Floods, Severe Weather, Temperature Swings: It's Spring

Flooding in Frederickton, New Brunswick. Photo by Andre
Vaughn/Canadian Press

Floods in Canada. Severe weather in the middle of the United States. Wild temperature swings and inclement weather here in Vermont.

It must be spring.

Most people do look forward to spring, with its warming temperatures and flowers and greening grass and trees.

It is a volatile time of year in the weather department, though, and this year is certainly proving the case. There's all kinds of weather to talk about.

CANADA FLOODS

It's been rainy enough here in Vermont to cause some minor flooding, including along the Connecticut River in the Northeast Kingdom.

It's been even worse to the north, though, with many areas of Canada, including Quebec, New Brunswick, Alberta and British Columbia all experiencing spring floods.

The CBC says many roads in New Brunswick have been washed out near Frederickton and St. John. The St. John River is the highest it has been in a decade at least. Video shows people being taken from flooded houses in New Brunswick.

Flooding in Quebec this weekend. Photo by Marc Antoine Lavoie, CBC

In Quebec, flooding is widespread in the Eastern Townships and near Quebec City. Some homes are flooded, and dozens of roads are closed. More rain is anticipated in the region this week.

The mountains of British Columbia had a record high snow pack earlier this spring, and now it's quite warm and rainy in the region, so the western Canadian province is now being plagued by flooding and mudslides.

SEVERE WEATHER 

There were several reports of large hail and damaging winds, mostly in Nebraska from severe thunderstorms yesterday. That was the opening salvo of a severe weather outbreak in the middle of the country that will intensify today.

It looks like the focus of the severe storms and possible tornadoes today will be in Kansas, eastern Nebraska and western Iowa. Storms there will probably develop explosively later today, and there's even the risk of a strong tornado or two.  

Areas in the middle of the country (shaded yellow and orange)
are at risk for severe thunderstorms and tornadoes today.

On Wednesday, the threat will cover a broad area from Texas to northern Illinois, with the principal risk area centered on Oklahoma.

One more day of severe weather is likely Thursday from Texas to the lower Great Lakes, with Missouri seeming to be in the center of it. In a sign of spring for us, the threat of severe storms Thursday extends all the way up  here to southern Vermont, though the threat of severe weather in New England is marginal at best.

VERMONT VOLATILITY, TOO

It was still damp and drizzly in Vermont early this Tuesday morning, but things are still likely to sharply improve by afternoon. The sun will break out and temperatures will get into the 60s.

In a sharp departure from the snows of Monday morning, readings in parts of Vermont and surrounding areas could easily reach 80 degrees on Wednesday as strengthening southwest winds pump warm air toward us.

If it does make it to 80 degrees in Burlington tomorrow, it'll be the first time that's happened since October 8, 2017.

The weather will become increasingly iffy if you don't like rain beginning later Wednesday. A few thunderstorms might break out over northern New York later in the day.

Thursday and Friday, the amount of precipitable water in the air - how humid it is and how much potential there is for heavy rain, will rise to near record levels for this time of year over the region. It will feel humid for sure.

All that water expected to be in the air Thursday and Friday doesn't guarantee heavy rain, but it definitely increases the odds of it. One disturbance will come through sometimes Thursday. It's a little unclear at this point what part of Vermont and the rest of the North Country it will focus on, but it does have the potential to dump some downpours, with a few areas perhaps getting up to an inch of rain.

A more robust system is due Friday, and I'm sure we'll be talking about more downpours then. It's too soon to say whether these rains Thursday and Friday will be enough to cause any flooding on Vermont's rivers. But it looks like those rains will be enough to push Lake Champlain toward its 100 foot flood stage. 

Things are looking drier for the upcoming weekend, cross your fingers.