The Snow Keeps Flying; A Harsh Winter Before Winter Begins

You can tell by this plowed pile of snow in a Burlington, Vermont
parking lot that the snow has a dangerous consistency of wet cement.

It's still snowing early this morning across much of northern Vermont and that state of affairs will continue for the rest of the day. So keep shoveling, folks.

The fallling snow still has a wet and sticky consistency, so power failures are still widespread, despite the best efforts of repair crews. As of 5 a.m., more than 33,000 Vermont homes and businesses didn't have power. 

It's been awhile since I've seen such extensive power failures last that long. And as wet snow continues to fall across northern Vermont today - albeit lightly in most areas - it's going to be very challenging to get the juice flowing.

The Rutland Herald reported that repair crews have to be slow and methodical to avoid being injured by other trees falling around them. In some places, the constant bombardment of falling branches and trees forces repair crews to temporarily retreat. It will take days to get the power flowing in some areas. Some roads this morning continued to be blocked by fallen trees, wires and branches.

Around Burlington, Vermont, the snow mixed at times with rain early this morning, so the trees weren't too laden with the snow. But just a little north around my place in St. Albans, Vermont, trees were sagging dangerously as cement-like wet snow continued to pile up. I could hear branches breaking in the woods.

A lot of us will have another challenging trip to work and school this morning. I noticed while driving yesterday it was particularly slippery out there. Wet snow is worse than powder to drive on.

So far the deepest reported accumulations have been 18 inches in Rochester, 15 inches in Ludlow, 14.9 inches in Greensboro ad 12.2 inches in East Barre.

The snow will come down pretty hard on the western slopes of the Green Mountains today, so I still expect some new reports of some pretty high totals. In valley locations in northern Vermont, expect another one to five inches of new snow through tonight. Southern Vermont valleys will just get a dusting, at best.

Expected snowfall today in Vermont. Parts of the northern Adirondacks
and Green Mountains of Vermont could see six more inches.

If you think winter is off to a harsh start, even though it's not winter yet, you're absolutely right. Just take the stats from Burlington, Vermont.

As of midnight last night, the month was averaging 5.3 degrees colder than normal. Not a record, but still nippy. The city had 17.5 inches of snow so far this month, which would make it the seventh snowiest November. Plus, remember it kept snowing past midnight and will snow off and on today.

Also as of midnight, 5.07 inches of rain and melted snow has fallen on Burlington so far this month, creating a tie so far for the fifth wettest November. 

The Weather Channel reported on something called the Accumulated Winter Season Severity Index, which takes into account the intensity and persistence of cold weather, the frequency and amount of snow and the persistence of snow on the ground. An organization called the Midwest Regional Climate Center keeps track of this.

The index rates the winter up to a given point as mild, moderate, average, severe or extreme.

As you might guess, all of New England is in the severe category. If misery loves company, there's plenty of it.  The Accumulated Winter Severity Index is also in the extreme category in much of the Plains and Midwest.

Of course, this could reverse itself. If the rest of the winter is mild, then the ratins will back off the severe category.

The next big storm after this one is done comes along Saturday night and Sunday. It looks messy, with mixed precipitation at the start, especially away from the Champlain Valley.

Then it will go to rain, and all this wet snow will partly melt and get slushier in the rain. We'll also have to be on the lookout for a little flooding if it rains hard and the snow melts too quickly.   The forecast for the storm will become more detailed and more accurate as we draw closer to the weekend, so stay tuned.