[A] winter storm that could bring over a foot of snow to parts of Vermont will make the Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning commutes hazardous.
The “panhandle hook” storm, so called because it originated as a low pressure system in the southern plains of the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles, will roll in from the southwest, said meteorologist Roger Hill. As it heads north, the storm will encounter a cold, high pressure system from Quebec, bringing between 6 and 13 inches of snow to Vermont, he said.
Southern Vermont will start to see snow between 1 and 2 p.m. Tuesday, with snow beginning to fall in Chittenden County and the Barre/Montpelier area between 3:30 and 4:30 as the storm continues to move northeast, said Hill. The snow will accumulate between three-quarters of an inch to an inch and a half, which will start to “coat roads” across the state during the Tuesday evening commute.
“I don’t see any issues (Tuesday) morning — it’s basically all during the last quarter of the day that things start to get dicey,” said Hill.
The snow will turn to mixed precipitation early Wednesday morning in southern Vermont, while the northern half of the state should stay sleet-free, said Hill. Burlington and St. Albans are expected to see 13 inches of snow, according to the National Weather Service.
Although “all bets are off” for snow totals in the southern half of the state, the freezing rain should not last long enough to cause widespread power outages, said Hill. The northwest slopes of the Green Mountains are expected to see high winds during the storm, he added.
Winter sports enthusiasts in central and northern parts of the state will be happy to see a fresh coating of snow after last week’s thaw, but Hill cautioned that the powder may not last long.
“We have a snow combination rainstorm that’s shaping up for the weekend and it may ruin a really good thing,” he said.
