Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Burlington, VT
Issued by NWS Burlington, VT
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072 FXUS61 KBTV 051758 AFDBTV Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Burlington VT 1258 PM EST Fri Dec 5 2025 .SYNOPSIS... Frigid temperatures across the region will moderate to afternoon highs in the teens and 20s today as southerly winds increase on the backside of exiting high pressure. Dry conditions prevail through early Saturday morning before lake effect snow showers develop downwind of Lake Ontario for the afternoon and evening. A clipper system will bring a renewed chance of widespread snowfall Sunday night into Monday with continued unsettled weather into next week. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH SATURDAY/... As of 1257 PM EST Friday...Quiet and unseasonably cold conditions will continue today, though with southerly warm advective flow, some locations in south-central Vermont are exceeding guidance. Highs today will generally be in the upper teens to near 20, with some low 20s in the northern Champlain Valley, St. Lawrence Valley, and south central Vermont. Southerly flow will also help to keep winds on the breezy side in the south to north oriented valleys. Gusts up to 20 mph are possible through this evening before an inversion sets in and surface winds weaken. Tonight will be warmer than last with subtle warm advection behind our departing high and increased cloud cover. Radiative cooling will less impressive tonight overall, though temperatures will still be on the cold side with values in the single digits to low teens. Our next chance at precipitation will be from a weak shortwave Saturday afternoon into Saturday evening that will sweep across the northern portions of the region. Southwesterly flow ahead of an associated front Saturday morning into the early afternoon will help develop a narrow weak lake effect band downwind of Lake Ontario into portions of southern St. Lawrence County. Snow accumulations will be light to only about an inch or so, particularly along the NY-37 corridor in southern St. Lawrence County. As the front passes through winds will turn more west/northwest dropping the lake effect band south out of the region. The best forcing along the cold front will be north of the region with some drier air ahead of it as well. Continued southerly warm advection will also increase temperatures to at or near freezing by Saturday afternoon, though with snow on the ground, and wet bulbing possible, any precipitation that falls will should be snow. Total snow areawide Saturday evening will be light and generally non-impactful (<1" for many places). Winds will be breezy to gusty Saturday afternoon, mainly near the International Border and Champlain and St. Lawrence Valleys from channeled south/southwesterly flow, before the front passes through. Behind the front, quieter conditions will prevail with temperatures falling back to single digits in northern New York where caa will be more impressive, and into the low to mid teens across Vermont. && .SHORT TERM /SATURDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT/... As of 1257 PM EST Friday...The end of the weekend will turn snowier as a more defined system will traverse across the region. A clipper system will begin to move into the region Sunday early afternoon with what looks to be an all snow event. Trends with the system have brought the center of the low a bit to the north away from southern Vermont and more so into central and northern Vermont and New York. Overrunning along the northern periphery of the low will be centered along the northern Adirondacks and central Vermont and spine of the Greens. As a result the latest forecast generally shows 2-3" in portions of northern New York and 1-2" for central to northern Vermont, with the higher amounts up to 3" colocated with the spine of the Greens. Further track shifts will cause this corridor of light snow to fluctuate north or south so keep an eye to the forecast over the next day or two. Southern Vermont will be near the freezing mark and with any further northerly nudges meaning less snow in general. Overall, this snow looks to be mainly non-impactful with most of the region only seeing a 25% chance of 2" or more of snow. Some 850mb frontogenesis could cause some localized moderate rates of snow, but the positioning of these hi-res features will need additional updates. The timing of the best snow rates will likely be Sunday night around midnight. Snow will continue into Monday morning, but will turn lighter by sunrise as the system begins to depart. Temperatures will once again fall Sunday night into the single digits to near 0 outside of the Champlain Valley where the Lake should limit temperatures from falling below 10 degrees. && .LONG TERM /MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY/... As of 1257 PM EST Friday...The weak trough or barely 1010mb low will slide out by Monday morning. There are some speed discrepancies, but given that a modest count of ensembles indicate lingering snow showers, boosted PoPs above NBM, especially for northern mountains. We`ll soon be in the range of high res, and it should be noted some guidance holds on to snow as late as 00z Tuesday. Arctic air will filter in behind the system, and so Monday`s highs will remain in the 10s, with perhaps a few 20 readings in southern Vermont. Another cold night awaits Monday night into Tuesday. However, high pressure will be shifting east and some high clouds will slide in from the west. So for now, the forecast represents the NBM forecast, which is still plenty cold in the single digits above and below zero. As we get closer, we`ll monitor how much cloud cover there will be and whether we can again experience chillier conditions areawide. Conditions will moderate quickly as the amplitude of weather systems increases some. In the 500mb heights, there`s a trough swinging through late Tuesday with possibly some light snow, and then a larger system Wednesday night into Thursday, and yet another on late Friday. As the week wears on, temperatures will become increasingly closer to the freezing mark. So its certainly possible rain mixes in depending on low pressure tracks for the latter half of next week. && .AVIATION /18Z FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY/... Through 18Z Saturday...Prevailing VFR is expected with high clouds and south winds. Wind speeds will be fastest in the Champlain Valley due to channeled flow. So KPBG and KBTV will have sustained winds at 9 to 13 knots and gusts approaching 20 knots at times. Elsewhere, wind speeds will be 5 to 9 knots. After 00z, winds will begin to slow. Beyond 10z, winds will pick up and likely exceed this afternoon`s gusts. Additionally, ceilings will lower towards 3500- 7000 ft agl over the course of the day and trend towards MVFR/IFR beyond 18z Saturday. Outlook... Saturday Night: Mainly VFR, with local MVFR possible. Slight chance SHSN. Sunday: VFR. Slight chance SN. Sunday Night: Mainly VFR, with areas MVFR possible. Chance SN. Monday: Mainly VFR, with local MVFR possible. Slight chance SHSN. Monday Night: VFR. NO SIG WX. Tuesday: VFR. Chance SHSN. Tuesday Night: Mainly MVFR, with areas VFR possible. Chance SHSN. Wednesday: Mainly VFR, with areas MVFR and IFR possible. Likely SHSN, Likely SHRA. && .EQUIPMENT... NOAA Weather Radio station WXM-44, transmitting from Mt. Ascutney, Vermont, on frequency 162.475 MHz is non-operational at this time. NWS technicians have diagnosed the problem, but repairs will likely not be able to occur for quite some time due to circumstances beyond our control. Therefore, the time of return to service is currently unknown. The following NOAA Weather Radio transmitters may be able to provide service during this outage: WWG 50 from Burke Mtn, VT at 162.425 MHz and WNG 546 from Hanover, NH at 162.525 MHz. Equipment malfunctions at the Colchester Reef meteorological station will likely leave it inoperable for an extended period of time. This site is not serviced by the NWS. Technicians do not currently have an estimated return to service for this station. Use extra caution when navigating the broad waters of Lake Champlain, and please contact us if you observe winds significantly deviating from the forecast. && .BTV WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... VT...None. NY...None. && $$ SYNOPSIS...Danzig NEAR TERM...Danzig SHORT TERM...Danzig LONG TERM...Haynes AVIATION...Haynes EQUIPMENT...Team BTV