Winter Of '17 So Far Turning Into A Wimp

My yard in St. Albans, Vermont late yesterday afternoon
look more like late March, not mid-January. 

I've been saying right along that this winter will have to be colder than the winter of 2015-16 because it couldn't possibly be warmer than last year.

That's still true. Last winter was by far the warmest on record in Vermont and I don't think we can top that.

But for snow and cold lovers (I'm not necessarily one of them) the winter of 2016-17 is turning into a wimp.  

Today is windy and warm and getting into the 50s in much of Vermont.

True, it'll get chilly again for a couple days tomorrow and Saturday, but the warmth returns next week for what could be an extended stay.

There's no snow on the ground in the valleys. Yesterday, it was sunny and 50 degrees. My yard in St. Albans, Vermont was nearly free of snow, and I did some either late autumn or early spring yard cleanup.

Forecasts don't hold out much hope for more snow. In fact, I saw one 10-day forecast that calls for absolutely no snow in Montpelierk which is very odd considering we're in the depths of winter.

Sure, things could turn around in February and March, but it sure has been quiet so far.

Snowfall for the season so far is running nine inches below normal at Burlington,  and with the nearly snow-free forecast that deficit will continue to grow.

December was more than three degrees warmer than  normal, and so far January is running seven degrees on the hot side.

True, it's been rather stormy, but a lof of the storms have brought rain and mixed precipitation.

This sure isn't like the extreme winters of old.

Like I said, even though it will be generally warm for at least the next 10 days, winter could return with a vengeance in February.

We'll just have to wait and see. Meanwhile, just enjoy (or curse) the January thaw.

A Windy Forecast, And Why Ski Areas Impose Wind Holds Sometimes

A weather pattern has temporarily set in across much of the nation in which weather systems are moving pretty much west to east across the nation.

Intense winds toss chair lifts in Montana.
The ski area had shut down, wisely, to
protect skiers.  

That means some strong, but mostly moisture starved storms are coming in off the Pacific.

Since the storms and the air flow are blocking Arctic air from invading from Canada, much of the nation, including Vermont and the rest of the Northeast, is experiencing a January thaw.

These Pacific storms are also generating a lot of wind. Wind warnings and advisories stretch almost coast to coast.

The winds contributed to grass fires in Oklahoma Sunday, and In the northern Rocky Mountains, some wind gusts reached 90 mph.

Here in Vermont, we'll get some windy days all week. Nothing extreme, but look for gusts in the 40 mph range at times.  The storms coming across will be able to gather some moisture, so look for a little rain Tuesday, and some snow showers later in the week.

The weather pattern will again change toward the end of the week, with a dip in the jet stream forming in the middle of the nation. That will allow Arctic air to once again come into the picture from the Great Plains to, eventually, by the weekend, here in Vermont.

It won't be anything extreme, like the polar vortex last week. It'll just get cold like it usually does in January.

In Montana, where the wind really blew Sunday, , a quick video of the Bridger Bowl ski resort in Montana shows why ski areas tend to kick people off the lifts if the gusts get too strong.

Judging from the video, Bridger Bowl was smart to impose a wind hold Sunday.: