Vermont Mostly Done With The Rain For A Couple Days, Warming Trend To Start

After a cloudy, cool day, a shaft of sunlight lit up the
trees just before sunset yesterday in St. Albans, Vermont

 As expected, southern parts of Vermont scored the best rains yesterday and last night. I don't have a lot of reports yet, but Springfield looks like they had 1.21 inches of rain and Bennington a respectable 0.7 inches. 

You get north and the rain tapered off, again as expected. Montpelier had just 0.32 inches. Burlington had a scant 0.01 inches.

It's just as well the north missed out. It's soggy up there. The National Weather Service in South Burlington just released some stats noting just how wet it's been.

In general this time of year, most Vermont towns should expect a little over four inches of rain over a 30 day period. Burlington in the past 30 days has had 6.74 inches. But that's one of northern Vermont's "dry" spots. 

Over the past 30 days, Westfield has had a drenching 11.15 inches so drain. Derby Line was at 9.99 inches. Other totals include 9.98 inches in Underhill Center, 9.92 inches in Montgomery Center, 9.85 inches in Richmond and 9.44 inches in Glover.

FORECAST

It won't be as wet! Here are the details

Today/Tomorrow. 

These sodden towns, and the rest of the state, should stay mostly dry today and tomorrow, for a change. I say "mostly" because cool air aloft today might spark some isolated light showers. A weak disturbance Wednesday could touch off a few more widely scattered showers near the Canadian border. 

But, in general, today and tomorrow will be dry. And we'll start a warming trend. A pretty slow trend, but warmer nonetheless. 

We'll get well into the 70s today, with some upper 70s in the  more banana belt valleys of Vermont. . That'll make today the warmest day since last Wednesday. By tomorrow. highs should touch 80 in many valleys. 

Thursday/Friday

The rain comes back but it's unclear how much.  It looks like much of Thursday will be dry with shower chances maybe ramping up later in the day. We think there will be some showers and storms around Thursday night and Friday, but it's unclear how much rain we'll get.  We're also not sure whether any of the storms will be on the strong side. 

This won't be as big and bold and mighty a weather system as the last one we dealt with, so early guesses are the rain won't be as heavy and the severe weather might not be as widespread as last time. If it happens at all. 

Highs both days should be at least 80 degrees in most towns. Overnight lows will still be reasonable enough at around 60 degrees, give or take.

Next Weekend And Beyond

It looks like full on summer weather will continue to build. Highs by next weekend should at least hit the low 80s for most of us. There might still be some scattered afternoon showers or storms over the weekend, but we're not sure on that yet. 

It'll get even warmer as we get into next week. Some signs are pointing toward a downright hot spell to settle in some time next week, just in time for July

Roller Coaster: Rainy, Cold Vermont Day In Progress, More Rain Tomorrow Morning, Then Warm, Then Eventually Chilly.

A huge lilac tree in front my house brightens a gloomy
May Sunday in St Albans, Vermont. 

 I'm getting a very late start this Sunday morning, as I decided to really sleep in on a chilly, rainy morning. 

That state of affairs will continue the rest of the day, though it will be a light, occasional rain, and it should turn more showery later in the day. 

Earlier last week, I'd hoped high pressure to our northeast would steer the rain away from us. So much for that idea. But we could still use the rain, despite the drought being over for now. 

But a miserable day for late May is still in progress. Damp and chilly is the word. If you like gloomy late March weather, today is your lucky day. Temperatures in the 40s to around 50 will only go up a couple of degrees by this afternoon. The winds will turn fairly gusty in most areas, adding to the chill.

Most places should have gusts in the 25 to 35 mph range, but spots along the western slopes of the Green Mountains could see it go up to 45 mph.  This would be the first good windy day since the trees leafed out. Leaves are heavy, at least when you're weighting the thousands of them on a single tree.

The new leaves combined with the wind and rain could knock over a few trees. I expect there might be some widely scattered power outages. Nothing widespread or wild, but don't be surprises if your lights flicker if you're on those western slopes. 

Despite the nearly day-long dreariness, we won't actually get much more rain today. Through 9 a.m. most of Vermont had received a tenth to a quarter inch of rain. We'll get another tenth to a quarter inch by the time it gets dark this evening. 

MEMORIAL DAY

Unfortunately, the day will get off to a rough start. The way it looks now, rain will restart before dawn and continue through most of the morning. The rain will be heavier than today's,  amounting to at least a quarter to half inch. Statewide, we now expect storm totals to be somewhere near three quarters of an inch, give or take. So a decent soaking. 

It still looks like the rain will shut off nicely tomorrow afternoon, with some sun breaking out by late in the day. High temperatures will be much better than today, probably reaching a seasonal 70 degrees or so.

THE WEEK AHEAD

After a summer-like Tuesday, in which we'll flirt with 80 degrees, we'll have a slow cooling trend through the week, as an unusual weather pattern sets up. By next weekend, it could well be quite chilly for the season once again. 

It's a little unclear how cool it will get, but I'll more on that in tomorrow morning's post. 

Frigid April Vermont Morning Came As Predicted; Mostly Dry, Cool-ish Weather Is Up Next

A daffodil tries to recover in the morning sun today after
early morning lows here in St. Albans reached 24 degrees. 

 The worst of our April cold wave will be ending this morning as sunshine boosts temperatures out of the midwinter doldrums. It won't exactly get warm again right away, but at least it will be reasonable.  

After all, Monday was anything but toasty.  The remaining patches of snow in my yard didn't entirely disappear until mid-afternoon. 

Early in the day, Burlington picked up another 0.6 inches of snow.  The average date for the last trace of snow for the season in Burlington is April 15. 

But it could we worse. It could always be worse. Burlington has had as much as three inches of snow on May 9, in 1966 and a trace on May 31, 1945

The National Weather Service had another interesting statistic out of this sudden, brief return to cold. Burlington's records go into the 1880s. There have only been 17 occasions in which a particular day had both temperatures in the 60s and measurable snow.  Two of those days happened in the past couple of months.

On Sunday it was 61 degrees just after midnight early in the morning. By mid-afternoon, 0.2 inches of snow had fallen. A similar situation happened back on March 17.  We started the day before dawn at 65 degrees, but 0.2 inches of snow fell

The most extreme example of warmth on a "snowy" day was on February 25, 2017. A little before 3 p.m. that day, it reached 72 degrees, shattering the record for the warmest February day on record. A cold front arrived later that afternoon, and before midnight, 0.2 inches of snow fell. 

Just one more example of how weather changes quickly here in Vermont

THIS MORNING'S LOWS

Many of us will be picking through the wreckage of our early season gardens. But depending on the plant, we might not know for days what was damaged and what was not. In the case of  plants that are just budding, like lilacs, we might not know for a few weeks if the blooms are OK.

