More than a foot of snow is forecast to fall on central and northern Vermont this weekend, according to the National Weather Service.
The snowstorm is expected to start late Friday night and continue until late Saturday night, the weather service said. St. Johnsbury, Montpelier and other central Vermont communities are expected to receive about 15 inches of snow, while Burlington could get about 13 inches.
Southern Vermont is forecast to receive less snow, with Brattleboro expected to receive only 2 inches. Rodney Chai, the lead meteorologist for the weather service’s Burlington office, said the snow might turn into freezing rain in southern Vermont depending on the exact conditions.
Parts of Vermont might get 1 to 2 inches of snow per hour at the height of the storm on Saturday morning into early afternoon, Chai said. He advised drivers to take care — particularly tourists and late-season skiers who may not be accustomed to Vermont driving conditions.
Wind is not expected to be very strong, but scattered power outages might occur from snow overloading branches and power lines, he said.
The snow might start to melt almost as soon as the storm stops, Chai said. Temperatures are forecast to hit the mid-30s on Sunday, then rise to the 40s on Monday and Tuesday, according to the weather service.
“Outside of the mountains, if you have like a foot of snow on the ground, maybe by Sunday it will have compacted into 6 inches,” he said.
A storm of this size is “not unusual” for early spring, Chai said, but it might come as a surprise for Vermonters coming out of a warm winter.
“It is going to pack a punch,” he said.
