Thursday Evening Update: Vermont Storms Not Quite Over Yet

Storm clouds loomed over Lake Champlain Thursday
afternoon, looking west from South Burlington, Vermont.
 There were scattered instances of severe storms in 
the state today, and some storms might continue this evening.

As expected, there have been a fair number of heavy showers and thunderstorms around Vermont today. A small number of them have been severe.  

As of 5:30 p.m., so far the worst one appears to be one that hit north central Vermont a little before 4 pm. 

This was part of a line of strong storms that developed just west of Lake Champlain starting at around 1:30 p.m. , crossed the Champlain Valley and into the Green Mountains by late afternoon.

Trees were reportedly blown down with this storm in South Cambridge, Eden Mills and North Fairfax.

Although the storm in St. Albans wasn't severe, it did produce strong, gusty winds. Strong enough to cause a neighborhood emergency near the lake. 

A large tree reportedly blew over onto a house and propane tank on Hathaway Point Road near the lake. The incident broke a line between two propane tanks, which prompted evacuations of nearby homes. At last report, the leak had been fixed and residents were allowed to return home.   

Another severe thunderstorm was blowing through far southern Vermont along and just north of Route 9 between Bennington and Brattleboro as of late afternoon. 

At around 5 p.m. storms that appeared to be fairly strong were moving northeastward near Stowe and in northern Rutland County. 

Other storms might pop up between now and just after dark in Vermont.  There is still a chance one or two of them could become severe, but the chances that they'll become destructive will decrease through the evening.

Overnight, the showers and storms will end all together as a cold front moves through. 

Watch out on Lake Champlain Friday morning. A period of pretty strong west winds is expected for awhile before noon tomorrow. Gusts could reach as high as 45 mph with wave heights going as high as three feet.

It's unusual to get winds like this in June outside of thunderstorms. On land, the wind might be strong enough to knock down a few trees and branches here and there. The wind will subside nicely during the afternoon.

We're still looking at a possible stormy overnight Saturday night and Sunday morning. That situation is still iffy,  but we'll want to get more information on that. I'll update you tomorrow morning. 

 It looks like the temperature was able to sneak up to 90 degrees this afternoon in Burlington just before a brief thunderstorm arrived there.  That's the second time this summer already it's been 90 degrees there.

A hot spell is still in the works Sunday to Tuesday, especially Monday. It could get up to 90 degrees on Sunday if it clears up fast enough. Monday looks like a lock for near record high temperatures in the mid-90s. Depending upon how fast a cold front arrives, Tuesday looks like it could be impressively hot, too. 

Updates on all this will come in my post tomorrow morning. We seem to be in an active June weather pattern for a little while, don't we?

Early Afternoon Vermont Severe Storms Update: Severe Storm Watch Issued

NOAA's Storm Prediction Center around noon
focused on this area, including Vermont that
is likely to have scattered severe thunderstorms
for the rest of this afternoon. 

 A severe thunderstorm watch is now in effect throughout Vermont and eastern New York.

The severe storm watch is effect now until 9 p.m. this evening. 

NOAA's Storm Prediction Center released what is known as a Mesoscale Discussion around noon. These focus on particular areas of interested in which potentially dangerous weather is coming soon.

This one focused on Vermont, eastern New York and part of northeast Pennsylvania. 

According to the statement, storm coverage in the region covered will be pretty scattered and not particularly widespread. But those relatively few places that do get nailed might really get it. 

By far the most likely source of problems from these storms would be damaging straight line winds. We could see a couple places deal with large hail as well.

There's still a very, very low, but not zero chance of a brief spinup tornado.

Even if a particular thunderstorm isn't quite severe when it hits you, watch out for dangerous cloud to ground lighting and torrential downpours. 

Thunderstorms were already firing up in central New York as of 1:30 p.m. They were rapidly heading northeastward toward Vermont. The fact that they were forward speed is so fast means you might not get all that much lead time between the time you might receive a severe thunderstorm warning and the time you actually get the storm. 

