Record-Breaking Early Snow Blankets Vermont and Upstate New York, Coldest Since 2010

Residents in parts of Vermont and upstate New York awoke Thursday to winter-like conditions, with the first snowfall in Vermont’s higher elevations in 14 years.

 

Snowfall overnight brought 12 inches of snow to Mount Mansfield in Vermont and 15 inches on Whiteface Mountain, in the Adirondack Mountains in New York.

 

According to the National Weather Service of Burlington in Vermont, the snowy weather has tied 2010 as the first date when the snow depth on Mount Mansfield reached one foot.

 

Snowfall of up to two feet is expected in the Rocky Mountains through Saturday.

 

From Oklahoma to Maine, millions of people felt the coldest air this season on Thursday morning. Frost and freeze warnings were issued for 20 eastern states or roughly half the country.

 

 

Frost alerts have also been issued for Little Rock in Arkansas, Birmingham in Alabama, and Atlanta. Asheville in North Carolina, still recovering from the devastating floods brought on by Hurricane Helene a month ago, was placed under frost alerts Thursday.

 

Tampa Bay in Florida also experienced a chilly morning, with temperatures dropping to the mid-50s.

 

The cold snap is expected to last only a short time. The eastern half of America is about to get warmer. Over the weekend, temperatures are expected to rise to 70s in parts of the Northeast and 80s elsewhere.

 

 

Tampa, however, could see temperatures of 83 degrees on Sunday.

 

The Pacific Northwest is set to be hit by the first major winter storm this season on Thursday. Fire weather alerts are being issued along the West Coast ahead of this storm due to gusty winds and conditions that are dry.

 

San Francisco Bay Area, Northern California, and other parts of the state have received red flag warnings indicating elevated fire danger. Also, red flag warnings are in effect for parts of Colorado, Minnesota, and Nebraska. Extreme fire danger is predicted for Nebraska due to warm, gusty, and dry winds.