very little snow to add to what we got the past couple days. Some light snow showers might pass through today but they wont amount to much. 

Note that road conditions might not be great today.  It's so cold that our limited supply of salt is not doing a good job melting away any snow or black ice from the pavement. Traffic cams show Interstates 89 and 91 weren't too bad, as of 9 a.m. but some places still had snow in the passing lanes.

But between the cold and the salt shortage, assume local roads and streets will be snow covered, possibly icy and slippery. That problem, frankly could last most of the week in some spots. 

The computer models are still generating a strong nor'easter off the East Coast Sunday. The storm has the potential to cause real trouble right along the coast. But for us in Vermont, it still looks unlikely we'll get anything from it other than an increase in cold north winds.

We'll see if the forecasts take a northwestward shift like the last storm did, but so far, there's no signs of that happening. 

Remember how I've been telling you it looks like it will remain mostly quite cold until mid-February? It's beginning to look like that deep winter chill will go past that, possibly until the end of next month. 

We'll wait and see if that turns out to be accurate. But I hope you have money saved for your heating bills! 

Vermont Snow Finally Winding Down. More Than A Foot Many Places. Long Cold Spell To Continue

The view out my home office window in St. Albans,
Vermont as getting increasingly blocked by snow 
after todays snowstorm. 

As you surely noticed if you live here, it snowed lightly all day in Vermont, adding to the totals we talked about this morning. 

The snow has an incredible fluff factor, so seemingly, we had a lot more snow.  As the next few days go by, though, the snow that piled up should settle by several inches. 

Especially since, after this evening, very little if any new snow is on the way until at least next Saturday, and possibly beyond that. 

But the snow we have is sure as hell not going to melt. We have a lot more cold air coming. More on that in a minute. 

It's beginning to look like northern Vermont might have gotten a little more snow than the south, which is opposite of what was forecast. The following won't be final totals, since it was still snowing in most of Vermont. 

But so far, the biggest totals I've seen are 19 inches in Waterbury Center, 18 inches in Walden, 16 inches in Morrisville and 15 inches in Danville. 

As of 1 p.m in Burlington, they had collected 13.5 inches. And it kept snowing after that. Here where I am in St. Albans, I'm lagging behind a lot of places. As of 4:30 p.m, the storm total measurement was up to 10.2 inches. 

Even if you didn't like dealing with all the snow and the frigid temperatures, we in Vermont should thank our lucky stars. Of all the states affected by the huge winter storm that thrashed the U.S., Vermont was one of the few places where the storm probably did more good than harm. 

It's giving a great boost to the winter sports industry and tourism. And it's just a bit more water than will melt into the ground come spring. It'll help the growing season get off to a good start. 

LOOKING AHEAD

This snow isn't going to last much longer, if it hasn't already quit by the time you read this. Most of us should be done with it by 8 p.m. or so. If not sooner. 

Of course, if you're driving home from work or wherever this evening, the roads are still covered in snow statewide Obviously, take it slow. 

Since it's staying cold, the roads won't be pristine tomorrow morning, either. You'll need a little extra time to get to work because we'll still have snow on the roads. 

COLD WEATHER

We are by no means in the most intense cold wave on record here in Vermont, but it looks like it will turn out to be one of the longest lasting ones in quite a long time. 

The temperature fell below 20 degrees this past Friday in Burlington. If current forecasts holds, it won't make it to 20 again until maybe a week from now. I don't have time this afternoon, but by tomorrow morning I'll look up when the last time that happened. 

Overnight lows will stay near zero each night. Below zero in a lot of places. The cold should tend to intensify a bit Thursday, Friday and Saturday, when temperatures could go well below zero at night. 

At least it doesn't look as bad as Friday and Saturday, when some places got into the 20s below. 

By the way, I had wondered if anybody in Vermont made it to 30 below Saturday night. As far as I can tell, the answer is no, But East Haven got down to 29 below, so close. 

As I mentioned this morning, I'm hearing some buzz about a possible nor'easter toward next Sunday. and/or Monday Some of the computer models do suggest such a storm. So far at least, it seems the forecasts are trending too far east to give us much more than a worsening wind chill from north winds.

That prediction can become wildly different one way or another by the end of the week, so as always, we'll update as needed  

Deadly U.S. Winter Storm Winding Down; Cleanup To Take Weeks In Some Areas

Road blocked by fallen trees in Nashville.
From Meteorologist Tyler Barker, via Facebook

The enormous, deadly winter storm that has been thrashing the United States since Friday is finally on its way out,  swiping New England today with lingering snows before heading out to sea. 

At least 16 people have died so far, and that doesn't include seven deaths in Bangor, Maine from a plane crash. The incident happened in snowy weather, but investigators haven't yet announced whether this was due to the weather. 

I'm afraid that toll will go up as ice storm victims who will be without power for days or weeks endure frigid temperatures.

People will come down with hypothermia in frigid homes or apartments, succumb to fires or fumes due to improperly installed generators or space heaters, or they will be injured or even killed in accidents while clearing fallen trees and branches. 

This will surely be an incredibly expensive storm, too. I expect total damage will make this the first weather disaster of 2026 to cause more than $1 billion in losses.

As of noon today, at least 776,000 homes and businesses were still without power in the Southeast. Most of the outages were in Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee, which were hardest hit by the ice storm. 

My social media feed this morning was full of images and videos of iced-over trees and branches snapping with a sound of a gunshot, the crashing to the ground in cacophony of shattering ice and wood crunching into the ground. 

Those expected temperatures in the ice storm zone are incredibly low. Extreme cold warnings extend from southern Texas to Pennsylvania. 

Some of the hardest hit towns are dealing with this incredible chill. One of the hardest hit cities, Oxford, Mississippi, is expecting a high today in the low 20s with a low tonight in the upper single numbers. Normal highs and lows this time of year in Oxford are in the low 50s and low 30s. 

