EAST HARDWICK — It’s hard to accept the snow showers arriving on the heels of a week with above-average temperatures as a headline. Highs last week reached the upper 50s and low 60s, some 15 or so degrees above normal for this time of year. Many days saw at least some filtered sunshine, although rain did mix in at times, amounting to two thirds of an inch of total accumulation over the course of the forecast period.
photo by Vanessa Fournier
Many local reporting stations have no measurable snow depth, with stations like North Greensboro reporting only an inch and a half of snow at this point. Some backyard snow piles exist in shaded areas, although the cover is inconsistent and no longer hold a significant liquid equivalent.
There will be fewer breaks in the clouds this week, as the low-pressure system responsible for dropping the temperatures into the teens Monday morning lingers into tonight, with mostly cloudy conditions and the chance of some light snow showers. There may be a brief period of rain showers mixed in at lower elevations. Some clearing occurs tomorrow morning before another wave traveling along a frontal boundary approaches Thursday night. The result will be the same: scattered light snow showers. Clouds linger into the first half of Friday, with a few breaks by afternoon as the front becomes nearly stationary just south of us. Another wave approaches Saturday with some steady snow. Highs generally remain in the low-to-mid 30s, with overnight lows in the upper teens to low 20s through the first half of the weekend.
A larger storm system moving in from the Ohio Valley for Sunday will bring some dicey weather in, with the bulk of the precipitation arriving in the afternoon and evening. The biggest concern at this point will be cold pickets lingering east of the Green Mountains that may cause precipitation to stall for several hours as freezing rain in the transition from snow to rain as the warm front lifts north. The exact details of this progression need nearer-term modeling to highlight better. For now, expect disruptive mixed precipitation to wrap up the weekend. Here’s how the forecast pans out:
Wednesday: Mostly cloudy. Scattered snow showers, possibly mixed with rain at the valley floors. Less than an inch of accumulation expected. High: 35. Low: 18. West winds 5-10 mph.
Thursday: Partly sunny. Scattered snow showers by evening, with less than an inch of accumulation. High: 38. Low: 22. West winds 5-10 mph.
Friday: Mostly cloudy. Scattered snow showers in the morning, with minimal accumulations. High: 31. Low: 19. Northwest winds 5-10 mph.
Saturday: Cloudy. Snow, with a mix of rain in the lowest elevations. Accumulations of 2-4”. High: 31. Low: 21. Northeast winds 5-10 mph.
Sunday: Cloudy. Snow and sleet in the morning, then sleet, freezing rain, and rain by afternoon. Prolonged period of mixed precipitation possible with moderate accumulations of sleet and freezing rain. High: 37. Low: 26. East winds 10-15 mph with gusts to 25 mph.
Tyler is our weather reporter and a community journalist. He works as a nurse and EMT, volunteers with Hardwick Rescue and helps to train new EMTs.
