What's interesting though is that it is still plenty cold enough to snow at those departures. It gets close, but it's just cold enough in the MVL climate.
Dec '23... +7.8 (37/24, mean temp of 31F)
Jan '24... +8.1 (30/17, mean temp of 23F)
Feb '24... +8.4 (37/15, mean temp of 26F)
Average... +8.1
So despite being +8... the climate is such that it is still salvageable for snowfall as the mean temps are all below freezing. What's crazy to me is a +8 in January is still a solid 30/17 month that averages out well below freezing.
Add in elevation and the mountains are certainly still cold enough for snowfall even at those departures. However, I go look at BTV, which was averaging around +6 to +7 during that time, and their mean temperatures show a more difficult to snow profile. Which likely fits with a sharper low level gradient that winter.