Nashville was also hard hit. It's been in the teens there since 5 p.m. yesterday and won't get above that level until tomorrow. The expected low tonight in Nashville is 0 degrees. The city won't get any warmer than the low 30s through the week. 

The cold not only endangers people with the threat of hypothermia and frostbite, it also means a lot of the ice won't melt anytime soon. That means the risk of more collapsing trees and power lines, and even building damage. 

Oxford, Mississippi after the ice storm. 

Some houses and businesses have been hit by falling trees A few have succumbed to the weight of the ice.  

Several buildings and other structures have collapsed under the weight of ice along the Texas-Oklahoma border.  

A large horse barn in Hernando, Mississippi collapsed, but all the horses inside somehow managed to survive. At least one building fell down in Arkansas. 

One news crew almost got hit by a falling tree while talking about the storm with a family in Tennessee.

As in most disasters, the change in everyone's surroundings can feel surreal and shocking

In Mississippi, a WREG reporter in Oxford, Mississippi  said the air smells like pine from all the broken trees, and he has to keep his head on a swivel because of all the trees still falling, or at least threatening to. 

"It's complete devastation. It looks like a tornado went down every street. There is no safe means of travel on the roads right now," Oxford Mississippi Mayor Robyn Tannehill said. 

Speaking of tornadoes, a likely twister touched down in Geneva, in southeast Alabama, causing damage. There were also other reports of wind damage from strong thunderstorms in that part of Alabama and northwest Florida. 

Well to the north, the news was heavy snow. At least 16 states, including here in Vermont saw snow accumulations reach a foot or more. Reports of up to 22 inches of new snow came from central and eastern Massachusetts, the lower Hudson Valley and Catskills in New York, and at a couple spots in Pennsylvania

Boston ended a 1,430 day period in which they never saw a snowstorm of greater than six inches. That's their second longest snow drought in history, noted Jonathan Petralma in a YouTube video

The snowy weather extended into Canada. Toronto set a single-day record for snowfall with 23 inches.  The city has seen 34.7 inches of snow so far in January,  making this Toronto's snowiest month on record. 

Travel is still messed up today, as you might guess. More than 5,400 flights were canceled today, according to Flight Aware. This brings the total number of canceled flights to nearly 24,000 since the storm began Friday. That's the most since the Covid pandemic. 

A new nor'easter next Sunday or Monday might affect parts of the East Coast around next Sunday or Monday but it's too soon to tell if it will hit and where. Colder than normal weather is likely to continue in much of the northern and eastern United States at least into mid-February.  

Another Round Of Snow Moving Into Vermont After Overnight Dump

Snow covered roads around Interstate 89 Exit 14 in 
Burlington in this web cam grab from around 8:15 this
morning. Roads and highways should keep looking
like this all day as at least light snow should keep
falling amid continued cold temperatures. 

 As expected, our fluffy, cold snowstorm from yesterday and last petered out before dawn today, but more snow was moving in, especially in central and northern Vermont. 

The most snow I've seen in Vermont so far is 14.5 inches in Woodbury. Generally, most places so far are in the 6 to 12 inch range so far.

At this point I'm guessing snow totals will come in a somewhat less than the 12 to 24 inches that had been expected south, and pretty close to or just a little below the 10 to 16 inch storm total that we thought we'd get in the north.  

The National Weather Service in South Burlington said part of the problem was it was almost too cold for a decent snowfall.  Especially in the early part of the storm, while temperatures were near 0 or just above that level, the snow came as tiny crystals instead of nice, big snowflakes. 

You probably noticed how itty bitty the flakes were in many areas yesterday afternoon and evening.  That kind of snow does't accumulate fast. In northern Vermont, the clouds also weren't quite as packed with moisture as they could have been. So they yielded a bit less snow. 

Also, the period when snow tapered off and the time it is beginning again widened some, which is also cutting down the totals a bit. Those three factors cut down a snow totals a little 

It looks like Vermont was just north of the really heavy stuff. I see widespread 18 inch totals in central and eastern Massachusetts, in northern Connecticut and New York's Catskill region. 

Still, all of Vermont ended up with a decent snowstorm, so we can't complain too much about that. 

I noticed when I went out this morning the snow - again as expected - is light and feathery. I'm so glad it's not the wet cement we've had so often in recent winters. But it's still cold out. Temperatures were still only in the single numbers this morning and will only rise to the teens this afternoon.

The cold takes more out of you when you're shoveling, especially if you're older. So you want to take care while clearing the snow. Or borrow an athletic teenager to do the work. School is canceled due to the weather in many if not most places today in and around Vermont. So it might be easy to find some labor. 

As you might have guessed, pretty much all the roads in Vermont are snow covered, so they are slippery. Sure, it stopped snowing for awhile in many places. But it's way too cold for salt to work, and we have a road salt shortage to deal with. 

So whoever is driving Clearopathra and all the other wonderfully named Vermont snowplows isn't exactly spraying road salt all over the place. 

REST OT TODAY

Forecast for additional snow today. Another two to six inches
with two most in northwest Vermont and along the 
spine of the Green Mountains. 

As of 8 a.m., it was starting to snow again here in St. Albans. The snowflakes are bigger than those tiny crystals and needles from yesterday, so it will accumulate nicely. Especially since the snow will continue to be light and fluffy. 

Radar imagery at around 8 a.m. showed snow both pressing in from New York, and blossoming on its own in the Champlain Valley. 

So I think the early morning break in the snow is pretty much over. The snow will spread into the rest of Vermont during the morning. It'll probably be lighter south of Route 4. 

The snow should shut off pretty quickly this evening once the last piece of this complex storm says bye-bye and heads on off to the east. 