The most intense cold early this morning was brief, so I think there's a good chance that many blooming daffodils and other early flowers survived. I imagine many if not most of the lilac buds did, too. Time will tell. 

Generally the threshold for the start of damage to tough early season blooms is about 25 degrees. Burlington had a low temperature of 25 degrees this morning.

Here in St. Albans, it was 24 degrees just after dawn. Montpelier got to 18 degrees, breaking the record low for the date by one degree.   Lyndonville got down to 18 degrees. Morrisville was 19 degrees. Newport and Bennington was 20 degrees.   The majority of weather stations in Vermont were in the low 20s as of 6 a.m. 

Perennial cold spot Saranac Lake, New York got to at least 12 above.

At least this now-ending chill will be the coldest weather we'll see until October or November 

FORECAST

The next several days will be a little cool and almost entirely dry. Today will only make it into the upper 40s for the most part which is still pretty chilly for late April

A very weak disturbance tonight might produce some sprinkles. And maybe some snowflakes in the higher elevations. We just can't let go of winter, can we?

After that, the weather becomes rather boring for us.  Boring is a good thing. That means no tornadoes, no snowstorms, no extreme killing freezes. At least here in Vermont. I can't say the same for other parts of the state.

We will see almost no precipitation for the next week or so.  A block up weather pattern means storms trying to come at us from the west will either fall apart or get pushed well south of us. It still looks like the next chance of rain won't come along until April 29 or so. Even then, early indications are that April 29 rain won't exactly be impressive. 

The rest of this week will be on the cool side. High temperatures this time of year should be in the mid 50s cooler locations and close to 60 elsewhere.  Wednesday through Friday, highs will be in the upper 40s in the chilliest areas of the north to low to mid 50 for most of us. So, not that bad.

It looks like temperatures will warm ever so slightly to near normal levels this weekend. At least for a couple days. The overall weather pattern heading into early May is for slightly cooler than average weather. But this time of year, "slightly cool" is still spring weather.  The season will advance, and we'll forget about our little struggle with this morning's wintry chill. 

A Bout Of Icy Weather In Some Parts Of Vermont Then a Brief, Warm Interlude

We can't quite shake winter. Areas in yellow and orange
can expect a glaze of ice tonight before much warmer
air arrives tomorrow, 

 It's another overcast morning in Vermont, with some rain falling far southern sections of the states. 

The wide-ranging temperatures we saw over the past few days have finally evened up for now. 

Pretty much the whole state started today in the low to mid 30s. Early April in Vermont can be a little like November. But at least we're not facing along winter like we would be in November, so we have that optimism. 

Although it was cold enough this morning for snow in southern Vermont, there's warm air aloft, so it's rain. Some sleet might be mixing in at a few spots, but web cams so far show little direct evidence of that. Still, a special weather statement notes the risk of freezing rain this morning, mostly at elevations above 2,000 feet in the southern Greens. 

That warm overhead cold surface have wintry implications for tonight. It's April, but here in Vermont that doesn't necessarily mean wintry weather is over 

A winter weather advisory is for Vermont from the Green Mountains east and from about Springfield north to the Canadian border tonight. 

It's the same problem we've frequently had in late winter and early spring. Warm air is trying to push in, but cold high pressure in Quebec is feeding in low level cold air. The result is the risk of freezing rain

We know there won't be much precipitation of any kinds, and what does fall over and east of the Green Mountains won't be entirely freezing rain. 

However, as usual in these cases, the freezing rain will be spotty. If you're driving anywhere in the winter weather advisory zone overnight and early Friday, you'll encounter patches of ice alternating with above freezing areas, so this will keep you on your toes.

Western Vermont should be too warm for freezing rain.  Some of the overnight showers north and west could actually contain a rumble of thunder or two. That's not exactly a sure bet, but since it's spring, thunder is beginning to become more possible with storm systems. 

WEEKEND

It will warm up really quickly Friday as a warm front blows by, so any freezing rain will stop being an annoyance pretty early in the day. There should be showers around especially during the first half of the day and especially north an west as another storm blows by far to our north. 

The cold front with this storm will be incredibly lame, so not chilly air will be able to work in. Which means Saturday should be fairly mild with highs into the 50s. As the next storm approaches Sunday, the chances of showers will ramp up. It'll stay on the warm-ish side as we once again reach the 50s 

 BEYOND THE WEEKEND:

Unfortunately, we can't sustain spring quite yet. The first half of April is known for its excursions back to winter. 

So, at least the first half of next week will be cold, with highs in the 30s and 40s with subfreezing temperatures overnight. That might keep the sugaring season going on a little longer in parts of the state that haven't had too much warm weather yet. 

And let's face it, the chill early next week won't be anything extreme. We can still have huge snowstorm this time of year, and historically, record cold would mean temperatures in the single numbers to low teens. 

Neither of which will happen next week,  Our world will soon green up regardless of whether we get a little cold air or not.

Minor Storm Brought Vermont Road Issues, More Ice To Come Then Huge "False Spring"

From Facebook. Things got snarled up in the snow
yesterday in far southern Vermont. I believe this is
Route 9 in Searsburg. 

Our little storm last night wasn't really that bad or memorable, but it proved it doesn't take much to make a mess. 

Yesterday afternoon, it looks like they had to shut down Route 9 over the mountains between Bennington and Brattleboro because road conditions got so bad so quickly. The roads were pretty awful across southern Vermont during the afternoon commute. 

The snow abruptly came into Burlington last evening. Reports were it was slow going on Interstate 89, not so much because he road was slippery, but because the large snowflakes, blowing erratically in the wind, annoyingly made visibility terrible. 

This morning, Interstate 89 around Milton was seriously backed up due to a crash or crashes, presumably in part because there was lingering slush on the roads. It must have been frustrating with stuck there, with the warm March sunshine streaming through windshields and water from melting snow trickling pass car tires just sitting there in the traffic jam. 

Nice morning today, but Vermont AOT web cam showed
traffic really backed up on Interstate 89 in Milton,
possibly partly due to lingering slush on the
road from last night's burst of snow. 

I don't have much in the way of snowfall reports, but judging from traffic cameras, the expected one to three inches fell, with perhaps locally more in some high elevations. 

Burlington has 1.3 inches. Far northern Vermont missed out, as expected. I only had 0.2 inches here in St. Albans, which had already largely disappeared in the morning sunshine. 

We'll have one more wintry bump in the road before we get the big thaw this weekend that will be our false spring.  I define false spring as the first spell of balmy weather,  usually in late February or March, before winter weather returns. 

Let's get into the daily forecast. There's been a few changes since we last checked in with this yesterday. 

TODAY

Despite what all those people stuck on Interstate 89 thought this morning, today will truly be a nice one. The sun had returned, or was in the process of return, by around 8:30 or so today.

