St. Albans, Vermont 7 Day Weather Forecast

Wx Forecast - Wx Discussion - Wx Aviation

495
FXUS61 KBTV 152335
AFDBTV

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Burlington VT
735 PM EDT Sun Mar 15 2026

.WHAT HAS CHANGED...
As of 249 PM EDT Sunday...

Expanded areal coverage of wind advisory to cover our entire
forecast area and extended the time frame until 11 AM Tuesday.

&&

.KEY MESSAGES...
As of 249 PM EDT Sunday...

1. High wind warning and wind advisories continue for multiple
rounds of gusty winds expected Monday morning through Tuesday
morning with the strongest winds expected along the northern Dacks
and north-western slopes of the Greens. Isolated to scattered
power outages are possible.

2. Pockets of freezing rain expected east of the Greens late
this evening into Monday, which could cause areas of slick travel
during the Monday morning commute.

3. A strong cold front will bring very changeable conditions
Monday night into Tuesday, with rapidly falling temperatures and
rain transitioning to snow. River rises are likely, but flooding is
not anticipated at this time. Another period of strong winds is
expected across northern New York in the wake of the cold front.

4. Seasonable weather expected for the latter half of next
week, with a few chances for showers.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
As of 249 PM EDT Sunday...

KEY MESSAGE 1: Sfc analysis places deepening 992mb low pres over nw IL,
while 1034mb high pres is anchored over the Gulf of ME. As sfc low
pres deepens to near 980mb by 12z Monday, the 925mb to 850mb wind
fields strengthen acrs our cwa late tonight into Monday morning.
Little change has occurred in our initial thinking for high winds on
Monday morning with progged 925mb winds of 75 to 80 knots over the
northern Dacks and 55 to 70 knots over the northern Greens, while
850mb winds are in the 70 to 85 knot range. Still some uncertainty
on mixing potential with band of precip expanding northward
associated with strongest low level wind fields and sounding data
showing a weak/shallow inversion. However, did note the HRRRX at
Malone sounding has 66 knots at 900` and 60 knots at 500` with bl
sustained winds of 32 knots at 12z Monday. HREF prob of wind gusts
>55 mph is 90 to 100% over northern NY on Monday morning. Thinking
the warm downslope flow, should help to enhance mixing of stronger
winds in the 500 to 1000` layer toward the sfc on Monday morning,
especially along the Route 11 corridor from Malone to Ellenburg.
Second wind max of gusts 45 to 55 mph wl occur along the western
slopes from near Mendon to East Middlebury to North Underhill to
Montgomery on Monday morning. Difficult to determine how far off the
western slopes the winds develop, but a few gusts toward the
immediate CPV are possible. Much lighter winds are expected over
central/eastern VT, especially in the protected valleys on Monday
morning.

Next period of gusty winds are possible on Monday aftn, especially
as temps warm into the mid 50s to mid 60s. This wl increase mixing
heights, allowing for localized gusts in favorable channeled
southerly flow of 40 to 50 mph. Soundings support this thinking at
BTV/RUT and Highgate, with slightly lower values at MPV/MVL and SLK.
Still with 40 to 55 knots between 1500 and 3000 feet on Monday aftn,
it won`t take much mixing for isolated gusts in the 40 to 50 mph
range, especially with warm bl temps and better mixing profiles.

As a strong sfc cold frnt approaches our cwa late Monday into Monday
night, the progged 850mb jet restrengthens acrs central/southern and
eastern VT at 60 to 85 knots. The strongest winds are closely
associated with developing band of rain with heavier convective
elements, so the amount of mixing to the sfc is tricky. However,
given warm and humid air mass ahead of boundary, expect some of the
stronger convective elements wl have the potential to produce
localized gusts in the 40 to 50 mph range on Monday night. Greatest
potential wl be over VT. A period of moderate to locally heavy
rainfall is likely with fropa, given some weak instability, pw
values btwn 0.75 and 1.0", which are 3 to 4 STD above normal, and
nose of llvl jet helping to enhance moisture transport/advection
into our cwa. Thinking rainfall in the 0.50 to 1.0 range, with
isolated higher amounts possible. This combined with additional
snowmelt wl cause some rises to near bankful on a few rivers.

KEY MESSAGE 2: A secondary warm front with low level easterly flow of
Atlantic moisture and deeper moisture advection with southerly winds
aloft wl produce a period of light rain late tonight into Monday
morning acrs our fa. Cold air wl remain trapped in the
deeper/protected valleys of central/eastern and northern VT during
the pre-dawn hours, where sfc temps wl be in the 29-32F range. This
wl likely produce pockets of freezing rain with just a minor light
glaze possible in a few colder spots. The areal coverage/amounts and
impacts should be limited, therefore no advisory, but a SPS maybe
needed for several hours on Monday morning. The HREF shows only a
small portion of the central/southern Greens and valley pockets of
50% to 70% prob of ice accumulation >0.04". This precip wl be
associated with a strong south/southeast jet at 850mb of 60 to 75
knots, so anticipate some upslope enhancement and downslope
shadowing to the qpf amounts on Monday morning acrs our cwa. QPF
generally in the 0.10 to 0.25" range with localized higher amounts
eastern Essex, NY and southern Greens near Ludlow.

KEY MESSAGE 3: A strong cold front crossing the region Monday night
into Tuesday will continue to bring multiple weather hazards to the
region. While strong south winds and very mild temperatures will
exist ahead of the front, conditions will change very quickly as the
front moves through. Temperatures will sharply drop with the frontal
passage, plummeting 15 to 20 degrees in a short period of time.
These colder temperatures will allow for rain to quickly transition
to snow, although there could be some of a wintry mix with all
different precipitation types possible during the transition period,
but any mix is expected to be short-lived. In general, snowfall
amounts are expected to be light given the quick-nature of this
system, with most locations seeing a dusting while the spine of the
Green Mountains will see an inch or so. Higher amounts are expected
across portions of northern New York where some enhancement from
Lake Ontario is expected, but totals are still only 1 to 3 inches at
this time. While river rises are expected across the region,
flooding is not expected at this time, especially since we`ve
already lost a lot of our snowpack. Current rainfall amounts
expected with this system are generally anywhere from 0.5 to 1.0
inches, which will lead to some river rises and a few rivers
reaching bankful. However, we`ll still need to watch for any ice
movement/jams on waterways in the Northeast Kingdom and far northern
NY were river ice still remains. Another period of strong winds is
expected in the wake of the cold front as the center of low pressure
continues to pull away from the region. The strongest winds
currently look to be across northern New York where channeled
southwesterly flow will allow for wind gusts of at least 30 to 45
mph early Tuesday morning.

KEY MESSAGE 4: Although Wednesday will be cold, temperatures should
gradually increase through the end of next week, with highs in the
30s and 40s and lows in the teens and 20s by the weekend. High
pressure looks to build across the region , bringing a stretch of
quieter weather for the middle of next week. A few shortwaves look
to traverse across the region due to nearly zonal flow aloft,
bringing a few additional chances for showers throughout the week.
At this time, these disturbances all look pretty weak, with the
details still uncertain at this time. Temperatures would support
some mountain snow with any shower chances next week, with more
rain/snow in the lower elevations.

&&

.AVIATION /00Z MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY/...
Through 00Z Tuesday...Pockets of freezing rain are expected
east of the Greens and in the St. Lawrence Valley late this
evening into Monday. High Wind Warnings and Wind Advisories
continue for multiple rounds of gusty winds Monday morning
through Tuesday morning with the strongest winds expected along
the northern Adirondacks and north-western slopes of the Greens.

VFR conditions are expected to prevail across all terminals
over the next several hours, with ceilings remaining above 5000
ft AGL this evening. A weak trough will continue to lift across
the region this evening, bringing drier air into the forecast
area behind it. Winds will also become more southeasterly and
rapidly increase behind the trough, with intermittent gusts 15
to 30 knots becoming more consistent over the next couple
hours. By around 02Z-12Z Monday, we`ll see regular, widespread
gusts 30-40 knots, with south-southeasterly gusts 40-50 knots
likely at SLK during the period from 09Z through 13Z. Wind gusts
25+ knots should persist through 00Z Tuesday. LLWS is expected,
with a strong jet of 60-75kts, leading to LLWS at most
terminals for the remainder of the forecast period, with the
strongest LLWS expected at KSLK. MSS will be the only site to
start seeing LLWS decrease around 14Z-18Z Monday. Around 09Z-12Z
Monday, we anticipate steady rain to begin. The southerly winds
will certainly help advect in plenty of warmer air to keep
precipitation in the form of a liquid, though MSS has the
potential to see a period of freezing rain around this time as
it holds onto a more easterly wind and colder temperatures.
Areas of Vermont east of the Green Mountains could also see some
brief freezing rain or drizzle. Ceilings are expected to lower
associated with this precipitation, likely to around 2000-3000
feet above ground level. As a dry slot moves across the region
tomorrow afternoon, we could see ceilings lift slightly and
become more scattered, mainly across northern New York. Then,
another round of rain is likely to lower ceilings back to MVFR
levels, with the potential for IFR conditions most likely at
SLK, MPV, RUT and MSS toward the afternoon or evening period on
Monday.


Outlook...

Monday Night: Mainly MVFR, with local IFR possible. Windy with
gusts to 30 kt. Definite RA, Definite SN.
Tuesday: VFR. Windy with gusts to 30 kt. Slight chance SN.
Tuesday Night: VFR. NO SIG WX.
Wednesday: VFR. NO SIG WX.
Wednesday Night: VFR. NO SIG WX.
Thursday: Mainly VFR, with local MVFR possible. Chance RA, Slight
chance SN.
Thursday Night: MVFR/IFR conditions possible. Slight chance RA,
Slight chance SN.
Friday: Mainly VFR, with local IFR possible. Slight chance RA,
Slight chance SN.

&&

.CLIMATE...
A daily record high temperatures and calendar day precipitation
total are possible at KMSS (Massena, NY) on March 16th. The
present forecast of 67 would be the previous record of 65 set
just last year. Consensus forecast for KMSS is about 0.50-0.75",
which would beat 0.44" set in 1994.

&&

.EQUIPMENT...
The Colchester Reef meteorological station is out of service.
This site is not serviced by the NWS and there isn`t an
estimated return to service at present. Please contact us if you
observe winds significantly deviating from the recreational
forecast.

&&

.BTV WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
VT...Wind Advisory from 11 PM this evening to 11 AM EDT Tuesday for
     VTZ001>011-016>021.
NY...Wind Advisory from 11 PM this evening to 11 AM EDT Tuesday for
     NYZ026-028-029-035-087.
     High Wind Warning from 11 PM this evening to 11 AM EDT Tuesday
     for NYZ027-030-031-034.

&&

$$

WHAT HAS CHANGED...Taber
DISCUSSION...Taber/Kremer
AVIATION...Storm
CLIMATE...NWS BTV
EQUIPMENT...NWS BTV