Another two to four inches is likely in southern Vermont today with there to five inches north. The five inch amounts will mostly be in the northern Champlain Valley and central and northern Green Mountains.  

REST OF THE WEEK

It'll be a cold one all the way through the week. 

Daily daytime highs today through Saturday at least will be in the teens. Lows will be near or below zero. Fresh snowfall tends to make the bottom drop out of the thermometers at night. If we get a clear night, a lot of us will get into the teens below zero. Some places might get into the 20s below if one of those clear nights happen.

We will have little if any new snow during the week. A few lame disturbances might throw a few snowflakes at us, but that's about it. Maybe the northern Green Mountains will catch a couple additional inches of snow after today. 

But at least we have enough powder now to play in, right?

Almost all signs point toward continued cold weather into mid-February and quite possibly beyond that. 

The next shot at a storm would be next Monday as some computer models are hinting at a nor'easter. But most of the models that do develop such a storm keep it too far east of Vermont to give us much of anything. But we've been surprised before. Sometimes the models change their minds and bring the storm a little closer to the coast. As always we'll keep an eye on it. 

EDITOR'S NOTE: We haven't done an update yet today on the much worse weather elsewhere in the U.S. this morning. That will come in a post later today. 

Extreme, Dangerous Storm Now Underway In U.S.. Here In Vermont, Big Powder Dump Due

What a mess. 

Just the beginning. Freezing rain beginning to weigh
down this tree in central Texas early today. By
this evening, we should start to see widespread
tree damage and power outages due to the
ice storm in the south. At least half the people
in the U.S. are now under a winter storm warning 

As expected, rain, freezing rain, sleet and snow is falling across a huge area of the central and southern U.S. and the problems have only just begun.

As usual, I'll have Vermont specifics below, but first. the national update. Spoiler: We're getting a big storm here in the Green Mountain State, but we're a luckier than a lot of people. 

At least half of the nation's 343 million or so people will be affected by this storm. I'm not sure, but I think the area of the United States under a winter storm warning is the largest I've seen since 2011.

And for some people this will be the worst storm in at least that long. 

\The first power outages from freezing rain, snow and wind were already starting to crop up early this morning. As of 9 a.m. eastern time, nearly 36,000 people had no power in Texas. More than 4,700 people in Arkansas and 3,000 people Oklahoma were in the dark.

The number of outages across southern and central parts of the U.S. will no doubt rise exponentially today. 

Traveling is a nightmare, or soon will be in huge swaths of the nation. Airlines are scrambling. As of 7:30 a.m. today, Flight Aware tells us there were 3,568 canceled flights today in the U.S. It's worse tomorrow, with more than 6,100 flights canceled. These numbers will probably rise further.

A wide stripe of heavy snow will end up extending 1,500 miles or more, from Oklahoma to New England and on into southeast Canada.

To make matters worse, some states, most notably Michigan and Vermont, are facing road salt shortages as the storm approaches.  

If there's a bright side, it's this storm won't be as bad as the Texas deep freeze, winter storm and electrical grid  collapse in 2021 that killed nearly 250 people. And despite some sensational social media posts I've seen, it won't be as bad as the Storm of the Century in 1993. 

Still, it's bad enough. I unfortunately predict it will cause at least a few tragic deaths and perhaps cause $1 billion or more in damage before it's over. 

VERMONT COLD, STORM

Just as planned, it's annoying cold out there today. We've started the day with temperatures in the single number and teens below zero, and wind chills in the minus 20s. Henry the Weather Dog was extremely quick and efficient with his first morning trip outdoors this morning. The poor little guy ran full steam to the door when he was ready to come in. I had the same mindset. 

High temperatures, if you can call them that, should get up to near or a little below zero for most of us. The banana belt in the lower Connecticut Valley might get all the way up to five or eight above. At least the sun will be out, so, um, yay?

Increasing clouds from the approaching storm will prevent temperatures from completely bottoming out tonight. But it will be below zero for sure. The Northeast Kingdom, which is normally colder anyway, will be the last to see the clouds. That means it could flirt with 20 below overnight in some spots up thee. 

Nine extreme cold shelters are open throughout the state this weekend to homeless people who would otherwise be exposed to the dangerous wind chill outdoors. 

You're going to want to dress for today's weather, obviously. The elderly and children are at most risk from getting in trouble with the frigid weather, so really keep an eye on them. 

The Storm

Forecast snow amounts for the upcoming storm have
increased, especially in northern Vermont. Almost
everybody should see at least 10 inches of snow
A few places in southern Vermont could get
close to 20 inches. Good news is this will
be powdery snow with no ice mixed in. 

Our main story, obviously is the big winter storm and how it will affect Vermont. 

The answer is pretty greatly. 

The National Weather Service office in South Burlington has boosted expected snow totals since their forecasts yesterday. Especially in northern Vermont.

Statewide, total accumulation from this storm are now expected to range from eight to 17 inches.  Some spots in central and southern Green Mountains could close in on 20 inches. 

If the current forecasts hold, places north of Route 2 would get a little less than a foot of snow. Central Vermont, including Burlington, Montpelier and Rutland would get about a foot or a little more than that. Places like Bennington, Brattleboro and Springfield would see maybe 15 inches. 

To nobody's surprise, the winter storm watch has been upgraded to a warning in northern Vermont. And the winter storm warning in the rest of the state is still in effect.

The snow should start in the early Sunday afternoon south of Route 4, mid-afternoon in central Vermont, and late afternoon north of Route 2.

The snow will need to overcome dry air before it reaches the ground. You'll be able to see that process tomorrow. Watch the mountains. The tops of them will look blurry at first as it starts to snow at the summits. But mid slopes and valleys will be clear as the snow evaporates on the way down in the dry air.

