Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Burlington, VT
Issued by NWS Burlington, VT
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077 FXUS61 KBTV 091331 AFDBTV Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Burlington VT 831 AM EST Tue Dec 9 2025 .SYNOPSIS... After a cold start to the morning, temperatures will quickly rise today as southerly flow develops. Widespread light snowfall will move through tomorrow into tomorrow night, with accumulations generally expected to be in the two to five inch range. The colder and active pattern will continue into next week with a few additional chances for snow, though no big snowstorms are expected. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/... As of 830 AM EST Tuesday...Just sending out a quick update here to update hourly temps and dew points. It`s quite cold out there, and we want to make sure those heading out this morning are prepared for the frigid temperatures and wind chills. Stay warm! Previous discussion...Mostly ideal radiational conditions have developed tonight, causing temperatures to drop quickly. Everywhere outside the areas immediately along Lake Champlain have fallen below 0, with many areas outside the broad valleys around and below -10. Temperatures will drop a few more degrees in most places before the night is over. While southerly flow will begin to develop late in the night, it should not have a significant effect on impeding the radiational cooling. While this cold is uncommon for the time of year, it is not unprecedented. Plattsburgh looks to have broken two record lows already. It was -11 right at 1159/1200, breaking the -7 record on 12/08 and the -10 record on 12/09. The cold temperatures and relatively light winds have allowed a lake cloud to develop on the mostly unfrozen Lake Champlain. It has formed over the southern waters and it will gradually expand northward as the night goes on. It may move into areas adjacent to the lake in the early morning. Increased southerly flow and associated mixing/drying, along with warming temperatures, should cause it to dissipate during the day. An area of warm air advection aloft will move through this evening and cause a period of light snow. Very dry low levels will likely cause a lot of it to evaporate before it reaches the ground, but there should still be some very light snow. && .SHORT TERM /WEDNESDAY THROUGH THURSDAY/... As of 137 AM EST Tuesday...A quick moving storm system moves through Wednesday and Wednesday night, tracking up the St. Lawrence Valley. Warm air advection should cause a quick period of moderate to heavy snow on the front end. Here, snowfall rates could briefly reach around an inch per hour. The snow will become lighter for the rest of the day and into the night, and a dry slot moves in for the evening. Strong southwesterly winds will cause downsloping and mostly end the precipitation in the Champlain and Connecticut valleys in the afternoon. Gusts in the 25 to 35 mph range are possible in the Champlain Valley as enough of a southerly component and an inversion below ridgetops should allow for efficient channeling. Temperatures will rise slightly above freezing in the broad valleys, but steep lapse rates should mostly keep the precipitation snow. As the center of the low passes to the east, northwest flow develops and it should cause a brief period of upslope snow Wednesday night. Overall, totals in the two to five inch range are generally expected. The lake effect band should stay to the south of our northern New York zones, though the moisture will still enhance totals in the central and southern Greens. Drier conditions should prevail during the day Thursday, but moisture looks to back down from the north and reinvigorate the upslope snow in the evening. && .LONG TERM /THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY/... As of 137 AM EST Tuesday...Primary highlights for the long term include upslope snow showers on Thurs night into Friday, another light snow event on the weekend, followed by another very cold airmass late Sunday into early next week. First item wl be a classic upslope fluff event on Thurs night into Friday, as progged 850mb temps fall btwn -12F and -20F with lingering 925mb to 500mb rh >70%. Latest GFS/ECMWF show the closed 700/500mb circulation becoming vertically stacked just north of the International Border, which should promote favorable 925mb to 850mb winds of 25 to 40 knots, resulting in additional upslope accumulating snowfall thru Thurs night. Have bumped pops into the high likely range for Thurs night with additional accumulations of 2 to 4 inches of fluff, but localized 4 to 6 inches possible from Mansfield to Jay Peak. We will continue to monitor depth of moisture to fine tune snowfall amounts, but moderately strong caa should help squeeze out remaining moisture in the mtns. Next fast moving clipper like system associated with positively tilted mid/upper lvl trof arrives late Sat into Sun. Did note the 00z ECMWF is a bit more aggressive with sharpening trof and develops a slightly stronger area of sfc low pres along the mid Atlantic into southern New England. The GFS/UKMET and CMC show more of a clipper like system with a period of light snow late Sat into Sunday, followed by another very cold airmass late Sunday into early next week. This airmass looks to be associated with bitterly cold wind chill values as progged 850mb temps drop btwn -22F and -25F with gusty northwest winds. Cold headlines are likely needed for Sunday night into Monday. This wl be an advection type of cold on Sunday night, followed by radiational cooling on Monday night into Tues with building sfc high pres. Given latest trends additional lowering of temps is likely on Sunday through Tuesday of next week, where highs may struggle to reach 10F in many spots on Monday, with values well below zero again on both Sunday and Monday nights. Cold air wl help to squeeze out a few upslope snow showers on Sunday into Sunday night, before column becomes too dry. && .AVIATION /14Z TUESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY/... Through 12Z Wednesday...GOES 19 IR satl and radar shows lake enhanced clouds and flurries impacting the central/northern CPV at this time. Based on crnt trends this activity should not impact either PBG or BTV this morning. Also, watching some lower clouds with MVFR cigs near KART, which may impact SLK for a few hours this morning, otherwise VFR conditions prevail at all sites thru 00z. Light snow with a trend toward MVFR vis and VFR cigs develops around 00z MSS and spreads into the CPV taf sites between 01-03z this evening. Mostly MVFR vis, but briefly heavier snow shower activity may produce 20 to 30 minutes of IFR, greatest potential is at SLK. Light snow end by 06z, with additional IFR light snow developing by 12z Weds at MSS. South to southwest winds increase 5 to 15 knots with localized gusts 15 to 20 knots this aftn. Outlook... Wednesday: MVFR/IFR conditions possible. Definite SN. Wednesday Night: Mainly MVFR, with local IFR possible. Chance SHSN. Thursday: VFR. Chance SHSN. Thursday Night: Mainly VFR, with local MVFR possible. Slight chance SN. Friday: VFR. NO SIG WX. Friday Night: Mainly VFR, with local MVFR possible. Slight chance SN. Saturday: VFR. Chance SN. && .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...Myskowski NEAR TERM...Myskowski/Storm SHORT TERM...Myskowski LONG TERM...Taber AVIATION...Taber EQUIPMENT...Team BTV