A few inches of snow likely Sunday and spring-like weather late next week

Much of the high country in Vermont has been in a bit of a slump in regards to new snow and finding new ways to under-perform every few days. Conditions were right in the lower troposphere from late Tuesday into early Thursday for some terrain enhanced snow but moisture has been incredibly limited and the mostly-frozen Lake Champlain has not been contributing. We have seen some snow showers but accumulations have been generally been confined to an inch or less, up and down the spine of the Green Mountains. The cold air has kept conditions on the packed powdery side and snow depths across most of the state remain quite strong. We have some good news to report in the short term outlook but more typical March conditions are also right around the corner which means warmer temperatures and changeable conditions.

Both Friday and Saturday are expected to be considerably more comfortable. Though temperatures will start in the single numbers or teens, strong doses of March sunshine and more limited amounts of wind will make for two really nice days to be on the hill as readings warm to near 30 both days. Clouds will advance into the region Saturday night in advance of a  overly-mature midwest weather system. Unless a coastal low pressure center develops and inhales all the energy from this storm, it will remain a rather garden variety event and for now, this is what is anticipated right now. Regardless, a decent period of snow is possible for parts of Vermont early Sunday, enough I think to bring a few inches of powdery snow before temperatures creep toward the freezing mark during the afternoon and precipitation tapers off as mixed precipitation.  Monday's temperatures are likely to hover above the freezing mark across low lying areas while terrain induced snow showers envelop the high country. Conditions are likely to greatly vary depending on elevation, but the collective event (Sunday-Monday) is capable of bringing 4-7 inches of snow to areas above 3000 feet and 2-4 inches below that.

Seasonable temperatures prevail for Tuesday and Wednesday which means a little above freezing during the days and well below freezing at night. Later next week continues to look more spring-like with readings into the 40's and perhaps a little bit of rain. The sound of the corn horn is getting a little closer.

Consistent with the outlook posted 3 days ago, the jet stream continues to appear to take on a more +PNA-like shape beginning around St Patrick's Day with a ridge in western North America and a trough over us. This means the warm-up late next week will be limited to a few days. The ensuing period, beginning around the time of our leprechaun celebration and stretching to the spring equinox will be more winter-like with likely talk of new snow and mostly sub-freezing temperatures.