


Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Burlington, VT
Issued by NWS Burlington, VT
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565 FXUS61 KBTV 181116 AFDBTV Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Burlington VT 716 AM EDT Sat Oct 18 2025 .SYNOPSIS... Today will feature a mix of sun and clouds, along with the start of a warming trend which will continue through the weekend, featuring late-summerlike temperatures on Sunday along with breezy conditions. Widespread rain Sunday night into Monday will follow, along with a return to cooler and cloudier conditions. Most of the showers next week will be light with little impact on ongoing drought conditions, but fire weather concerns will be limited. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/... As of 148 AM EDT Saturday...Ridging will continue to shift eastward across the region today into tonight, keeping the weather dry. A weak warm front lifts up to our west in the meantime, leading to mainly just increased clouds, especially over northern NY. Some light returns have been noted on radar already this morning, but given the dry airmass that`s in place, don`t anticipate much precipitation, perhaps just a few sprinkles at most. Light and variable winds will pick up a bit out of the south late in the day and overnight as a low-level jet moves over the region. After a chilly start to the day, expect afternoon highs to top out in the 60s in most spots. The increasing south flow overnight will limit cooling, so don`t anticipate tonight to be as cold as the past couple of nights. Lows will mainly in the 40s, though some of the more sheltered locations east of the Greens and in the Adirondacks could dip into the upper 30s. && .SHORT TERM /SUNDAY THROUGH MONDAY/... As of 148 AM EDT Saturday...The ridge axis will push to our east on Sunday, setting us up for a mild and breezy day ahead of a low pressure system incoming from the west. It`s a favorable setup for gusty south to southeast winds channeling under a low inversion. Gusts of 30 to 35 mph will be possible in the Champlain Valley, along with the northwestern slopes of the Adirondacks and Greens, with localized spots perhaps approaching 40 mph at times. Gusts should ramp up during the daylight hours Sunday, but they could persist right through Sunday night, especially for areas from the Champlain Valley eastward as rain will be slow to arrive there (more on this below). While moisture will gradually increase through the day, near critical fire conditions are expected, and any fires that start could quickly become difficult to control. The other impact from the increasing south flow will be warm temperatures, more typical of late summer in some locations rather than mid fall. The St Lawrence Valley in particular will be quite mild owing to downsloping off the Adirondacks; near record highs are expected as temperatures will warm well into the 70s and perhaps close to 80F. Elsewhere, it won`t be quite as warm but still very pleasant with highs generally in the mid 60s to low/mid 70s. The parent low pressure will slide by well to our north Sunday night into Monday, dragging a cold front along in its wake. Meanwhile, the upper trough will dig into the Great Lakes and become negatively tilted, eventually forming a closed low nearly directly overhead by Monday afternoon. The aforementioned south/southeast flow will advect moisture northward ahead of the incoming front and upper trough, and expect a swath of rain to push eastward in response. Given the dry airmass that will be in place, it will take a while for the column to moisten up enough to allow precipitation to reach the ground, but expect rain to finally move into northern NY near or shortly after midnight and then spread eastward into VT by daybreak Monday. Lows will be in the mid 40s to mid 50s. The frontal boundary will slow on Monday as a triple-point low develops in response to the deepening upper trough overhead. Widespread showers are expected for much of the day, though there may be a bit of a break mid-late afternoon with a bit of drier air wrapping into the developing surface low. The rain could be moderate to briefly heavy at times. Given the strong upper low, a few rumbles of thunder will be possible, though expected coverage (or lack thereof) was not enough to include the mention of thunderstorms in the forecast at this time. Winds should abate somewhat with the steadier precipitation, but gusts in excess of 25 mph will be possible, especially if we do see any drier breaks. Rainfall totals through Monday evening will range from a quarter to half inch over the Northeast Kingdom to a half inch to 1.25 inch elsewhere; the highest totals will be over the High Peaks and along the spine of the central/southern Greens. With ample cloud cover and the cold pool aloft, Monday will be quite a bit colder than Sunday, though highs will be in the upper 50s to mid 60s, which is still near to slightly above normal. && .LONG TERM /MONDAY NIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY/... As of 148 AM EDT Saturday...Continued shower activity is expected Monday night into Tuesday morning as dynamic upper low embedded in a negative tilt trough shifts overhead. The cold core of the system will be overhead with continued convergence and abundant moisture allowing for an additional few hundredths to 0.20". There`s some disagreement on how quickly the system lifts north, but by midday Tuesday, it should be well north with showers scattering out, especially over Vermont. A larger upper low will be right on the heels of the first departing system. It too will also begin to acquire a negative tilt. An embedded vort max appears likely to round the second upper low as it reaches the region. The negative tilt will allow a combined plume of Gulf and Atlantic moisture to meet along a stretched out frontal axis. The air mass behind the second system has sub-540dam 1000- 500mb thicknesses swinging southwards while a strongly occluded front approaches from a parent low over the Great Lakes. Secondary cyclogenesis appears likely against the strong baroclinic contrast between the air mass surging south and the warm Gulf Stream waters. The vort will provide additional support for height falls that should allow the low to take off to the north alongside that upper vort with a surge of rain. After that, the upper low begins to move towards the Gulf of St. Lawrence. As mentioned, we will have sub-540dam thicknesses as the system pulls away, and the 925mb 0 isotherm appears likely to approach our region Thursday into Friday in the cool northwesterly flow. Mountain snow is looking quite likely with some scenarios suggesting the freezing level could drop to about 1500 foot elevation. But looking across the spectrum of scenarios, it looks like about 2500 ft is the most likely. That`s still enough for some wet snow atop mountain summits by Thursday. High pressure will begin to nose in next weekend. We`ll be glad to have several opportunities for rain and to get a little bit of snow started on the mountains! All told, probabilistic data suggests additional rains of a quarter and a half inch, mainly mitigated by the relative fast nature of flow. Temperatures will be fairly close to climatological norms in the 50s during the day with a range of upper 20s to lower 40s throughout the extended. && .AVIATION /11Z SATURDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY/... Through 12Z Sunday...Clouds between 4000-9000 ft agl are continuing to shift east. Fog had developed at KMPV, but greater cloud cover is causing it to dissipate. Overall, light and variable flow will become southeast to south, but remaining around 3 to 7 knots, with clouds likely to break up to some degree. At KMSS, this will become northeast. Some virga may be noted on radar at times, but activity will struggle to reach the surface, if at all. Winds will remain about the same overnight or even increase approaching 12z Sunday. Outlook... Sunday: VFR. NO SIG WX. Sunday Night: Mainly VFR, with local MVFR possible. Windy with gusts to 30 kt. Chance SHRA. Monday: Mainly MVFR, with local IFR possible. Windy with gusts to 30 kt. Definite SHRA. Monday Night: Mainly MVFR, with areas VFR possible. Chance SHRA. Tuesday: MVFR. Slight chance SHRA. Tuesday Night: Mainly VFR, with local MVFR possible. Likely SHRA. Wednesday: Mainly VFR, with local MVFR possible. Definite SHRA. && .BTV WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... VT...None. NY...None. && $$ SYNOPSIS...Hastings NEAR TERM...Hastings SHORT TERM...Hastings LONG TERM...Haynes AVIATION...Haynes