This Was One Of The Worst April Cold Waves On Record In Vermont, New England

A January-like view of Boston in April, in this
photo from the Boston Globe. Photo by
Keith Bedford, Boston Globe.

If you think the cold wave engulfing Vermont and New England is off the charts frigid you're right.

In very much an April rarity. temperatures actually got to or below zero in some parts of northern New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.

The most incredible near and below zero readings were in central and southern Vermont, even in western Massachusetts,where snow cover from yesterday's storm aided with the radiational cooling. (Further north, the snow missed)

In Rutland County, in south central Vermont, the town of Mount Holly got down to 1 below zero. Randolph Cemter in east central Vermont, also dropped to 1 below. Also, incredibly, it was 2 above at Bennington, in the southwest corner of Vermont.

Even more incredibly, it was 0 in the western Massachusetts  town of North Adams. I have to check, but this might be a record for the coldest on record for April in Massachusetts.

Across the north, it was cold, too. East Berkshire, in Vermont, way up north, was at 3 below. So was Saranac Lake, New York. It was the first time it was below zero in Saranac Lake, a notorious cold spot, since March 5, says the National Weather Service in South Burlington, Vermont.

It wasn't any better in the northern Great Lakes. It was 11 below in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, 7 below in Marquette. Winter weather advisories are up in that region for up to seven inches of new snow late tonight and tomorrow.

Snowfall was pretty impressive in southern New England too, with a general three to eight inch dump on Monday.

As we've been noting, there's no rest for the New England cold weary. Once again today, high temperatures will not get above freezing in northern areas. That's three days in a row.

Tonight will only be a few degrees warmer than last night, but still absolutely frigid by April standards. Expect widespread teens for lows in Vermont, with a few areas getting into the single digits again.  

A swath of snow cover is clearly visible today
 on satellite photos from yesteday's storm. 

There will almost surely be record lows tonight in southern New England as temperatures should get into the teens and 20s there.

We're also still expecting another deep, frigid dip in the jet stream for New England late in the week and the weekend.

As precipitation moves in Wednesday afternoon, it will take the shape of snow and sleet in mostly high elevations of Vermont and the rest of the North Country.  Most of the region should switch over or keep going with a chilly rain Thursday.

As the cold weather re-asserts itself beginning Friday, snow will develop again across most of the Adirondacks and the northern half of New England

It's still iffy whether valley towns in Vermont, New York and New Hampshire will see much if any snow accumulation Friday and Saturday, but I'm pretty confident the mountains will pick up several inches of snow at least.

It's ironic that the entire winter featured a snow drought in ski country and now that we're into April, when people stop thinking about winter sports, the snow finally hits.

The next cold wave, which will peak Saturday and Sunday, won't be quite as bad as the one we've been in the past couple of days.

I seriously doubt anyone will get below zero again. But many areas will once again get into the teens Saturday and Sunday nights, and some areas won't get above freezing Saturday afternoon. That's pretty wild for the second week of April.

Yet another chilly wave will come in the middle of the following week, and that one probably won't be as bad as this one and the one coming Saturday.

Long range forecasts remain consistent that it'll finally warm up some after the middle of the month.

Still, us Vermonters and New Englanders are sure being punished now for that record warm winter. I'm beginning to wonder if this April will end up being among the coldest on record. We'll see.