It's good that they're moving rapidly, because that won't give them much time to dump enough rain to trigger flash flooding. Still, a couple places could get some flash flooding today if they get "lucky "enough for storms 

After the initial scattered batches of storms that come through Vermont more storms could arrive with additional downpours and lightning. The atmosphere might be somewhat more stable by then, so that might reduce, but not eliminate the chances the evening storms being severe. 

But we're not entirely sure about that, so stay tuned. And keep your eyes to the skies this afternoon. Be ready to move indoors quickly. And have a ready source of receive severe weather warnings, such as wa weather radio or reliable local media. 

All Signs Point Toward Severe Weather In Vermont/Eastern U.S/Quebec Today, Nasty Hot Spell Coming

Today's updated severe thunderstorm threat around the
nation. Yellow areas including Vermont, are in a level
two out of five risk zone for severe storms
meaning there will be scattered instances of damaging
winds. There's a level three of five in the
Mid-Atlantic states (orange shading). The risk
of damaging winds is somewhat higher there, 

Those who were looking for thunderstorms in Vermont yesterday ended up coming up empty. 

Most of the storms stayed in New York, with flash flooding out in central and western New York. 

Some showers and storms did venture into far northwest Vermont but petered out rather quickly last evening.

Today is when everybody in a wide swath from southern Quebec down to the Carolinas is under threat from severe storms.  This obviously includes Vermont. 

Not everybody in this vast patch of real estate will see severe storms, of course, but the threat is there. 

This risk in the entire region I outlined includes damaging straight line winds, large hail, downpours torrential enough to set off some flash floods and even a low but not zero risk of tornadoes.

The biggest threat for tornadoes appears to be in the mostly flatlands of southern Quebec, near and south of Montreal. The higher threat of wind damage at the moment seems to be around New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland and part of Virginia.

That does not mean Vermont is off the hook of course. We still have all of the above threat in play.

On top of that, another round of storms is possible Saturday night here in the Green Mountain State, followed by a brief, dangerous, very torrid spell of weather.

So let's next get to work planning your stormy day today, at least as things stood this morning. Stay on your toes, because things can change rapidly though the day.

TODAY'S SETUP

A sort of "preview" storm late Wednesday afternoon
looking west from Georgia Vermont. You can see
a column of torrential rain in the distance. Very few
storms in Vermont Wednesday, but they'll be much
more numerous today. 

A batch of showers and brief downpours was moving into mostly, but not exclusively into northwest Vermont as of 8 a.m. It looks like most of those were brushing far northwest parts of the state from St. Albans, north. 

It's so humid with an already unstable atmosphere, that a pop up downpour or thunderstorm could happen randomly almost anywhere in Vermont this morning.

They will be relatively few and far between, but enough so that you'll need to keep your eyes on the skies and be ready to head indoors quickly. Even this morning. 

It'll be interesting to see whether these showers, and lingering clouds behind them that would last most of the morning, will stabilize the atmosphere some and reduce the chances of strong storms later. Or maybe this will form a sort of new temperature boundary across part of Vermont that would enhance the storms that due later. 

There will also be a stalled west to east front across southern Quebec most of today that I think will enhance changing wind directions with height in the atmosphere. That's why I think there could be a tornado or two in southern Quebec. 

Northern Vermont will be on the edge of that, so despite the cloud cover today, the chances of severe storms remains in effect north of Route 2. 

All of Vermont should have plenty of humidity today, and especially places south of Route 2 should get into the mid and upper 80s to near 90 in a few places in the lower Connecticut River Valley. That's one ingredient needed for big storms.

The other storm ingredient is a cold front heading due east across New York State towards us. That will act a bit like a snow plow, providing lift in the atmosphere as it shoves into the muggy air over us. That lift is the rising air currents that lead to towering clouds, i.e thunderstorms.

THE RESULTS

This will be a classic summer severe weather day in Vermont. By that, I mean a few towns - definitely a minority of places in Vermont - will see damaging wind gusts that would take down trees and power lines, and possibly cause a little structural damage.

