The Un-June: Windy And Chilly, But At Least We're Avoiding That Awful Heat

A nice sunny day, but strong winds swaying 
trees in West Rutland, Vermont on Sunday. 

 First the snow, then the wind, then the autumnal morning.

This has been quite a cold snap for June here in New England. We've already covered the cold rain and ice in the mountain peaks. Sunday brought us some odd winds, and there's one or two spots of frost to talk about this morning. 

First, Sunday's wind. If you thought those gusts all day Sunday were odd for this time of year, you are right. Usually, gusts in the 40 mph range this time of year only occur near or in strong thunderstorms. But the sky was deep blue mixed with scattered clouds, and it was a nice day, really.

But those winds! At one point up to 6,000 Vermont customers were without power Sunday.  I was in West Rutland, Vermont Sunday and I could hear twigs and small branches breaking off in the woods much of the day. 

It's been an odd, windy stretch. Yesterday was the fourth day in a row where Burlington had gusts exceeding 30 mph.  That happens a lot in the winter, but in June such a stretch is very rare.

Winds calmed down last night and we don't have to worry about more strong winds for awhile.  The last salvo in this weird spell of weather is the cold temperatures this morning.  The coldest hollows surely had a touch of frost. 

It was 33 degrees early this morning in Saranac Lake, New York.  As of 4 a.m, it was 34 degrees in Island Pond, Vermont, and it might have gotten a little colder after that. Whitefield, New Hampshire clocked in at 32 degrees early today. 

It looks like at least a couple dozen record lows have been broken or tied this morning along the East Coast from New England all the way to Georgia. 

It'll stay on the cool side for the next few days, but nothing like we saw over the weekend.  A warm front will stall just to our west, so the warm, humid air won't quite be able to work in. There could be some showers west of the Green Mountains with this Tuesday and Tuesday night, but I wouldn't get too worked up about the chances for any decent rains with this 

Starting Wednesday and going into the weekend, the forecast does seem challenging and subject to change, so I'll just let that rest for now.

Video:

Strong winds blow through the trees Sunday in West Rutland, Vermont. A gorgeous blue sky day, but that wind! If you don't see the image for the video on your device, click on this link: 

New England/North Country June Cold Snap Set Records, Created Snow

Looking just a bit wintry at the summit of Mount
Washington, New Hampshire Saturday with snow
and ice. The Observatory there is calling this
weekend's weather "Juneuary"

 That weird June cold snap we're experiencing is behaving just as expected, having kept us shivering Saturday and likely to leave us unable to keep our hats on today, a windy Sunday. 

Burlington, Vermont's "high" temperature yesterday was 55 degrees, setting a record for the coldest high temperature on record for the date. The old record was 56 degrees in 1959. 

Plattsburgh, New York also set a record Saturday for coldest high temperature for the date, with a reading of 57 degrees.

 Low temperature records still happen from time to time, of course, but they've become more rare with climate change. 

Most of the time, if we set a record, it's for warmth,  not cold.  No record highs are in our immediate future.

Yesterday's high temperature in Burlington was three degrees colder than the normal low temperature for the date.

But at least the coldest weather in Vermont has passed, except for some towns overnight tonight. More on that in a moment. 

Mount Washington, New Hampshire, recorded 1.3 inches of snow and sleet Saturday. But most of the time Saturday up there on New England's highest peak, they were getting freezing rain.  It must be so slick and dangerous up there this morning. It was still 27 degrees at the Mount Washington summit as I wrote this at around 7 a.m. Sunday.

We also saw video of snowflakes atop Whiteface Mountain, New York, elevation 4,867 feet or so.

I don't think we managed to receive any snow in Vermont Saturday, unless the summit of Jay Peak saw a flake or two. (Jay Peak was a bit closer to the core of the cold air Saturday).   

It looks like the summit of Mount Mansfield was just a little too warm for snow.  Temperatures there hovered near 40 degrees Saturday.

If this were a colder season, you would have really seen some deep mountain snows, as the upslope winds on the west side of the Greens really cranked out the moisture. Mount Mansfield had an inch of rain Saturday.