Maple sugar makers might get a decent run today as highs get into the low or even mid 40s. We'll have a fair amount of sunshine as well. 

THURSDAY 

We have some changes to the forecast, mostly in the Champlain Valley. That cold high pressure in Quebec we've been talking about will be taking hold. It looks like the high pressure might be a tad further south in Quebec than first thought. That means  chilly low level air will start to bleed down into the valley. Instead of highs in the low 40s that had been forecast, it'll barely make it to 32 degrees.

The cold air will have trouble making it east of the Greens, so places like Montpelier and St. Johnsbury should still make it at least into the upper 30s. Southern Vermont still looks like they'll see another sap run day with highs passing 40 degrees.

THURSDAY NIGHT/FRIDAY

The fact that the cold air from Quebec is asserting itself a little more is a problem. The next weather disturbance coming along will run into that shallow layer of cold air settling into northern New England while warm air flows in aloft.

There's are classic recipe for freezing rain and sleet. I'm seeing varying scenarios as to how much we'll get. At the moment, it does't look like the icy stuff won't come down hard, but you need just a teeny tiny bit to make things miserable. After hacking the ice off your car to get in, you next need to deal with very slick roads. 

I think the trees and power lines are safe, though. It doesn't look like we'll have enough ice to cause that kind of damage. 

Thursday evening's commute is safe, as we won't have anything worse than thickening clouds then. But Friday morning could be a real mess. 

A couple other things could happen, one of which would help. It's possible the cold high pressure will get so strong that it could deflect all precipitation away from some areas north of Route 2. That' scenario is unlikely, but it's one that I'd love to see. 

The other one is that the warm aloft might erode and turn colder. That, in turn would change precipitation to snow for a time Friday morning. Snow is at least a little better than freezing rain. This scenario is slightly more likely, but not definite. 

By Friday afternoon, temperatures should crawl back above freezing. It looks like the day will just be cloudy, raw and damp. 

FRIDAY NIGHT/SATURDAY

The next wave of rain will arrive Friday night. Or freezing rain, unfortunately. It still might be cold enough east of the Green Mountains for some ice. Increasing south winds west of the Greens should keep things just wet.

Temperatures should rocket upward Saturday afternoon so that it could get into the 50s in some areas. Dew points, a measure of how humid it is, will get into the 40s. That's pretty high for this time of year. 

Snow melts faster with higher humidity, so we might start getting into trouble Saturday and Saturday evening with ice breaking up on rivers, so we'll need to keep an eye on that. One bright spot is the it looks like the rain will be mostly light and sort of on and off. It won't add much to the runoff.

SUNDAY AND BEYOND

It still looks like decidedly springlike weather looks like it's on the way. Sunday looks slightly cooler and definitely less humid than Saturday, so that will probably temporarily slow the melt runoff into the rivers. 

But Monday, Tuesday and possibly Wednesday look interesting. A summer-like Bermuda high will set up, bringing us temperatures that will possibly threaten record highs. And once again bring high humidity for this time of year which just eats up snow. ]\

Whatever snow is left in the valleys will melt super fast, and many low elevations that are now deep in snow will be looking at bare ground by next week. 

Some preliminary data suggests some area rivers might go over their banks, and we'll still have the risks of ice jams. which of course can cause flooding if they dam up rivers in the wrong spots.

Early guesses are we'll go back to wintry reality by the end of next week. Of course, cold snaps tend to start losing their bite this time of year. By no means do I expect any subzero cold to return. Instead, just the usual March schmutz.

Another Below Zero Morning In Vermont. This Weeks Climb Toward Spring Features......Complications

The nice thing about March is the sun is stronger than it was
earlier in the winter so it makes a difference. The sun 
started melting a dusting of snow off my driveway
quickly yesterday, despite temperatures in the teens.
Today will be cold, too, but the sun will make it feel better

Vermont's journey this week out of midwinter bitter cold to what I would call "false spring" is going to be an uneven one. 

On that journey, expect some decidedly not-so-springlike weather including snow, freezing rain, and the possibility that the promised eventual warm air will be taken away from us. 

BELOW ZERO AGAIN

We start today bitter cold, as expected. It was below zero everywhere. It was generally a bit colder in northern New York State than in Vermont.

The center of the Arctic high pressure was a little to Vermont's west most of the night. The air remained calm longer closer to the high pressure's center in New York, so it was colder there.

I don't have the final word on low temperatures as of this writing, but perennial cold spot Saranac Lake, New York got down to 24 below. It was in the mid and upper teens below zero in the St. Lawrence Valley. 

 Light north winds lasted longer in Vermont, so temperatures didn't fall as fast earlier last night, but started to crash faster toward dawn as winds went calm here, too. 

So far, Lake Eden, Vermont is winning the cold sweepstakes, as they got to any least 18 below this morning. Morrisville wasn't far behind at 14 below.

Burlington was down to 2 below, This isn't record cold, of course. Burlington missed the record low (set in 1980) by a full 16 degrees. The coldest it's ever been in Vermont is 37 below, here in St. Albans on March 4, 1938.  Not happening this year, thank gawd!

This morning was the 16th time this winter it was at or below zero in Burlington. That's more than in many recent years, but it's not that out of whack, even compared to the past couple of climate-changed "warmer " winters.

Seven of the past 20 years have had as many or more days that were zero or colder. With any luck, this will be the last subzero morning in Burlington until next winter. 

So, moving on from the cold......

TODAY, TOMORROW

Expected accumulation of snow from a quick, small storm
later Tuesday and Tuesday night. It's a small one, with
only one to three inches south, less in the north. 

The good news is it's going to warm up a lot by this afternoon. The bad news is "a lot" is still pretty damn cold for this time of year. 

But highs within a few degrees either side of 20 degrees with light winds and a stronger March sun won't feel too bad.

The temperature will again begin to crash this evening, but high clouds, a bit of a southwesterly breeze and just the general air mass warming up will prevent many of us going below zero. 

It will warm up further tomorrow as temperatures rise into the 30s. But it will come at a cost. A small storm will spread another burst of snow across much of Vermont later Tuesday and Tuesday night. Luckily, it will be a light, wet snow that may not even arrive at all north of Route 2. 

In any event, southern Vermont should just receive one to three inches of snow, with anywhere between nothing and an inch north. 

SPRINGLIKE, THEN ICE?

At this point, Wednesday looks like the pick of the week. We should see a fair amount of sunshine with temperatures popping up to the low 40s for most of us. That'll at least melt the little bit of snow we would have gotten the night before. 

At first glance, it seems like the next mid-sized storm Thursday night into Friday would be rain. But there's a problem. Very strong, very cold high pressure will set up in northern Quebec. It will feed low level cold air down into northern New England, setting us up for freezing rain. 

