If Skies Stay Clear, A REALLY Cool Lunar Eclipse Early Tomorrow Morning

Get up early tomorrow morning to view the total lunar
eclipse. The moon will look red like in this photo.
It'll also be near the western horizon as the sun is 
coming up during totality. 

A lunar eclipse is going to be visible across the United States early tomorrow morning, but the eastern United States, including here in Vermont are in for a special treat. 

The lunar eclipse will happen right around sunrise. As the sun is coming up in the east, the moon will be a deep red color because of the eclipse just before it sinks below the western horizon. 

To time it out here in Vermont, the total eclipse of the moon will start at 6:04 a.m and end at 7:02 a.m. But you won't see the end of it because the moon will be below the horizon by then. 

Here's the fun part: The maximum of the eclipse is at 6:25 a.m, when the moon will be at its reddest color. Meanwhile, the sun will rise at 6:26 a.m. Burlington time. And depending on where you are in Vermont, the moon will set in the west sometime between 6:18 and 6:28 a.m 

During totality, the moon will look red like it does in most total lunar eclipses. However, the moon will be near the horizon, so you'll have that perspective. I imagine views from the Champlain Valley toward the Adirondacks while this is going on will be awesome. This is cooler than the "typical" lunar eclipse. 

The moon obviously doesn't have its own light. We see the moon shining brightly because the sun's light is blasting it. During a lunar eclipse, the Earth gets between the sun and moon, casting its shadow on the moon. 

The moon looks red during a total eclipse because the Earth's atmosphere bends sunlight and indirectly lights up the moon's surface. 

A total lunar eclipse will happen at any given location on average once every 2.5 years. 

After tomorrow, the next total lunar eclipse that will be visible from Vermont will be on June 25, 2029.

Of course, you can't see a lunar eclipse if it's cloudy. Too bad the eclipse wasn't this morning since it was crystal clear. Of course, temperatures were below zero, so you would have frozen your butt off watching it. 

As it looks now, some high clouds will be coming into Vermont at the time of the eclipse. That might not be such a bad thing. During the much more rare total eclipse of the sun in April, 2024, there were some high clouds overhead but those clouds actually enhanced the event, making it all the more fantastic.   

The high clouds might make the eclipse even more interesting than it otherwise would be. High, thin clouds tend to glow red, orange and pink at sunrise.  This could get really interesting.

The bottom line is depending on where you are in Vermont at dawn tomorrow, the eclipse might look at little milky behind the high clouds, and in other areas the high clouds will be so unsubstantial it won't interfere with the viewing at all. 

It will be cold again, however. Temperatures at that hour should be in the single numbers to low teens. Pretty chilly, but not as bad as this morning  

Today Is Winter Solstice, But Sun Began Setting Later Several Days Ago. Here's Why

At 3:55 p.m. Saturday, the sun was already close to
setting over St. Albans, Vermont. Today is the winter
solstice, the shortest daylight of the year. But 
strangely, sunsets started getting a bit later
starting December 10. There's a reason for that. 

The winter solstice hits today at 10:03 a.m. 

It is the shortest daylight of the year, but even, the earliest sunset and latest sunrise of the season don't exactly line up.  

Believe it or not, our earliest sunset was about a week and a half ago. And our latest sunrise won't hit until just before the New Year arrives.  

Why?

It's a little complicated, but here it goes: 

As Timeanddate.com explains:

"This is because of a discrepancy between our modern-day timekeeping methods and how time is measured using the Sun, known as the equation of time."

The equation of time is the difference between time measured using a sundial, also as true or apparent solar time, and the time measured using a clock, also known as mean solar time.....

Most clocks run on the idea that a day is exactly 24 hours. Technically a day is the duration between one solar noon, the time of day the the sun is at the highest point in the sky, to the next."

A solar day is not exactly 24 hours long. It varies through the year because the elliptical shape of Earth's orbit and the tilt of our planet. A solar day is longer than 24 hours in the summer and winter solstice. It's a little shorter than 24 hours at the spring and autumn equinoxes. 

This means solar noon comes at a different time than the noon you see on your watch or smart phone. For instance, in New York City, solar noon hits at 11:54 a.m. clock time.  By January 3, the Big Apple's solar noon and "watch" noon both hit at 12 on the dot. On January 4, solar noon as at 12:01 p.m., and it keeps getting later through January, as Timeanddate.com explains. 

That shift in solar noon means both sunset and sunrise keep getting later into the first days of January. 

