Vermont Spring Warmth Overperforms; No Super Cold Weather In Sight

Before I left town yesterday, I noticed some daffodil shoots in
my gardens were really coming up in the unseasonably
warm early March sunshine. 

Boy, was yesterday a hot one! At least for March 9 in Vermont.

Under a lot of sun and gentle south winds, temperatures got into the 60s for most of us, which was several degrees warmer than forecast.  Valley locations, at leas,t are really starting to see the snow disappear.  

Burlington reached 65 degrees, which wasn't a record high because it fell on the fourth anniversary of what is now the second earliest 70 degree day on record.  If we had that same 65 degrees today or Monday, it would have been a record high.

Temperatures followed the same pattern I thought they would, with snow-covered areas being slightly cooler than towns with bare ground.  But everyone was milder than forecast.  Places like Montpelier, St. Johnsbury and Morrisville, where there is still snow cover, were in the low 60s.

That 65 degree reading in Burlington came with the ground just partly covered in snow. Springfield, with even less snow got to 68 and pretty much snow-free Bennington touched 70 degrees.

The early season warmth has prompted an early start to spring garden shoots coming up.  Little green sprouts of daffodil, day lily and sedum are apparent.  We even have reports of crocuses blooming in sunny corners across Vermont. It's a bit early for crocuses, but we'll take it.

There doesn't appear to be any really cold weather in the offing in Vermont, possibly for most of the rest of the month.  It's very mild today, but cooler than Tuesday due to clouds and rain.  A cold front coming through tonight will drop us down to near normal levels (30s to near 40 for highs) Wednesday and Thursday.

A stronger storm Friday looks like it will bring us wind and rain, but it's a little early to say how much. And some of Friday's precipitation could be snow in the mountains.  After a brief cool down during the weekend, it gets warmish again next week.

Much of the nation is experiencing odd March warmth.  Some trees are beginning to sprout leaves as far north as Philadelphia. Some of the early cherry trees are blooming in Washington DC.  Daffodils are already blooming in Boston.

I'm out in Yankton, South Dakota this week instead in Vermont. It was 71 degrees here on Sunday.  The forecast high on Wednesday in the southeastern corner of South Dakota is 62 degrees before much cooler, but not frigid weather arrives at the end of the week.