Your MAX Advantage Forecast

BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) - Good Thursday and Happy Groundhog Day, everyone! That furry, little guy may or may not see his shadow today, but in any case, it will be a fairly decent winter day . . . until this evening. Then get ready for the Polar Vortex!

Temperatures will actually run a few degrees above normal today (normal high in Burlington is now 29°). There will be lots of clouds, but also some sunny breaks, especially in our southern areas.

Things will change rapidly as we go through the evening hours. The sharp, Arctic cold front will come barreling in during the mid-to-late evening hours from NW to SE. It will come along with snow showers & squalls which could quickly reduce visibilities to near zero and slicken up the roads with a quick 1 or 2 inches of snow. Be aware of that if you are on the roads this evening.

Once that front goes through, temperatures will drop like a rock and winds will become blustery out of the WNW. The combination of the wind and sub-zero temperatures will bring the wind chills - those “feels-like” temperatures - into the 20s and 30s BELOW zero by Friday morning. It just gets worse as we go through the day Friday with temperatures holding steady in the single digits and low teens BELOW zero, but the wind chills will be even colder, making it feel like the 30s and 40s BELOW zero! That is dangerously cold.

Those bitter cold temperatures & wind chills will continue Friday night and into the first half of Saturday. By Saturday night, those wind chills will ease up as warmer air starts to make its way back in. The Polar Vortex will be retreating back to northern Canada.

By Sunday, the bitter cold snap will be over. Temperatures will rebound to above average levels and stay that way into the middle of next week. There may be a few snow, or even rain, showers each day early-to-mid next week.

During the cold snap, make sure you are completely bundled up in many loose layers if you need to go outdoors. Exposed skin can get frostbite in just a few minutes. Make sure your heating systems are in proper working order and protect any pipes that might freeze up. Make sure you keep your pets indoors, and check on any neighbors who may have difficult challenges in bitter cold weather like this.

Your MAX Advantage Weather Team will continue to keep you updated with the latest on this dangerous cold snap, on-air and online. -Gary

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