Temporary Spring Is Here (*Results May Vary)

Melting snow made for a watery walk down a Winooski,
Vermont sidewalk Thursday as springlike weather arrived.

UPDATE: That storm in Uniontown, Pennsylvania last night was confirmed as an EF-1 tornado.

Also, the cold front has arrived in northern Vermont and as of 1:30 p.m. it was snowing harder in some areas than I originally anticipated.

It will taper off later this afternoon, but be prepared for some icy roads for the next few hours as temperatures drop below freezing.


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Boy, yesterday felt like early April in Vermont with temperatures in the 40s an 50s.

Burlington reached 53 degrees, just one degree below the record high for the date. Bennington, Vermont was a balmy 58 degrees and Plattsburgh, New York, a toasty 56 degrees.

Also fitting the spring season, there was a possible tornado last night in Uniontown, Pennsylvania. The National Weather Service will investigate that one.

It's rare for tornadoes to strike as far north as Pennsylvania in February. Plus, early reports suggest this likely tornado was quite destructive, damaging or even destroying several homes. So far, only minor injuries have been reported.

There will be an interruption of sorts to this early spring weather, but it's coming back tomorrow. A cold front is sagging through Vermont today from the north, bringing a much chillier, but not ridiculous change toward winter, but it will be very temporary.

Also, lots of moisture riding along this slow front is largely missing Vermont, so there's no flooding problems like in places such as western Pennsylvania and parts of Ohio last night. 

Another storm will zip along this front Saturday night. By then, the front will be south of New England. This means southern New England, the New York City metro area, Long Island and northern New Jersey is in for a quick four to eight inches of wet snow Saturday night. Winter storm watches are in effect for those areas.

The snow will extend into Vermont, but it won't be bad. At this point, it looks like two or three inches in far southern parts of the state, tapering down to a dusting or so in the north.

By Sunday afternoon, this early taste of spring will begin to return once again. The overnight snows in the south will begin thawing in the afternoon, and even far northern Vermont should get at least into the mid and upper 30s.

Then the warmth floods in, with temperatures well into the 40s Monday. It's looking like we might be in record high territory here in Vermont with possible highs in the 50s to low 60s Tuesday. Wednesday looks nearly as warm at this point.

Some rain will accompany this warmth. We'll have to watch the lingering ice jams from January, as the warmth and rain will cause some rises on river levels, and that will move the ice around. It's hard to say at this point how much rain we'll get.

If the rain is particularly heavy, it could cause real problems. Early indications are rainfall will be under an inch, which isn't bad. Meteorologists will be watching this.

By the way, the pattern we're getting into, with warm, wet air in the east and wintry weather in the northwestern part of the country could favor a severe weather outbreak in the central and southern parts of the United States.

It's too soon to speculate on precisely where and if this might happen, so stay tuned. However, heavy rain in the Tennessee and lower Mississippi Valley over the next 10 days or so already has weather watchers there definitely worried about flooding.

Back here in Vermont, we of course know that despite the likely February warmth coming up, winter is not over. There will surely be bouts of wintry cold and snow in March.

This is just a tease. Enjoy it, unless you're a snow lover.