Valleys received very little. Burlington logged in with a quarter inch of rain. Most valley areas outside the northern Champlain Valley and away from the western slopes only managed a tenth of an inch or so.

Lots of people grumbled about this weekend's unseasonable chill. But this blog is all about me, me, Me !!!  I got lucky. I have a project this weekend that involves lots and lots of physical labor.  I wilt in hot weather, so this cool weekend was a blessing. I embraced it.  

The coldest weather today will be east and north of us. Caribou, Maine, is expected a "balmy" high temperature of 48 degrees today, which like in Burlington yesterday, is colder than the normal low for the date. 

We'll have more sun today, especially west of the Green Mountains. The sun's heat will allow cool air aloft to mixed down, which will produce gusty winds.  Lots of us will see gusts to 35 mph or so today. 

Winds will die down tonight, which will allow it to get pretty chilly.  I imagine the coldest hollows of the Northeast Kingdom and Adirondacks could see some patchy frost. The vast majority of us will go down into the 40s. 

While the first half of the week will be cooler than normal, it won't be that odd for June.

The next big weather question mark is on Tuesday. A warm front will approach us, but stall either over western Vermont or New York. Disturbances will blast north to south along this warm front. 

It is just about impossible to tell at this point where they'll blast through, and exactly when.  There's a chance that somebody around Vermont or eastern New York could see some locally heavy rain. But the forecast is so tricky that nobody knows if that heavy rain will get going and if so, where. 

Stay tuned, I guess.

The second half of the week will bring us back to the regularly scheduled normal June programming

Cold Snap Is Here, Thankfully Summer Returns In Just A Few Days

Photo from New Hampshire's Mount Washington 
Observatory shows rime ice forming this morning atop
the mountain, where it was 28 degrees at dawn. 

The last and strongest of series of cold fronts blasted through Vermont overnight with a gush of strong north winds and ever so brief downpours. Welcome now to October in June.  

Or maybe January if you're way up high.  When you get these weird bowling balls of chilly air coming down from the North Pole this time of year, it tends to stay warmish in the valleys, but the mountains cool off fast. 

And they did.

What a lovely morning to report from atop Mount Washington. As of early this morning, the temperature there was 28 degrees with dense fog as they're in the clouds. Rime ice is forming up there.  The wind on Mount Washington was northwest at 62 mph, yielding a wind chill of 8 above.

I looked at the Whiteface Mountain, New York webcam   at an elevation of about 4,800 feet and of course all I could see was dense fog. They're in the clouds. I couldn't tell if that was ice or water on the camera lens. 

It wasn't quite so bad atop Vermont's Mount Mansfield, and so far at least, it appears to be too warm for snow up there.   At last check this morning, it was 39 degrees up there with a northwest wind gusting to 55 mph. 

As advertised, today is not a great day for a hike.'

Even in the lowlands. We're starting the day with temperatures that actually aren't that unusual for this time of year. Most of us were in the upper 40s to low 50s as dawn broke.

Trouble is, temperatures just won't rise much by afternoon. Especially in northern Vermont, which has a higher chance of rain today.

Most of the area north of Route 2 will rain lightly most of the day, with a stiff northwest wind holding temperatures in the low 50s..We're still actually looking at "high" temperatures in the 40s in parts of the Northeast Kingdom.

With such low temperatures today, we're lucky skies will remain partly to mostly cloudy tonight and a breeze will continue. That will prevent anyone from getting a late season frost.

We in northern New England can consider ourselves the odd man out, given how many places are having record breaking heat waves.

France, Germany and other western European nations are expecting the hottest temperatures for so early in the season over this weekend.  France already logged temperatures as high as 104 degrees Friday, which for them is the earliest recorded.

The hot dry weather has already helped set forests ablaze in Spain and Germany.

Heat is also building once again in the middle of the United States. Head advisories and warnings are in effect for places as far north as the Canadian border in North Dakota. 

Even the normally sultry South is expecting worse heat than normal, with heat advisories from Louisiana to Florida. Orlando, Florida could hit 100 degrees for the first time in several years today.  It's as bad a day to visit Disney as it is for a hike in Vermont.