Most but not all of us will see some sort of thunderstorm today. Some of us will get bullseyed by downpours and a lot of lightning and some wind gusts. A few of us will be on the edge of some of these storms and have only minor effects and not a whole lot of rain.

Another few of us will get nothing at all. People in those towns will wonder what the fuss was about, having endured a humid, but rain-free day. 

I doubt there will be one solid line of storms that comes through. Instead, we're in for short lines and clusters of storms that will keep passing through, mostly between around 2 p.m. this afternoon and 11 p.m tonight. 

I wouldn't expect the storms today to be severe after dark, so we'll say 2 to 8 p.m. is the most likely time for anything severe. 

The other threat from today's storms is flash flooding. The good news is each storm will be moving along at a good clip. That means those torrential downpours won't last long in any particular spot.  They won't have time to put down enough water to cause a flood.

The problems would come if a few unlucky spots get three or four or five rounds of storms instead of just one or two. Then you start running into issues. Flash floods today in Vermont if they happen should be pretty isolated and not cover large areas.

FRIDAY:

Kind of a weird day, but nothing dramatic. The morning will be cool and windy and kind of cloudy, making it almost feel like autumn was in the air. Temperatures before noon should hold in the 60s.  Then, the flow of cool  Canadian air will get most shut off pretty fast. By late afternoon, it should be back in the mid and upper 70s with sharply diminished winds. The sun will have come back out. 

SATURDAY/SATURDAY NIGHT

Saturday itself looks like it will be a nice day for a change. We should have quite a bit of sun, with highs peaking within a couple degrees either side of 80 degrees. The humidity should be moderate, so enjoy!

However, we're still looking at the risk of a cluster of storms blasting through overnight Saturday night and early Sunday. We're still not sure exactly where they'll focus, or even whether they will entirely hit Vermont. But there is the risk of a noisy night with thunder and locally torrential downpours if we get hit squarely.

Stay tuned!

THE HEAT

The hot weather will begin to flood in on Sunday. It still looks like a decent beach day, with highs in the 80s to near 90. You'll also notice the  humidity building.

Monday looks like it'll be the worst of it, It now looks like actual high temperatures should hit the mid-90s in many valley locations in Vermont. Combined with the humidity, the heat index will probably be over 100 degrees. 

It'll be a dangerous day for anybody with health issues or those who exert themselves outdoors. Monday's the day to really take it easy, and seek out air conditioning if you can.

Record highs might fall. The current record highs for Monday are 96 degrees in Burlington, 90 in Montpelier and 93 in St. Johnsbury. 

Monday night will be dreadfully hot and stuffy, with lows staying near or above 70 for most of us with stifling humidity. 

Tuesday is now a bit of a wild card, depending on the timing of a cold front. If it comes through early, the heat won't be too bad, especially north.  If it comes in the afternoon, that means it'll uncomfortably hot with a risk of strong storms. If it comes through in the evening, then Tuesday will be just as bad as Monday.

We'll keep an eye on that.

The front will have come through by Wednesday, but should linger close by, meaning we'll remain at risk for showers and maybe storms later into next week too. It should actually stay near to a little warmer than average even behind the cold front that will end the heat wave 

 

Strong/Severe Storms, Flood Risk, High Humidity, And Eventually, Heat Spices Up Vermont Forecast

NOAA's Storm Prediction Center has much of the eastern
U.S. including all of Vermont in a slight risk zone
(yellow shading) for severe storms Thursday. 

The weather here in Vermont is going to be more interesting than usual for this time of year over the next few days. 

The word "interesting" when describing weather forecasts is seldom welcome, as that usually spells trouble. And sure enough, the weather might complicate your life over the next few days.  

We have high humidity, the risk of strong to severe thunderstorms, a bit of a flash flood risk (again!), and eventually some dangerous summer heat. 

Tomorrow and next Monday and Tuesday are the biggest high alert days.. But, as we usually do, let's walk you through day by day, as every day for at least the next six has something noteworthy to offer us. 

