June Heat Waves In Vermont Never Used To Be Much Of A Thing. Then Climate Change Came Along

A time/temperature sign in St. Albans, Vermont during
 a record breaking heat wave last June 23 

 With the potential of 90 degree weather coming toward the end of the week, depending on how numerous the showers and storms become, I started looking at June heat waves in Vermont. 

Once upon a time, June heat wasn't really a thing. Sure, it happened once in awhile, but we usually had to wait until July and August to feel the big strong blasts of summer heat. 

Not any more. Climate change apparently has something to say about when we Vermonters experience summer heat. 

The year 1988 seemed to be the beginning of a turning point for June heat in Vermont, at least as measured in Burlington.  On June 15, 1988, it reached 97 degrees in Burlington, breaking what was then the record for the  hottest June temperature on record. 

On June 16, 1994, that record was tied. Then on June 19, 1995, the temperature in Burlington soared to 100 degrees, shattering the June record.

The number of 90+ days in Burlington's June record books changed during that time period. Ninety degree June heat was relatively rare in the  first four decades of the 20th century. Ninety in June happened only 12 times in the 41 years ending in 1941. 

Between 1942 and 1993, 90 degree June heat became more frequent, occurring in 34 out of those 51 years.  Now, the heat hits in almost all Junes. In the 31 years since 1994, we only missed out on 90 degrees in eight Junes.

Another bit of stats, although I know this is already number heavy: In the 87 years ending in 1987, it had only reached 95 degrees three times in June. In a little less than four decades since 1988, it's been 95 degrees 13 times.  

In the 2000s, extreme June heat almost became the norm.   It's been 96 degrees or hotter in all but one of the past five Junes.  Sometimes June heat started in May.   On May 27, 2000, the temperature reached 95 degrees, the hottest May day on record, breaking the old mark by two degrees 

On June 6, 2021, it reached 95 degrees, and on June 7 that year it was 96 which was, at the time the hottest for so early in the season 

I say "at the time," because on June 1, 2023 it reached 96 degrees. 

All this June heat culminated in a heat wave last June. Depending on what part of New England you were in, either June 23 or June 24, 2025 was the hottest June day on record in all six New England states. Each New England state reached at least 100 degrees.

In North Springfield, Vermont, it was 103 degrees, breaking the previous statewide record for June, which had been 101 degrees. Burlington reached 99 degrees on June 23 last year, barely missing the record for the month by one degree. Plattsburgh, New York, at 101 degrees, was among numerous cities in the Northeast that set all-time June records. 

THIS WEEK

If it gets to 90 degrees this week, I doubt we'll see record highs, but of course you never know. You need lots of sinking, hot air to create the clear skies that produce record heat. Instead, this warm spell will be muddled by embedded weather disturbances. Those disturbances will likely create clouds and scattered showers and thunderstorms which could keep the heat down. But not the humidity, of course.

The details: 

Today: Nice! Near 80 degrees, sunny low humidity

Tuesday: Nice! Sunny, with highs in the 80s. Humidity will at least be reasonably.

Wednesday Not so nice. Showers, maybe a rumble of thunder. Cloudy, turning more humid. Highs in the 70s to around 80

Thursday/Friday: Partly cloudy, humid, risk of showers/storms. Highs in the 80s to near 90.

Beyond Friday, the weather models are still arguing among themselves as to what's going to happen. I'll let them fight it out, and provide updates as we get closer to next weekend. It's only Monday, after all. 

I don't know whether we will have extreme heat later this month or not, But climate change has loaded the dice. These are no longer your grandfather's cool, comfortable Vermont summers. 

 

Forecasters Back Off SLIGHTLY From Torrid Vermont Upcoming Week Forecast, But It Will Still Be Hot

Early Sunday afternoon satellite pic shows Vermont
in the middle of a big cloudy patch that will
keep the rest of today cloudy and damp. But
looks at those clear skies to the northwest\
in Ontario and central Quebec. That's our
weather tomorrow and Tuesday. 

Just landed after my return trip from Minnesota, so you saw no morning post today. So I'll try a very late, afternoon attempt. 

As expected, a few scattered strong to severe storms erupted in Vermont yesterday. The worst of them seem to cross central Vermont in a west to east band very roughly about  20 or 30 miles north of Route 4. 

