Sunday Evening Update: Storm Pretty Much Over; Cold Takes Hold

In an image posted on Twitter by Vermont State Police, a state trooper
snapped this pic of a Vermont Agency of Transportation snowplow
hard at work Saturday night clearing snow. 

The heaviest of the snow has pretty left Vermont as the intense, cold winter storm moves off the New England coast.

Now, we just have to put up with wind, bitter cold, blowing snow and how to clean up amid such frigid temperatures.

Snow accumulation reports are still coming in, but despite the curveballs and surprises thrown in during the course of the storm, it turns out the National Weather Service in South Burlington was pretty much on the money when they came out with their forecasts a couple days before the storm.

So far, the most I've seen is 18.5 inches in Walden, up in Caledonia County. Burlington officially had 13.1 inches as of 1 p.m. There are very many reports of around a foot of new snow from the storm statewide. Here at my house in St. Albans, I clocked in with 11.5 inches of fresh powder as of 4 p.m. today.

I have to tell you I'm insanely tired from shoveling my rather long driveway this afternoon. True, it was a powdery, light snow, not the back-breaking wet cement we got in the big storm back in late November.

But shoveling in near 0 temperatures with a strong wind chill takes a lot out of you. And I couldn't keep snow on the shovel. As I mentioned tbis morning, snow that falls in subzero cold has the consistency of talcum powder. It slides off a shovel readily, and avalanches easily off of snow banks.

WHAT'S NEXT

A few places will probably eek out another one to three inches of snow tonight as snow showers continue. That's most likely in the northern and central Green Mountains and in the Champlain Valley.

The winter storm warning that was in effect has been replaced by a winter weather advisory through 7 a.m. Monday. The advisory is to account for the continued light snow and flurries, and the extensive blowing and drifting snow that will continue overnight.  All this blowing and drifting has already closed many roads in open country across southern Quebec.

The real story is the bitter cold.  As has been advertised for days now, the Arctic cold is re-establishing itself on strong northerly winds. Actual temperatures tonight will be frigid, but not ridiculous for January. Lows tonight will pretty uniformly be in the 7 to 15 below range statewide.

But the winds gusting to 30 mph will drive wind chills into the 15 to 35 below range regionwide tonight and well into Monday. That's why there's a wind chill warning in effect until 1 p.m. Monday. 

This cold wave won't last long. In some ways, we've unexpectedly gotten through half of it, as this afternoon was actually "warmer" than Saturday afternoon. At least afternoon temperatures were above zero in Burlington today.

Monday night, temperatures will be frigid, with lows of around 5 below near Lake Champlain to around 25 below in the coldest spots. Most of us will be in the teens below zero.

Tuesday stays cold, but it will be more reasonable with lighter winds and sunshine.

Then we get into midweek. There's still a lot of questions as to what's going to happen. It will briefly get dramatically warmer, with possible above freezing temperatures in some spots Wednesday and Thursday afternoons.

Storminess will be around, but there's still no consensus on how heavy the precipitation will be, and what form it will take. For now, the National Weather Service is going with a likely snow and/or rain showers Wedneday through Thursday. We'll have to wait until that forecast gets fine-tuned.