TODAY

The humid air has arrived on schedule. You might have noticed your bedroom getting a bit stuffy overnight. 

The high humidity, combined with expected high temperatures in the low to mid 80s, should be enough to set off some showers and thunderstorms this afternoon and evening.

They could happen anywhere. There's were already a batch of showers passing through far southern Vermont early this morning. But the storms are most likely this afternoon and early evening in the northwestern third of Vermont and over northern New York.

Few, if any of these storms will get exceptionally strong or severe. But one or two of these storms could provide some gusty winds and heavy downpours. The forward motion of these storms will be kinda lame, so a couple spots in northwestern Vermont could really get dumped on.  

There's no risk of widespread flash flooding or anything like that, but those one or two spots, especially north of Route 2 and west of the Green Mountain, might (or might not!)  have a little problem with driveway and back road washouts, that kind of thing. 

Some places will avoid rain altogether today. Classic hit and miss. 

THURSDAY

This is a higher risk day. The high humidity will still be in place. Sunshine in the morning and early afternoon should boost temperatures into the mid or even upper 80s. A cold front will be approaching to make the air more unstable.

Winds aloft will become stronger, and change directions with height. Those are all ingredients to set off severe thunderstorms. 

For now, NOAA's Storm Prediction Center has all of Vermont under a slight risk of severe storms on Thursday. That's a level two out of five on the danger scale. It means there should be some scattered severe thunderstorms. 

As is almost always the case with this type of summer storm situation, only a small minority of us Vermonters will experience a severe storm.  Most of us will get at least some rain and hear thunder, and many of us should get at least a brief downpour.

It's just those few spots that will get nailed. It's impossible to tell more than a half hour to an hour in advance who gets the most dangerous storms. So you'll need to have a weather radio or some other source ready tomorrow to get warnings and advisories.

I'd also skip boating around Lake Champlain or hiking to the summits Thursday afternoon. 

The storms tomorrow will come at us either as relatively short lines of big storms or supercells. The biggest threat is from damaging straight line winds.  Large hail is pretty unlikely, but still possible. There's also a very low, but not zero chance of a brief spin up tornado mixed in there.

The other threat is flash flooding. Any flooding we do get - if we get any -  will be pretty isolated. Most places should be fine. 

However, the rain will be absolutely torrential in some of Thursday's  storms. Luckily, the storms will be moving right along, so they won't linger over one spot for too long to really flood things out. But if you get squarely hit by a big supercell, or microburst; or if two or more lines of storms hit you in rapid succession, there could be a local flash flood problem or too. 

The bottom line is NOAA's Weather Prediction Center has us in a low level marginal risk zone for localized flash floods 

FRIDAY

We get a break in the action. It'll be somewhat cooler and less humid since the cold front will have gone through.  There could be some lingering showers or garden variety thunderstorms scattered around here or there in the afternoon, especially north, but nothing scary. 

SATURDAY

There's an odd bit of uncertainty in Saturday's forecast.  The strong ridge of high pressure will be beginning to build toward us. That's what will set us up for next week's heat. 

We have to watch out for something called a ridge roller Saturday or Saturday night.. These are clusters of thunderstorms that rotate around the northern edge of a developing ridge of hot high pressure. They'd come in from the Midwest and then head southeastward, possibly in this case through northern New York and northern New England.

These things are super hard to predict three days in advance. Computer models are pretty insistent there will be a "ridge roller" but we don't know where it will go. Maybe through us, maybe across Quebec, maybe to our southwest toward western New York and Pennsylvania. Or maybe it won't happen at all. 

Ridge rollers can be pretty benign, and almost unnoticeable, or they could contain severe thunderstorms and flash floods.  This is just something to keep an eye on.  We'll monitor later forecasts.

SUNDAY

You'll start to notice the heat and humidity building up. It'll be a decent beach day, with a fair amount of sun and highs well into the 80s. Hottest spots could flirt with 90. 