I'm kinda sure there was some tree damage across the middle of Vermont, but the only report of damage I see so far is the several trees fell along Route 73 between Whiting and Sudbury. 

As you'd expect, rainfall was super variable with the scattering of storms yesterday. Many places, as expected got somewhere in the neighborhood of a half inch of rain.

 But there were those torrential downpours, as you'd expect. The biggest totals I saw were  near the Canadian border: 1.85 inches in Montgomery Center, 1.58 inches at Derby Line and 1.54 inches 

Meanwhile, a few towns got seriously cheated. West Windsor reported just 0.05 inches of rain. 

During this morning and early afternoon, a final band of rain was working north to south across Vermont, As you can tell, it's pretty cool today under the clouds and showers and north winds, with most places holding in the 60s as of early afternoon. 

Except for nights and very early mornings at the beginning of the week, this will be last cool weather you'll see for awhile. 

REST OF THE WEEK

Judging from the satellite photos, we won't get much clearing today. Maybe some places will get some sun in the evening. Since it's cool this afternoon, we're set up for a comfortable night.  Lows Monday morning will be in the 40s, with some low 50s in banana belt towns in the Champlain Valley. 

Monday: A beauty. Sunshine, low humidity and highs in the 70s to around 80.

Tuesday: Another nice one. Warmer, with highs in the low to mid 80s. Maybe a couple upper 80s in the warmest valleys. The humidity will stay low.

Wednesday: Here's where trouble starts. Humidity levels will creep up. Forecasters have backed off on the idea of three or four consecutive days near 90 degrees in the warmer valleys. Instead, we'll probably wait for a couple of days for a shot at 90. 

A weather disturbance that was expected to be a nothing burger a few days ago will now have a little oomph when it arrives here. Nothing dramatic, just some showers and maybe some embedded thunder. Highs should still make it into the 80s as it turns noticeably more humid.

Thursday/Friday: These will be the hot days, at least if the forecast holds. It is subject to change. As it is, we might seem some showers and storms both days as highs potentially reach a humid 90 degrees.

Next Weekend.  Frankly, not sure yet. Depends upon whether some cold fronts arrive to rescue us from the humidity or not. Cold fronts would also mean a potential shower risk. But don't make plans based on the weather for next weekend. We really have almost no idea what will happen then

Showers, T-Storms, Few Severe Today In Vermont. Hot Times Ahead For Upcoming Week

Radar showed a batch of mostly light rain moving into 
the state this moving. That  should move out, followed by
showers and thunderstorms this afternoon. Some could
be severe, especially south.  

 Editors Note: Posts might be irregular or short through at least Sunday as I'm traveling. I'll do my best!

OK, Now that my travel plans are out of the way: It's raining a little this morning in Vermont. Or at least parts of the state. 

Last week's weather has made things pretty parched, so we need it. It won't be a blockbuster rainfall for most of us, which is too bad. It won't make up for a dry week, a the upcoming week looks a bit arid, too. More on that in a bit. 

TODAY

The rain this morning is mostly a steady light rain moving in rapidly from New York State. It's zipping along, and should be pretty m much out of the state by early afternoon. Southern Vermont might only get a trace of rain out of this morning's little blip of rain. 

Then things get interesting. We could get some breaks of sun to roil the humid atmosphere a bit. Winds aloft will increase, and another disturbance ahead of a cold front will sweep in during the afternoon. 

The result is a risk of severe thunderstorms. They could happen anywhere in Vermont, but are most likely along and south of Route 4. A broad area from Indiana, Ohio, then through Pennsylvania, New Jersey and the southern half of New England is under a slight risk of severe thunderstorms, says NOAA's Storm Prediction Center. 

That slight risk - a level 2 out of 5 alert level - includes southern Vermont.

Yellow area, including southern Vermont is under a 
level 2 out of 5 risk of severe storms today. Dark
green is level 1 out 5 risk. If there are severe
storms in Vermont today, the greatest danger
will be strong winds and lightning. 

That slight risk means there could be scattered instances of storm damage today. The risk is for strong gusty winds. There could be isolated instances of damaging hail, but that's less likely. 

 The rest of the state, along with northern New England and northern New York is under a marginal risk, alert level one out of 5. That means  a risk of isolated storm issues. 

It looks like the greatest risk of storms statewide is between 2 ad 8 p.m. today. You know the drill. 

If you have outdoor plans, keep an eye to the sky and have a way to receive severe storm warnings or other weather advisories. I'd also postpone that hike in the mountains to another day. 

TONIGHT/SUNDAY

The cold front will continue to approach as atmospheric ripples continue ahead of it. That means a continued  good chance of showers overnight tonight, with a few rumbles of thunder, too.

This state of affairs should continue Sunday as the cold front slips through. Most of the rain in the north will be in the morning and early afternoon. Southern Vermont has a better chance of  thunderstorms mixed in with rain and showers, but they don't look like they will be severe. 

It will be much cooler, but not cold, like last weekend. Highs should end up within a few degrees either side of 70.

Forecast total rainfall has increased a bit since yesterday. Because of the thunderstorms, rainfall will be super variable, with some communities not getting much at all, while two town over they have over an inch. 

But in general, now through Sunday, southern Vermont gets a half to a third of an inch of rain, while the northern half gets a half inch, give or take. 

All in all, a fairly unpleasant weather weekend. Sorry about that! But we need what rain we can get, so be thankful for that as your high school graduation picnics turn into downpour soaked dashes indoors. And please don't leave the cake out in the rain. 

HOT TIMES AHEAD

The upcoming week looks interesting, Not in terms of storms, but heat.

Monday will be nice enough, with sunshine low humidity and highs near 80s. Tuesday turns hot, with most of us in the 80s with some towns touching 90. At least the humidity on Tuesday will be low. 

Not so much for the rest of the week. Humidity will rise as the heat continues to build. 

Burlington had a chance Tuesday through Friday of seeing four consecutive days where temperatures get to at least 90 degrees. The National Weather Service is already putting us on alert that this could be a serious hot spell, with serious heat risk, especially for unhealthy people with little or no access to air conditioning. 

As far as rainfall, a weak disturbance embedded in the hot flow of air from the southwest could touch off some scattered thunderstorms Wednesday afternoon through Thursday night. But the storms don't look like they'll be particularly widespread. 

The heat and humidity has a good  chance of lasting beyond Friday.  

 

Warm, Dry Vermont Week Yielding To Wet Weekend, But Most Of Us Avoid Heavy Rain.

A thunderstorm looms over an outdoor graduation
ceremony in Orono, Minnesota on Thursday. 
The ceremony was moved indoors as the storm ot
closer. Vermont is line for some possible 
thunderstorms on Saturday. 

 I'm reporting on Vermont weather this morning from a perch in Orono, Minnesota, an outer suburb west of Minneapolis of all places, so if my Green Mountain weather summary seems a bit distant, that's why. 

I'm here in Minnesota for an important graduation. Congratulations Jonas Stengle!

In Vermont, some high clouds came in yesterday, but that didn't prevent temperatures from getting well into the 80s.  We'll have the same situation today. There might be some high clouds, especially north. But we'll also have a good amount of sun, with highs well into the 80s. 

Then, obviously, rain arrives for the weekend. It's a Vermont rule: If you're going to get gorgeous weather, it hits during the week. Usually, Saturday and/or Sunday will bring the rain.

Saturday

It won't rain all the time, but we should  have a near-constant threat of showers and storms. The first batch of weather goes through mostly far northern Vermont with a batch of showers. Some of those showers might have some briefly heavy downpours up near the Canadian border. 

There might be a bit of clearing midday, maybe. That will set the stage for another round of showers and thunderstorms.  While there might be some locally heavy downpours - that's almost always the case during the summer - most of us won't get a huge amount of rain out of this. 

Still, you'll want to keep an eye out for ominous clouds, as a few thunderstorms might get their panties in a twist enough to get pretty strong.

NOAA's Storm Prediction Center has all Vermont in at least a marginal risk of severe storms Saturday. That's a level one out of five on the alert scale A sliver of far southern Vermont is in a level two slight risk 

The risk isn't higher than that, says the National Weather Service office in South Burlington, because the best ingredients aren't linking up just right. At least as we think now.

The best chance for any bursts of sunshine Saturday would be in southern Vermont. The partially clearing skies would increase the instability in the atmosphere, 

But the best atmospheric dynamics and wind patterns are expected in northern Vermont. If the dynamics and wind patterns were to line up better, wed have a bigger shot at scarier storms

Saturday will be a little cooler under the clouds, but it will be more humid, (If I ruled the language, I would change that to "humider" instead of "more humid," If things were consistent with the language, the sentence would refer either to "cooler but humider air", or "more cool but more humid air."

