The National Weather Service predicted 3 to 6 inches of snow will fall on Vermont starting Thursday afternoon.
The storm is predicted to start in southern Vermont around 1 to 2 p.m. and deliver moderate to heavy snowfall on Thursday night, the service said. Jessica Neiles, a meteorologist for the service, said some higher elevations could receive up to 9 inches of snow.
She said the storm could affect commuting on Thursday evening and even Friday morning, depending on how much snow is cleared off the roads overnight. “Follow the latest forecast and plan for extra time in the commute, just because snow on the road is always going to cause some issues,” she said.
Snowfall was predicted to turn into lighter snow showers during the day on Friday, she said.
If the storm holds up to the forecast, it would be the highest snow accumulation in most of Vermont since December, according to National Weather Service data. Neiles said Burlington’s snow total so far this season is 17 inches below average for this time of year. “This will help to build it back up,” she said.
Two more storms are forecasted in the next week: one on Sunday night into Monday, and another “midweek” next week, she said.
“We don't have totals yet for Sunday night into Monday, and then the next storm is even further out … but if we could get similar totals from all of them, we could start to creep back up towards normal,” she said.
This year’s weather has been unusually warm as well. Nieles said Burlington has been 8.6 degrees Fahrenheit above normal this month. Climate models predict the region will remain warmer than normal for the next six to 10 days, but the eight- to 14-day outlook is “actually below normal temperatures for the first time in a while,” she said.