MONDAY AND TUESDAY

Looking hot, with a very good chance of temperatures going over 90 degrees in many spots in Vermont. The humidity will be sky high.  Since this will start on Sunday, we'll have three days of this kind of weather. Which can wear on people after awhile and become dangerous. Especially for the elderly and people with health problems. 

The humidity will ensure that nights will stay very warm and muggy, so you won't get any relief after dark.  If there are people in your life who you worry about in this kind of weather,  it would be a good idea to check up on them early next week. Or better yet, "kidnap" them and take them to a chilly movie matinee, a nice cool air conditioned restaurant or shopping center or something. 

BEYOND TUESDAY

It looks like a cold front will cool things down somewhat by Wednesday. It will be no means get "cold" after the cold front, but it should at least feel more reasonable out there. 

Big Heat Waves Hitting Large Parts Of World, Are We Next?

When you see a weather pattern like this in the
summer with a big ridge or northward bulge in
the jet stream over the Northeast, expect a heat
wave. This is one forecast for next Tuesday, 
though computer models are varying on the
strength and duration of the hot spell. 

With climate change taking hold more and more, dangerous, record breaking heat waves have been hitting different parts of the world each summer in the past few years.  

It's only June, but the deadly extreme heat fest for 2025 has already started here on Earth.

 What strikes me the most is that there are currently so many record heat waves going on in different parts of the globe simultaneously. 

There's always a heat wave somewhere in the summer, but the fact that places as diverse as Japan, France, and Kuwait are breaking all time record highs for the month of June all at the same time is pretty unsettling.

We in Vermont could get at least a taste of the hot weather next week. And I think all time record heat will hit the Green Mountain State within the next few years.  More on that in a bit. 

WORLDWIDE HEAT

First, we'll look at some of the incredible heat withering different parts of the world. Much of this information comes from Maximiliano Hererra, a climatologist who tracks worldwide heat waves.

Our first visit is to Kuwait, since the strongest heat was there. Kuwait is an extraordinary hot nation anyway, but this is ridiculous. At last report, the following Kuwaiti figures haven't been confirmed by the World Meteorological Organization.

But if these temperatures are real, they're insane. 

If the 130 degree temperature in Kuwait is confirmed, it would tie the reliable record for the world's hottest temperature on record, which was 130 degrees in Furnace Creek, Death Valley, California on July 9, 2021.

The widely reported hottest temperature isn 134 degrees in Death Valley on July 10, 1913, but there are questions about the reliability of that long-ago reading. 

EUROPE HEAT

A heat wave is building in Europe, too, with record high temperatures already reported in France and Germany. A few cities have already set record highs for the entire month of June. One town in France has hit 100 degrees over the pst couple of days. It's been as hot as 96 degrees in Germany.

Nights in parts of western Europe have been sultry, giving no real relief from the heat. Overnight lows in much of Germany over the weekend were in the low 70s. 

Mertola, Portugal on Sunday reached 105 degrees, hottest for so early in the season. Parts of Spain broiled over the weekend in temperatures as high as 107 degrees.

ASIA

At least 23 weather stations in China have broken their all time record high temperatures for the month of June. In Japan, at least a dozen cities have set record highs for the entire month of June, with readings reaching the upper 90s.  Parts of Indonesia, India and Pakistan are also reporting unprecedented June heat. 

UNITED STATES

The eastern United States is being plagued by persistent storminess that has led to some terrible flash flooding in the central Appalachians. Those floods are expected to continue for the next couple of days, but a new element is about to be added.

Forecasts call for a strong, hot ridge of high pressure to develop over the East early next week. At least a some record high temperatures are expected from the Plains to the East Coast. It's possible a few cities could see their all-time record for the month of June threatened. 

Some computer models depict insanely hot weather in the Northeast early next, though I think a few of these are overdone.  Some runs of the European model bring New York City to an all time high of 107 degrees. The Euro depicts highs up to 101 degrees in southeast Vermont and 97 degrees as far north as Burlington.

