Weather Blog: Strong Winds Wednesday

Today’s forecast is relatively calm: a fast cold front that shifts the direction of our winds to the northwest and brings a few light snow showers…little to no accumulation outside the mountains. Temperatures climb into the upper teens and lower twenties.

This front passes so quickly that the clouds have time to dissipate overnight, allowing our temperatures to drop back into the figures above and below zero… A cold start to a warm day, n ‘is this not ?

With Wednesday afternoon highs in the upper 30s and lower 40s, that warm air has to seep through in some way…entering the south wind.

Wind advisories are in place for Franklin County (New York and Vermont), Clinton County, Grand Isle County and western parts of Chittenden County.

Outside of the wind advisory, sustained winds range from 15-25 mph with gusts of 30-40 mph. But as part of the advisory and especially on the northern slopes of the North Country and along Lake Champlain, winds will be much stronger with gusts of 40 to 55 mph. This could lead to breakdowns, downing trees and creating a mess for ferries plying between Grand Isle and Cumberland Head. Not to mention the wider profile vehicles (especially the lighter ones) that will rock on the road.

Thursday comes with rain, especially heavy in the north of the country, where some spots could see 1-2″ of water…most of the Champlain Valley eastward can expect 0.5-1, 0″.

The rain combined with snowmelt means we monitor the rivers and streams in our area for severe flooding and flooding caused by ice jams.