Thursday Evening Vermont Frost Update: Protect Your Plants Almost Everywhere In Vermont

Visible satellite photo has clear skies in northern and
central Vermont and high clouds south late this
afternoon. Many of those high clouds are expected 
to clear, so frost and freezes are likely in most\
of Vermont tonight and early Friday.

It's a gorgeous late afternoon, especially north, where the landscape features clear blue skies and the greening hills and mountains around us. 

Southern Vermont has quite a few high clouds. They might save the day, or I should say night, and prevent frost down there. But chances are better than even, allowing a frost risk all the way down to the Massachusetts border.

Frost, if not a freeze, is a given tonight and early Friday in northern Vermont away from Lake Champlain .

The Northeast Kingdom is still under a freeze warning, as it was this morning. But that freeze warning has been extended to all of northern Vermont east of the Green Mountains. Temperatures are forecast to be a little colder there than forecasters thought during this morning. The forecast low in Montpelier tonight is 29 or 30 degrees.Their record low tomorrow morning, by the way, is 29 degrees. 

The rest of Vermont outside the Champlain Valley is under a frost advisory for temperatures in the low to mid 30s overnight. 

Despite a lack of any advisories or warnings in the central and northern Champlain Valley, I still wonder if there might be some patches of frost. I think that might happen in spots, especially near and east of Route 7. Just to be safe, I'd cover up or bring sensitive plants in, unless you're right near Lake Champlain.  If you don't get a frost, it'll be no big deal to remove the covers tomorrow morning. 

As of 4 p.m. the dew point was between 27 and 30 across most of Vermont. The dew point is the temperature we have to cool down to get water droplets and dew.

The dew point is a good, but imperfect predictor of frosts and freezes.  If skies remain clear and wind stays calm tonight, that dew point means it can easily get to near freezing tonight across most of Vermont. 

So yup, dig out the sheets, cover all those brand new frost-prone plants you have and hope for the best. If you have a strong back, haul those big tropical potted plants back indoors if you're in the potential freeze zone. You know the drill

Vermont Going From Summer Heat To Frost/Freeze Cold

A spectacular sunset last evening marked the transition
to much cooler weather after our heat wave. Now,
frost and freeze alerts are up tonight for most of Vermont

Well, our heat wave is certainly over in Vermont as we go back to early spring chill. From 90 degrees in parts of Vermont Tuesday to frost and even freezes in much of the state by Friday morning. The weather whiplash continues. 

More on the expected frost and freeze a little further down. 

Yesterday was a transition day. It started overcast and incredibly warm for May and sort of muggy. By midday, especially in northern Vermont, it turned into a breezy, bright and blue summer day. Burlington reached 81 degrees.

By evening, a layer of mid and high level clouds arrived, with clear skies far to the northwest. This set up one of the best, brightest and most beautiful sunsets we've had in ages. Even outdoing the awesome sunset this past Saturday. 

TODAY

Later, skies cleared, and we start today chilly in the 40s. Those high clouds were still around, so I imagine early risers (VERY early, sunrise was at 5:198 a.m) saw a fantastic sunrise.

If it isn't sunny where you are, it should gradually become so this morning, at least if you're in northern and central Vermont.. The south will tend to stay rather cloudy much of the day, but these will mostly be those high and middle level clouds so some sun should get through. 

Highs should only get within a few degrees of 60 for highs today. It'll be cooler than that north and mountains. That'll set us up for night that will make your plants shiver. Or worse. 

TONIGHT/EARLY FRIDAY

You'd think with a high today in the 55 to 62 degree range, frost would be pretty scattered and light. But the air mass coning in is exceptionally dry. The drier the air, the more it can cool off on clear, calm nights. 

It's why deserts can be 100 degrees or more during the day and near freezing at night.

As such, the National Weather Service has issued a frost advisory for all of Vermont and northern New York except the Champlain Valley. A freeze warning is up for the Northeast Kingdom and the Adirondacks of New York for expected temperatures below 32 degrees.

For now, the Champlain Valley, west of Route 7 looks safe. Maybe. Look for updates this afternoon because updated forecasts might well be colder than I'm depicting here. 

The National Weather Service is considering an upgrade to a freeze warning in north central Vermont, and maybe issuing a frost advisory for the Champlain Valley. Those meteorologists are waiting on updated guidance this afternoon before they decide what to do. 

Despite the warm climate changed springs we've had in recent years, I guess that old adage is still true. Don't put out sensitive plants like tomatoes until after Memorial Day.

MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND

After the morning frost, Friday itself should be gorgeous with sunshine and highs well into the 60s to around 70.

The rest of the weekend is still a pretty big question mark. Saturday looks dry, according to most computer models. But they are disagreeing on whether rain comes in Sunday, and if so how much. Monday has a better shot at getting wet, but again, the timing and amount of rain are still very, very open to debate.

