After a weekend of projected extreme cold temperatures, Vermont is expected to be hit with heavy snowfall as a massive winter storm rolls over the state.
The National Weather Service is predicting between 8 inches of snow in the north part of the state and 12 to 18 inches in south and central Vermont. Temperatures are expected to drop to well below zero over the weekend and snow storms are predicted to last from Sunday until early morning Tuesday.
“Every truck that we have with a plow and a wing … will be deployed for this storm,” Greg Smith, a district transportation administrator for the Vermont Agency of Transportation, said of the state’s snow removal fleet.
“There won’t be any trucks sitting.”
Temperatures are anticipated to drop Friday night as an arctic front crosses over the state, with wind chills expected to be as low as minus 40 degrees in some areas, per the weather service forecasts.
But as soon as Vermonters get a slight respite from the subzero temperature on Sunday, the top edge of a massive winter storm that stretches from Texas through the Carolinas and up to Maine will bring the largest snowfall of the season, according to Scott Whittier, a warning coordination meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in Burlington.
While the snowfall is not anticipated to set any records for Vermont, it will be the largest of the last few seasons, according to Whittier. Whittier has not seen a multistate winter storm of this magnitude hit Vermont in quite some time, he said.
The weather service has already issued an extreme cold advisory for all of Vermont, and Whittier expects that a winter storm warning and an advisory to drivers to limit travel is likely to be issued for Sunday and Monday.
Vermont’s unhoused and unsheltered population is most imminently at risk as temperatures drop, according to officials. Emergency shelters and warming centers began mobilizing earlier this week.
Eric Forand, Vermont Emergency Management director with the Department of Public Safety, said he and his staff have already begun coordinating efforts to set up emergency shelters across the state, focusing on informing vulnerable people of shelter locations. Forand recommended that residents prepare their home heating sources for the extended cold snap and asked that neighbors check in on elderly community members.
Vermont travelers should expect significant snow on the roads Monday, according to Smith. The Vermont Agency of Transportation will prioritize snow removal on major highways and travel arteries throughout the state, Smith said.
Smith urged people to limit their travel during the snowstorm, but if needed, to travel at lower speeds and stay clear of snow plows. He added that if a traveler does become stranded, they should stay in their vehicle and call emergency services rather than venturing into the cold.
Vermont State Police also announced on Friday that troopers will conduct overnight “freeze patrols” on highways over the weekend to look for stranded motorists.
Meanwhile, Smith feels his crew is ready.
“We’re doing everything we can, pulling out all the stops,” Smith said. “But that’s pretty typical for us.”
