What To Expect From Today's Messy Nor'easter In Vermont, Elsewhere

Some areas of Vermont might see some slippery, snowy roads for a time
as snow will fall near the onset of today's nor'easter. Most places that
see snow will have a chaneover to rain this afternoon.

Today will be the first winter driving challenge for a lot of people in Vermont and some other areas of the interior Northeast today as a nor'easter continues to push in.

Oh sure, some mountain towns and northern New Hampshire and Maine already had tough winter driving back on  Wednesday, but a lot more of us will experience it today.

Plus, there's strong winds, a cold rain and maybe even some freezing rain to talk about with this storm.

SNOW ALERT

The shield of precipitation with this nor'easter was just moving into far southern Vermont as of 6:30 a.m. today and moving steadily northward.

As the rain moves into relatively dry air over Vermont, it will cool the air enough so that the rain will very quickly change to snow for a time. Or, in some places it will just start as snow.

Depending on where you are this morning and early afternoon,  the snow will come down pretty hard for awhile. That's especially true away from the Champlain Valley.

A winter weather advisory has been posted for most of Vermont away from the Champlain Valley. One to four inches of wet snow is likely in the advisory area. Since the snow will come down pretty hard for awhile, even the main roads in somewhat higher elevations will get slippery for a time.

A lot of us don't have our snow tires on yet, and we haven't driven on icy roads since April, so I'm anticipating plenty of traffic accidents today. I'd stay home if you can.

The winter weather advisory is also up for the Adirondacks.

The Champlain Valley will be a bit warmer, so there's likely to be much less snow there. Roads should stay wet. However, a BIG caveat. I've been sometimes surprised by how much the air can cool  at the onset of a storm like this. I'd be on alert for a slippery road surprise later this morning  even in the Champlain Valley. It's not guaranteed, but it's something to watch.

Pretty much everywhere in Vermont except in the  highest elevations, the snow will change back to rain during this afternoon.

STRONG WINDS 

Many nor'easters bring strong downslope winds to the western slopes of the Green Mountains, and this one will be no exception.

Many areas outside the Champlain Valley face an inch or two of
wet snow today. 

The strongest winds look like they will be in eastern Rutland and eastern Addison counties. The wind there will really pick up later this afternoon as precipitaton lightens up a bit.

Although today won't be nearly as bad a windstorm as some classic ones, like what happened last October, this one has its special risks.

Some leaves are on the trees and they will be burdened by that wet snow that is coming in. Add wind gusts to 55 mph or so and you've got a real risk of some power failures in the areas with the highest winds.

Elsewhere in Vermont, expect some raw, gusty winds but nothing too extreme. Just an unpleasant day, for sure.

FREEZING RAIN

Nor'easters sometimes bring freezing rain, but it's extremely rare to get freezing rain in October. But some areas face that risk, believe it or not. As it cools down tonight, light rain will likely start to freeze in parts of the Adirondacks, and also maybe in the eastern half of Vermont. Especially in mid and higher elevations.

There won't be a tremendous amount of ice, but it will be enough to make roads locally slippery again. And in isolated spots, a few branches might come down if they are loaded with remaining leaves and ice. The Champlain Valley should escape the iee and just deal with a cold overnight light rain.

THE STORM ELSEWHERE

As is usual with nor'easters, the coast gets hammered. High wind warnings and coastal flood alerts are up all along the coast from Maryland north.

The greatest storm surge with this storm will coincide with high tide later this morning in parts of coastal New Jersey and Long Island. Some pretty major and damaging coastal flooding seems like a good bet in these locations.  Big time beach erosion is also in the cards.

The coastal flooding isn't expected to be quite as bad further north in New England, but the winds along the shoreline will be worse. Winds as high as 60 mph will down trees and power lines along the coast. Flash flood watches are also up in parts of southern New England because the rain will be quite heavy down there, much heavier than up here in Vermont.

Up in Quebec, snow, ice and rain will affect travel later today and tonight, says Environment Canada.  There could be some flooding near Quebec City on Sunday during high tide,

THE OUTLOOK

Back here in Vermont, the temperature will gradually creep back up toward near normal temperatures over the next week but the pattern looks active. Showers remain in the forecast through Monday. After a brief break around Tuesday, showers return, with maybe some steadier, heavier rain Thursday.

Believe it or not, after a wet October, soil moisture in northern Vermont is still definitely on the dry side. All this precipitation is a good thing