Winter appears ready for a major retreat following one last blustery/chilly Friday

 Less than a tenth of an inch of mixed precipitation fell Thursday morning, adding very little to what has been a very dry month so far and a mostly snowless one as well. Plug the forecast in for the next two weeks and not much will change. Most of next week looks very dry and warm and though the last 5 days of the month (beginning Saturday March 27th) appear cooler and a bit more unsettled, there are no indications of a return to mid-winter conditions or a big storm. 

The big severe weather producing storm that ravaged parts of the south with a tornado outbreak Wednesday night will get suppressed by a quicker moving polar jet disturbance. The two weather features are not in phase and thus another potential big winter storm goes by the wayside. Though this has been anticipated for several days, it is no less frustrating for those hoping for the big March storm we've become accustomed to. Friday could be one of the final mostly sub-freezing days of the season with gusty north winds (15-30 mph) and temperatures remaining in the 20's. Those that appreciate the sunshine and excellent visibility should be happy with Friday, the start of what we expect to be succession of very sunny March days. 

Temperatures will moderate as the weekend progresses. Winds will soften a bit for Saturday as temperatures rise toward the 40 degree mark. Sunday then looks outstanding with minimal wind and afternoon temperatures up around 50 with a full dose of sunshine and perfect visibility. Sunday is actually the beginning of a spring weather setup that should feature several days (through Wednesday 3/24) where readings reach or exceed 50. This setup along the east coast will include some clouds, but those clouds should be confined to the Mid-Atlantic or coastal/southern New England while interior areas bask in sunshine. I've gotten pretty accustomed to seeing this type of weather in April and especially May in Vermont and it is clearly one of our most effective ways of steering clear of rotten spring east coast weather. In 2021 it looks like such a setup is coming early. One change from the Monday update relates to the intensity of the warmth. Though almost every day in the Monday-Friday time frame looks to be at least 50 at the base, 60-degrees looks elusive and we are likely to avoid the El Torchy like conditions capable of producing the stronger warmth. Though this will assuredly be magnificent early spring weather in Vermont, each of these mornings will feature sub-freezing temperatures and it will thus take a few hours for snow conditions to soften. As for the sunshine, we should see plenty of that through Wednesday as I mentioned, more clouds are likely late in the week with the best chance for any rainfall coming Friday. 

A return to some form of colder temperatures is likely during the weekend of the 27th and 28th appears likely but this appears to consist of very ordinary late March weather conditions including 40-45 degree days along with sub-freezing nights. Ahead of April 1st, I expect maybe one more day with accumulating snowfall but that is about the best I can give readers. Spring appears to be coming in hard and fast this year.