Kind Of A Messy Weekend In Vermont And Lots Of Other Places

Side streets in Burlington, Vermont were a bit greasy this
Saturday morning from a light overnight snow. Expect
continued spells of icy roads this weekend due to snow
and mixed precipitation

Here in Vermont, this is going to be one of those weekends in which the weather won't seem to be able to make up its mind. 

There's no big storm to report on, but enough inclement weather to kind of drive you nuts at times.

I don't really feel like breaking down when and where what type of precipitation will fall every hour on the hour through the weekend, but broad brush: Some accumulating snow in the north, a risk of light sleet and freezing rain anywhere in the state and maybe some minor thawing to the south.

Winter weather advisories are up for northern Vermont away from the Champlain Valley, somewhat higher elevations in central Vermont all the way through eastern Rutland County, and in northern New York.

In these regions, look for anywhere between two and six inches of new snow, most of which will come down this afternoon through tonight.

From central Vermont south, most of the precipitation will be a mix today and tonight. Expect just about anything.

In most of the Champlain Valley, except the far reaches near the Quebec border, southwest winds aloft mean the Adirondacks will block some of the snow from coming in, so forecasters are saying one to three inches of new snow in those places.

Sunday and Sunday night are looking vaguely ugly, with a good chance of snow, sleet, freezing rain or even rain to the south during that period. None of that precipitation will come down heavily, which is great, but it will be enough to give us pause if we have to drive anywhere.

All this weather is being caused by a nearly stalled front running northeast to southwest just west of the Appalachian chain.

On the bright side, the front will sink south Sunday night, so by Monday the sun will be out, at least partially. It will still be warmish, with afternoon temperatures getting up to 30 or even a little better than that.

For this weekend, the real heavy moisture with the stalled front giving our inclement weather is staying to the south.

Flood watches for heavy rain are in effect from Alabama to New Jersey because of all the heavy rain riding northeastward along the front. In the middle of the country, an area centered around Missouri, mixed precipitation will be a problem. There might even be a smattering of severe thunderstorms near the Gulf Coast today and tomorrow.

In the Northern Plains, wind chill advisories and warnings are widespread. As noted, that frigid air isn't headed in our direction.

From southern California eastward through western Texas, there are fire weather alerts. A drought is deepening across this region. Every time it gets windy and the humidity falls this winter, the fire risk grows. It's really strange that southern California should be worried about fires now. It should be quite wet there in February.