Gradually, the blur on top of the mountains will get lower in elevation as the air moistens. Finally, it[ll start snowing in the valleys. 

The overall forecast for the path of the storm hasn't changed since last night. The changes to the forecast in northern Vermont reflect more confidence that the good moisture from the storm will get that far north. Heck, even Montreal is expecting six inches of snow out of this. 

Usually this type of storm has bands of heavier snowfall that increase the accumulation in a few spots. That'll probably happen this time. But it's always almost impossible to know where these bands will set up ahead of time. 

The Storm's Effects

We in Vermont are a lot luckier than most other places in the path of this storm. Firstly, ski resorts, cross country centers, back country skiers and other snow lovers in Vermont are not exactly upset by this weather forecast.  It might as well be tourism dollars floating down from the sky during this storm. 

Also, unlike so much of the U.S. in this storm, we will not get any sleet or freezing rain. 

This will also be a light and fluffy snow. Ten inches of snow in an average snowstorm would yield about an inch of water.  With this storm, the snow will be so fluffy that you'd need at least 20 inches of snow to get an inch of water. 

If this storm were rain, we'd only get a half to three quarters of an inch of precipitation. 

All this means is we won't have any problems with trees falling and power lines snapping.  It'll be easier to shovel than those wet "heart attack" snows we've gotten in many snowstorms in recent years. 

There's a caveat to that, of course. This is still going to be an oddly cold storm, with temperatures mostly staying in the single numbers and teens. Shoveling snow in very cold air can increase the risk of heart attacks. 

The powdery snow will make traveling tough, especially on highways like Interstates 89 and 91. A passing semi will create a thick cloud of snow so that you won't be able to see anything around you. 

Even regular cars stir up enough snow to blank out your view. Also, this type of snow is deceptive. It will look like you're on dry pavement because the snow has blown off the road. But car tires will have compacted a little bit of that snow into black ice. That "dry pavement" could be a skating rink. 

The heaviest snow will come down Sunday night and early Monday. The drive to work Monday morning will be, well, interesting, I guess with all that snow. Try to work from home if you can. I'm guessing quite a few schools will be closed. 

The snow will turn lighter during the day Monday but probably continue at least until evening in most areas. 

You know how, in our recent warm winters we'd finally get a big snowstorm, but a thaw would arrive within a couple days to melt a lot of it away? That's not happening this time. 

The weather pattern doesn't seem to favor a lot more additional snow after this storm goes by. But the snow we'll  have on the ground is absolutely staying put for quite awhile. At this point, I see no signs of a thaw at least through the second week in February.

Snowstorm In Vermont Ending This Evening, Snow On Ground To Remain For Long Time

Vermont State Police posted this photo to Facebook
today. It was one of dozens of crashes they've dealt
with amid our day-long snowstorm. Roads remain
iffy through this evening, and probably 
into tomorrow morning. 

A few last narrow bands of fairly heavy snow were moving through Vermont as of 5 p.m. today, which will be the last harrah of our snowstorm. 

I see that there has been widespread four to five inches snow reports as of late this afternoon across Vermont. 

My place in St. Albans is lagging behind with 2.9 inches, as the drier air coming in from the northwest made an early appearance midafternoon. Burlington had 3.7 inches of snow as of 4:30 p.m. 

The snow had really tapered off by around 3:30 or so in most of northwest Vermont, which raised hopes of an easier commute this evening. But radar shows a final burst of moderate snow moving in, which is complicating the trip home. 

A more substantial band of heavier snow was extending across southern Vermont, running from Bennington County and going up toward White River Junction.

This area of somewhat heavier snow will probably help ensure the southeast half of Vermont will get the five to 10 inches of snow that had been forecast. 

This snow will keep the roads crappy for awhile yet.  As we mentioned early this afternoon, there had already been a bunch of wrecks. Vermont State Police provided the following update at around 4 p.m. today:

"Troopers have been busy keeping up with crashes, responding to 27 weather-related wrecks in the northern half of Vermont and 23 in the souther half from midnight to 2 p.m. Tuesday. Of the crashes, 17 took places on interstate highways, one with a reported injury, and 33 occurred on secondary roads, three with injuries."

I guarantee additional crashes this evening, unfortunately. Keep it slow and steady out there on the roads, folks. 

WHAT'S NEXT

Going forward through this evening, the remains snow that is falling in the northwest half of Vermont will quickly come to an end, shutting down northwest to southeast like we've been anticipating. It'll take longer to stop snowing in southeast Vermont. 

The northwest half of the state should be done with this between 6 to 8 p.m. or so. Central Vermont might have to wait until as late as 9 p.m. or so to see the snow stop. Southeastern Vermont will keep it going until around 11 p.m., give or take.

When you get up to go to work or school early tomorrow, you'll unfortunately still need to be a little careful on the roads. Yeah, I'm already sick of it, too. .It won't be snowing, but with temperatures falling into the teens to around 20, things will have frozen up pretty well. .

Be especially careful on bridges and overpasses. The ground is still kind of warm. That, and road salt, might make the overall road conditions not too bad. But the bridges won't have the benefit of the warm-ish ground underneath, so they'll have some black ice. Zipping along at 60 to 70 mph and then hitting the black ice at the bridges is not fun, let me tell you. 

Under partly sunny, chilly skies, the snow cleanup should finish up pretty well, even on the back roads. It'll be a fantastic day for winter sports statewide. 

THURSDAY TROUBLE

The next problem comes Thursday, with that Arctic cold front we've been talking about. That front still looks like it will come through during the morning, maybe early afternoon in southeastern Vermont. 

It should have a band of snow showers and snow squalls with it. That band of potential squalls could dump a quick inch of snow in a half hour to an hour. That means horrible visibility on the roads, which will quickly ice over.

