HARDWICK – Seasonally cold air has slowly made its way into the area over the last week, culminating in subzero temperatures and even colder wind chills this past weekend. This also meant the last two higher-profile weather events featured precipitation falling as all snow, a significant departure from what we’ve seen thus far this year.
During the week, Greensboro reported a total of 15.7 inches at its highest elevations, with Cabot coming in at 13.8 inches, East Calais logging 11.5 inches, and Woodbury reporting 11.2 inches. Reports from volunteer observers show that open water remained on Caspian Lake during the middle of last week, a testament to the mild winter we’ve had thus far.
This cool-down appears to be short-lived, however, as warmer air moves back into the region with an approaching storm system to the west this afternoon and evening. The Ohio River Valley track of this system will put us in the warm sector, leaving the majority of our precipitation to fall as rain, with possibly a period of snow, sleet and freezing rain mixed in at the onset as warmer air slowly encroaches through the valleys at all levels.
Temperatures are expected to exceed seasonal norms by 10 degrees during the day and 20-25 degrees at night. Unsettled weather remains in the picture through Friday as the system slowly lifts north and east, but the mild temperatures will not relent during our brief pause in the precipitation Saturday.
A second southern-stream system makes a run at the east coast on Sunday, and it seems unlikely that this system will contribute any precipitation to our totals for the week, but a system diving down from Hudson Bay looks like it may try to drop some cold air similar to this past weekend into northern sections during the first half of Sunday. The potential for snow showers and squalls would exist with that frontal passage. A combination of above-freezing highs and low temperatures hovering around freezing threatens to chew away at some of our preexisting snow-pack during the middle forecast period. It’s a good time to remind ourselves there’s two more month of winter remaining. Here are the forecast details:
Wednesday:
Increasing clouds. Light snow developing in the evening, changing to sleet and freezing rain by daybreak. Negligible accumulations. High: 32; Low: 30. Temperatures rising through the night.
Thursday:
Cloudy. Intermittent rain showers, possibly mixed with freezing rain early. High: 41, Low: 33.
Friday:
Cloudy. Scattered rain showers in the morning. Slightly cooler. High: 38, Low: 29.
Saturday:
Mostly cloudy. Scattered sprinkles. High: 39, Low: 26.
Sunday:
Mostly cloudy in the morning. Snow showers likely in the morning, with possible squalls. Mostly sunny by sunset. Precipitous drop in temperature anticipated in the morning. High: 30, falling to the low-20s afternoon, Low: 9.
Tyler is weather reporter and a community journalist. He works as a nurse and EMT, volunteers with Hardwick Resdue and helps to train new EMTs
