Mild And Murky Vermont, But Winter Lurks

It's turning out to be a mild and murky week here in Vermont. Afternoon temperatures have been sneaking above freezing, there's little wind, a lot of clouds and a fair amount of fog and haze.

A gloomy early December Tuesday afternoon
in my St. Albans, Vermont yard.  

Typical early December dreariness.

If you're bored with the weather though, you can live vicariously through the rough and cold winter weather starting to engulf much of the rest of the nation.

That frigid, snowy, icy and at times dangerous weather will continue to spread across much of the United States, and we here in northern New England should start getting a taste of that by Sunday or Monday.

The cold is going to be focused on the northern Rocky Mountains and northern and central Plains. There are some areas near the Canadian border in Montana and North Dakota that went below zero today, and might not get above zero again until the weekend. Not even during the day.   BRRRR!!!!

It's mild in the east, and such a clash of air masses inevitably stirs up a storm. There's already winter storm warnings in a huge area from Idaho to Wisconsin. That weather will spread south and east. Don't be surprised to hear news of a nasty ice storm in a band from Texas to Kentucky later in the week.

Winter storm watches are already up for Thursday and Friday in Oklahoma and Arkansas for an expected snow, sleet and ice storm.

Other areas of the country are going to get LOTS of snow.

OK, what does that mean for Vermont and surrounding areas? Truth be told, I have no idea. Nobody does. It's too early to tell.

It will start to get cold again this weekend, and some kind of storm is coming along for the Sunday night through Tuesday time frame but I don't know how big it will be or whether it will bring snow, rain, a mix or all of the above.

We'll have to stay tuned until the event draws closer.

Aside from the mild temperatures between now and Friday, though, don't expect a break from wintry, cold weather over the next couple of weeks. It's a chilly weather pattern coast to coast, including in Vermont.

At least we here in northern New England looks like we will be spared the most intense cold.