Spring Sunshine Really Nails Vermont Snow Cover

7:47 a.m. Tuesday: A winter wonderland in St. Albans, Vermont

In scenes surely being replayed through Vermont over the past couple of days, the snow from Monday night's storm is disappearing super quickly in the face of the strong spring sun. .

There's still snow on the ground in places where the storm was bigger. Places that had 10, 11 inches of snow will go at least a couple more days before the white ground turns brown again.

Here in St. Albans, we only got 3.5 inches of snow Monday night, so the process of melting went faster, as you can see by the series of photos in this post.

4:53 p.m. Tuesday: The melt is definitly underway. 

Tellingly, there is still an inch of snow on the ground in protected areas that got zero sunshine.  The rest is gone.

Temperatures since the storm have been mild, but not wildly warm. High temperatures Tuesday were only within a couple degrees of 40, and Wednesday got into the mid-40s after an overnight freeze.

Had this storm hit in December with its low sun angle, we'd still probably have most of the snow cover left.

But the sun is high now, so those who were disheartened by the snow get a break.  It melted. Relatively unfrozen ground also helped with this melt.

3:42 p.m. Wednesday. Almost gone! 

Of course, there's a declining but still real risk of big snowstorms right through mid-April at least, though there are none currently in the forecast.

The next real storm, expected Sunday, is likely to be mostly rain, with perhaps a little snow in the mountains and Northeast.

If we do end up getting a new snowstorm in the coming few weeks, take heart. It will melt very quickly.

The landscape emerging from the snow is pretty brown, as you'd expect during mud season in March.

6:36 p.m. Wednesday. The snow is gone! 

However, it's been a relatively warm month. I've got daffodil shoots coming up everywhere on my property. Other plants are showing signs of life, too.

The initial, tentative green shoots are about as far along as they were around April 10 last year, so we're doing pretty well.

I could hear all the spring birds chirping happily outside as I write this morning.

Given the awfulness of what's going on out in the world right now, we all need this springtime hope.

In this time of anxiety and fear, it's great to latch onto something that gives us peace and something to look forward to.

Spring weather in Vermont is imperfect and sometimes frustrating. But the greening up will come. If you can and are able to maintain your social distancing, go out and enjoy the season.  Trust me. It will help.

Even Without The Current Warmth, The Sun Is Giving Us Signs Of Spring

This photo, taken Sunday in the woods around my house
in St. Albans, Vermont, shows how the warming late
February sun has first melted the snow around tree
trunks and evergreen branches. 

We've had a few warm days here in Vermont and that deep snowcover we had at the end of last week has seriously eroded, especially in the valleys.

Expected warm weather the rest of the week will further diminish the snow pack.

Even if we had not had the mild conditions, the receding snow cover offers another sign of spring. Go out and notice around tree trunks and under darker trees, like pines.

The snow has disappeared much faster in these spots.

Here's why:

The sun is much stronger in late February than it was in late December. The dark tree bark, the dark pine needles and such attract the increasing warmth of the sun. The heat collecting in these dark objects radiates out into its immediate surroundings.

The result is nice rings of melted snow around tree trunks, and near areas where warmth collects, like on pine and spruce needles.

This, of course is an early sign of spring, much like the changing songs of the chickadees and the brightening hues of goldfinches this time of year.

We'll surely have more wintry blasts here in Vermont in the coming weeks. But the core of winter has passed. It's too soon to say happy spring, but maybe we can celebrate pre-spring.