Places like Mississippi and Alabama are expecting highs in the 95 to 100 degree range daily for at least a week.

That heat dome in the middle of the nation will actually help free us from the current autumn in summer weekend.  It'll wobble a little east, and the overall jet stream pattern will flatten.  That will allow warmer air to sneak in from the west as the week goes on.

Thankfully, the bulk of the heat will stay well to our west. It'll gradually warm up, and from Wednesday onward into next weekend, we should see highs temperatures in the low 80s, which would actually be a wee bit warmer than normal for late June. Won't that be nice?

Big Storms Died On Approach To Vermont As Expected; Few Storms Today, Shocking Cold Weekend

Those big blobs you see in this satellite photo near 
western and northern New York and over Montreal are
intense late afternoon thunderstorms Thursday.
They rapidly weakened later as they moved into Vermont.

 From a weather geek's perspective, anyway, it was fascinating to watch how relatively stable air over Vermont chewed up, destroyed and spit out what had been some powerful thunderstorms approaching from the west and north Thursday evening. 

There had been a tornado watch out for all but eastern New York. It felt like tornado weather here in Vermont too, as winds became strong and gusty from the south, seemingly feeding  into the line of storms and supercells over the St. Lawrence River Valley and near Montreal.

The storms caused flooding and wind damage around Montreal.  Many trees and power lines came down in northwestern and far northern New York, too. 

Radar showed one severe storm managed to make it all the way into far northwestern Vermont  before dying out as it approached Jay Peak.  That storm pounded Highgate with hail at least the size of quarter, and cars there are reportedly dented.  

Just a little to the south and east was me, in St. Albans. The approaching storm looked menacing, a solid line of black to my west in New York State.  By the time the storm was overhead, though, it was just a gentle thundershower. I saw a few cloud to cloud lightning strokes. Winds gusted to about 30 mph under the storm, which was actually calmer than the winds in the hours leading up to the storm. Rainfall was moderate. 

By the time the storms reached Burlington, they could only muster 0.04 inches of rain. 

Another couple of cold fronts are coming through today. They'll set off more showers and storms.  Almost everybody will have at least a sprinkle. The showers were passing through northwestern Vermont this morning. 

Storms looked ominous on approach to St. Albans, 
Vermont Thursday evening, but were rather gentle
by the time they rolled into town. 

A few lucky devils might see some gusty winds and small hail, especially east of the Green Mountains. That's because there will be a few hours of heating before the showers get there. The sun's heat will help destabilize the air, giving a little extra energy to the showers and storms. 

Then "winter" arrives.

COLD WAVE TO IMPRESS

After seasonable temperatures in the 70s to around 80, the second cold front comes through this evening, and that one will mean business. 

Temperatures will crash this evening and overnight to the 40s to around 50 by dawn. That's not so bad, but then readings won't go up much tomorrow.

Saturday's weather is actually a classic winter upslope snow event. In those winter situations, cold northwest winds go up and over the Green Mountains dumping half a foot or a foot of snow on the mountains. The snow showers often back up into the Champlain Valley, so a couple to a few inches of snow pile up there, too.

But it's June. It's pretty hard to get snow near the Summer Solstice. That said, it's still looking cold enough for some wet snow flakes Saturday morning at the summits of the Adirondacks and northern Green Mountains. That's pretty unusual for late June. 

The chill tomorrow is also impressive.  Light rain now expected most of the day in the Champlain Valley will keep things particularly chilly. The record for lowest high temperature for Saturday is 56 degrees, and that might well be challenged.

Some colder spots in mid to high elevations and in the Northeast Kingdom might not get out of the 40s Saturday afternoon. Brisk north winds will make things feel even colder.

Though the coldest hollows might get into the 30s at night during this cold snap, it's good to know it won't get quite nippy enough to produce late season frost. 

The strong upper level low causing this summer chill is looking like it will move out more slowly than earlier forecasts indicated. So Sunday is looking a little cloudier, and a little colder than first forecast. Western Vermont could see highs topping 60 degrees Sunday, while eastern Vermont, especially north of White River Junction stays in the 50s. 

That's still very, very cold for June.

We're still looking at a slow warmup to seasonable weather once again by midweek, so summer ain't over, despite this weekend's very autumnal chill.

Worst Storms Still To Miss Us; Vermont Saturday To Be Even Colder Than First Thought, Baking Elsewhere

UPDATE: 4 p.m. 

NOAA's Storm Prediction Center is focusing on the
red circle, and especially the pink circle within it,
as the likeliest spot for a tornado or two this evening.
Despite the close proximity of Vermont to this.
storms are expected to weaken sharply as they
approach the Green Mountain State later this evening. 

Normally, if I looked at the way radar and satellite images look now, I'd say things look ominous for Vermont. But I'm still not super concerned. 

True, rotating supercells have erupted in southern Ontario and Quebec and are edging into western New York.

A tornado watch is in effect as far east as the central Adirondacks.

In the St. Lawrence Valley, temperatures are well into the 80s and dew points are in the low 70s, extremely humid.  That's a trigger to sustain those storms.

The humidity extends all the way northeastward to Montreal. 

We'll probably hear a number of damage reports from Ontario, Quebec, New York and Pennsylvania today. Forecasters see a tornado threat late this afternoon in the St. Lawrence Valley of New York and central parts of that state. 

However, we in Vermont still seem protected from these storms, as awful as this looks on paper. More stable, slightly cooler air is still circulating into Vermont on strong southeast winds.  Temperatures are lower and dew points are only in the upper 50s to low 60s. 

Still, the humidity has crept up a bit in northwestern Vermont.  A lone thunderstorm in northern Vermont this morning proved we can sustain some storms. 

However, those powerful storms still look like they will be in a sharp weakening trend as they move toward and into Vermont later this evening. Stable air from the Atlantic is the bane of severe storms. It will be interesting to see how fast the storms weaken.

Still, I do see the possibility of some decent lightning, some downpours and even perhaps gusty winds over northwestern Vermont especially this evening.  This is especially true if more of that stable air erodes out of the New York side of the Champlain Valley. 

It won't be nearly as dangerous as it is in New York State now, but there's still a low chance of a relatively strong storm in Vermont. However, we still appear to be dodging another bullet. 

PREVIOUS DISCUSSION

Enjoy the summer-ish weather today and to a certain extent tomorrow, because summer in Vermont is about to go on hiatus for a few days. 

Meanwhile, forecasts are consistent that powerful, sometimes severe thunderstorms expected to erupt in western and central New York today will either miss us entirely by going to our south, or just fizzling out on their way to the Green Mountain State. 

Some of us did manage to get a little rain this morning as once was a cluster of thunderstorms decayed into showers as they zipped through New York and Vermont. 

Most of rest of today should stay pretty much rain-free, with maybe just a few isolated showers. We'll deal with gusty south winds, especially in the Champlain Valley. It'll be a little more humid, too, as temperatures once again get up to about 80 degrees or so. 

Those decaying showers and storms should move into Vermont this evening. They will have weakened rapidly by the time they get to Vermont because much of today's air is coming from the Atlantic Ocean. That air tends to be stable and not able to support the updrafts that keep thunderstorms going. 

Still, many of us will see rain, and some rumbles of thunder. That stable air near the surface means there could be a bit of a temperature inversion.  If that happens and it thunders, the thunder might seem louder, and more rolling and a bit more strange than how we usually hear it. 

This first round will be Cold Front #1. The air behind this first one isn't that cold, so we'll still pop up into the seasonable 70s to around 80 Friday. Then Cold Front #2 comes in with its own batch of showers and storms Friday. 

It looks like Vermont continues its charmed life. Though a few storms might be strong-ish, particularly in eastern Vermont, most of any severe storms that due form would be east or south of us. 

COLD WAVE

Trends have been for making the anticipated June chill this weekend even chillier than we first thought. Definitely bring your fleece to whatever outdoor event you might be going to. 

It now appears temperatures Saturday afternoon will stay in the 50s for the vast majority of the area. Basically, high temperatures Saturday will be the same or even a little colder than what is normally our low temperatures for this time of year. 