Then, during the day, temperatures will crash amid frigid northwest gusts to over 30 mph. Look out for blowing snow, and keep your thickest winter coats ready, as wind chills will sink well below zero why nightfall.

Temperatures overnight will drop to within a few degrees either side of zero. That kind of weather is a bit earlier than usual in the season. Not record breaking, but still. 

The sharp contrast between the still relatively warm waters of Lake Champlain and the frigid air might create a few cold air funnels over the lake Thursday night and Friday. If you can brave the cold, you might want to get up very early Friday and check it out if you live nearby. 

It'll stay colder than we're used to at least into mid-month. 

I won't have a full report early tomorrow morning on the storm because I've got some appointments to take care of.  But I will do that later in the day and provide any update to the frigid weather that's going to blast down on us. 

Midway Through Snowstorm, Roads Are A Mess, Crashes Increasing In Vermont

Interstate 89 near Exit 16 in Colchester definitely
looked worse at noon today than it did when I '
posted a photo of the same location at around
7 a.m. this morning. There's been quite a few
crashes. Let's be careful out there! 

It's early afternoon now, and we're midway through our Vermont snowstorm. 

The snow isn't just hitting us, of course. Roads have been a mess from the Midwest to the central Appalachians and on into New England.  

One dramatic crash was down in West Virginia where a tractor trailer crashed and was left hanging off a bridge in Mason County. The driver was rescued. 

So far the storm has caused one death, out in Missouri yesterday when the beginnings of the storms snarled traffic around St. Louis. One meteorologists there said it was the worst weather-related traffic snarl he's seen in decades.

Now the storm is in New England, and causing its own traffic trouble here. There's plenty of examples here in Vermont. 

Up here in St Albans, the city police department said one its cruisers was hit by another car on a snowy road while responding to another crash. 

Some of the various examples I've seen in Vermont at different times this morning included a crash that dropped northbound Interstate 89 in Williston down to one lane for a time. Route 7 in Ferrisburgh was closed for awhile due to a crash; Route 103 in Chester was also closed for a time due to a snow-related crash, and Route 11 in Londonderry was reduced to one lane, also due to a crash. 

Shelburne Road near the on ramp to Interstate 189 was closed due to a crash around noon, too, so that must have been a real mess. 

All the traffic cams I've seen in Vermont over the past hour show snow covered roads. In other words, be careful out there folks. 

As of 12:30 p.m., it was snowing at a pretty good clip statewide. So far, as of noon, most places had maybe two to three inches of snow. It seems like there was a zone of heavier snow near and north of the Worcester range in north central Vermont. 

Total accumulation is still forecast to be the same as forecast this morning. Although far northwest Vermont might get a bit more than originally forecast. For instance, older forecasts had St. Albans receiving three inches, but now that's been bumped up to four inches. 

The snow will continue coming down at a good pace well into the afternoon.  The snow will start to diminish after 3 p.m. in far northwest Vermont.  That snow shut down will steadily move southeastward across Vermont in the very late afternoon and evening. 

It'll finally conk out in far southeast Vermont before midnight. 

Flurries might linger, but once the steady snow shuts down where you live, you'll hardly get any additional accumulation. You can start shoveling at that point. 

Even after the snow ends, it will take time to clean up the roads, so be careful driving back home tonight. In the Champlain Valley, where snow will be tapering off as darkness falls, I don't anticipate any kind of traffic nightmare like we had during that big snow on November 10. But, expect delays and be patient. 

Since it will still be snowing in southern and eastern Vermont late this afternoon and evening, roads remain lousy down there   

Snowy Vermont Day Has Begun, Decent Snowfall Almost Statewide

This morning's National Weather Service snow prediction
map is little changed from yesterday. Still looking at
roughly 6 to 9 inches in the southeastern half of
Vermont and somewhat lesser amounts northwest. 

 As of 6:30 this morning the snow was beginning, launching us into our snowy start to December.

For such an unpredictable type of weather system, the forecast has remained remarkably consistent for the past few days. This morning, we have only small changes in the forecast compared to last night. 

The most important one is the slightly earlier than forecast onset of snow than we originally thought. The original idea was it coming in around 7 a.m., but at least for western Vermont and New York, it was around 6 a.m. or so.

The first bits of snow were light, but it will increase in intensity, especially in the southern half of Vermont. 

As for this morning, you know the drill.  If you haven't left for school or work yet, you should, or should have built in extra time to get to where you need to go. As of 7 a.m. traffic cameras showed roads getting increasingly snow covered, pretty fast across much of the state.

Before you head out, check your local listings for school closings. There's a ton of them. 

By 7 a.m., I haven't heard much yet about cars sliding off the roads or hitting each other, but that will come soon enough today. The saving grace with this storm is the heaviest snow is coming after most people are at work.

ACCUMULATIONS

Not much has changed in terms of how much snow we'll get. The bottom line: This is a midsized snowfall, by Vermont standards. 

The new forecast map issued this morning from the National Weather Service in South Burlington only has subtle changes, compared to the one they gave us Monday afternoon. Maybe a tiny bit more than yesterday's forecast in northwestern Vermont. That reflects a predicted storm track that has nudged just a bit north from yesterday. 

The winter storm warning is still in effect for basically the southern  half of Vermont and the winter weather advisory is up for everyone except people in Franklin and Grand Isle counties. But even there, the road conditions are already going downhill.

There will be some nuances with the accumulations in the area covered by warning and advisories. Three to 10 inches of new snow is a good bet today, depending on whether you're in the warning or the advisory. 

Traffic cam grab of Exit 16, Interstate 89 in Colchester
at around 7:30 this morning. The heaviest snow
hadn't arrived yet, so road conditions weren't as
bad as they could have been. 

