Vermont's Thanksgiving forecast: Snow possible, travelers should plan ahead

This story is no longer being updated. See the latest on the Thanksgiving forecast here.

Below-freezing temperatures and rain combined for some dicey road conditions earlier Tuesday. This morning, Vermont State Police reported multiple crashes due to black ice on Interstate 89 near Exit 8 in Montpelier.

The highway closed for several hours, and has since been reopened. Air and pavement temperatures are above freezing now.

But meteorologists say Vermonters should at least prepare for — if not expect — more rain and snow during this Thursday’s Thanksgiving holiday, particularly in southern areas.

The Eye on the Sky forecast from the Fairbanks Museum & Planetarium notes a Nor’easter is forming over the mid-Atlantic, but that "confidence is abnormally low this far out on the exact track on this storm."

National Weather Service Burlington meteorologist Rebecca Duell says this lack of consensus is due to different models showing different outcomes.

Some of the models are showing kind of a swing and a miss for us with very little impacts," she says. "And there's other models that are showing a pretty decent snowstorm for southern Vermont."

Duell says NWS Burlington is taking a "middle of the road" approach, and cautioning drivers to plan ahead. Especially since it could be the first significant snowfall season, when people are out of practice traveling in poor conditions, and maybe don't have snow tires yet.

"We're really encouraging people to take it slow if they have any travel, especially in southern Vermont, maybe try and do that on Wednesday rather than Thursday," she says.

Duell adds that this potential precipitation will likely be rain in the valleys and several inches of snow at higher elevations.

Have questions, comments, or tips? Send us a message.