Unusual Mid-May Snowfall Whitens Vermont's Hillsides

If you thought you were done with winter, think again

If you thought you were done with winter, think again.

Several inches of snow fell Sunday night and Monday morning in Vermont communities that sit at higher elevations.

"It's a little annoying," said Julie Baker, who was visiting Vermont from New Hampshire, and who had plans to pick out summer plants at garden centers. "We're having to come up with plan B, actually. So we decided we would just drive around the mountains and look at how pretty it was."

This late in the year, so much depends on elevation.

There was no snow in Stowe Village, though if you headed up the mountain road, it looked totally different.

The Vermont towns that sit the highest got one to four inches: a rarity with June just about two weeks away.

"I don't understand the weather--it's crazy this year," said Debbie Schelzel, who was driving through Stowe Monday. "We had 70, 80, 90 degree days a couple of months ago. Now we've got 30s and 40s?"

The iconic notch road between Jeffersonville and Stowe, which is as famous for its narrow twists and turns as its scenic views, did manage to stay open. It was a little slick, though most of the snow wasn't really sticking to the paved road.

At the Stowe Mountain Resort, where a gondola car on the ground read "Welcome to Winter," the ski lifts were quiet. They stopped spinning for the season a couple of weeks ago.

But that did not stop longtime skier Bruce Cassler.

"We're die-hards," Cassler said of himself and his friend, who were inspired to hike up the mountain on their own power and ski down. "We're a little crazy, but we love snow and we love to ski and we love being outdoors, so there's nothing better."

As temperatures warmed up throughout the day Monday, the snow was melting rapidly, a process that will continue with temperatures forecast to reach the 70s in Vermont later this week.

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