A major snowstorm is slamming Vermont, dropping inches of snow and closing schools across the state.
The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning for much of northern and central Vermont with 10 to 20 inches of snow forecasted. Mixed precipitation has transitioned into heavy snow, and the NWS predicts 1 to 3 inches of snow per hour for Friday afternoon.
“Gusty winds will develop this afternoon and likely yield near whiteout conditions due to blowing snow across portions of northern New York and northern Vermont this afternoon and evening,” the NWS alert states.
Todd Law, the state Agency of Transportation director of maintenance, said early Friday afternoon that the agency had 250 plow trucks deployed on the highways and interstates across Vermont.
“It was a little hairy this morning,” Law said, adding that road crews were dealing mainly with sleet and freezing rain.
Law said outside of a tractor-trailer crash around 8 a.m. Friday on Route 107 in Royalton and a few vehicle slide offs, he wasn’t aware of any major crashes as of 12:30 p.m. No one was seriously injured in the South Royalton tractor-trailer crash.
Later Friday, Law said, he expected that based on forecasts the weather conditions to change to heavy snowfall of 1 to 2 inches an hour. He said with that rate of snowfall, in addition to road conditions, visibility for motorists also becomes a concern.
He encouraged those who don’t need to travel to stay off the roads until the storm passes.
All state offices closed completely at noon, according to an email the Department of Human Resources sent at 11 a.m.
“State offices will not be open for business and only specifically authorized employees should report for work as required,” the email states. “All employees designated as essential personnel for reduced workforce situations including Corrections, Public Safety, Institutions and Transportation Maintenance should report to work as normally required.”
Burlington International Airport had to close its runway from 5 to 8 a.m. this morning due to ice, Gene Richards, the director of aviation, said.
“We’re reopened but are still fighting the battle,” he said around 11 a.m. Friday.
Richards said that as of 11 a.m., around 70% of flights coming and going from the airport Friday morning had been canceled. Ice and freezing rain that was hitting the airport earlier this morning has transitioned to heavy snow, he said, and visibility is poor.
Richards said early afternoon there was some activity at the airport, and nine departing flights were still scheduled, all of which were delayed and later canceled.
The snow is a welcome break after a season with too many days of rain, said Lindsay DesLauriers, the president of Bolton Valley Resort. While Bolton, with an elevation of 2,100 feet at base, has had snow cover this winter, DesLauriers said that’s not always apparent to skiers when it’s raining in Burlington.
“It’s a different climate up here, and we’ve been experiencing the psychological impact of the difference between the flats and the mountains,” DesLauriers said of the season so far. “It’s a challenge.
“But I’m looking out my window and it’s puking snow, so we love it,” she said Friday.
JJ Toland, a Jay Peak spokesperson, said Friday afternoon that the northern Vermont ski resort had already received about a foot of snow and was expecting to receive another 6 inches to a foot before the end of the storm.
He said the Friday snowfall should provide a big boost in day skiers from the local areas to join those from further away who have already booked weekend visits to the resort. “It’s like a force multiplier,” Toland said.
The winter weather so far has been a mixed bag in southern Vermont, said Jamie Storrs, a spokesman based in southern Vermont for Vail resorts, which owns Mount Snow. He emphasized that the company’s snowmaking capacity has kept surface conditions reliable in most weather, not including rain. He added that on a snowy Friday, the valley was already full of weekend visitors.
“We’ve gotten some mixed conditions, but we’ve been quick on the resurface,” said Storrs of the winter so far. “So other than the days when we’ve gotten the dreaded r-word, it’s been all right.”
Burlington has a parking ban in effect starting at 10 p.m. tonight and going to 7 a.m. Saturday morning throughout the city, except for downtown. The ban is in effect downtown from midnight to 6 a.m. Saturday.
Vehicles remaining on the street during the parking ban may be towed and issued a $125 ticket. Free overnight parking is offered at city-owned parking garages, the Marketplace Garage, College St. Garage and Lakeview Garage.
Anne Wallace Allen contributed reporting to this story.