In Burlington, Vermont, the earliest sunsets of the year hit on December 8 and 9, at 4:12 p.m. With both sunrises and sunsets getting later, today is the shortest day of the year with a sunrise at 7:26 a.m. and sunset at 4:16 p.m.

Our sunrises will keep getting later for awhile yet. The latest sunrises are at 7:29 a.m. each day between December 30 and January 5. After that, sunrises start getting earlier while sunsets keep getting later. 

Basically. days get longer from now until January only very slowly. Once we get into January, the pace of lengthening days begins to pick up. 

COLDER TIMES AHEAD?

There's an old saying that as the days lengthen, the cold strengthens. 

And it's true: On average, the coldest weather of the winter comes around the third week in January. Every winter is different, of course, so the most frigid days in some years can come in December or February instead. 

But, the depths of winter are generally in the second half of January. 

Even though the northern hemisphere begins to get a little brighter after today, the high Arctic remains deep in darkness. What little warmth might be left up there radiates out into space. The supply of gelid air keeps growing, just waiting for a chance to rush southward onto poor unsuspecting people like us Vermonters.   

Meanwhile, lakes in southern Ontario and Quebec continue to freeze up. Parts of the Great Lakes do, too. That means Arctic air coming from the North Pole can't as easily absorb a bit of the warmth of the lakes to modify those pushes of frigid air. 

Also, as the lakes freeze, they're less able to transfer moisture to the air. That means fewer clouds downstream from the lakes here in Vermont. Nights are a little more likely to be clear in January than they were in November and December. Clear, calm nights tend to be the coldest. A clear January night a mean the bottom falls out of the thermometer. 

Though the days will slowly lengthen over the coming weeks, you probably won't get much of a break from our cold winter winds. 

But slowly, you'll eventually notice a change. Maybe on a February day, the winter sun will actually feel a little warm. As we get through the late winter, thaws start to become a little more frequent. Before you know it. balmy spring breezes will ruffle your hair and brighten your mood.  

New England In For Biggest Bout Of Cold And Snow This Winter, With A Snowstorm Thrown IN

Despite some concern that forecasts could shift a lot
the expected snowfall map, released by the 
National Weather Service Sunday morning, is little
changed from forecasts we saw yesterday. 

 Central New England is set to have arguably its biggest snowstorm of the winter while the entire region plunges into our long awaited Arctic blast. 

Up here in Vermont, high temperatures for today were just after midnight, as it was still in the 30s.  Those temperatures were crashing downward as of dawn. They might level off a bit at midday, then crash more tonight.

As those temperatures are crashing, our fast moving nor'easter still is laying down or plans to lay down a stripe of fairly heavy snow from the mountains of western North Carolina and east Tennessee northeastward up through West Virginia, western Maryland, eastern Pennsylvania, northwest New Jersey, parts of New York and most of the southeastern half of New England. 

Due to the fast forward pace of this nor'easter, I don't think anybody will have incredible amounts of snow. Few places will see up to a foot. Most of the worst hit areas will have a half foot or a little more, But while the storm is passing through, it will snow really hard, at a rate of one to two inches per hour.

That's more than enough to really screw up travel. 

The heaviest snow will pass through this afternoon in the Middle Atlantic States and this evening in New England. 

VERMONT EFFECTS

All through yesterday and last night, I saw lots of potential for the expected heaviest snowfall to shift either further north into more of Vermont, or shift away from the state.

So far, though, the forecasts have remained pretty consistent.  The band of heaviest snow should brush southernmost parts of the state, which is why Bennington and Windham counties are still under a winter storm warning. 

Those areas are still expecting four to eight inches of new snow, with it coming down at a healthy rate of an inch per hour this evening. 

Just north of the winter storm warning, and roughly just south and east of a line from Middlebury, through Montpelier to St. Johnsbury, a winter weather advisory is up. Those areas look like they can expect a quick shot of three to seven inches of snow, 

Amounts should taper off pretty fast as you head further northwest. For the Champlain Valley, it looks like one to three inches. Maybe even less as you get way up to the northwest corner of the state up by Alburgh.

MORE STORM DETAILS:

It'll be interesting to see how well the snow will punch northwestward across the state. It'll be battling that frigid Arctic air that is flooding in.   That air is super dry, and could evaporate the snow in the northwest as it tries to fall.  That could lead to a forecast bust, with perhaps little or no snow falling up there. We shall see.

