Tuesday Afternoon Commute Surprisingly Not Great N. Vermont. And Storm Update

Snow and blowing snow developed along Interstate 89 between
Milton and Georgia, Vermont this afternoon. Look out for
some black ice and reduced visibility at times. 

Light snow and blowing snow was pretty widespread across parts of Vermont, mainly north of Route 2 this afternoon, promising a commute home that won't be so great.

The light snow won't amount to much, but since it's still pretty cold, salt is not working very well and car tires are compacting the snow into black ice on the roadways.

In the Champlain Valley, somewhat gusty winds have developed, which is helping to cause some blowing snow and reduced visibilities.

This afternoon's snow is coming from a weak warm front headed our way plus favorable winds that are grabbing some pieces of intense lake effect snow off Lake Ontario and bringing it our way.

So be careful driving home today from work.

At least we're not in the intense snow squalls off of lakes Erie and Ontario today. Imagine dining al fresco at lunchtime in Buffalo, New York under these conditions, which happened today: Heavy snow, blowing snow, visibility near zero, temperature of 17, wind chill of minus 3 and winds gusting to 46 mph.

Ugh.

Also a quickie update on that immense nor'easter expected off the coast Thursday. The latest computer models have nudged the projected path of the storm a wee bit westward, which isn't good. For us here in Vermont, that means we might get a bit more snow than originally expected, and the frigid wind might be a little stronger.

The westward nudge, if it comes to fruition, means eastern New England is in for a worse, more dangerous storm than predicted. Snow will be heavier. Worse, winds would be stronger, leading to more power failures and danger as temperatures plummet behind the storm. I wouldn't rule out blizzard conditions in eastern New England with this thing. We'll have to watch future forecasts.

I notice that winter storm watches have now been extended westward into central and eastern New Hampshire, and western Maine.

Incredibly, there's now a winter storm warning for parts of northern Florida, including Tallahassee. They will get an inch or two of snow, it looks like, plus some freezing rain. Yikes!

I'll keep watching updates as this gets closer.