Whoever invented the English language isn't big on consistency. 

Anyway, back to Vermont weather. Highs Saturday should be within a few degrees withe side of 80.

SUNDAY

Lingering showers rule the Vermont roost Sunday, especially south, Cooler air will be flowing in, but it won't exactly be cold with temperatures up in the 70s. Northern Vermont might tend to start drying out late in the day.

Total precipitation if the forecasts verify will run close to just a quarter inch in southern Vermont to a quarter to a half inch north. As always, a few towns might have heavier rain if they get a direct hit from a thunderstorm or two, 

NEXT WEEK:

The overall weather pattern is a warm one, so the balmy summer weather will continue. It'll be up near 80 Monday, and way up in the 80s Tuesday and Wednesday. Warmer valleys might touch 90 by Wednesday, 

The air will be fairly dry during the first half of the week but tend to turn more humid during the second half,  It'll stay warm to hot, with maybe another 90 degree day in spots Thursday. Maybe next Friday or Saturday, too, who knows? 

June is starting out pretty toasty in the Green Mountain State!

 

"Chaser Convergence" Is A Rising Tornado Death Risk

Tornado beginning to develop near Blue Rapids, Kansas on
May 18.  Hundreds of storm chasers converged on this twister.
Photo via Facebook, Live Storm Chasers

 On May 18, a huge supercell thunderstorm sent a tornado stabbing into the ground east of Blue Rapids, Kansas, population about 900. 

Beneath those roiling clouds, a convoy whose members might well have matched the population of the town gathered in roughly 500 vehicles on narrow rural roads, hoping for a glimpse, a photo or a video of the tornado. 

The tornado turned out to be relatively brief and harmless. 

It's called "chaser convergence," and it's dangerous. Converging air masses help produce tornadic storms. The chasers, in turn, converge on the tornadoes.

 Storm chasing has boomed louder than the thunder that supercells produce. Many of the storm chasers are experience and responsible. They know how tornadoes behave and what the safe distance is. They follow the rules of the road. 

Others...not so much.

"As I'm sitting on the highway, it was a continuous line of cars going east for 30 minutes. I mean it was crazy," said Blue Rapids Police Chief Ryan Woodyard. 

 That's a recipe for disaster. 

"There is a chance that there cold be, you know, a line of cars stuck in a traffic jam and that a tornado side swipes them can easily take out dozens of chasers and kill multiple, multiple people at one time," Darin Brunin, a local storm chaser told television station KSNT.   

Per Yahoo News:

"Storm chasers not only have to worry about tornadoes, but also other drivers. Storm chasers report driving is one of the greatest hazards of the job, while law enforcement said managing traffic  a become even harder for small towns with limited resources."

Storm chasers do die when chasing tornadoes, or heading home from or heading to or from the chasers. Four storm chasers died in two separate accidents during the 2022 tornado season. 

Some chasers near Blue Rapids were not obeying traffic laws. If emergency vehicles were needed, chances are they wouldn't be able to get through. The day the tornado touched down east of Blue Rapids, other storms threatened different parts of Kansas on May 18. By one estimation, there were 7,000 tornado hunters roaming the flat plains of the state. 

Commissioners in Marshall County, which includes Blue Rapids. are calling for some type of action  regarding uncoordinated storm chasers. The commissioners agree that chasers can provide life saving information for the public and initiate search and rescue since they are often on the scene before first responders get there. 

Chaser convergence isn't only a problem in Marshall County, Kansas, of course. Anytime there is a well-forecasted tornado outbreak, throngs of chasers are on the scene. 

There doesn't seem to be any calls to ban or seriously regulate storm chasers. But that day might come if there are more tragedies involving the chasers. 

 

A Dry And Warm Vermont Midweek, But Does Another Wet Weekend Loom?

These irises in St. Albans, Vermont are definitely 
enjoying this week's sunshine. 

 Boy, yesterday was another great June day, wasn't it? Sunny and warm, with just some high clouds decorating the skies. 

Tuesday did get off to a chilly start. A lot of places were in the 30s early Monday morning, so there might have been some frost in the coldest hollows of Vermont. 

No biggie, that happens the Green Mountain State often in early June. 

