We Hope You Like Snow Because.......

The National Weather Service in South Burlington has
this prediction for snow through tomorrow. Some of the mountains
or western slopes could easily pick up six inches or more
of fresh powder.

Way up in the northwest corner of Vermont, where I live in St. Albans, there was already a rain and snow mix falling before dawn this morning when I let the dogs out.

Most of the rest of Vermont was nearly precipitation free at that hour, but the snow will expand across most of the state as the day wears on.  

The forecast for today and this evening's snow hasn't changed much since yesterday, but there are new potentially snowy wrinkles for Friday, and there's the risk - but not a guarantee -  of a big Vermont snowstorm during the first half of next week.

Yee-haw!

Let's get into the details.

TODAY: Snow will continue to increase across Vermont, as I said. In many valleys, it will start off as rain or a rain/snow mix. Temperatures will slowly fall this afternoon as the wind goes into the northwest, so the snow will start to accumulate.

The going forecast through midnight tonight still stands: One to three inches in the valleys, except very little in the warmest valleys of southern Vermont. Mid-elevations stand to get two to five inches of snow.

It will never snow super hard, but road conditions will begin to deterioriate this afternoon.  I would say the sooner you can leave work and get home the better. People freak out in the first snow of the season, so I'm expected some drama on the highways.

FRIDAY: It could be an interesting day in parts of Vermont, as it turns out. The National Weather Service in South Burlingotn is noting the strong shot off cold air coming in tomorrow.  That will destabilize the atmosphere, creating snow showers.

The NWS says the snow showers won't be especially organized, but some could get strong, with brief whiteout conditions in the worst of them. Road conditions in these snow showers will change rapidly too, going from just fine to awful in seconds, basically.

Here's an even more interesting piece of this: It's possible the relatively warm water of Lake Champlain might produce a band of lake effect snow somewhere on the Vermont side of the lake, most likely in parts of Chittenden and/or Addison counties.

Lake Champlain is not like the Great Lakes, which can produce huge lake effect storms. However, especially at this time of year, I've seen Lake Champlain produce several inches of snow in spots. The potential is there tomorrow.

By the end of the day, some of the western slopes of the Green Mountains could see an additional four to six inches of snow from these snow showers, and the lake effect.

SATURDAY: Dry but frigid for this time of year.  With snow on the ground and at least partial clearing Friday night, temperatures could plummet to near record lows Saturday morning. We'll go with lows in the teens, with maybe some single digits in the coldest spots.  The afternoon will get into the low 30s, still way colder than normal for this time of year.

SUNDAY: A brief break in the frigid and snowy conditions ahead of the next, even stronger Arctic front. Many valleys will get into the low 40s, which isn't exactly warm, but better. It will feel colder than that, especially in the Champlain Valley, as relative strong south winds develop ahead of the front. That'll produce a bit of a wind chill.

EARLY NEXT WEEK: That Arctic front will come through early Monday with a little more snow and slick roads for the morning commute. Forecasters think that Arctic front will stall out not too far to our southeast. A storm will get going along or just off the coast.

It's way to early to think about how much snow this would create. But the potential is there for a lot.  The worst case scenario would bring a widespread six to 12 inch dump on Vermont, with locally higher amounts.

This forecast will change and shift over time. Which means it's too soon to panic or rejoice,  depending on your opinion about snow.