But there will be nuances. This type of storm tends to set up narrow southwest to northeast oriented bands of heavier snow. You can't easily tell in advance where they will set up. 

This means you might get into a situation where you'll have a Vermont town that gets 10 inches of snow, then a community just a dozen or two miles north gets four or five inches, then another town a couple dozen miles north of that second town gets eight, nine, ten inches. 

It's the luck of the draw. 

In so many recent winters, we've had these awful "wet cement" heavy snowstorms, uncharacteristic for us, really. This one is more old-fashioned. Powdery. Not light insignificant feathers, but it won't be heart-attack snow, either. 

It still looks like the wind will be fairly light with this storm, so the snow will be pretty piling up on tree branches. It is surprisingly blustery outside here in St. Albans, but that seems to be some sort of local effects. Most places in Vermont were reporting calm winds, or winds at or under 10 mph. 

ROCKET STORM

Forecasts that this storm would move wicked fast are coming true. The storm was near southeastern North Carolina early this morning and will be near Cape Cod by this evening. 

That leaves us with a short window for heavier snow. That should come roughly between 10 a.m.  and 3 p.m. today. By late this afternoon or very early evening, the storm will basically be over in the northwest half of Vermont, and it will end before midnight in extreme southeastern parts of the state.

Usually, at least light snow lingers for many hours after a storm passes Cape Cod as northeast winds throw moisture back into our neck of the woods. This storm, though, is pretty compact, so once it's over, it's pretty much over.

Still, I expect roads to be in not great shape as we go into this evening, especially in southern and eastern Vermont. 

OUTLOOK

The roughest start to winter since at least 2019 and probably before that will continue to slap us in the face as we go through the week. Tomorrow will be fairly calm, but kinda cold for this time of year, with highs in the low 30s. 

That Arctic cold front is still looming for Thursday morning with its batch of snow showers and snow squalls. We're watching the timing of this one, because the snow squalls might enter the Champlain Valley around the morning commute. We're hoping they hold off until a little later in the morning, but we don't know for sure yet

Temperatures will crash into the teens by Thursday afternoon and to near 0 by Friday morning. It'll sort of warm up over the weekend and into next week, but barely. It'll still be much colder than average for this time of year well into next week. 

I'll have more details on that after we get past this storm, but it looks like we'll have a few shots of Arctic air through mid-month at least. 

Monday Evening Storm Update: Pretty Vermont Snowstorm Tomorrow, But Road Will Make People Grumble

Updated snow forecast for tomorrow, from the National
Weather Service office in South Burlington 
Predicted totals are up a little bit in eastern
Vermont, about the same west. 

 I noticed high, thin clouds creeping in late this afternoon here in St. Albans, the first harbinger of our expected New England snowstorm. 

As expected, we have some change and upgrades to the watches that were up earlier. 

This fast-moving storm is covering a lot of real estate. Winter weather advisories with this thing extend from Kansas and Arkansas all the way to Maine. 

The winter storm warnings, for the heaviest snow as of these evening run through the Catskills and Capitol District of New York, on through central New England.

In general, predicted snow amounts are similar to what we had this morning, with predictions ticking up from this morning east of the Green Mountains from Brattleboro all the way up to the Northeast Kingdom. 

There's still time for the storm's projected path to shift, so by tomorrow morning, there might be some further changes in the forecast. You know the drill. 

VERMONT'S WINTER STORM WARNING

For us here in Vermont, the upgrade to winter storm warning covers pretty much the same ground the earlier winter storm watch occupied

That warning goes through the southern four counties of Vermont, Orange County, and the hilly and mountainous terrain in Addison County east of Route 7. The warning, in effect from 7 a.m. tomorrow to 1 a.m. Wednesday, calls for 5 to 9 inches of snow.

In their forecast discussion this afternoon, the National Weather Service office in South Burlington said there could easily be pockets of 10 inches or a little more snow in mostly far southern and eastern Vermont, maybe as far north as Orange County. 

That's barely with the winter storm warning criteria. But remember, this storm is rocketing through, so the snow will mostly come down in a big thump lasting just during the day, with a peak probably mid-morning to mid afternoon.

Snow could come down at a rate of an inch per hour in southern and central Vermont, which is hard for the snow plows to keep up with. If you have unnecessary travel plans in southern Vermont tomorrow, just postpone until Wednesday. It'll be easier. 

On the bright side, this will be a pretty snowstorm, The snow's consistency will be somewhat on the fluffy side - not exactly feathers, but definitely not wet cement, either. There won't be a lot of wind, either, so the snow will pile up nicely on branches and such. 

Great for the Christmas spirit if you're into that, or if you're looking for a photo opportunity to include on Christmas cards and gifts. 

FURTHER NORTH

A winter weather advisory is up for all of Vermont north of the winter storm warning, except Franklin and Grand Isle counties where the snow will be even lighter.

In the areas under the advisory, it looks like three to seven inches of new snow is in the cards. Up in Franklin and Grand Isle counties, expect maybe just two to four inches, and maybe even a notch below that in the extreme northwest up by Alburgh. 

TIMING

As mentioned this morning, it looks like the snow will start just in time for the evening commute. The start of this will be a little unusual. There might be flurries before dawn, but statewide, this will begin around 7 a.m. give or take. 

And instead of the snow creeping south to north like it usually does under this type of storm, it'll start snowing within the same hour or two window statewide. 

If you can get to your office or school before 7 a.m. that would be helpful. Or, if you can work remotely, even better. 

Even though the snow and its timing has already been blasted all over the media, people on the roads will be "surprised" by the suddenly poor visibility and slick roads on the highways. 

For the love of God, take it easy on the road. Your mistake can cause problems for hundreds of people, maybe thousands. That's because you wreck on, say Interstate 89 and traffic backs up for miles as a result. 