Sunday Evening Blizzard Update: The Wild Weather Has Started

A prediction of what the radar imagery of this
nor'easter will look like later tonight. Sort of looks
like a hurricane but it's built completely 
different from one. 

Getting a late start on my brief evening blizzard update as I had to be elsewhere.

Our major blizzard in the Northeast is underway. 

Some of the stats a facts are absolutely impressive. Meteorologist Ben Noll  says that 42 million people expect major or extreme impacts from the storm; 30 million people are under a blizzard warning and 21 percent of the nation's population will be affected by the storm one way or another.    

As meteorologist Matthew Cappucci notes, this storm is a meteorological marvel. A calm, clear eye will develop in the storm. It's not the same mechanism that you see in hurricane but it makes the storm somewhat visually resemble a tropical system

Way out to sea, in the storm's warm sector, powerful supercell thunderstorms will develop, with waterspouts. Not the skinny little almost harmless things you sometimes see off the coast of Florida. Instead, these waterspouts would be Midwestern style powerful tornadoes. 

In much of the blizzard zone today. light wet snow and raind rops. As of 6 p.m. the snow intensity was starting to pick up. An offshore really heavy band of snow looked like it would make landfall in New Jersey and New York metro area by around 7 p.m. 

The blizzard should maintain its intensity in New Jersey and southern New York until late morning or early afternoon tomorrow, 

In New England, Rhode Island has imposed a travel ban in the state starting at 7 p.m. this evening. New Jersey and New York City also have travel bans. I kind of wish Massachusetts would follow suit. I have at least one unconfirmed report that a couple major employers expect to see employees in the office tomorrow. 

If that's true, those businesses are incredibly irresponsible. Especially considering will dump 18  to 25 inches of badly windblown snow, propelled by winds of up to 75 mph near the coast. 

The National Weather Service office in the Boston area said:

"We can't stress this enough but this storm will likely bring extreme to destructive impacts south and east of the I-95 corridor, especially southeast MA and Cape Cod due to the combination of heavy, wet snow and damaging wind gusts. Heavy, wet snowfall amounts up to 2 ft with damaging winds presents a serious concern for tree damage and power outages."

 This thing means business! 

VERMONT EFFECTS 

Overall, the forecast for the big nor'easter hasn't  changed much. 

The southernmost two counties of Vermont are still under a winter storm warning for a windblown 6 t0 12 inches of snow.  That's a little more than what they were predicting this morning. Rutland and Windsor counties are still in for two to six inches. Northern Vermont from the Green Mountains east should get an inch or two, plus blowing snow due to stiff north winds. 

The northern and central Champlain Valley on Monday should only get an inch or less with those gusty winds an blowing snow.

There's still chances that snow bands could behave differently than currently forecast, so look for updates tomorrow morning

I'll have a detailed post on this nor'easter tomorrow morning, of course!

 

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. 

Torrential Snow Falling In Vermont This Evening

Traffic cam grab shows heavy, wet snow along
Route 7 in Ferrisburgh late this afternoon. 

As some winter enthusiasts might say, it's puking snow out there. 

That long anticipated band of heavy snow has made its way through most of Vermont as of 5 p.m. today. The Northeast Kingdom is still waiting for it to start, but it will soon.

The National Weather Service noted the clouds that are producing the snow are oddly tall for a winter storm, resembling what you might see with heavy snow squalls. 

These aren't smoother, shallower clouds that you would see with a typical New England winter storm.  

I still think there's a low, but not zero chance of thunder snow this evening. I noticed a few lightning strikes a bit east of Watertown, New York late this afternoon

Once the snow arrived at any one location, it tended to wax and wane a bit. But when it was heaviest, it was coming down at a rate of up to two inches per hour. That's the heaviest snow rate we've seen all winter. 

We're lucky that the heavy snow in any given spot won't last more than six hours. Imagine if this were a day-long storm. 

In any event, you should be off the roads this evening as this burst of snow comes through. Judging from the web cams, the roads go from wet to snow covered in less than half an hour after the snow starts. And the snow comes down too hard to keep up with the plowing as that heavier band comes through. 

I almost guarantee there will be some traffic tie ups into this evening, especially in Chittenden County as people try to make their way home from work or school .c 

The overall forecast hasn't changed since this morning. We're still looking at a 5 to 10 inch dump, with most of it coming in that six hour burst this evening. 

The higher end totals would be in the Green Mountains, especially central and south. The lower end of that range would be in parts of the Champlain Valley, and along Route 7 in the valley floor in southwest Vermont. Down toward Bennington, it might only amount to two or three inches. 

This evening's snow still looks like it's wet and heavy.  There might be a few issues with fallen branches and power lines, but I don't think we'll see many power outages.

Notice how "bumpy" the clouds were on satellite
images as the snow moved into Vermont this
afternoon. That's a sign of convection, which
meant bursts of very heavy snow. 

