A near miss it would seem is on the way to the our region by Thursday. A storm system will trek out of the north central U.S. through the night Monday- check out the image to the left showing the path of winter storm headlines in pink and purple. This energy, combined with an upper level wave of low pressure will merge, allowing a band of heavy rain and snow to develop from the mid west to lower Great lakes and then some. By very early Wednesday, another area of low pressure will form near the Carolinas, and then travel north/northeastward through the Mid Atlantic states. This will bring heavy rain and snow to this portion of the country as well, along with high winds and coastal flood concerns. (see snowfall forecast, left- note this is only through Wednesday evening)
That brings us to OUR region. The question stands, just how far northward will the precipitation extend? It would seem as though our stagnant low that has been parked to our northeast for days will help initiate at least some light snowfall later Wednesday across southern Vermont as a final spoke of energy pivots through the northeast. If the mid Atlantic storm travels far enough north, then we may be able to spark a steadier band of snowfall by early Thursday, especially in southern VT and southern NH. Some models say, "yes, this will happen"...others carry to storm out to sea before traveling far enough north to bother us.
Where does my forecast land? Somewhere in the middle ground. For now, I am choosing to side with some minor impacts and accumulation in southern VT, southern NH, but the bulk of precip will stay far to our south. For now, an early estimate maximum of 3-6" snow is where my brain lands for far southern VT and NH, mostly in and south of the southern White Mountains.
No doubt, this storm will bring large impacts to most of the northeastern quarter of the country over the next couple of days. Got a flight? I'd double check it before heading to the airport.
Check our local forecast here as the storm takes shape.