All those people are late for work, maybe in trouble with their bosses. They miss doctor and dentist appointments, even things like critical cancer treatments. Everybody has to just sit there, wasting gas, because of you and your wreck. 

The speed demons who cause these kinds of situations surely don't care about anyone else, so I doubt I'm getting through to them.  But I'm mentioning it because I do believe there's such a thing as karma. 

The snow, as mentioned, should continue all day. It'll start to taper off in the late afternoon and evening from northwest to southeast across the state. The roads won't be in great shape on the way home, either, so keep that in mind. 

We're still looking at a sharp cold front with possible snow squalls Thursday, followed by Arctic air Thursday night and Friday. I'll have more details in subsequent posts. 

I'll update this tomorrow morning, of course! Enjoy the snow! 

Winter Storm Watches Remain In Vermont/Northeast As Snow Forecast Stays Consistent (For Now)

Latest snow prediction map from the National Weather
Service in South Burlington. In Vermont, it still
generally looks like the further south you go 
tomorrow, the more snow you'll get. 

 Overnight the forecast for our upcoming snow hasn't changed all that much in the the Northeast. 

To catch you up, a storm is forecast to rocket northeastward from the Gulf Coast this evening to near or offshore of Cape Cod tomorrow evening. 

Even if the storm had the perfect track to give the region heavy snow, the accumulations wouldn't be extreme, just because the storm wouldn't hang around long enough to dump much fluff.

So far, the Tuesday forecast has a track that would dump the heaviest snow in a band from northeast Pennsylvania, through central New York, central New England and on to southern Maine. 

So far, it looks like most people in this winter storm watch band would receive a quick six to ten inches of snow, more or less.

That's not a spectacular storm, but a sufficient enough thump to get winter started in places that haven't yet seen that much snow so far this winter.

For us in Vermont, southern parts of the state still seem to be in that band of heaviest snow. The winter storm watch is still in effect for the southern half of the state. 

Later today, I'm guessing at least the southern part of that watch zone might turn into a winter storm warning. I'm suspecting central Vermont might end up with a winter weather advisory, since some places north of Route 4 might not get quite to six inches of snow with this. (Usually, a snowfall of over six inches triggers a winter storm warning, while a winter weather advisory goes up for less than that.)

First guesses -based on subject-to-change National Weather Service forecasts - are for six to eight inches along and south of a line roughly from Rutland to Wells River.  The rest of central Vermont should get three to six inches. Northwest portions of Vermont look to be in the two or three inch range at the moment. 

No promises here, but if the snow predictions are adjusted between now and tomorrow, I think the adjustment might be toward slightly lower amounts. 

The timing of this snow is problematic. It'll start to snow probably around the time of the Tuesday morning commute. That makes me nervous because people leave home when it's not really snowing much but then quickly encounter snow and icy roads.

But they're "late" for work, so it's pedal to the metal despite the road conditions. Which leads to crashes and traffic jams. Which makes everyone late for work - or worse. 

The snow will start to taper off at about the time people are heading home from work or just afterwards.  You can see in the timing how quick this thing is.

AFTER THE SNOW

While Wednesday looks pretty quiet and a kind of on the cold side, we're still seeing trouble on Thursday. That Arctic front we've been talking about still looks to be on schedule. We still think it might come through in the morning. 

The timing might be bad again, as there might be dangerous snow squalls for your morning commute. We'll update you on that. 

We're still sure it will turn terribly cold during the day Thursday and that will last well into Friday. Strong northwest winds and crashing temperatures will make Thursday afternoon and evening miserable. By Friday morning, most of us will probably be with a few degrees of zero. Which is a little earlier in the season than we're used to. 

The cold will let up by the weekend, but temperatures will still remain below normal.

Winter is here. 

Winter Storm Watches Now Up In the Northeast, Including Parts of Vermont

That dark blue area from northeastern Pennsylvania to
Maine is a winter storm watch as heavy snow might
fall in that band on Tuesday. That sort of off-purple
patch in north central New York is for some lake-
enhanced snow tonight. 

We've got a quick little update since this morning:

A wide band of winter storm watches as of late this afternoon have popped up from northeastern Pennsylvania, through central New York, central New England on into central Maine. 

Before we even get into the updates, today's bits and pieces of snow caused some real headaches. Both northbound and southbound lanes of Interstate 89 near Sharon had multiple crashes due to icy conditions this afternoon. Traffic, as you would imagine, was seriously gummed up in that area.

The closest traffic cam to the crash site I could find was along Interstate 89 in Bethel which didn't look too bad late this afternoon. It appears a half inch or so of snow has fallen in the area. That proves it doesn't take much to cause some danger on the roads. 

We've got some chances of snow overnight, so look out for more icy spots, including on your way in to work tomorrow after the Thanksgiving holiday.

Now, the storm. This will be the third of three storms that affected parts of the U.S. this week. The first sent blizzard conditions through parts of the Upper Midwest and Great Lakes last week. The second came yesterday with widespread snows from South Dakota to Michigan. Now we have this thing in the Northeast. 

Here in Vermont, basically draw a west to east line across the middle of the state, and south of that is your winter storm watch. 

It's in effect from early Tuesday morning to late Tuesday night. Somewhere in middle of that time frame, maybe in the afternoon and early evening, there might be a few quick hours where the snow comes down hard.

That is, if the storm goes according to plan. There's still a lot of hemming and hawing among the computer models as to how close to us it will come. 

The storm could blast right over southeastern New England, which would throw the big burst of snow into interior New England, including southern Vermont.  Or, it could race across the waters off the New England, coast, which would reduce how much snow the Green Mountain state catches.

Northern Vermont - at this point anyway - seems to be on the hook for just light snow. There's still even a chance of nothing up by the Canadian border, we'll see.