It's too soon to say who will get the freezing rain, how much will accumulate and weather and snow or sleet will be involved as well. But beware, Thursday night and Friday might be problematic. Stay tuned on that. 

NEXT WEEKEND HINTS

It should finally warm up to springlike levels next weekend. It could even get into the 50s.  We'll have to start watching the rivers for ice breakups and ice jams. Luckily, it looks like any rain we might get will be light, so that won't add much to our worries. We'll have more details when we get closer to the event. 

March weather can be pretty psychotic. Things change at the drop of a hat. We'll witness some of that this week. 

A Rather Unpredictable Weather Week Coming Up For Vermont

This forecast weather map for this coming Wednesday
morning looks a bit frightening, with a sprawling storm
covering most of the U.S. Looks are deceiving, at least
for us in Vermont. Some precipitation might 
fall early in the week, but it's not definite, and if
we do get any, we don't yet know what kind.

 This is going to be one of those weeks where meteorologists might be tempted to thrown up their hands and say "You figure it out. "   

It's not that they're unprofessional or would actually do that,. But all the moving parts in the atmosphere are so jumbled that it's hard to tease out what we're going to get.

Overall, the best guess is it will be mostly relatively mild, pretty unsettled, but otherwise a pretty iffy weather week.   The forecast through about Tuesday is relatively easy, but after that, it's basically a flip of a coin

But, let's get into it the best we can.

In case you missed it, Burlington broke its long streak of subfreezing days on Saturday. After 22 days of staying below 32 degrees, the temperature briefly poked up to a pleasant 35. 

TODAY

It won't be quite as warm today. As expected, a weak cold front passed through most of Vermont overnight. It was in the single numbers at dawn in the north, with cold spots like Lake Eden getting s cold s 8 below. In the far south, the cold front never really arrived, so it stayed in the low 20s in places like Bennington.  

Temperatures will tend to even out statewide today. Highs will be in the 20s, with some low 30s south. Sun will fade behind some clouds, but it will be gorgeous day for skiing or other winter sports. Today's a great day to pretend to be winning gold at the Winter Olympics. 

MONDAY/TUESDAY

A weak disturbance should come in tonight to throw a handful of snowflakes at us overnight. You might find maybe a dusting or a half inch of powder on your car in the morning.

The day itself will likely be the hottest it's been since mid-January. That's not saying much, since it'll only get into the mid-30s for most of us. Another weak disturbance - ever so slightly stronger than tonight's - will probably deposit a dusting to maybe a full inch of snow in spots on a balmy Monday night. 

I say balmy because lows will be in the 20s to around 30. 

Tuesday will still be warm with highs in the 30s to around 40.  One note or caution:  I see a lot of ice dams on many roofs. Some of those will let go over the next few days. In many villages and somewhat more urban areas around Vermont, people park their cars in the narrow spaces between houses. 

You might not want to do that as heavy chunks of ice could fall. Also, if you can, try not to walk under these frozen Swords of Damocles. 

WEDNESDAY AND BEYOND

Forecast weather maps for Wednesday morning look ominous. They show a strong, sprawling storm covering the entire middle of the U.S. and the Rocky Mountains.  Since storms tend to head east, you'd think we in Vermont were in for something really nasty. 

But it's not as scary as it looks. High pressure over northern and central Quebec will tend to shear this storm apart. Here's where we get into the "we have no idea what's going on" part of the forecast.'

Will that Quebec high pressure shunt the whole thing to our south?  Or will the storm come through, albeit in weakened fashion.  Will another storm follow on Friday and Saturday? If so, rain or snow or mix?

What will the temperatures be like? We know Vermont will be in part of the battle zone between warm from the south, and Arctic air to the north. Will frigid winter weather reassert itself? Or will we have more thawing? Maybe something in the middle, mild for February but not exactly warm?. 

All I can is stay tuned to this bat channel for answers we hope will appear within the next day or two.  

Weird Bright Light To Appear Over Vermont Today (We Hope)

The way it used to be.  A deep blue sky, with a few
puffy clouds as decorations, in Georgia, Vermont on
July 28, 2021.  This used to happen quite frequently
in Vermont but lately we've seen none of this.
Thankfully, the sun will make a grand appearance,
at least for a little while, this week

We awoke in Vermont to another gloomy morning this Sunday, with overcast and patches of fog.

At least it stopped raining in most places. At least for now. 

Given the conditions over the past week or more you might be alarmed at what you will see today. I'm here to assure you there's nothing to be afraid of. 

Later this morning or this afternoon, many of us will see a blinding light in the sky.  Don't worry, as long as you don't look directly at it, you won't get hurt. 

The rare phenomenon you are about to see is called the sun.  It's very common in most other parts of the world, and we used to see it frequently here in Vermont.  You just might not remember since it's been since May 16 since many of us have seen even glimpses of it. 

You'll notice this bright light - the sun - has a warming effect. Instead of being in the 40s to near 50 all day, this sun will bring temperatures into the 50s to near 60.  That's still much cooler than normal for this time of year, but it's a little better than it's been.

The ever-present chance of showers in Vermont will remain.  Not everyone will get them. The best chances of showers are in northern and western Vermont this afternoon and early evening.

MONDAY AND BEYOND

That bright light in the sky sun will assert itself even more on Memorial Day.  Much of the day will be at least partly sunny.  Temperatures will rise further into the 60s, which is only slightly cooler than average for this time of year. 

There is a low, but not zero chance of a brief shower.  You can't escape 'em. Most places won't see them though. 

Tuesday and Wednesday look great! Temperatures should get well into the 70s both days, which is near or very slightly warmer than normal for a change. Both days should feature quite a bit of sun. At this point the chance of showers both days is nearly non-existent. 

SATURATED

We should thank our lucky stars that no big, long-lasting downpours are in the offing for the next few days. The ground is so soaked right now that it would only take roughly two inches of rain in six hours to set off flash flooding. 

That amount of rain in that time period happens fairly frequently during bouts of summer thunderstorms.

Relatively dry weather until at least Thursday means that - hopefully - by the end of the week, the ground will have dried sufficiently so it would take a little more rain than that to set off an flooding.

The forecast is uncertain for the end of the week but it looks unsettled. I don't know yet of the rain will start Thursday night, or postpone until Friday or even Friday night. The computer models are disagreeing.

At least for now, those computer models are mostly agreeing that the end of the week rain shouldn't be torrential enough to set of any flooding. 

But as always, stay tuned for updates.

Vermont Enjoying Its First Dry Day In Ages Today, To Much Wet Out There Anyway

After a gloomy few days, evening sun Saturday lit
up this flowery branch in St. Albans, Vermont. Look
close and you can see a spider web in the upper
right.  After an incredibly soggy start to May,
Vermont is about to be treated to a stretch of
dry, sunny weather. 

 It was such a pleasure this morning going outside amid bright sunshine, and a fresh dry breeze this morning in St. Albans, Vermont.  

Today will be the first rainless day since April 30.  Since March 19, there have only been ten days that have been precipitation-free, so today really is a treat. 

At least we can say that the drought we had last fall that lingered to some extent into the winter is over. 

In the first ten days of May, southern Vermont in particular has had more rain than we usually see during the entire month.

For instance, Rutland has had 4.05 inches of rain since May 1. The entire month of May there should have 3.63 inches. Woodstock has had 4.66 inches of rain so far in May, an inch more than what should come down there in all of May. 

We're actually fortunate to be getting a break in the rain. Things are so soggy that one more good rain storm might have triggered flooding worse than the minor stuff we saw Saturday. 

As it was, some of the minor flooding in Vermont was actually a little worse than forecast.  The Otter Creek at Center Rutland, Vermont reached 10 feet yesterday, which put it on the border between minor and moderate flooding. The crest was two feet higher than forecast and flooded some low lying roads in the area.

A section of road in Pomfret, Vermont is closed this weekend due to a mudslide. 

Further north, the Winooski River at Essex Junction stopped just a few inches short of flood stage. 

RAIN SHUTS OFF

Vermont is not going to see any rain of note until Wednesday or Thursday at the earliest.  Even then, it will be in the form of just scattered showers and thunderstorms. It won't be until Friday when we see a shot at any substantial, widespread rain in the Green Mountain State. 

Today, Mother's Day, will be the last genuinely cool spring day we'll see for awhile.  Don't get me wrong, the weather today is delightful. But it is brisk for the season out there.  Highs should only get into the 50s, with some low 60s south. The fresh north breeze should continue all day, keeping things feeling cool. 

But set yourself up outdoors out of the wind and in a sunny corner and it will feel nice. 

As I have been advertising for days, we have a week of at least sort of summer coming up. Every day from Monday through Saturday will get at least into the 70s, and I think we'll see some low 80s thrown in there from time to time later in the week. 

Tonight - as you can imagine - will be chilly, and I wouldn't be surprised to hear of a patch or two of frost away from Lake Champlain. Nothing widespread, though. 

After that, we'll have mild nights to go along with the warm days. With all the moisture in the ground now and the balmy temperatures, Vermont's forests will continue greening up fast, and your garden plants will be growing like crazy.

Of course, all the wet means the black flies are going to be awful for the rest of the month, too. And the mosquitoes aren't far behind.  

At least the strong May sunshine will make things less squishy underfoot as we get through this week.  I guess we finally get to enjoy spring. 

Vermont Rain Continued To Pour Down This Morning, But End Is Near

A foggy, very wet garden in St. Albans, Vermont this
morning after the drenching rains of yesterday and
last night. Drier weather is coming. 

 We promised you a good soaking in Vermont and you got it. 

As of dawn Saturday, it had been raining continuously in the state for about 24 hours.   It was still raining, though the trend was beginning to get more showery.  There were bursts of fairly heavy rain here and there, mixed in with periods of just very light drizzle. 

Rainfall totals are over an inch statewide.  As of 6 a.m., Burlington was one of the "dry" spots with a mere 1.23 inches so far.  

Not many reports have come in from elsewhere yet. That'll happen later this morning. But we already have a report of 2.1 inches out of Elmore. I've added up totals at reporting stations and came up with 1.7 inches in both Bennington and Rutland as of 6 a.m.; about 1.5 inches in Montpelier and around two inches Springfield.

We do have one flood warning to report, and that's from the usual suspect, the Otter Creek in Rutland County.  Flood stage along the Otter Creek in Center Rutland is eight feet. The river is expected to crest at 8.6 feet later this morning. 

Low lying roads along Otter Creek from about Clarendon north into Addison County might go under water, so keep an eye out for that.

The Mettawee River at Granville, New York, just over the border from southwest Vermont is in minor flood stage too. Since part of the Mettawee runs through extreme western Vermont, around Pawlet, there's probably some high water there, too. 

Raindrops gather on a magnolia bloom in St. Albans
Vermont this morning after a drenching rain. 

Other streams and rivers in Vermont might come close to flood stage. Even rivers in northern Vermont are running high, even though not nearly as much rain fell early in the month as in southern parts of the state.

The Winooski River at Essex Junction will probably peak just a little under minor flood stage.  Just be wary that rivers will run high and swiftly for a few days, so if you go out for some early season kayaking or whatever, currents could be dangerous.  

The National Weather Service in South Burlington will keep the flood watch going in southern Vermont through this evening. Even though the rain will be tapering off today, runoff could keep rivers high through the day. 

WHAT'S NEXT

The thick clouds and rain kept temperatures in the 40s for many of us Friday. So if you thought the day was remarkably chilly for May, you were right. 

Since the clouds might thin a bit later today, it'll get a little warmer, but not much. 

Sunday will be quite a different day than it's been, except for one thing. It'll still be on the cool side. The sky will be blue, the sun will shine brightly on our newly green landscape. But a stiff north wind will keep temperatures in the 50s to low 60s. 

That coolness might make you worry about frost Sunday night. I think some places well away from Lake Champlain could see some frostiness by Monday morning. But the Champlain Valley looks safe.  

We're still forecasting basically a week of summer coming up next week.  We aren't exactly going to see a heat wave. But many with highs in the 75 to 82 degree range and lows in the 50s to low 60s, it'll basically be a nice week in July. Except in May. 

Sunday, Monday and Tuesday look like they will be rain-free.  If that happens, it'll be the first time since mid-March we've gone a full three consecutive days without a drop of rain. At least as measured in Burlington. 

That doesn't mean the entire week will run without the risk of some showers.  As we get into the second half of next week, we'll have a rising chance of scattered showers and thunderstorms. 

It's too soon to say how much, but I don't expect a drenching like the one we just had yesterday and last night. 

A Vermont Spring Boost, Then Winter For Some Of Us, Then Back To Spring

More and more crocuses keep appearing as spring
continues its progress in Vermont - despite some snow
in the forecast this week. After the chill Wednesday and
Thursday, we'll see weather that will allow spring
to continue to green things up in Vermont.

 We finally got to enjoy spring on Monday and in some places last night as mild air blessedly returned. 

It got up to 66 in Burlington Monday afternoon, which isn't all that unusual for this time of year, but it still felt good. 

The only drawback: I was being pestered already by black flies in my yard last evening. That problem will only get worse as we make our way through spring

Meanwhile, areas west of the Green Mountains, especially in the Champlain Valley, stayed warm overnight. 

Readings there never got below 50 degrees. Those kinds of mild nights this time of year really tend to advance the forces of spring. 

Eastern Vermont, which has struggled more with spring this year, was much chillier, with early morning temperatures mostly close to 40.

I found yet another sign of spring. An area of thunderstorms move through parts of southern Quebec near and southwest of Montreal early this morning. And there's the chance of a few scattered garden variety thundershowers around Vermont this afternoon as we hang on to relatively mild temperatures for most of today.

Since thunderstorms are mostly a warm season thing, I'll take it. 

WINTER INTERRUPTION

We're still looking at a wintery spell yet again in Vermont Tuesday night through Thursday morning, but for most of us, it won't be too bad.  And to be honest, it won't last all that long.  It's slowly getting harder and harder to get wintry weather as we head into late April. Hallelujah! 

Many valleys look like they could get a thin scrim of slushy snow early Wednesday morning and again Wednesday night. But valley highs on Wednesday will be in the 38 to 45 degree range. Pretty miserably cold for this time of year, but still, hard to keep snow around with this temperatures.  

The first blooming daffodil of the season appeared this 
morning in my St. Albans, Vermont garden 

The northern and central Green Mountains look like the big winners, still with this. 

 Accumulations way up high -  above 2,500 feet - still look like they will be in the four to 12 inch range, which might keep the door open for some very late season back country skiing. 

The amount of precipitation people in Vermont will see this week will vary widely. 

Rain and melted snow through Thursday morning will probably amount to only a tenth of an inch or so in the Champlain Valley to nearly an inch around Jay Peak

CONSISTENT SPRING?

A shifting weather pattern after midweek is going to bring Vermont so better spring weather, and you'll see things gradually but steadily continuing to green up as we head into the weekend and next week.

True, some days will be on the cool side, others mild. Some days will be bright, others a bit rainy. But as it looks now, it appears we'll have weather that actually feels like spring pretty much every day maybe starting Thursday afternoon but really getting underway Friday. 

As noted, things will bounce around a little, as is typical in the spring  Saturday looks potentially mild and occasionally rainy.  Easter Sunday at this point is looking cool and brisk and bright, but not frigid with afternoon highs in the 48 to 55 degree range.

It will warm up again after that.  I still don't see any ridiculous early season heat in our future for the next week or two. But daily highs consistently in the 50s and 60s starting Friday and continuing at least through the following week and beyond will be pretty easy to take. 

Yes, it could snow again in Vermont this spring even after we get through this week. But the chances of it happening are finally beginning to diminish. 

 

The Stats On Christmas Past: This Year Pretty Tame Compared To Previous, But We're Bucking Holiday Warming Trend

Snow tumbles down from pine trees on Christmas 
Day, 2017, which is the last time measurable snow
fell on Christmas in most of Vermont. 

I guess it's a blessing that the weather this Christmas Day in 2024 is unremarkable. It's a little on the cold side, but nothing extreme for late December. There's no storms around, and winds won't be blowing particularly hard. 

If the forecast is correct, the high temperature today in Burlington will be around 23 and it looks like the low this morning was 14.

  There likely will be no snow or other precipitation around, aside from possible snow flurries near Lake Champlain and maybe in the northern Green Mountains. 

Christmas, 2024 will be an exception to a trend.  Just like the rest of the year, the holiday is gradually getting warmer in Vermont thanks in large part to climate change. 

Under the warmer, "new normal" the expected high temperature in Burlington today would be 32 degrees and the low would be 18.   On averaged, we'd see 0.7 inches of snow, melted down to the equivalent of 0.08 inches of rain. 

In making my case for our new "tropical" Vermont Christmases, this post is a little statistics heavy, but it's telling as to how things change. We'll also take a look back at Christmases that, unlike this year, brought us some pretty extreme weather. 

SANTA ON THE BEACH

A festive Church Street, Burlington, Vermont
in a Christmas season several years ago

The warmest Christmas was in 2020, when Burlington reached 65 degrees.  At 8 a.m. that day, it was 64 degrees in Burlington and 65 degrees in Highgate.  

That made Highgate the warmest place in the Lower 48 of the United States at that hour.  Hotter than Key West, Miami, Phoenix or Los Angeles, even. 

The warmest low temperature on Christmas Day was 45 degrees in 1964. That was one of just 15 Christmases in which the temperature never got below freezing for the whole day, midnight to midnight.  Four of those balmy Christmas nights have happened just since 2014 

Fifty-seven Christmases since 1900 have gotten above freezing for at least part of the day, . Here's another sign that climate change is making itself known. Twelve of the past 20 Christmases have gotten above freezing. 

The fact that this year's holiday temperature will remain below 32 degrees is yet another exception to the recent rule of toasty holidays. Yet today's chill would have been pretty much de rigueur in past decades.  

TRADITIONAL COLD AND SNOW

Since 1900, we had temperatures at or below zero temperatures on 21 Christmases. It has only reach 0 once in Burlington on Christmas since 1993. (It was 0 in 2013)  

The coldest was in 1980, when it was a very unpleasant 25 below. The coldest high temperature on Christmas was minus 5 also in 1980. That day, the -5 high was at 12:01 a.m., the temperature continued to fall all day.  Despite blue skies, the deep cold and north wind made the day miserable. By the early morning of the 26th, it was 26 below in Burlington,  31 below in St. Johnsbury and 35 below in Sutton, Vermont. 

The most snow on the ground on Christmas morning was in the brutal winter month of December, 1970. Snow depth on the holiday was 32 inches in Burlington and 43 inches in Montpelier. The last time there was more than 10 inches of snow on the ground Christmas Day in Burlington was in 2007.

The snowiest Christmas in Burlington was 1978, when 16.8 inches fell. I was in high school at the time and I remember it as actually quite a nice day - if you weren't driving. It snowed really  hard all day, but winds were light and temperatures were comfortably in the 25 to 30 degree range. 

Southern Vermont's snowiest Christmas was in 2002. Woodstock was slammed with 27 inches of snow.. Woodford reported 20 inches. About a foot and a half came down on Rutland. This storm completely missed northern Vermont. Burlington received barely an inch of snow that day. 

Measurable snow has fallen on 37 Christmases since 1900. Snow enough to measure has fallen on Christmas only once since 2005.  (There was 3.5 inches on December 25, 2017).

BIG EVENTS

There's been a couple Christmases that marked the start of some pretty big weather events. 

In 1969, Burlington residents awoke to a frigid Christmas morning with a low of 16 below and nine inches of snow on the ground.  Snow depth that morning was closer to a foot and a half elsewhere in Vermont due to a large snowstorm that hit on December 21-22. Skies grew increasingly cloudy and snow broke out toward evening. 

