Snow Now On The Ground Northern Vermont To Melt Instantly, But....

My weather watching companions Tonks (tan coast)
and Jackson (in black) measure the snow that fell
on our St. Albans, Vermont yard overnight.
Looks like about 0.7 inches, the pups report.  

As expected, there's a bit of snow on the ground in much of northern Vermont this Tuesday morning.

It's windy and chilly and will stay that way all day. But there is some sun coming, except possibly in the northern high elevations, and especially around Jay Peak.

Temperatures just above freezing will melt most of the snow today, and a strong warm spell this week will make spring resume.

However, there's a horrible, midwinter style cold wave coming and that will really interrupt spring for a few days, starting Saturday or Saturday night.

After today's blustery weather and a seasonably chilly night tonight, Wednesday will be pleasant, with temperatures getting up to near 50 degrees under sunny skies.

Thursday morning, a warm front comes through and temperatures will probably get into the very mild 60s by afternoon across most of Vermont. Showers will come in from the west later in the day and continue into Friday.

It will remain very mild Thursday night, with temperatures staying above 50 in most places, and getting well into the 50s Friday.

Normally I would say this is a good thing. It will encourage plants to grow, the grass to turn green and start diminish the March blahs and browns that we have now.

However, that cold wave coming in looks bad, and there are signs that it will last a bit longer than I originally thought.

How cold? Temperatures Sunday and Monday afternoon likely won't get above freezing in most of northern Vermont, and lows Monday night will get into the single digits and low teens across most of the Green Mountain State. It's even possible, if the skies clear and the winds die down, that temperatures could flirt with zero in the coldest hollows.

This forecast is incredibly cold for April. Maybe not coldest ever, but still impressive. For the record, the coldest temperature on record in Vermont in April was 12 below in Bloomfield, April 1, 1923. In Burlington, the coldest April temperature on record was 2 above on April 7, 1972.

I had anticipated an early end to the cold beginning Tuesday, but now some computer models suggest a reinforcing shot of cold air, at least as chilly as Sunday's blast, could come in on Tuesday. That's still uncertain, but ominious for those who want spring.

I'm not sure what I should do about all the daffodils and other plants coming up in my St. Albans, Vermont weather yard.

Should I mulch the hell out of them? That's a lot of work, since I have a zillion daffodils coming up. Or should I take my chances and hope they survive.

I don't like these extremes, but I guess it's the price we pay for such an extremely warm winter and early spring.