Winter Slowly Tightening Its Grip In Vermont, Elsewhere

We woke up to a raw, nasty morning in Vermont, with some pretty heavy showers and gusty winds.

Get used to it. We could see
scenes like this within days
in Vermont and the
rest of northern New England.  

At least it's warm-ish, in the low 50s in many areas, but don't get used to it.

It'll be chilly for the next several days, and by Tuesday and Wednesday, we'll have what I consider the first winter days of the year.

There's a big difference in the Great White North between the first day of winter and the first winter day.

The official first day of winter on the calendar is of course on December 21. But in the northern tier of the United States, the first winter day comes way before that.

What somebody considers the quote, unquote first winter day is in the eye of the beholder. Some people think it's the first subfreezing night of the year. Others say it's the first snow flurry, the first good snowfall, or maybe the day fall chores are completed.

For me, the first winter day is the one where the temperature fails to rise above freezing all day. That might happen Tuesday or Wednesday in parts of northern New England in the wake of a strong cold front due Monday.

High temperatures then are expected to be somewhere between 30 and 38 degrees.

You might also want to get your snow tires on your car or truck this weekend. The cold weather late this weekend and early next week will probably yield some snow. It won't amount to much, but with temperatures plunging well below freezing, even a dusting of snow can really ice up the pavement.

That's an even bigger problem than usual this time of year. Often, with a cold front, some wet snow falls on pavement that's still relatively warm. You get water and slush, that then freezes solid as the temperature drops. Your highway is now a skating rink.

Plus, nobody is used to driving on the ice and there's a lot of idiots out there.

Better safe than sorry. Get yer snow tires now.