Lighter snow will fall later tonight and early tomorrow to finish up the storm. It'll abruply get a little colder late tonight as readings sink into the low 20.  Saturday looks like it will turn out to be a typical mostly cloudy late February day.

 There could be some light flurries around as temperatures hold in the 20s for the most part.

Be careful cleaning up the snow. Even though it will be colder on Saturday, most of the snow that does fall on your sidewalk or driveway will feel like cement. 

Sunday looks to the pick of the weekend. It'll still be generally cloudy, with maybe some sun. Temperatures should get up into the relatively mild low to mid 30s for the most part. 

NOR'EASTER

We'll have to start talking more about that nor'easter since the latest computer models have nudged its projected path a little further to the west. 

This nor'easter looks like it will hold its precipitation shield relatively close to its center. I still think Vermont will mostly be a bystander. But, a little snow could fall from this in southeastern Vermont. North to northeast winds will probably pick up, too.

However, if you have Sunday and Monday plans to visit Delaware, New Jersey, Long Island or eastern New England, be aware that those places are beginning to look like they are really in for a storm, 

I'll have more on the nor'easter tomorrow. 

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.  

Worldwide Robust Weather Warnings Would Save Lives

People in the U.S. have easy access to warnings for
dangerous storms, like this weather radio. Many 
places around the world don't have access to
weather warnings, causing needless deaths. 
The UN and other organizations are 
trying to change that. 

 The United States has a lot of the worst weather in the world. Every time you turn around, there's a life-threatening flash flood, tornado, giant hail, hurricane, winter storm, wildfire and storm surge. 

Or, seemingly, all of the above at once. 

Some recent deadly disasters notwithstanding, the United States has some of the lower per capita fatality rates in the world. A lot of the reason for that is our robust warning system.

It's why you see on the news that an entire town has been turned into grim confetti by a tornado, but maybe only one or two residents have died, and everybody else is basically uninjured. 

The reason is because everybody in town got a tornado warning 15 minutes or even a half hour before the storm hit. That warning bought everybody in town time to hunker down in a safer place.  

Many other places in the world don't have the luxury, or actually the necessity of have a robust warning system for severe weather.

Much of the time, the overseas death toll in storms and floods is victims didn't have the information needed to get out of the way of an  impending disaster.

  .As NPR notes:

"One reason for the high death tolls in such disasters is a lack of basic weather warning systems. 

'Early warnings are not an abstraction,' said U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in a speech last year. 'They give farmers the power to protect their crops and livestock, enable families to evacuate safely and protect entire communities from devastation."

Too many people lack access to weather warnings. 

As Al Jazeera reported in October:

"Nearly half of all countries lack early-warning systems for extreme weather events, leaving millions - especially those in developing nations - vulnerable".

The World Meteorological Organization has said that weather, water and climate-related hazards have killed more than 2 million people in the past 50 years. About 90 percent of those deaths occurred in developing countries. 

As climate change drives storms to new extremes adequate weather warnings are more important than ever. 

TRYING TO HELP

Back in 2022, the United Nations set a goal to extend severe weather warmings to even person on Earth by 2027. The effort would cost $3.1 billion. 

It doesn't look like the UN will reach that goal in time. It never does. But at least the effort is underway. 

One major reason the effort is behind schedule is,  of course, the United States.  Namely, Donald Trump. I swear it seems like the more needless deaths he causes, or at least fails to prevent, the happier he is.  The Trump administration said last month it will no longer participate in the effort. That erases some billions of dollars from the weather warning plan.

Other sources are stepping up to the plate, including thy Asian Development Bank and the World Bank, which have together spend $2.5 billion on weather warning projects, NPR reports. 

 The number of nations using some form of early warning systems for multiple types of severe weather has jumped from 52 to at least 108 over the past decade. However there are still dozens of nations that still don't have any kind of sophisticated warning system for people at risk for storms and floods. 

One success story appears to be Cambodia, notes NPR.

Cambodia is one of the most flood-prone countries in the world. Between 2023 and 2025, agencies affiliated with the UN upgraded the country's flood forecasts and warnings to the tune of $5.8 million. An additional $7.8 million will be spent on this Cambodian warning system over the next few years.

Last November, the water level in the Mekong River in Cambodia reached one its highest levels on record. In the past, this type of flood would kill many people. This time, the people, and their livestock were gone by the time the water started rising. They'd received flood warnings, and were on high ground when the Mekong went over its banks. 

Since they'd made preparations, people living along the Mekong pretty much resumed normal life shortly after the water receded. 

Much of Cambodia's new warning system is pretty basic. Warnings go out on cell phones. But since many people don't have phones, trucks drive back and forth through towns, blaring the warnings from speakers. The speaker also instruct residents to tell anyone else who might not have heard the broadcast about the problem .

The November, 2025 Mekong flood led only to a few casualties.