This marked the start of one of Vermont's most severe winter storms on record. Burlington received 29.7 inches of snow, which had been the largest snowstorm in the city's history. (Since then, the Pi Day Blizzard of March, 2017 and a lake-enhanced snowstorm of 33 inches on January 2-3, 2010 eclipsed that mark).

In the 1969 storm, an incredible 45 inches of new snow buried Waitsfield.  Snow depths across much of central and western Vermont reached three to four feet with drifts as high as 30 feet. Most roads shut down, and pretty much the only traffic in Vermont for a time was snowmobiles. 

Eastern Vermont got moderate amounts of snow which changed to a devastating ice storm.

In 1917, Christmas Day brought a brief respite from what had been an incredibly cold December. It reached 41 degrees early in the day before a sharp cold front sent temperatures plunging through the day.

By midnight it was 13 degrees, but the temperature kept going down to create one of the Vermont's most intense cold snaps on record. Daily lows in Burlington from December 27 to January 3 were -12,  -16, -23,-25,-19, -13,-15,-12

On December 30, 1917 ,it was 43 below in Bloomfield, 42 below in Cavendish, minus 41 in Northfield and minus 40 in Chelsea. 

The winter of 1917-18 is Burlington's coldest on record to this day, with an average temperature from December 1 to February 28 just 12 degrees. 

Christmas, 1933 was similar to 1917. Burlington started off mild, with a reading of 43 degrees. Temperatures once again plunged all day, and through the next day. The mornings of December 29 and 30 reached 29 below in Burlington, still the second coldest temperature on record in Burlington.

Bloomfield reached minus 50, which still holds the record for Vermont's coldest temperature ever recorded.

Let's just thank our lucky stars that we have no extreme weather coming up right after Christmas this year. Just chilly through Friday, then unfortunately some rain or freezing rain by Sunday. 

Back To Spring, And Spring Showers After This Morning's Vermont Freeze

 Temperatures at dawn in Vermont were a couple degrees warmer at dawn today than yesterday. 

Frosty leaves in the garden again this morning
in St. Albans, Vermont. 

That's not saying much, since pretty much everybody in the Green Mountain State was in the 20s, with a few teens in the cold hollows.  

Still, the fact that it was a tiny bit "warmer" than dawn Thursday ist he first sign that spring is about to return after a couple days away. 

 The sky is clear again, and the air is still super dry so temperatures will rocket upward as the sun takes over. 

 It will be a good ten degrees warmer than yesterday afternoon, so it will be in the 50s. Possibly near 60 degrees. Nice, just a little cooler than average.

The dry air will give us another chilly night, with temperatures near or below freezing again by Saturday morning. But if you're worried about any additional garden freeze damage, relax, it won't be that bad.

DRY TO "HUMID"

The super dry air we've had the past couple of days is going to be a thing of the past by Sunday. Saturday will be a transition day, as we get warmer and clouds begin to creep in.  Nice day, though, with highs in the 60s. 

A warm front will come in Saturday night. That will spread a little rain in overnight into Sunday.  Bonus: No snow. There's actually a chance warmer valleys will not see any additional snow again until October or November. So there's that.

After Saturday, I guess you can put away the ChapStick for awhile. By Sunday afternoon, the air will actually have sort of a humid feel to it.  Which is a remarkable switch from what has been the desert dry air we are in now. 

It won't be oppressive, but if you're exerting yourself on Sunday  afternoon, you'll sort of notice it. If sun breaks through, we could get temperatures in the low 70s.Weak weather disturbances and the vaguely humid air will combine to produce some scattered showers and maybe even a few rumbles of thunder, especially north, Sunday.  Kind of like summer. 

I guess if we're going to transition away from basically winter in the desert like we've had the past couple of days, we might as well go all in. 

WARM, BUT NOT THAT WARM

Longer range forecasts had been bullish on a warm close to April and equally warm start to May, but they've backed off on that. But at least it will be, well, normal.  Next week looks unsettled, with frequent chances of showers. It won't rain all the time, but there will often be that risk of raindrops.

We will have to watch for a back door cold front that could make northern Vermont a bit chillier Monday and eastern Vermont cool on Tuesday. That cold front makes forecasting temperatures a little trickier than first thought. 

It depends on where this cold front sets up and how fast it moves. There's a chance this front could hold down temperatures a little in northern Vermont on Monday, and then perhaps east of the Green Mountains Tuesday. 

But nobody is that sure. At least if parts of Vermont get in the cooler air behind the front, it won't be that bad. Certainly not another frost and freeze.  

If garden plants were damaged in this week's harsh freeze, it will be interesting to see how well they recover. They weren't that far advanced, and most of the stuff that was blooming are pretty hardy, so I think we escaped a garden nightmare from our freeze.

Not Done With The Snow Showers Just Yet. Questions About A Future Storm?

A snowy, bright scene during a brief interval of blue skies
and sunshine Tuesday.  Despite snow showers this morning
and chilly temperatures through tomorrow, an overall
warm pattern means we might not actually have
a white Christmas this year. 

 As expected, snow showers buzzed through parts of Vermont last night, laying down at most an inch of snow, with most places just getting a dusting. 

Roads got a little slick, again, as expected, so there were some iffy patches.

If you're heading to work this morning, you might run into a little more of that. Roads aren't all that bad, really, this Wednesday morning, but we're not done with the snow showers.

Patchy snow showers, some of them moderately heavy, were moving toward northwestern Vermont as of 7:45 a.m. this morning. They could reduce visibility and quickly turn roads icy this morning. 

(By 8 a.m. it was looking pretty ominous, snow wise, just to the west of my perch in St. Albans, Vermont).

The snow showers might continue to early afternoon before tapering off.  Accumulations will be an inch or less, except possibly a little more in the mountains. Especially the Adirondacks and maybe far northern Green Mountains. 

These snow patches and bursts are associated with a series of what are essentially little cold fronts coming through. It's mild this morning, with temperatures near the freezing mark.  Instead of rising, temperatures will hold steady or slowly fall through the day. Northwest winds will add to the chill.

Again, no big deal for December, but the snow showers, the visibility issues and the icy patches on the roads are all worth taking into consideration. 

Aside from seasonal temperatures today and tomorrow, the overall pattern for us and pretty much the entire Lower 48 is mild conditions. Possibly lasting through Christmas. 

That makes the prospect of a white Christmas iffy in many Vermont locations, despite snow on the ground in many spots now. 

Forecasters are looking at a weird, strong storm that will come out of the Gulf of Mexico and hit Florida and maybe other areas of the Southeast with heavy rain, high winds and severe thunderstorms by Saturday. There's a chance it could move up the coast and give us some bad weather early next week.

Early bets are that it might mostly miss us here in Vermont. Some computer models hit us with heavy rain and possibly snow, but many other runs of the models take the storm a little too far east to bother us too much. 

