Vermont's First Spring Day Was Nearly Two Weeks After The First Day of Spring

By any measure, it was quite a pleasant early April day here in Vermont today.  

A snowy spring view of my yard, taken exactly
a week ago today.

 

Temperatures reached the low 50s under sunny skies and relatively light winds. We're so used to winter cold that it felt warm enough to go outside in a t-shirt, as I did.

At least in low elevations, snow cover is finally starting to take a hit. There's still TONS of snow out there, with a foot or more in the woods even in the valleys.  That's even after today's warmth.

But there's progress. Here in St. Albans, Jackson the Weather Dog was finally able to enjoy areas beyond the spots on our property that I had shoveled.

Jackson's a cocker spaniel, so he doesn't do that well in deep snow.  It was the first time in two months he's been able to explore a little more.

Today,he wandered around the sections of our property where the sun has eroded the snow cover down to just a couple inches.  He clearly felt like he'd just been let out of jail. So did I.

The same exact view of my yard taken
today, as temperatures reached the low 50s. There's still
way too much snow for April, but at least
it's noticeably thinning and melting.  

I was actually  able to get out and get some yard projects done without struggling in deep snow.

I cleared some small trees and brush in spots where the snow wasn't too deep, but there's other areas of the yard that are still too buried in snow to do much.  But at least we're seeing progress toward spring.

In Burlington, the high temperature today was 53 degrees, which, as I noted, feels like summer. But that 53 degrees, was only five degrees warmer than normal. It was a reading that's very typical of early April.

The record high today was 79 degrees, set just four years ago. That record high came after a relatively warm winter. Today's "normal" warmth felt almost as that hot early April afternoon four years ago.