In fact, there is still some hemming and hawing as of Sunday morning as to how this storm will play out. The consensus is what I've written about above, but there's still the risk of a surprise bigger dump, or a big whiff.  Like all New England nor'easters, almost nothing is guaranteed.

While it is snowing this evening and overnight, temperatures will be falling through the teens into the single digits. That's really cold for a snowfall, and guarantees the snow will be very fluffy and light.

Given that nor'easters have a good breeze with them, we should have lots of problems with blowing and drifting snow during and after the storm. 

Even though the snow will be pretty much over with by the time you get up Monday morning, roads will still be snow covered and slippery, with drifts. Remember, road salt won't be working very well, so don't rely on the state highway department salt shaker trucks to solve every problem.

THE COLD

Although this will be far from the worst cold wave Vermont and New England can possibly experience, it's still worth taking it seriously. Temperatures should stay in the teens by day and near zero by night coming up early this week even in southern New England.

Up here in Vermont, daytime highs Monday through Wednesday still look like they'll be in the single numbers to maybe low teens. Overnight lows will be below zero.

Stiff winds Monday and Tuesday should keep wind chills in the teens below zero. Those planning a ski holiday in the mountains will really want to take care. Wind chills high up on the ski slopes Monday and Tuesday should end up in the 30s below zero.

The Arctic cold will last into Thursday morning before temperatures start to warm up to more seasonable, comfortable levels. 

The New England nor'easter and cold snap is part of a wild week the United States is having over the next few days.  Winter storm watches are up along the Gulf Coast of all places for expected snow and ice.

Bitter cold is gripping most of the nation from the Rockies east. And another round of dangerous, strong, dry fire-spreading winds are on tap for southern California. I'll cover all this in more detailed, separate posts today. 

More Scattershot Snow In Vermont, And Very Snow Weirdness Elsewhere

Morning sun cuts through snow flurries Sunday morning
in St. Albans, Vermont. Snow squalls are possible in
the area this evening. 

The flurried to death weekend in Vermont continues this morning as light snow is dusting northern parts of the state.  

The morning snow is mostly the remnants of lake affect snow bands coming off of Lake Ontario. 

 It looks as if the moisture from those snow bands will keep the snow going off an on in the central and northern Green Mountains today. A couple spots up there could earn a couple bonus inches of snow today, while the valleys just get a dusting. 

The excitement comes this evening, when that speeding little storm from Canada zips by just to our north, dragging a pretty dynamic cold front through. 

Here's how it's setting up: 

It was pretty cold this morning, since we had a period of clear skies over a snow cover for  change. Burlington got below 10 degrees for the first time since January 22. Though the low of 9 degrees above was still only a little cooler than average for this time of year.

Right after dawn, especially in the Champlain Valley, south winds began to blow and that is quickly boosting temperatures that will top out close to 30 degrees. A little moisture will pool in the air too, ahead of that cold front. 

The front will produce a quick shift in the wind to the northwest. The shift helps set up converging air. When air converges, you get lift. If it's cold enough, it'll snow.

That's what's going to  happen with this cold front. Not much snow, and it will be in and out of any given spot quickly. But the clash is intense enough that we might see some dangerous snow squalls. 

If you're on the roads this evening in northern Vermont, especially after 7 p.m. be prepared for whiteouts, roads that will rapidly ice up with a quick inch or two of accumulation.

Not everyone will get a squall, but many areas could. At the moment, the timing looks like they''ll come into the International border by 8 p.m. or so and make it to Route 2 by 10 p.m. or so.

After the squalls blow through, that will be pretty much it for any snow in Vermont until Friday at the earliest.

WEIRD SNOWS 

A small storm, similar to the one that hit Vermont Thursday night, raced west to east from the Midwest to New Jersey and then off the coast Friday night and early Saturday. 

Snow Band

Most people got light snow. But a very narrow band - perhaps 10 to 15 miles wide at most extending from north of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania through central New Jersey. 

A narrow band of snow in Pennsylvania and New Jersey
dumped as much as a foot of snow in a few hours in while 
areas immediately to the north and south just 
got a couple inches. 

Up to 14 inches of snow fell in that narrow band, with as much as five inches in an hour. Areas to the immediate north and south of the snow band just got a couple inches. 

The band was so narrow that by some estimates, four inches of snow fell on north side of Allentown, Pennsylvania while the south side of that city was buried beneath a foot of fresh powder. 

It would have been interesting if the snow band cut right across New York City.

It came close, dumping half a foot or more on the southern edges of the city.  Tottenville, on the southern tip of Staten Island, reported 10 inches,  but Central Park in Manhattan reported just 2.0 inches.