The more detailed computer models come out during the day tomorrow. Those might be able to better pin down how much everybody gets.  

I'll have an update for you tomorrow morning. 

Northwest Vermont Slammed By Doozy Of Surprise Snow

Aftermath of the 8.6 inches of snow that fell
on St Albans, Vermont last night. The surprisingly
heavy storm in northwest Vermont last
evening turned into a roadway nightmare
for thousands during the evening commute

Sure, snow was forecast in northwest Vermont, but not like this! 

What had 24 hours earlier been billed as an expected one to three inch Monday evening snowfall turned into a commuter nightmare as a burst of snow lasting just a few hours dumped nearly nine inches of snow on parts of northwest Vermont. 

The snowfall turned into a roadway nightmare as people were stranded on highways sometimes for hours. Crashes were rife. A snowplow was even reportedly off the road and in a ditch near St. Albans.

The road I live on  the steep hills of Route 36 in St. Albans -  was closed due to snow for the first time I can remember. It's been closed before due to fallen trees and car crashes, but not snow as far as I can remember, anyway. 

The St. Albans area appears to be the epicenter of this big snow. I measured 8.6 inches of new snow, which is pretty incredible since I'd only been expecting about two inches as of yesterday morning. Swanton and East Enosburg both reported 8.8 inches.  South Hero had 8.5 inches.  

I'm guessing I might see reports of even deeper snow than that once all reports are in. 

Burlington clocked in with 4.8 inches of snow. That surprisingly wasn't the snowiest November 10 on record. The city had 5.3 inches on that date in 1990. That 1990 storm was huge in Vermont, dumping 2.4 inches of rain and melted snow on Burlington. That 1990 storm also deposited more than two feet of snow on some high elevations.

The snow is not quite over, but rest assured we're not going to get two more feet of it. More on the forecast in a bit, but first, how did last night's mess happen?

CONSPIRACY OF SNOW

Everything that could possibly go wrong went wrong with Monday's snow. 

To begin with, the first snow of the season, no matter how light and how well predicted, always catches people off guard. The timing of the snow was horrendous, right at the evening rush hour.   

Monday's snow was unexpectedly heavy, so it took people by surprise. By Sunday night, there were hints that Champlain Valley could be the focus of a little extra snow, but at that time, meteorologists thought it would only be a couple inches.

That forecast held Monday morning.  The National Weather Service again said the focus of late afternoon and evening snow would be Champlain Valley. But the morning forecast called for about two inches of snow for St. Albans, and about an inch in Burlington. 

With that, people set off for work, not especially troubled by their expected commute home.  An inch or two of snow is not that big a deal, right?

It probably didn't even cross some people's minds that they should try to work from home, if possible. I also imagine some state and municipal snowplows and trucks weren't fully geared up for winter yet. 

By about noon, the National Weather Service realized that the snow was going to be tougher than they thought.  They issued a winter weather advisory for northwest Vermont, with forecast totals of two to five inches. The advisory warned of difficult driving at around the evening rush hour. 

The snow blasted in abruptly, on schedule. It started as light rain and drizzle shortly before 4 p.m. (It was freezing drizzle here in St. Albans). Then it quickly flipped to wet snow and by 5 p.m. it was coming down hard. The rather heavy snow continued well into the evening. 

Wet snow is terrible on the roads. The slush packs down into ice beneath the weight of car and truck tires. It was rush hour, so everyone, well, rushed out of work to get home before things got too bad.

But it was too late. Cars slid off roads or into each other everywhere. In many places, vehicles couldn't make it up even modest hills. Roads and highways turned into parking lots. Parts of Interstate 89 between Burlington and Swanton were a parking lot. Plow truck drivers scrambled, but couldn't fight their way through the gridlock.   

It was easily one of the worst travel messes I can remember. I'm so glad I got home at around 3 p.m. yesterday, when the freezing drizzle was just starting. 

To make matters even worse, nearly 2,100 homes and businesses lost electricity at times Monday evening. 

Meanwhile, rain lasted longer in eastern Vermont, and only changed to snow toward the end of the storm. Central Vermont, in places like Worcester, Barre and Elmore only received about an inch and a half of snow. 

The Connecticut Valley in southeastern Vermont got nothing.  In southwest Vermont, traffic camera images from around Rutland and Bennington makes it appear they got around an inch of snow.  

TODAY

Predicted snowfall this morning through Friday morning.
Not much additional in the valleys, but the northern
Green Mountain summits could see as much as
 a foot of snow over the next several days. 

Well, we made it through our first big snow nightmare of the season. The good news is we're not getting another mega snow in the near future. The bad new is it's going to keep snowing in much of Vermont. 

In fact, in the higher elevations especially, it will snow off and on pretty much all week. 

Roadways are much better this morning, but there are still some slick spots. Especially once you get off the main highways. Additional snow showers will also make things tricky at times. 

Today will be blustery and cold with snow showers. It looks like St. Albans and much of the rest of Franklin County can expect another one to three inches of snow today through tonight. It won't come down nearly as hard as it did last evening. 

Highs today still look like they'll stay near or below freezing in much of northern Vermont, while warmest areas in southern Vermont sneak into the mid-30s. 

It'll turn a little warmer, if you can call it that, tomorrow and Thursday, so as weather disturbances keep coming through, the snow showers will change to rain showers in the low and some mid elevations. The mountains will keep getting snow. 

The valleys should get more snow showers as it gets colder again Thursday night, but again, accumulations will be light. At least in the low elevations.  

By Friday morning, Green Mountain summits in northern and central Vermont should receive six or more inches of additional snow. I wouldn't be surprised if places like Jay Peak clock in with an additional foot. 

There's also no rest for the pre-winter weary. A storm could bring some mixed precipitation again toward next Sunday.