Today, we started off cool again, in the 40s. That was fading fast as temperatures soar to within a few degrees either side of 80 today. I think most valleys should reach at least 80 today os it's definitely warm. 

Thursday. 

Even warmers, as temperature soar well into the 80s. In fact, most of us will be within a few degrees of record highs for the date. For instance, Burlington is going for a high of 89 degrees, and the record high there is 92 degrees. Montpelier expects a high of 86 Thursday, and their record high is 87. 

But it won't be really humid, so it will still be a nice today. 

Friday. 

Similar to Thursday but maybe a degree or two cooler because some clouds should arrive in the afternoon. We should all be in the 80s. The humidity will creep up a little, but still be pretty reasonable. 

Weekend

It's the weekend, so the rule is, it has to rain. 

It's a few days away, so the specifics still have to be worked out. It does look like a slow moving cold front will sink southward into and eventually through Vermont. By Saturday, it could be pretty humid. It doesn't look like the atmosphere will be right for severe thunderstorms, but there could be some heavy downpours. 

By Sunday, it will probably be noticeably cooler under the showery clouds and behind the cold front. But "cooler" won't be the same as what we endured in our chilly May. Instead of 50s and low 60s for highs, we're tentatively looking at low to mid 70s. 

Remember, the forecast is subject to change. If you don't like rainy weekends, you never know. The weather could change it could turn sunnier. But right now, I'm not super optimistic.

The overall weather pattern is still a warm one, so I expect some more days in the 80s next week. 

 

A Cool, Wet Spring In Vermont Kept Gardens Blooming, Frustrated Warm Weather Fans. With Some Exceptions

The cool, wet character of May, 2026 made it a great daffodil
growing month. This photo was taken May 10 in St. 
Albans, Vermont.

I didn't finish our May Vermont climate summary yesterday, so my bad. 

The weather forecast this week is straight forward enough. Sunny with a warming trend through the week, with perhaps some showers late in the week. Summer weather is here .

So let's 'get into what we Vermonters went through during the month of May

 The month of May in Vermont that just ended was definitely on the cool side, and in most places, wet, too.

We didn't break any records with temperatures or precipitation, but it was cooler, cloudier and more damp that we've gotten used to in recent Mays.

COOL MAY

In Burlington, the average temperature was 57.1 degrees, or 1.3 degrees below what is now considered average. As I always mention, average isn't what it used to be.  Nowadays, we compare months to the average of a recent 30 year period. Months in the 20th century were cooler than they are now. 

You can see that in the stats. Out of the past 135 years, this May was the 82 coolest, or 53rd warmest. So by historical standards, May was a little on the warm side.  

Most weather stations in Vermont were about the same degree cooler than the modern average as Burlington. Rutland, Montpelier and St. Johnsbury were all around one to two degrees on the cool side. Bennington was 2.3 degrees below normal. 

Nineteen days in Burlington were cooler than  normal, but the cold was never extreme. All of the cool days were less than 10 degrees below normal. The month's chill was offset by a brief heat wave that set temperatures soaring to near record heights on May 18-19. The low temperature in Burlington on the 19th was a muggy 71 degrees, a record for the date.

WET MAY

It was a wet month, with rainfall pretty well distributed throughout the month. We never came close to dealing with any flooding issues.  

Burlington had 4.88 inches of rain, which was a little over an inch above normal. It was the 22nd wettest May out of the past 143 years. (The wettest May was in 2013, with 8.74 inches.)

Most other places in Vermont, with the exception of the far south, had a wetter than average May, too. Montpelier had nearly six inches of rain, which was 2.39 inches above average. St. Johnsbury was given a boost by a super soaker of a rainstorm on the 30th. Their month total worked out to 6.46 inches, which was 2.7 inches above average.

Far southern Vermont was drier. Bennington had 2.56 inches of rain, nearly an inch on the dry side.

LOOKING AHEAD

For what it's worth, NOAA's monthly outlook says odds lean fairly heavily toward a warmer than normal June. There's also a somewhat greater than even chance of a dry June, according to NOAA's predictions.

That matches the forecast for the opening week of June, anyway, which will be warm and dry. 

NOAA got May's prediction basicalliy right. They said the month's temperatures would be near to somewhat below normal, and that's true. They also said there were equal chances of above or below normal precipitation. Since most of the state was wet but the south was dry, I'll give it to them.