The storm appeared to create a stalled, west to east weather front for a few hours. It was those converging winds again, like our expected snow squall front. In the case of this storm in Pennsylvania and New York, there was a lot more moisture to work with than Vermont has. And the front stayed put for a few hours, allowing the snow to pile up.

Denver Snow Oddity

Further west, there's an odd timing issue with this winter's snow in Denver, Colorado. So far this winter, they've had 26.4 inches of snow. Of that 23.2 inches, or 88 percent of it all, has fallen on Friday, Saturday or Sunday. 

The local joke is whatever controls the snow out there this winter is secretly a school administrator. 

Glimmer Of Hope: Earliest Sunset Comes Before The Winter Solstice

The earliest sunsets of the year and the latest sunrises
of the year by latitude. Source: EarthSky.org

 Every day since December 3, the sunset has been at 4:13 p.m. at least as measured in Burlington, Vermont.

That's the earliest sunset of the year. 

Today, December 16, the sun sets at 4:14 p.m. one minute later than it's been for the past couple of weeks or so. 

How can that be? Especially since the winter solstice - definitely considered to have the shortest daylight of the year -doesn't come until Thursday, December 21. (10:27 EST local time to be exact).

As you'd expect, the answer is sort of complicated. 

I'll let EarthSky.org explain it:

"Basically, it's because of the discrepancy between the clock and the sun. A clock ticks off exactly 24 hours from one noon to the next. But an actual day - as measured by the spin of the Earth, from what is called solar noon to the next - rarely equals 24 hours exactly. 

Also, solar noon is simply called midday, because it refers to that instant when the sun reaches its highest point for the day. Thus, in the month of December, the time period from one solar noon to the next is actually half a minute longer than 24 hours, For example, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on December 7, the sun reaches its noontime position at 11:52 a.m. local standard time, Then, two weeks later - on the winter solstice - the sun will reach its noontime position around 11:58 a.m.. So that's six minutes later than on December 7."

In other words, the one minute later sunset tonight here in Vermont is something of an illusion. But one I will gladly embrace. 

Interestingly, the further south you go, the earlier the earliest sunset happens, if that makes any sense. 

For instance, around here, the earliest sunset of the season is around December. 10.  Head down to Key West, Florida, and the earliest sunset of the year hits around November 29.

Of course, there's a price to pay for the ever so slightly later sunsets starting today.  It also means later sunrises into early January. The sun in Burlington rose at 7:23 a.m. this morning.  The sunrise will continue to get later and later until December 30 - after the winter solstice - when the sun comes up at 7:29 a.m. 

The sun will keep coming up at 7:29 through January 5. After that, it will start going the other way. 

Of course, winter cold lags behind the lengthening days by about a month. "As the days lengthen, the cold strengthens," goes the saying.

On average, the coldest time of year is somewhere around January 21, but that varies greatly year to year. 

Even though the days are getting longer through the first three weeks of January, the sun angle is so low, and the sun is so weak, that the Northern Hemisphere continues to cool.

It's not until February that the increasing angle of the sun just begins to erode the winter chill.  

If you want something to look forward to, the latest sunset of the year in Burlington hits age 8:41 p.m. eastern daylight time. That latest of the year sunset goes from June 21 through July 2.

 

Vermont Forecast Still Schmutzy For Tonight, Wednesday Morning

Our familiar National Weather Service/South Burlington
snow prediction map has most of the accumulation
along and east of the Green Mountains tonight
and early Wednesday.

Vermont is still on for weather designed by Sasha Royale Paine Diaz (sound it out) tonight and early Wednesday. 

The good news is it looks like many of us will be at least mostly out of the woods by mid to late morning Wednesday, so people who need to can get on with their travel plans 

It does look like the eastern slopes of the Green Mountains from at least Warren south to the Massachusetts border are in for a White Thanksgiving. 

Those areas can expect three to locally as much as six inches of snow tonight and very early Wednesday before things change over to a cold rain before tapering off. 

Most Vermont ski areas should get a few inches of new natural powder. If I had to pick a ski area that will get the most snow, I'd guess Okemo, near Ludlow. 

The strip along Route 7 from Bennington all the way up to Swanton looks to get off fairly lightly. Those lower elevation areas, including the Champlain Valley can expect a burst of snow tonight, followed by a little mix after midnight and hopefully just plain rain by or even a little before dawn. 