I doubt it will get that hot. I think the European model is exaggerating. But the way things are going around the world, who knows?   

VERMONT FORECAST

A taste of very warm, oppressive weather will arrive tomorrow and Thursday, with high humidity and temperatures well up into the 80s.  This won't be anywhere near any record highs, but it will be our most solid introduction to heat and humidity yet this year.

Showers and thunderstorms both tomorrow and Thursday will help hold temperatures well under 90 degrees, but will help keep the humidity incredibly uncomfortable.

We get a brief break Friday and Saturday with high temperatures both days in the 70s. But then the heat should begin to build back up starting Sunday, when it should get into the 80s with increasing humidity. 

Most forecasts have much of Vermont in the low 90s next Monday and Tuesday. There's a slight chance those outlier models of extreme, record breaking heat early next week are correct, but for now, I'm really doubting that. 

The heat next week should be mercifully brief, as temperatures by midweek should drop some.  But only to levels that are normal, or a little warmer than normal for this time of year. 

The long range weather pattern forecast also suggests that strong heat will spend most of the rest of June and probably beyond lurking not all that far to our south and west.  If the wind swings in the right direction, we have the potential for more big oppressive hot spells through the summer. 

NOAA forecasts for this summer in New England have consistently pointed toward a hotter than normal summer. 

FUTURE HEAT

While June and all-time heat records have been falling worldwide in recent years, the all-time hot records for Vermont remain distinctly old fashioned.

The hottest on record for anywhere in Vermont still stands at the 105 degrees recorded down in Vernon way back on July 4, 1911. The hottest it's ever gotten in Burlington is 101 degrees on August 11, 1944.

Now that climate change is increasingly in our lives, I think it's just a matter of time before those old records are broken. And I suspect it could come within just a matter of a few to several years.

We've had some incredible, record smashing hot spells in Vermont in recent years, but they have tended to not come in the summer.  It's just a roll of the dice when they hit. 

In Burlington, records go back to the 1880s. But the records for hottest temperature on record for the entire months of February, May, September, November and December have all happened since 2002 - so pretty recently in the grand scheme of things. Just last Halloween we shattered the record for hottest for so late in the season - 78 degrees on October 31.

That's why I think we are close to breaking are all-time record highs. An intense mid-summer unprecedented heat wave feels inevitable in this age of climate change. 

Burlington National Service Radar Won't Be Working Much Of This Week

 A head's up:

A National Weather Service radar image, I used this 
one from Fargo, North Dakota because there were
no rainstorms to show on the NWS local radar,
The NWS radar from the Burlington office will
be down most of this week for repairs, 

If you're used to checking out the National Weather Service Burlington web page, note the weather radar won't be up and running  most of this week. 

So during this time, you won't be able to see the location and direction of any rain or storms that develop in the area.  

You'll have to find alternative weather radar images during that time.  

The National Weather Service radar is down because they need to repair the radar dome in Colchester. The radar that services Albany, New York will also be turned off for repairs. 

The radar installations look like giant white balls atop a tower.

 Strong winds and temperature extremes over time damage some of the panels on these radar structures, so the panels have to be be replaced.  Those pieces can crack, or develop leaks, or even fall apart.

Damaged panels interfere with radar's ability to receive and transmit information, according to the National Weather Service. 

So the repairs are needed. The radar serving northern and central Vermont and northeastern New York will be down starting today. It should be up and running again sometime Thursday. 

While the repairs are  happening, showers and thunderstorms are forecast Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday around the area.

A few of the showers and storms could have fairly heavy rain Wednesday. Depending on cloud cover and other factors, we could have a few strong storms and spots of torrential rain Thursday as well. 

Given that,  let's find those alternative ways to find weather radar to keep an eye on any storms that may or may not be headed your way while the National Weather Service fixes their radar. 

Television station WPTZ's radar is quite interactive, which is nice. If you click the "layers" button on the lower right, you have options of seeing what current temperatures, dew point and wind speeds are like, along with  rainfall amounts in the past 24 hours and other information. 