There's a lot of  time for changes to the forecast.  Once we get toward the weekend, we'll start paying more attention to that system to see if it will affect us. Until then, expect some relatively mellow Vermont weather with near and above normal temperatures. 

Vermont Weather Week Ahead: Not As Wild As Last Week, But Still "Interesting"

After a brief snow squall, a cold wintry sun tries to fight
its way through the clouds in St. Albans Sunday morning.
Warmer weather is on the way, though. 

 As is customary, I like to start Sunday with a look ahead, at least as best we can, at the Vermont weather week ahead.  

For those of you adverse to winter, a couple pieces of good news: For one, unlike last week,  nobody in Vermont will get 40 inches of snow this week. In fact, only a little snow will fall, and many of us will see a dusting at most.

The big snow winners will be in the central and northern Green Mountains, where the remnants of lake effect snows from New York could pile of several inches of fluffy snow.  That's a far cry from fell last week, though! 

The second piece of good news for those anxious for spring is that today has a very good shot at being the coldest day until next winter. 

Normal highs in Vermont valleys are now in the low 40s, and rising day by day as we head into spring. It's gradually getting harder and harder to stay below freezing all day. 

Today, though, we'll stay at January-like levels, with temperatures for many of us not getting out of the mid-20s. Gusty northwest winds bring wind chills into the single numbers and teens. You'll see spots of sun, but also snow showers, especially north of Route 4 and in the mountains all the way down to and past the Massachusetts border.

A few snow showers might be briefly heavy, so you'll want to watch for sudden problems with low visibility and slick pavement on the highways here and there today. As drier air moves in this afternoon and evening, the snow showers should lighten up somewhat. 

After a rather cold night tonight, things get better.  

Most valleys, except for some of them north of Route 2 on Tuesday, will to 40 or above each day Monday through the end of the week. (Northern valleys might have to settle for highs in the 35-39 degree range on Tuesday).

The weather should be fairly quiet, and great for sugaring in the first half of the week. 

The second half gets questionable. Storminess seems to want to come in, or at least some precipitation. 

Although Vermont big snowstorms are possible into mid-April, it is getting harder and harder to snow as we get into the second half of March. It's just getting too warm. 

It's looking like whatever comes in the second half of the week will be mostly rain.  The computer models disagree on how much rain and the timing of it. 

If it's just light rain, the snow will just continue to melt in an orderly fashion and there would be nothing to worry about. If it's a heavier rain, we'll need to watch for some flooding from that rain and melting snow. 

 

Suddenly Green, But Also Black Flies Invade: Spring In Vermont

I swear most of those trees behind the spruces in St. Albans,
Vermont had virtually no green yesterday.
Amazing wha a mild,rainy night can do this time of year. 

 It almost felt like I slept for days or even weeks, not just overnight when I got up early this morning in St. Albans, Vermont. 

The mild overnight rain that had been predicted materialized. After some relatively balmy weather yesterday, the rain went to work on the trees and I'm suddenly in a green landscape. Trees that had been bare yesterday are covered with little green leaves this morning .

Things did change big time overnight. 

The rapid advance of green should continue with today's rain.  Relatively cool air Thursday through Saturday might slow the process a bit, but the warmest weather so far this year coming up next week should advance "foliage season." 

What's not to love about all that? It really is my favorite time of year. 

This being Vermont, though, there's always a drawback. I've seen the first stirrings of the dreaded black flies in the past couple of days. Those little buggers will explode into annoying swarms over the next few days. 

Today's rains will give them a boost as they hatch, and the warm air coming will create clouds of them, I hate to say.  You pray for windy weather during black fly season, because gusts tend to make it harder for them to bother and bite you.  Unfortunately, a good chunk of that upcoming warm spell will have very light winds. 

Black flies do prefer cloudy days, so with sunshine anticipated, that will help.  I'm told black flies don't like light colored clothes like pastel green, or orange or yellow, so consider your fashion choices during black fly season. 

Ah, but we're used to these little devils anyway. Happens every year. The peak of black fly season usually goes from about Mother's Day to Father's Day, with the mosquitoes taking over during that time period. I guess bugs enjoy a Vermont spring, too.

Bug spray with DEET usually eases the problem, at least for me. No biggie.

The only insect I'm truly concerned about this year is gypsy moth caterpillars. You'll remember last year there was a huge outbreak of them which defoliated so much of Vermont's Green Mountains. Although the name of these horrible pests has an ethnic slur, so we'll call them spongy moth caterpillars from here on out. 

There's a good chance they'll be back this year, which makes me nervous since they stripped a hill in back of my house bare last summer.  The caterpillars stopped just short of defoliating my property, and I fear they will nail us this year. I'm sure a lot of other people are a bit worried about this, too.  Not sure what to do about it, but I hope we have a miracle and they don't turn out too bad.

Today's damp weather is what we need, as this weather encourages a fungus that kills spongy caterpillars. But this is just one day of rain. We're in for a long stretch of dry, nice weather. 

Which is what we all love in the springtime.  But like I said, it's Vermont. Even wonderful things have their downside here. 

Flip Flop To Warmth, And Couldn't Resist One More Cold Video

The obligatory throwing of boiling water
in the air during the record cold snap in 
Texas last week.  Such a scene is impossible
now in Texas. Temperatures reached 80
degrees there Tuesday afternoon.

Several days ago, I posted a series of videos about last week's brutal cold wave and winter storms. 

I couldn't resist one more, as Texans on TikTok expressed their humor, frustration and pratfalls as they dealt with the icy weather.  

It has since warmed up dramatically in Texas, so everyone is relieved. The change in just seven days is impressive to say the least. 

Dallas was at minus 2 on February 16.  Yesterday, exactly a week later it was 81 degrees in Dallas. The change in Oklahoma City was even more impressive. It went from 14 below on February 16 to 72 degrees yesterday 

The weather is certainly much better now in Texas and surrounding areas, but unfortunately, problems obviously remain after such a big disaster. 

Many thousands of homes, apartments and businesses remain badly damaged after pipes burst. This will be the most expensive disaster in Texas history, surpassing even Hurricane Harvey. 

President Biden will visit Texas Friday to check out the disaster, as presidents do when calamities are especially bad.

There's plenty of political fallout from this, too.

The now badly named Electric Reliability Council of Texas,  or ERCOT, which manages and operates the Texas electrical grid, clearly badly mismanaged it, as they failed to weatherproof the system over the years, though they were warned to do so. 

The result was the massive power outages in Texas that came with the cold weather. That lead to dozens of deaths and the billions in damage, as we've all heard on the news. 

Five board members of ERCOT resigned Tuesday.   It was the least they could do.  

Anyway, now for some fun with that TikTok compilation. Note that it's NSFW, as there's plenty of understandable swearing in here: