Very changeable weather over the next 5 days in Vermont but this forecast continues to include light amounts of snow

 Pacific air now covers much of the eastern half of the country and large sections of the U.S. are very happy to see it. Much of Texas which was freezing under the weight of single digit temperatures a week or so ago are now enjoying 70-degree afternoons and Minnesota will be 50 degrees warmer Tuesday afternoon verses one week ago. In Vermont, last Tuesday was actually pretty mild same as this Tuesday giving me the chance to misappropriate David Byrne's famous line "same as it ever was" while also pointing out that interior New England often follows its own weather road, independent of the rest of the North America. We can expect some light snow Tuesday afternoon and evening and a light accumulation of maybe an inch or two. Wednesday will almost feel spring-like, with temperatures approaching 40 in the valley and  it would be even warmer were it not for the arrival of clouds in the afternoon. 

Those clouds mentioned above mark the approach of the surge of lingering arctic air in Canada that has been discussed a few times here. Elevation sensitive rain/snow showers will become snow showers and snow squalls on the mountain Wednesday evening and as winds become more northwesterly during the overnight hours, those snow showers will lead to some accumulation at Mad River Glen. Those snow showers will gradually abate Thursday morning but not before a 2-5 inch snowfall. Winds Thursday will remain gusty but the sunshine should make an appearance during the afternoon with temperatures hovering in the high teens before falling well into the single digits Thursday night. I think Friday is bluebird material and with lighter winds and near 20-degree temperatures. I always consider those type of days to be underappreciated since we really just don't see too many of them in the northeast. It's either cloudy, precipitating, windy or a combination of two or three. Rarely is it simply sunny, calm and cold. Certainly something that the Colorado folks have on us, climatologically speaking.

Friday's weather will not persist into the upcoming weekend. A push of milder air will bring clouds back to Vermont Saturday and some snow or mixed precipitation late in the day or during the evening. Some of the major forecast models are not particularly bullish on accumulating snow but it remains possible being the the process of displacing arctic cold typically begets snow. Sunday appears a bit drier with clouds, a few peaks of sunshine and mild in the valley areas with readings up near the 40-degree mark while temperatures hover around freezing on the mountain. 

The outlook for the first 4-5 days of March which amounts to the Monday-Friday period of next week looks like a typical early March setup. Models simply are illustrating no agreement on specifics. The GFS shows a surge of much below normal temperatures early in the week accompanied by snow showers while the Euro has temperatures closer to normal while showing a potential snow producing system for interior New England later in the week. I am actually quite open to either possibility and never felt comfortable with the notion that we would get a significant torch next week. 

Beyond March 5, there are more hints of a more significant round of spring-like weather but even in this time frame, not all of the ensemble packages of reached an agreement as to how warm it might get.