Last Gasp Of Mega Storm Brings Squirt Of Spring Into Vermont

I spend an entire winter shoveling snow off my driveway, them
when it's warm and sunny like Thursday I throw it back on
to melt it quicker (Big snowbank in front of the house
sometimes contributes to basement flooding when it melts
so I try to proactively get rid of it.)

I was outside around my house in St. Albans wading through the snow and doing some projects here and there yesterday afternoon.

It wasn't exactly t-shirt weather, but temperatures got into the 50s with at least occasional sunshine, and I was working pretty hard. I found myself comfortable, doing my stuff in a t-shirt, no coat.

It was heavenly. Like being freed from prison, which to me was the coats and jackets I've seemingly constantly worn since late October.

Today will be even better here in the Green Mountain State, except for those next to rivers prone to ice jams. There are some light morning rain showers around, lame leftovers from an unseasonably early swarm of tornadoes in Michigan, Ohio and Indiana yesterday. (I'll get to that in a minute.)

The remains of that giant storm in the middle of the nation is pumping warm air from the south over our winter-weary landscape and souls.

Sunshine will break out again by afternoon, and in many places, including the Champlain Valley, temperatures will probably get past 60 degrees. That will be the first time since October 19 that has happened.

The only drawback is the snow is melting fast, especially in the valleys. Ice is up to a foot thick or even more on many Vermont rivers. The snowmelt will make river level rise, which will break up the ice, and create ice jams here and there.

Bends in the river and obstructions like bridges are the most likely places these ice jams can form, but  really, they can take shape anywhere. We'll want to hope the ice jams don't get going anywhere near populated areas, as these jams can produce sudden, destructive flooding. The ice jam that flooded downtown Montpelier in 1992 in the most vivid example.

Flood watches are up for most of Vermont today and Saturday to highlight the risk of these ice jam floods.

The warmth won't last long. Saturday will be close to a seasonable 40 degrees. The Sunday through Tuesday will be quite chilly. Remember, though, that we are well into March, so the bite has been taken out of winter cold snaps. So we'll have highs a few degrees either side of zero and lows in the upper single numbers and teens.

As far as snow goes there will just be some inconsequential flurries around.

This cold snap is actually a good thing. A day in the low 60s and a long period of continuously above freezing temperatures can make maple sugar producers nervous. You need freezes. This multi-day freeze will help recharge the maples for renewed sap runs.

At this point, it looks like the middle and end of next week might be ideal for those maple producers. High temperatures by then are forecast to rise into the 40s, with subfreezing readings at night. Perfect for the sugarers.

THAT STORM

Widespread flooding in Nebraska Thursday. 

The storm that explosively turned into a monster in the middle of nation Wednesday weakened rapidly on its trek through the Great Lakes and into Canada on Thursday.

However, it still had enough oomph ahead of its cold front to spin up a number of tornadoes from Alabama to Michigan.

There were 14 tornado reports Thursday, though National Weather Service meteorologists will fan out today to determine which storms were actually tornadoes and which were damaging straight line winds.

The Michigan tornadoes were fairly rare: It's odd to get them that far north this early in the season. Although at least a couple Michigan houses were badly damaged, no injuries were reported.

Tornadoes also struck near Paducah, Kentucky and Cullman, Alabama, causing added damage.

Flooding from heavy rain and snow melt continued in Iowa, South Dakota, Nebraska and some other areas. At least six river gauges in the three states showed record flooding and 20 or so recorded record flooding.

Some of the flooding came on fast, says the Weather Channel. Residents of one small Iowa town were given just 10 minutes to flee.  A third of Norfolk, Nebraska, population 24,000, was evacuated.

The Omaha World-Herald reported one flood related death, and said the Missouri River would reach record levels in parts of eastern Nebraska. That would put parts of Interstate 29, the major north-south corridor in eastern Nebraska under water.

The water along the Missouri is overwhelming flood control dams. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said they must increase water releases at Gavins Point Dam in Yankton, South Dakota because so much water is coming through. These releases will contribute to the Missouri River flooding in Nebraska, but there really isn't anything anyone can do. There's too much water.

One bright side is the nation is now getting into a temporary break from all the storminess of the last several months. High pressure will control most of the nation over the coming week, which means nobody in the Lower 48, with the possible exception of Florida, will have heavy precipitation in the coming seven days.