We in the United States take for granted weather warnings. Sometimes, we even have waves of complaints when tornadoes warnings pre-empt the season finale of "Real Housewives Of Enosburgh Falls" or whatever dumb show is on. 

But the U.S. warning system has saved countless lives. Lives in other countries are worth the same as ours, whether you like that fact or not. So I really don't want to hear that weather warnings as dangerous storms appear are just "too expensive" to deal with 

 

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.

Today's The Start Of Our Nation's Snowy, Icy Nightmare; Arctic Air Already Established

Weather channel map shows enormous area under the
gun for freezing rain in the Southeast. Pink
and purple areas to get freezing rain, with the
worst hit areas in dark purple.

It was close to 30 below with wind chills of near 50 below early this morning in northern Minnesota. That frigid air continues to race south and east, setting the stage for one of the most widespread winter storms to hit the U.S. in recent memory. 

Of course it won't be 20 below in places like Oxford, Mississippi or Waxahachie, Texas, or Hazard, Kentucky, Lumberton, North Carolina, Frederick, Maryland, or probably even Harmonyville, Vermont.

But all those places will easily be cold enough to endure lots of snow, lots of ice, and lots of brutally cold weather for the next few days. 

Media reports say at least 170 million Americans are under some kind of winter weather alert. That includes all 643,000 or so people who live here in Vermont. 

The first snowflakes and first icy raindrops have just started falling in the South and the effect are already being felt. Governors in a dozen states have declared emergencies. Natural gas prices have surged by 60 percent as people crank the heat off to ward off the icy or blizzardy chill. 

The most dangerous part of this storm is the expected freezing rain from Texas to the Southeast U.S. coast. 

This will cover a much larger area than most ice storms. Most of the areas at risk for the heaviest ice are heavily forested. That means lots of power outages as some of these trees collapse under the weight o the ice. 

Typically, if one area is hit by an ice storm, utility companies rush in from other states to help rebuild the power grid. That's going to be a more difficult this time because such a huge region is under the gun with freezing rain. 

Utility crews from further north in the expected snow zone are probably going to help. I hope some of them are staging in the southern freezing rain area now so they won't have to fight their way through heavy snow to get there. 

The heavy snow zone is itself enormous. Everybody in a broad band from northern Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas northeastward through New England will get at least six inches of snow. A number of places are in for more than a foot. 

It's also going to be dangerous after the storm. I mentioned Oxford, Mississippi. They're expecting an inch of ice, more than enough to bring down lots of trees and power lines. Unlike many southern winter storms, it's going to stay cold well after the storm in Oxford and most other places in the South. Overnight lows in Oxford are forecast to be in the single digits early next week.

There's almost too much to watch across the nation as this storm unfolds. But it's going to be an interesting few days. 

VERMONT EFFECTS

The snow squalls, the intense cold and our share of the big U.S. winter storm are all on tap for Vermont.

Snow Squalls

Another look at the brief but intense snow squall in
Burlington, Vermont yesterday. Photo is when the 
intensity was just starting to decline. 

Those impressive snow squalls yesterday here and there in Vermont brought zero visibility and winds to 45 mph in some spots yesterday. 

More snow squalls are in the works today as that Arctic cold front approaches. Already, as of 8:30 a.m. one narrow band of fairly heavy snow was entering the northwestern corner of Vermont. Another such band was in Rutland County.

We'll see more of this through the day. Some of the squalls might even hit after the front passes and while temperatures are dropping. So in that respect, these could be more dangerous than those that hit Thursday. 

It was warm enough Thursday for the snow to quickly melt off the roads once the squalls departed. Today will be colder, so the road conditions won't improve as fast. And of course if you're caught in one of those squalls on the road, good luck seeing anything in front of you. 

Nobody will get much snow out of this. Most places will see an inch or less. It's just that in some places, all that snow will come down in something like 10 minutes. 

Intense Cold

After peaking late this morning or early afternoon close to 20 degrees, temperatures will crash as stiff northwest winds pick up. The worst of it will be tonight and the first half of Saturday with the lowest temperatures and the strongest winds. Those are the hours when our extreme cold warning is in effect. 

It still looks like actual temperatures will go below zero this evening and bottom out early tomorrow morning in the upper single numbers to upper teens below zero. Wind chills will be in the 20 to 40 below range. 

It still looks like highs tomorrow will only make it to about zero. A little below that in the north, and little above that in southern valleys. 

Usually in a cold wave like this the second night is even colder. We originally thought that would be the case Saturday night. But that massive storm will start clouding us up by then.  Northern areas will probably be a little colder than Friday morning, but with less wind.

Southern Vermont, where the clouds will arrive first, might be a little warmer Sunday morning than Saturday morning. Don't break out the Hawaiian shirts, though. It will still be below zero

The Storm

As we suspected last evening would happen, the winter storm watch that was in effect for southern Vermont has bee extended through the state all the way to the Canadian border.  The computer model keep pushing the storm a little north, and also frigid, dry high pressure north.