The radar for television station WCAX-TV is set up in a very similar fashion to WPTZ and is just as good. 

The WVNY radar doesn't seem quite as interactive, but does cover a wide area, which is good. 

Of course the big dawgs like The Weather Channel and AccuWeather have weather radar you can use, too. 

All of these radar options are good, but I'll be happy to get the National Weather Service radar back. Only because that's the one I'm used to, I guess.

I wouldn't really recommend downloading a weather app onto your phone, as some of them seem a little dubious to me.  

Nation's Flash Flood Season Off To A Bad Start

The remains of a vehicle are wrapped
around a San Antonio bridge abutment
 after it  was swept away by intense
 flash flooding early Thursday. 

 Deadly flash floods can happen anywhere in the United States at any time of year.

But the humid days of summer tend to bring these tragedies on most frequent. As we in Vermont have seen in the last two summers. 

Hot, humid air can hold a lot of water, and even a small weather disturbance under the right conditions can release torrents, creating flash floods almost in an instant.

Climate change has made this whole situation worse. The hotter, often more humid air brought to his by a warmer atmosphere can store more water in the air than ever before. Which in general leads to more intense rains than we are used to seeing.

It's only mid-June, and we're already starting in with the local, but deadly flash floods in different parts of the natiom

The worst of it so far was in and around San Antonio early Thursday. 

Slow moving thunderstorms settled over the San Antonio area, dumping eight inches of rain in just a few hours, with four inches of rain in just one hour between 3 and 4 a.m. Thursday. 

The flash flood killed 13 people, mostly in cars abruptly swept off a highway into raging waters.  

NBC News reports that at least 15 vehicles were swept into rapidly rising and rapidly flowing water on or near Perrin Beitel Road in San Antonio. At least 10 people from those vehicles were rescued. But other cars were found far downstream, their wreckage sometimes wrapped around bridge abutments or other debris. 

At least 70 water rescues were performed throughout the city. 

San Antonio lies just east of a an escarpment that sometimes helps trap Gulf of Mexico moisture in the region, which can sometimes get dumped in intense thunderstorms. San Antonio is the nation's seventh largest city.

Miles of concrete and asphalt and development gives no place for water to soak in, so downpours rush off in great gushes through parts of the city. Plus, of course, those more intense climate-change driven downpours make things worse.   

It hasn't just been San Antonio lately.   

 Severe flooding hit in and near Wheeling, West Virginia Saturday. At least three people were killed in this flooding and others are missing. Authorities performed numerous water rescues.  Some areas around Wheeling received 2.5 to 4 inches of rain within a half hour. 

On Friday, a flash flood emergency and particularly dangerous situation was declared around Evansville, Indiana. Three to six inches of rain fell within a couple hours there, instantly flooding streets. Numerous people had to be rescued from stranded cars. 

Also on Friday and Saturday, flash floods hit scattered parts of the central Appalachians.

Sunday morning, Oklahoma City was under a flash flood warning for the second time this month. Meteorologists were deeply concerned Sunday about a risk of flooding today in North Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia.   

Even before summer started, it's been a bad year for flooding in the U.S. Extreme flooding hit areas in and around Kentucky back in February and again in April. 

So far, we in Vermont have been spared the worst of the flooding, but we've already had our share of problems in 2025.  Flash flooding on May 17 damaged roads and homes in Waitsfield, Warren, Hartford, White River Junction and other towns, 

Roads in southeastern Vermont were damaged in flash flooding on June 6-7.   

Looking ahead at the nation's upcoming flash flood prospects, a humid, sluggish airmass is forecast to linger over much of the eastern and southern United States for the next several days.  At least scattered instances of flash flooding are possible daily in various parts of the eastern two thirds of the U.S.

For us in Vermont, the next chance of any flood problems would be this Thursday. It's possible downpours expected Thursday could be intense enough to create isolated instances of flash flooding. However, it's too soon to know for sure.