THE SET UP

As expected, this morning was cold. Vermont's first zero degree temperature of the season popped up before dawn today in perennial cold spot Island Pond, in the Northeast Kingdom.  That kind of temperature there isn't all that weird for the third week of November.

Most of the rest of us were in the teens, with colder towns in the single numbers. The low in Burlington was 18 degrees not odd for Thanksgiving week but still the chilliest temperature since March 12. Winter is at least sort of here, for sure. 

We had a rare bit of sun Monday afternoon and today is starting off crystal clear. But satellite images show clouds on our doorstep, and the sun will fade behind those clouds later this morning and afternoon.

Timing wise, the National Weather Service office in South Burlington has snow starting between 8 and 10 p.m. this evening south and west of Interstate 89, and by midnight for most of the rest of the state.

Road conditions will deteriorate pretty quickly in the hours before midnight. So if you're driving somewhere today, try to get there by 8 p.m. at the latest. 

WEDNESDAY

As noted, the "luckiest" people in Vermont will be those in low elevations west of the Green Mountains. There, only an inch or two of snow will fall, and at this point, it looks like temperatures will be above freezing with rain by 6 a.m. That bodes well for the morning commute, though there still will be slush and icy patches to watch out for. 

Also, be careful as conditions can unexpectedly change. There's always the chance the warmer air could be delayed, making a mess of things even in the Champlain Valley. 

Along and east of the Green Mountains, snow and mixed precipitation should continue at least into mid-morning Wednesday.  Travel will be difficult and annoying, and not really recommended in those areas. If you delay your trip some until, say noon, you'll be much better off and less stressed. 

By the way, wind, rain and visibility problems will probably cause at least a few flight delays in the Northeast Wednesday, so check your airline to see if you're actually taking off when you're supposed to. 

Rain and lingering mixed precipitation in the mountains will slowly taper off Wednesday afternoon and evening. 

Thanksgiving's weather is actually the pick of the week. Of course it's November, so you can't expect much. Still, we'll have hints of sun and seasonable afternoon temperatures in the 37 to 45 degree range, so that's not bad. 

The weekend is looking rather quiet and chilly at this point. 

Partial Eclipse Of The Sun Here In Vermont/Other Areas Tomorrow

 If you're up at the crack of dawn tomorrow morning here in Vermont and have a good view of the eastern and northeastern horizon, you'll get to see a partial eclipse of the sun. 

Areas shaded in orange are where the tomorrow's annular
solar eclipse will be visible. The darkest shade of orange 
is where only the outer edges of the sun will be 
visible during the peak of the eclipse.

The eclipse will be ongoing locally when the sun rises at 5:08 a.m. It'll peak at around 5:35 a.m. with around 80 percent of the sun obscured by the moon.   It'll be all said and done by around 6:35 a.m.

Even if you're not looking at the skies, the coming of daylight after sunrise will seem a little more sluggish than usual early tomorrow as the moon blocks out part of the sun's June morning light over us. 

Since this is early, you won't see it if you're up against the west slopes of the Green Mountains, since the sun will still be behind the hills. 

On the bright side, if you do get a view, the forecast currently calls for partly to mostly clear skies, so that's good.

You don't want to look directly at the eclipse anyway. And wearing sunglasses won't cut it, either, even if you have super duper expensive "aren't I special" shades. If you have those eclipse goggles from the last eclipse in 2017, use those.  Or you can make a pinhole projector. 

This is an annular eclipse, so even in places where the moon does its best to cover the sun, you'll still see the edges of the sun.   That's why they're calling this a "ring of fire" eclipse. A lucky few people in northwestern Greenland, and parts of northern Russia and northeastern Canada will be able to see this. 

Not many people live in these areas, so they are in for a special treat.

A "ring of fire" eclipse happens when the moon is relatively far from the Earth, so it appears smaller and is unable to entirely block out the sun. A more dramatic total solar eclipse happens when the moon is a little closer to Earth. In those cases, as what parts of the U.S experience in 2017, near total darkness descends because the moon completely blocks out the sun. It's quite dramatic and exciting. 

The partial annular eclipse we'll be able to see tomorrow is practice for something spectacular. Another complete solar eclipse, like the one in 2017, is coming on April 8, 2024.   The path of totality in 2024 will pass directly over northwestern Vermont. It will be a once in a lifetime experience, for sure. 

Maybe tomorrow's partial thing isn't exactly a lifetime bucket list item, but it's still pretty cool. Except for those who like to sleep in for a couple hours past dawn.