The high pressure is important. If it was centered close to us, moisture coming up this way would get eaten up by the dry air, and we'd get little snow. If the high is further north in Quebec, the moisture would have an easier time invading, so we'd get more snow. 

The computer models are disagreeing on exactly how much snow we'll get Sunday into Monday. Early guesses have five or six inches near the Canadian border to over a foot near the Massachusetts border.

Don't take that as gospel. There will be adjustments.

We can tell you that we know southern Vermont will get more snow than the north. We don't have to worry about sleet and freezing rain. And this will be an unusually cold snow storm. 

Temperatures during the event will be in the single numbers and low teens. It will probably be a pretty fluffy snow. None of that wet, heavy crap we've often gotten in recent winters. 

Cleanup after the storm in Vermont isn't going to go great either. Temperatures will be low enough after the storm so that salt won't work great on the roads.

Actually cleanup won't be easy anywhere because there's a nationwide shortage of road salt. Until now, it hasn't been a particularly cold winter in the U.S., but there's been a lot of icy storms. Salt is in short supply. 

Or even nonexistent in some communities.

The City of Vergennes posted on Facebook yesterday that it is entirely out of salt.  Rutland is almost out of salt, too. So is Monkton and West Rutland. And probably some other Vermont towns. 

The salt shortage is hitting the entire state. The Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles has temporarily waived driving hour limits for salt delivery drivers until the end of the month because of the high demand. 

It'll stay cold all of next week, though not as cold as tomorrow. Still, highs in the low to  mid teens and lows near zero don't sound like fun.

The weather pattern over the next two weeks tends to favor more nor'easters. It's hard to tell whether any of them will come close enough to Vermont to give us more snow, so we'll just have to wait and see. 

 

Thursday Evening Bitter Cold, Huge Winter Storm Update

The blue winter watches you saw in this morning's
National Weather Service map had started turning 
pink and purple as watches were upgraded
to winter and ice storm warnings. 

Huge swaths of the United States are bracing for that massive winter storm that will hit starting tomorrow and continue over the weekend. 

The forecasts keep getting worse. This is going to be a long, dangerous slog for a lot of people. And that includes the people north of the snow and ice storm who are or are about to endure temperatures far below zero. 

Just as in this morning's post, this Thursday evening update will give a broad brush look at the nation first, then zero in to Vermont for my local readers. 

As of late this afternoon, winter storm warnings - meaning trouble is inevitable - stretch from eastern New Mexico, through all but the southeastern third of Texas, then as far north as northern Missouri and as far east as Kentucky. 

Winter storm watches extend from Georgia to New England.  I still can't get over what a huge area this storm will cover. 

A huge area of freezing rain will be the worst part of this mess

Meteorologists are also beginning to pin down the location where ice from freezing rain might accumulate the most. One broad band of that freezing rain would extend from Texas, then go across northern Louisiana, southern Arkansas, northern Mississippi and up to just south of Nashville.

Another worrying area of ice looks like it might run through northeast Georgia through Upstate South Carolina and into the Piedmont, central North Carolina and parts of Virginia. 

The first ice storm warnings have been issued for sections of Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee. 

The newly released ice storm warning for heavily forested northern Mississippi calls for a half inch to an inch of ice. Trees really start taking a beating at a half inch of ice, so this will be a horrible mess for them. 

North of the ice, a broad band of heavy snow - probably more than 100 miles wide - will extend from northern Texas all the way to New England. Parts of Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia and Virginia could receive around two feet of snow. 

Memories are still fresh in Texas regarding the catastrophic electrical grid collapse during severe cold and winter storms in 2021. State officials say the grid will hold this time, though areas most affected by freezing rain could have extended power outages. 

It would be a damn good idea to follow any instructions from meteorologists and local officials about what to do during the storm. 

I'd skip the sensational stuff online. For instance, all the trees in especially frigid northern Minnesota aren't going to "explode." People in those areas and elsewhere might hear some loud cracks or booms as sap in trees cracks a small minority of tree trunks and branches. But don't worry about tree parts flying all over the place.

It is cold up there in North Dakota and Wisconsin. For instance, as of 3:30 p.m local time, the temperature in the northern Minnesota town of Warroad was a pleasant 22 below. Winds gusting to 24 mph gave them a windchill of 50 below. 

At least Warroad can take comfort in the fact that freezing rain is not in their forecast.   

I've also seen those conspiracy theories again in which some evil group is causing this. It's not. Obviously. This huge storm is what you get when massive dose of Arctic air collides with a boatload upon boatload of moisture heading north from the Gulf of Mexico.

VERMONT UPDATE

Intense snow squall crossing Lake Champlain before
slamming into Burlington this afternoon.

Boy, those snow squalls were something today, weren't they? They didn't drop much snow and didn't last long in any one place, but they were definitely dramatic. I've even heard an unofficial report of a lightning strike or two. 

Winds gusted to 40 mph or more in some of the more severe squalls. They were quick, though. I was in Burlington when the squall hit there, Five minutes after visibility was near zero in snow, it was nice and sunny with bright blue skies. 

More Squalls

As darkness fell late this afternoon, those squalls were simmering down nicely. 

However, we'll do it again tomorrow afternoon as another round of snow squall will come through. The difference tomorrow is it will be much colder, and less sunny, so the roads won't clear up as fast after the brief but heavy snows pass.

Not everyone will get a squall, but everybody should get some snow showers. Mostly in the late morning to mid afternoon.

Extreme Cold

Then the cold hits. The extreme cold watch, as expected, has been upgraded to an extreme cold warning. It runs from tomorrow evening to early Saturday afternoon. Expect wind chills of 20 to 40 below. 

Even after the cold warning expires Saturday afternoon, high temperatures will remain within a couple degrees either side of zero. Because of some increasing high clouds Saturday night, forecasters have backed off slightly on the chill. But it will still be awful, with lows Sunday morning in the upper single numbers to mid teens below zero. Maybe near 20 below in a few Northeast Kingdom spots

The Storm 

Forecasts keep trending northward with the heavier snow. A winter storm watch is now in effect for the southern four counties of Vermont Sunday afternoon into Monday. Those places could see seven inches of snow or more 

For now, there's no storm alerts for northern and central Vermont. But many of the computer models are starting to bring the heavier snow as far north as the Canadian border or even far southern Quebec. 

As always, I'll have many more updates and details in tomorrow morning's post. 

 

Nation Faces Days Of Extreme Cold, And Huge Winter Storm Of Ice And Snow (Vermont Forecast Included)

Huge area in red on this map is expected to be affected
by a massive winter storm this weekend. 

The next several days will be peak winter across most of the United States.

And downright dangerous. 

Most of the northern tier of the United States from North Dakota to New England is in for intense cold. In northern Minnesota, wind chills could drop into the mid 50s below zero.  

Even worse, a massive winter storm is taking shape. It'll extend from eastern New Mexico, , through the southern and central Great Plains, then across  much of the South and the eastern United States.

The placement of who gets the worst of it is still a little in question, but the area affected will be massive. 

A large area across the South is expecting a crippling ice storm. Those most affected will endure possibly days-long power outages and severe tree damage. To the north of the ice, snow accumulation in some areas might be measured in feet, not inches. 

People across the South away from the immediate Gulf Coast are being told to stock up on food and supplies, just in case. 

The storm won't really start until Friday, but the warnings are already sounding pretty dire. Ryan Maue, a former chief scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, told the Associated Press that the storm could be a "widespread potentially catastrophic event from Texas to the Carolinas....I don't know how people are going to deal with it."

The odd thing is this won't be a huge, strong low pressure system causing the problem. Instead, a massive blob of heavy, frigid Arctic air will press down into the southern United States. Then, a wet flow of warm, lighter, humid air will glide over this bitter cold air. The rising air will unleash a barrage of snow and freezing rain onto the millions of southerners shivering on the ground below. 

The storm will likely consolidate and finally grow stronger near the East Coast toward Sunday night. 

New Mexico and Texas will be hit first on Friday, then everything will spread eastward and eventually somewhat northward through the weekend and into the beginning of next week. 

This could easily become the first weather disaster of the year costing $1 billion or more. We'll have much more on this over the next several days as the storm develops.  

VERMONT IMPACTS

A classic cold winter afternoon sky yesterday over
St. Albans, Vermont. By this weekend, we'll
REALLY be shivering in subzero cold. 

Frankly, we're in for some miserable midwinter weather in Vermont, but overall, we're lucky.

We won't be nearly as cold as places like Minnesota. That massive storm should either give us a slight glancing blow, or not affect us at all.  

But we have a bit of snow in the forecast, some wind, and eventually that bitter cold air. Even when the chill eases off a bit toward the beginning of next week, we'll be mostly on the colder than normal side  right into February. Possibly through most of February. 

A series of weak weather fronts will harass us today through Friday. A lame warm front today will spread light snow through most of Vermont this afternoon and evening. Almost everyone will see an inch or less of accumulation. The mountains, as always, could pick up a bit more than that.

But even that little bit will probably make the roads a little iffy for the drive home from work this evening. 

The warm front will bring temperatures to the low 20s this afternoon, then those readings will hold steady tonight. In the Champlain Valley. Temperatures will actually slowly warm up overnight as south winds gust to 40 mph or even a bit more. 

Enjoy tomorrow, as it will be the last warm-ish day for quite awhile. Highs should briefly reach the low or even mid 30s in a few spots. A cold front coming at us will probably set off more afternoon and evening snow showers. A few spots away from the Champlain Valley might even see a brief snow squall. 

Once again, though, most places will see an inch or less, with - as always - a little more in the mountains. Like today, tomorrow's snow showers could once again make your drive home from work or school tomorrow afternoon a little annoying.

Thursday's cold front won't introduce us to the super cold air. It'll only get a little chillier. Another cold front on Friday will be the one to make us absolutely miserable. 

The first half of Friday should be OK, with temperatures within a few degrees either side of 20. But the wind will pick up and the temperature will fall all afternoon. Wind chill alerts will probably be issued starting later Friday and going through much of the weekend. 

We'll start the day with subzero temperatures Saturday morning, and those of us who get above zero Saturday afternoon will be the lucky ones.

Saturday night will be super cold. Early guesses are teens below zero. That's not even close to record cold territory, but it's much worse than what we've gotten used to. Clouds from that massive storm in the south might - again if we're lucky - keep us from getting even colder.

That huge storm is forecast to pass far to our south Sunday night. An early guess has it heading off the coast around Delaware.  Some of the forecast models are suggesting a little snow could make it all the way north into Vermont Sunday night despite our great distance from the storm. 

That moisture will be battling the very dry, cold air over us, so I'm still dubious as to whether we'll get any snow. I'll keep an open mind, though. 

It'll probably stay cold through next week and probably beyond, but it won't be quite as bad as what we'll deal with this coming weekend. 

SUNY Oswego Webs Cam Spectacularly Shows How Changeable Snow Squall Season Is

An intense snows squall slams into the campus of 
SUNY/Oswego on Monday. See the series of photos
at the bottom of this post to watch how the
squalls unfolded. 

I occasionally checked in with State University of New York/Oswego web cams on Monday, watching dramatic views of how fast the weather changes in the winter on the shores of Lake Ontario.

The photos in this post kind of go back and forth a little between two SUNY/Oswego web cams. One   web cam is at Hart Hall, which offers stunning late afternoon views of the lake. The other at Shineman Center is equally as good. 

In the series of photos below, you'll see a large snow squall approach. I believe this dark cloud was a snow squall along a cold front, or a trough line ahead of a cold front. 

The main band of lake effect snow formed a short time later and continued pummeling the lakeshore northeast of Oswego overnight and this morning. 

The squall in our series of photos was almost certainly enhanced by moisture from Lake Ontario. The part of the series from when the wall of snow seems to be at the edge of campus to when visibility drops to near zero came within about five minutes or less. 

Once that squall goes by, it clears up dramatically. But you can see new snow squalls starting to form. The new line of snow squalls, as mentioned, are the ones pummeling areas mostly a little south of Watertown, and a little north of Oswego today. Total accumulation in New York's notoriously snowy Tug Hill region could be up to four feet. 

In this morning's SUNY/Oswego web cams, you can just barely see the heavy lake affect snow band in the distance, on the extreme right edge of the camera's view.  

The cam grabs I have in this video cover about an hour and 15 minute period. The series of photos are below. You can click on individual images to make them bigger and easier to see.  Enjoy!

Sort Of Cold Today In Vermont As We Await Severe Weekend Arctic Blast

"Planet Claire" style skies over West Rutland, Vermont
during last evening's northern lights display. Photo by Brent
Barnett via Meteorologist Jess Langlois/Facebook
 

 It really wasn't quite as cold this morning as I thought it might be here in Vermont, which is great news, considering what's coming.  

I hope you didn't miss it, but skies partly cleared last evening, so a lot of us got to see the northern lights. 

Viewing from the naked eye, it looked like the northern half of the sky over St. Albans had a pink haze. It almost made me think we were on the B-52s' Planet Claire.  "Planet Claire has pink air....."

Most of us started the day in the teens, which was actually a smidge above normal. Those readings won't go anywhere today. We'll stay right there in the teens. 

Tonight will get down into the single numbers above zero for the most part. The cold hollows might sneak a degree or two below zero. Banana belt towns might hold closer to 10 degree for so.  No biggie.

We've got one more brief warm up coming in before the bottom drops out of everything. The upcoming "warm" spell won't really feel that way since winds will be gusty most of that time. Wind chills ruin everything. 

Tomorrow will get into the 20s on increasing south winds. Tomorrow night will hold in the 20s as those south winds get stronger. The Champlain Valley could see gusts to 40 mph or so.  Nothing earth shattering, you'll hear the roar in the trees

The balmy day will be Thursday when many of us will hit the low 30s ahead of that Arctic cold front blasting out of Canada.

We won't get much snow out of what will essentially be a series of cold fronts. Some of us, especially in the northern Green Mountains, can expect some scattered snow showers tomorrow.  We'll have even more snow showers Thursday, and a couple towns might see the snow come down pretty hard, but really briefly. 

Between now and Thursday night, most of us will get less than an inch of snow. The Green Mountains could score a couple of inches.

COLD WAVE

I'm sort of burying the headline hy waiting until now in this post to talk about the Arctic cold that's coming. But it's still three days away, and it's easier for me to do things chronologically. Sue me. 