It's even possible that the coldest places in the Northeast Kingdom could stay in the upper 40s. I did a spot check of National Weather Service forecasts up that way. A for instance is the remote town of Averill. The expected "high" temperature there Saturday is 47 degrees.  Brrr!

Northwest winds gusting to 30 mph will actually add a wind chill to the mix.  Light, but cold showers will be scattered around as well.

Yesterday, I speculated about snow atop Mount Washington, New Hampshire. That looks even more likely now. There could even be some wet snow flakes Saturday morning on the summits of mountains like Camels Hump, Mount Mansfield and Jay Peak. 

Thankfully, there probably will be too many clouds and too many breezes to create any kind of nighttime frost threat, except perhaps in the most protected, coldest valleys of the Northeast Kingdom and Adirondacks. 

It'll be a little better on Sunday. We'll see more periods of sun. Northwest winds will remain brisk but not as gusty as on Saturday. And highs will get into the 60s. That's still quite cold for this time of year, but not as awful.

Trends continue to bring our temperatures back up to near or just a smidge below normal for the first half of next week, so this extremely early preview of autumn won't last all that long.

By the way, the expected chill in northern New England and Quebec this weekend is an exception.  There's always hot and cold spots somewhere on Earth.  The hot spots this weekend will be quite hot. 

Parts of western Europe will be close to record highs for so early in the summer. Record heat has baked much of the central U.S. for the past few days  That heat is forecast to reassert itself and become intense again across large swaths of the central and southern U.S. this weekend and early next week.

Many more record high temperatures are expected to fall in much of the U.S. through at least early next week. Just not here in Vermont. 

One More Nice Day, Then Big Changes Still Scheduled

Severe storms are expected to develop in New York State\
tomorrow. Vermont looks like it will continue to live
its charmed life as the storms are forecast to fizzle
on approach to Vermont 

 Yesterday was about as fine a June day as you can get in Vermont.  We had those blue skies mixed with puffy clouds warm temperatures and comfortable humidity. What's not to love about it?

If you missed out on this, you have another chance today. 

Then the weather gets unsettled, but Vermont will continue to lead its charmed life: A threat of severe storms later tomorrow will fizzle as they approach the Green Mountain State.

For several days, we've been watching severe weather dance along the edges of a torrid heat wave baking the South and middle of the nation.

A warm front tomorrow will make that heat come closer to us, but not quite make it into the area.  The warmth and humidity will soar across pretty much all of New York State except the extreme eastern part of Empire State.

Here in Vermont, it will turn warmish and somewhat more humid on Thursday, but it won't be anything extreme.

The oppressive air in New York State will set the stage for possible severe thunderstorms there. All of New York west of the Hudson Valley and Adirondacks are under a slight risk level of severe weather. There could even be a brief tornado or two in the western half of New York and Pennsylvania.

These storms might end up looking ominous on radar for us Vermonters. After all, severe storms that develop in New York often end up here. 

But the air will be much more stable here. The storms are expected to rapidly weaken on approach. Sure, there will be a fair number of showers around Thursday evening and night and there could be some rumbles of thunder, but at this point, severe weather is not looking like much of a threat to us.

I'll update of course if the air turns out to be more humid and unstable than current forecasts show.

Friday will be another transition day as that unusually strong June cool spell starts headed into our neck of the woods.  We should see more showers around, especially north. Though it will probably make it into the seasonable 70s during the day, you'll notice it cooling off later in the afternoon and night. 

Saturday looks cold for this time of year. It is June, though, so it can't get that nippy.  Still, highs then will only make it into the low 60s north, and mid to upper 60s southern Valleys. The Northeast Kingdom probably won't even make it out of the 50s for highs. 

The record for the lowest 'high" temperature in Burlington for Saturday's date is 56 degrees in 1959. That record does seem safe. But normal high temperatures this time of year should be in the mid and upper 70s, so yeah, bring your fleece if you're going to some sort of outdoor event Saturday.

The sun is as strong as it can get this time of year.  That means the sun's heat will create updrafts that will create scattered, chilly showers. Those showers will produce downdrafts that will grab even colder air from aloft. Which means it will feel quite cold under those showers. If you do get caught in a shower Saturday afternoon, temperatures might briefly dip down into the 50s. 

