"Chilly" Weather Thunderstorms Continue To Hit

As showers and some strong thunderstorms eased over Vermont
Saturday evening, this cloud gave one last attempt at
a good shower. It was over southern Quebec, as seen
from Franklin Counth, Vermont. I call this an incompetent
cloud, bcause it looked confused and not quite sure
what to do. 

Before we launch into today's stormy post, I  have to reassure you that despite the headline above, the rest of today, Sunday, is shaping up to be a beauty.

The sky is blue, the humidity is low, and there's a nice breeze. That state of affairs will continue for the rest of the day.

The brighter sunshine will warm temperatures up well into the 70s. If you have anything to do outside today - hike, swim, picnic, barbeque, pick blueberries, garden, whatever, get right out there and do it!

There probably will be a few pretty puffy clouds around, a lingering legacy of some cold air aloft that produced some surprisingly vigorous showers and thunderstorms Friday and Saturday.

We usually associate strong thunderstorms with humid, hot weather. That is indeed usually the case. However, in the summer, if there's an unusually intense pool of cold air aloft and high level winds are stronger than usual, you can get some good storms.

The sun is still quite strong in August so the ground heats up fast. This creates updrafts. These updrafts encounter the colder air aloft, which encourages further updrafts. Soon enough, these grow into showers and thunderstorms.  These storms can "grab" some higher winds aloft and bring them to the surface.

These "chilly weather storms" are less widespread and less intense than what we can get ahead of a cold front in steamy hot weather, but they can be pretty rambunctious.

Friday, winds gusted to 40 mph in many evening storms. A few storms Saturday probably could be classified as severe. At the Champlain Valley Fairgrounds in Essex Junction, Vermont, a tree was snapped and exhibition stands were lifted and moved by strong thunderstorm winds.

Severe thunderstorm warnings went up in central Vermont and around Addison County as these storms moved through.

These cooler thunderstorms have a greater risk of hail than other warmer storms. Dime-sized hail came down in Essex Junction, and there several other reports of pea-sized hail in Vermont. In Maine Saturday, hailstones became as big as ping pong balls, so that was something. Strong storms hit southern Quebec and New Brunswick, too.

The air aloft is now a bit warmer than yesterday, and a high pressure system is moving in, which encourages sinking air. Sinking air encourages sunshine. Still, with some lingering chill aloft, some updrafts will get around the sinking air, which explains why we'll get a few of those puffy clouds this afternoon. Those clouds will add to the beauty of the photos you might take today.

On Monday, a weak cold front will approach us from Canada. The air ahead of this cold front will be a little warmer, but still not particularly warm and certainly not humid for this time of year.

The front will add some lift to the air, so despite the lack of heat and humidity, one or two storms could become strong again in the afternoon, especially in northern Vermont.

Video: This person in New Brunswick, Canada, made the best of a hail storm Saturday. The stones even served as a chilly snack: