182  
FXUS61 KBTV 262341  
AFDBTV  
 
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION  
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BURLINGTON VT  
741 PM EDT THU MAR 26 2026  
   
WHAT HAS CHANGED
 
 
AS OF 241 PM EDT THURSDAY...  
 
LIQUID AMOUNTS WERE INCREASED ACROSS THE FRONT AS IT MOVES THROUGH  
TONIGHT. AMOUNTS WILL MOSTLY REMAIN BELOW 0.5 INCHES EXCEPT FOR A  
FEW LOCATIONS IN SOUTHERN VERMONT WHERE UP TO 0.75 INCHES MAY BE  
POSSIBLE.  
 

 
   
KEY MESSAGES
 
 
AS OF 241 PM EDT THURSDAY...  
 
1. WIDESPREAD LIGHT RAINFALL IS EXPECTED THIS EVENING AND  
TONIGHT. RAIN WILL CHANGE OVER TO SNOW AS TEMPERATURES FALL WITH  
VERY LIGHT ACCUMULATIONS POSSIBLE.  
 
2. MUCH COLDER TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED FOR FRIDAY THROUGH  
SATURDAY NIGHT WITH MOST LOCATIONS REMAINING BELOW FREEZING FOR THE  
ENTIRE TIME PERIOD. WIND CHILLS WILL BE QUITE COLD FRIDAY MORNING.  
 
3. FOLLOWING A MAINLY DRY START TO THE WEEK, A SEASONABLY WARM  
AND WETTER PERIOD IS EXPECTED MIDWEEK.  
 

 
   
DISCUSSION
 
 
AS OF 241 PM EDT THURSDAY...  
 
KEY MESSAGE 1: PRECIPITATION IS SPREADING WEST TO EAST THIS AFTERNOON  
WITH SHOWERS MOVING INTO THE CHAMPLAIN VALLEY BY 3 PM. AN IMPULSE IS  
MOVING ALONG A QUASI-STATIONARY BOUNDARY DRAPED ALONG THE CANADIAN  
BORDER AS A DEEPER TROUGH APPROACHES. WESTERLY FLOW ALOFT MAY CAUSE  
SHADOWING INITIALLY IN THE CHAMPLAIN VALLEY AND FOR AREAS EAST OF THE  
GREENS BEFORE FLOW SHIFTS MORE NORTHWESTERLY THIS EVENING.  
COINCIDENTALLY, MODEL TIMING OF THE STRONGER IMPULSE ASSOCIATED WITH  
THE PRIMARY TROUGH WILL BE MOVING THROUGH THE REGION. SOME MORE  
FAVORABLE DYNAMICS FOR PRECIP OUTPUT ARE PHASING OVER VERMONT THIS  
EVENING WHICH HAS RESULTED IN AN INCREASE IN QPF EXPECTED. STILL,  
MOST LOCATIONS WILL SEE LESS THAN 0.5" BUT PORTIONS OF SOUTHERN  
VERMONT MAY RANGE 0.5-0.75". THERE'S ABOUT A 25% CHANCE THAT  
PORTIONS OF EASTERN VERMONT RANGE 0.33-0.66" SHOULD FLOW BE STRONGER  
ACROSS THE BOUNDARY. LOWEST AMOUNTS ARE FAVORED IN THE NORTHERN  
CHAMPLAIN VALLEY WHERE SHADOWING WILL BE MOST PRONOUNCED WITH TOTALS  
RANGING 0.1-0.33". ELSEWHERE, 0.25-0.50" IS FAVORED. AS COLD AIR  
ADVECTION INCREASES TONIGHT, RAIN WILL CHANGE OVER TO SNOW WITH A  
DUSTING TO 0.2 INCHES FAVORED FOR MOST PLACES IN NORTHERN VERMONT  
AND NORTHERN NEW YORK WHILE UP TO 3 INCHES IS POSSIBLE FOR THE  
SUMMITS OF THE ADIRONDACKS AND NORTHERN GREENS.  
 
KEY MESSAGE 2: BREEZY NORTHERLY WINDS BEHIND THE COLD FRONT FRIDAY WILL  
USHER IN UNSEASONABLY COLD TEMPERATURES. THE DAILY HIGH FOR FRIDAY  
WILL LIKELY BE MIDNIGHT TONIGHT WITH COLD AIR ADVECTION INCREASING  
THROUGH DAY BREAK BEFORE WINDS BEGIN TO TAPER DOWN. GUSTS WILL  
GENERALLY RANGE 20 TO 30 MPH FRIDAY MORNING RESULTING IN SOME COLD  
WIND CHILLS IN THE SINGLE DIGITS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTHERN NEW YORK  
AND TEENS FOR MUCH OF VERMONT. AS -14 TO -18C TEMPERATURES SETTLE  
OVERHEAD AT 925MB AND 850MB RESPECTIVELY, SURFACE TEMPERATURES WILL  
LIKELY REMAIN BELOW FREEZING FOR MOST LOCATIONS FRIDAY (SOUTHERN  
VERMONT LIKELY TO RANGE 32-36 DEGREES FRIDAY) THROUGH SATURDAY  
NIGHT. LOWS TONIGHT ARE FAVORED TO DIP INTO THE SINGLE DIGITS FOR  
THE ADIRONDACKS AND NORTHEASTERN VERMONT WITH 10-15 DEGREES FOR MOST  
OTHER LOCATIONS' PROJECTED TO DIP INTO THE TEENS FOR SATURDAY NIGHT.  
 
KEY MESSAGE 3: A WEATHER PATTERN FEATURING FASTER THAN TYPICAL WESTERLY  
FLOW ALOFT WILL CONTINUE INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK, ALLOWING FOR WEAK  
FRONTS AND LIGHT MIXED PRECIPITATION TO BE POSSIBLE WITH MARGINALLY  
COLD AIR PUSHING OUT OF SOUTHERN CANADA WHEN LOW LEVEL FLOW TURNS  
NORTHERLY. THIS PATTERN SHOULD BE DISRUPTED BY WEDNESDAY WHEN THE  
JET STREAM RETREATS FARTHER NORTH AND ENTIRELY PACIFIC AIR, RATHER  
THAN MIX OF POLAR AND PACIFIC, OVERSPREADS NORTHERN NEW YORK AND  
VERMONT. CURRENTLY THERE ARE LIMITED SIGNALS FOR SIGNIFICANT  
WEATHER. ONLY THE VERY WETTEST MODEL GUIDANCE (UNDER 5%) SUGGESTING  
HEAVY RAINFALL, ESPECIALLY FOR THE ADIRONDACKS.  
 
THAT BEING SAID, A QUASI-STATIONARY FRONT MAY SET UP TO OUR  
SOUTHWEST WITH A LONG DURATION OF OVERRUNNING PRECIPITATION  
POSSIBLE. THE WETTEST CLUSTER IN THE 12Z ENSEMBLE GUIDANCE SHOWS A  
24 HOUR PRECIPITATION AVERAGE BEGINNING WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON OF OVER  
AN INCH IN WESTERN PORTIONS OF NORTHERN NEW YORK, INDICATIVE OF THE  
POTENTIAL SOAKING RAIN DURING THIS PERIOD. THAT BEING SAID, THERE IS  
LARGE VARIATION IN THE POSITION OF THE FRONT, ESPECIALLY MOVING INTO  
WEDNESDAY NIGHT. THEREFORE, NOT ONLY PRECIPITATION AMOUNTS BUT  
TEMPERATURES BECOME MORE UNCERTAIN, WHICH COULD TREND BACK TO WINTRY  
FROM NORTH TO SOUTH AS SHALLOW COLD AIR IS PUSHED SOUTHWARD. THERE  
IS A SLIGHT LEAN TOWARDS THE WARMER SCENARIOS BASED ON THE LATEST  
DATA, BUT IT REMAINS WORTH PAYING ATTENTION TO AS WE APPROACH THIS  
WETTER PERIOD.  
 

 
   
AVIATION /00Z FRIDAY THROUGH TUESDAY/
 
 
THROUGH 00Z SATURDAY...DETERIORATING AVIATION CONDITIONS ARE  
EXPECTED FOR THE NEXT 2-6 HOURS AS THE COMBINATION OF  
INCREASING RAINFALL RATES AND LOWER CEILINGS AS A COLD FRONT  
SHIFTS WINDS TO THE NORTHWEST AROUND 4-8 KNOTS BRINGS 500-1500  
FT AGL CEILINGS AND VISIBILITIES OF 1-6 SM. EACH TERMINAL WILL  
LIKELY EXPERIENCE SOME LEVEL OF IFR OR LIFR CONDITIONS,  
ESPECIALLY KEFK AND KSLK, AND LESS SO AT KPBG AND KMSS. AFTER  
06Z, PRECIPITATION CHANCES BEGIN TO DECREASE, THOUGH THERE COULD  
BE SOME SNOW SHOWERS, AND NOTED MAINLY ACROSS PROB30S. LOWER  
CEILINGS WILL LINGER FOR A FEW HOURS MORE BEFORE LIFTING BETWEEN  
07Z-12Z, AND TRENDING VFR BEYOND 13-16Z. NORTHWEST WINDS WILL  
ACCELERATE AS CEILINGS LIFT, WITH 9-16 KNOTS SUSTAINED AND GUSTS  
18-27 KNOTS POSSIBLE, ESPECIALLY FOR KBTV AND KPBG. AFTER 16Z,  
WINDS WILL BEGIN TO SLACKEN, BUT MOST REMAINING ABOVE 7 KNOTS.  
 
OUTLOOK...  
 
FRIDAY NIGHT: VFR. NO SIG WX.  
SATURDAY: VFR. NO SIG WX.  
SATURDAY NIGHT: VFR. CHANCE SN.  
SUNDAY: VFR. SLIGHT CHANCE SN.  
SUNDAY NIGHT: VFR. NO SIG WX.  
MONDAY: MAINLY VFR, WITH LOCAL MVFR POSSIBLE. SLIGHT CHANCE RA.  
MONDAY NIGHT: MVFR/IFR CONDITIONS POSSIBLE. SLIGHT CHANCE RA,  
SLIGHT CHANCE SN.  
TUESDAY: MAINLY VFR, WITH LOCAL MVFR POSSIBLE. CHANCE RA, CHANCE  
SN.  
 

 
   
EQUIPMENT
 
 
THE COLCHESTER REEF METEOROLOGICAL STATION IS OUT OF SERVICE.  
THIS SITE IS NOT SERVICED BY THE NWS. AN ESTIMATED RETURN TO  
SERVICE IS MAY 1ST. PLEASE CONTACT US IF YOU OBSERVE WINDS  
SIGNIFICANTLY DEVIATING FROM THE RECREATIONAL FORECAST.  
 

 
   
BTV WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES
 
 
VT...NONE.  
NY...NONE.  
 

 
 

 
 
WHAT HAS CHANGED...BOYD  
DISCUSSION...BOYD/KUTIKOFF  
AVIATION...HAYNES  
EQUIPMENT...NWS BTV  
 
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