I certainly don't think it will be cold enough for snow at summit level in the Green Mountains, but I'll be interested to see if the top of New Hampshire's Mount Washington sees any flurries on Saturday. In any event, Saturday won't be a great day for a mountain hike. 

It'll warm up somewhat after Saturday, but temperatures will remain a little below normal at least into the middle of next week.

 

Another Derecho, This Time In Midwest, And Yellowstone Drowns

All those blue and black dots extending from Wisconsin
 to West Virginia represent storm damage reports from
an apparent derecho yesterday and last night. 

 Along the western, northern and eastern edges of big heat waves, you often see violent thunderstorms, the so called "Ring Of Fire" I talked about earlier this week. 

That is certainly the case with the current record heat wave gripping the middle and south of the nation. An apparent derecho formed yesterday afternoon, bringing winds gusts of up to 84 mph at Chicago's O'Hare Airport and a 98 mph gust to Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Meanwhile, out on the northwest edge of the heat, an unprecedented flood hit areas in and near Yellowstone National Park.

DERECHO

It's already been a bad year for derechos, which are defined as damaging and dangerous thunderstorm complexes that travel at least 240 miles, spreading destruction along the way. 

I don't think it's been officially declared yet, but it's apparent a derecho originated in southern Wisconsin Monday afternoon, then roared southeastward through the Chicago area, Indiana, Ohio and into West Virginia. 

NOAA's Storm Prediction Center logged 382 thunderstorm wind reports yesterday and last night, most of them in the Wisconsin to West Virginia swath. 

In Chicago, tornado sirens blared and echoed around downtown skyscrapers. No tornado is known so far to have touched down, but there was plenty of wind damage with those 84 mph gusts. Many cars and houses were damaged by falling trees. The roof of a three story apartment building peeled away. 

Travelers at O'Hare were ordered into below ground shelters or packed themselves into rest rooms, which double as tornado shelters. The air traffic control tower was evacuated, there was obviously a ground stop on all flights, so everything was and still is badly disrupted. Some planes had to be checked for hail damage before being allowed to fly. 

At least 44,000 people were without power. Some won't have their power back until after today. Record heat and humidity is forecast today in Chicago.

That 98 mph wind gust in Fort Wayne is the strongest ever recorded in that city. A SkyWest hangar near the airport was blown to pieces.  Extensive tree damage and widespread power outages continued on into Ohio and parts of West Virginia. All these areas are under the gun for record heat today. Many people will have to endure the heat without air conditioning. 

If last night's weather is confirmed as a derecho, it will already be the third destructive and deadly one to hit North America this year. On May 12, a derecho, accompanied by dust storms struck South Dakota and neighboring parts of Nebraska, Iowa and Minnesota, killing two people and causing widespread damage, including the South Dakota cities of Sioux Falls, Watertown and Brookings.

Another derecho in southern Ontario and Quebec hit the most populated section of Canada on May 21 causing at least ten deaths in towns near Toronto and Ottawa. 

Part of a house falls into a flooding river in Gardiner, Montana
Monday during unprecedented flooding in and near 
Yellowstone National Park. Photo by Steve Rupho via CNN

YELLOWSTONE FLOOD

On the northwest side of the heat wave, high temperatures rapidly melted mountain snows, and torrential thunderstorms swept through areas around Yellowstone.  The combination caused unprecedented flooding in rivers across northwestern Wyoming and parts of Montana.

Yellowstone National Park was completely shut down by the flooding. The torrents swept away bridges, collapsed roads, washed away or flooded cabins and homes and stranded an unknown number of tourists. 

Luckily, the rain there is tapering off and temperatures are cooling, but the damage is done.

VERMONT IMPACTS

The Green Mountain State continues to be one of the few areas in the nation with benign weather. We have gorgeous days today and tomorrow with sunshine, seasonably warm temperatures and low humidity.

Thursday looks a bit more humid, and we'll probably see some showers and thunderstorms later Thursday into Friday. But this still looks like it won't be anything extreme. Forecasts are also steady for an unusually cool weekend and early next week.