We will however, go from the above mentioned Planet Claire to bone chilling former Planet Pluto.

Well, OK, the average temperature on Pluto is minus 387 degrees Fahrenheit, says NASA.  I know we won't get that cold. But this weather wimp will whine that it will feel like 387 below. 

At this point, the cold wave looks like it will be a long slog, with the worst of it coming from Friday night to Monday night. 

The chilliest daytime during this whole escapade will probably be on Saturday. Many towns, especially in northern Vermont will probably stay at or below zero.

If Burlington's high temperature does not make it above zero Saturday, it will be the first time that's happened in four years.  If it stays under zero, that will make it the first time since January, 2018 they've stayed below zero all day. 

The expected low temperatures Saturday night should be mostly in the teens below zero. That'll likely make it the coldest night since February 4, 2023.

A slow warm up should start early next week, but temperatures will stay below normal.  

We'll have more on the cold snap as it draws nearer.

Storm Goretti Blasts Europe With Extreme Winds, Snow After A Week Of Wintry Weather

Satellite view of Storm Goretti, centered over southwestern
England in this satellite photo. After a week of wintry
European weather, this storm is causing winds gusting
to 100 mph in spots, heavy snow and other dangers. 

 While we here in Vermont get a brief break from hard core winter, the nasty cold of the Arctic has shifted into Europe for awhile. 

Stormy, cold and often snowy weather has engulfed much of western Europe. As of Wednesday, six deaths had been reported as the rough weather continued to intensify. 

The latest problem is Storm Goretti, which has evolved into a rapidly intensifying "bomb cyclone."  It's causing, and in other areas threatening to cause damaging winds and deep snows in the United Kingdom and other areas of western Europe. 

The British Met Office, which is the government meteorological agency has issued a red severe weather warning, its more dire alert, for the Isle of Scilly and Cornwall, were wind gusts of 100 mph are expected. 

Winds have already gusted to 99 mph at St. Mary's Airport on the Isles of Scilly, which is a new record for the site

Gusts to 60 mph were expected across the rest of southern England and parts of southwestern Wales. Up to a foot of snow might fall on higher elevations in Wales and the Peak District. 

Forecasters warned of roof, tree and power line damage, along with large, battering waves along the coast. 

France's northwestern Manche District, which borders the English Channel is also expecting gusts to 100 mph. 

Schools were closed and people were told not to drive as the storm tears through northern France. 

Storm Goretti will then make its way to Germany and surrounding nations by tomorrow. Parts of Germany are expecting six inches of snow in the north, and icy weather in the south. Schools win swaths of Germany are closed Friday. 

BEFORE GORETTI

Even before this storm, western Europe's weather took a sharp turn to winter harshness as the new year of 2026 clicked in.

Amsterdams's Schiphol Airport, one of the busiest airline hubs in Europe had more than 500 flights canceled on Wednesday. More than 1,000 people had to spend the night in the terminal. At least it was better than what would happen in the U.S.  Schiphol airport staff set up camp beds and provided breakfast to people who couldn't immediately leave. 

The bad weather extended into France where more than 100 flights at the Charles de Gaulle Airport were canceled on Wednesday. Bus served in Paris was suspended due to icy roads. 

 In England, there had already been some notable weather related road crashes even before the worst of the weather arrived. A bus in Kent ended up in a ditch and a school bus full of kids crashed into another bus in Reading. It doesn't look like there were serious injuries. 

In Rome, weeks of cold rain that have swollen the Tiber River over its banks again muted Pope Leo XIV’s Christmas-time celebrations. St. Peter’s Square was only partially full Tuesday as a few thousand people crowded under colorful umbrellas to hear Leo deliver his Epiphany blessing from the loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica.

Rome has been soaked by steady rains since before Christmas, and Mayor Roberto Gualtieri issued an ordinance for Tuesday limiting public access to parks and other areas at risk for falling trees and flooding.

In Sarajevo, Bosnia, a woman was killed when a large, snow-laden branch fell on her. 

The weather has even disrupted parts of Scandinavia, which is more used to rough winter weather compared to other western European nations. 

Heavy snow disrupted travel in western Sweden. Finnish diesel buses aren't starting in the morning because it's been so cold.

Contributing to this rough weather is still an Arctic or Greenland block, which tends to suppress winter cold air into the mid-latitudes of North America, Europe and Asia.  Parts of the United States were affected by this a little over a week ago. Then the cold weather sloshed to Europe in the past week.

To give you a sense of how topsy-turvy this weather pattern is, the Norwegian Meteorological Institute said the part of Norway that was above freezing was the normally super frigid Arctic archipelago of Svalbard.  

Svalbard is far north of mainland Norway, well north of the Arctic Circle  and is at about the same latitude as north-central Greenland.

Although the Greenland block does not appear ready to break down, it appears the frigid weather will tend to move away from western Europe next week and head once again toward North America.