We're Still On For Biting Cold Tomorrow, Saturday

Get ready for midwinter cold Friday
and Saturday in the Northeast

November so far isn't following the playbook of September and October playbook here in Vermont and the rest of the Northeast.  

Gone is the persistent warm to record warm weather, and welcome to winter.

The first week of November here in Vermont was a little warmer than normal, but not to the extreme of the previous two months. And we're still bracing for quite a blast of Arctic weather tomorrow and Saturday.

The coming slam of cold air is far from unprecedented for mid-November; we do get this sort of thing from time to time in November. Still, a few towns and cities in the Northeast could have some near record cold for the date Saturday morning.

Here in Vermont, I'd still expect some icy roads for the Friday morning commute, especially in the north and mountains. When the cold front comes through tonight, there will initially be some rain, them some snow showers and snow squalls.

Accumulations won't amount to much, and in some areas, there will be no snow accumulation at all. But the temperature will plummet sharply after the cold front and any water on the roads and sidewalks will freeze super quickly.

This is the first time this fall that there is a risk of icy roads. People are particularly stupid the first time of the year we get this type of thing, so you're probably going to be late for work. Because the people ahead of you will probably cause car crashes. Leave for work early.

And take your ski parka. With expected high temperatures in the 20s Friday with wind chills in the single digits, it'll basically be a typical mid-January day.

Temperatures Friday night will bottom out in the single numbers, with some lower teens in the "warmer" spots near Lake Champlain. I wouldn't be surprised if a few of the coldest hollows flirt with zero degrees.

There might be clouds and flurries near the east shores of Lake Champlain as the contrast between the very cold air and the relatively warm waters will produce clouds and perhaps lake effect flurries. The overall air mass will be quite dry Friday and Friday night, though, so I don't expect anything substantial off the lakes.

In western New York, south of Lake Ontario especially, there could easily be a brief period of lake effect snow as well. The dynamics of the cold front, and the sharp drop in temperature and the contrast with the warmish water of the lake, could actually trigger a thundersnow squall or two.

Saturday will also feature mid-winter cold, but with lighter winds and sunshine, it won't be quite a bad. Then from Sunday onward, it's back to seasonable November weather -- highs in the 40s. Which means winter hasn't permanently settled in just yet. Give it time.