More Vermont Flooding Sunday. Slightly Better This Week, But Risks Remain

National Weather Service office in South Burlington 
released this map of Sunday's rainfall. The Northeast 
Kingdom was hit hardest, with over four inches of 
rain in spots. A secondary area of flooding was
in southern and eastern Chittenden County. 

It was another destructive day Sunday in New England with new flooding throughout most of the region.  

There was definitely new damage in Vermont, but we didn't bear the full brunt of the storm this time. 

Southern and central New England were really hit hard with two waves of torrential rain, with the first wave Sunday  morning accompanied by a few confirmed or suspected tornadoes. Some parts of New Hampshire had five inches of rain, with many road washouts reported.

In Vermont, most of the new damage  Sunday was in the Northeast Kingdom, with a secondary area of problems in southern and eastern Chittenden County. 

Up in the NEK, Wheelock reported 4.45 inches of rain, with 3.89 inches in West Burke. Reports are just trickling in, but I'm sure it's really nasty up there.  That amount of rain with how wet the ground is would be a recipe for chaos. 

I do know several Northeast Kingdom roads closed because of high water or washes, including several sections of Route 105.

In West Charleston, a mudslide also blocked Route 105. If many more details come out of the Northeast Kingdom from Sunday, I'll provide updates. 

In Chittenden County, Route 2 in Richmond between Interstate Exit 11 and the village was closed by flooding. Part of Huntington Road in Richmond was also washed out.  Flooding was also noted around Hinesburg and St. George. Water was even reported gushing across a section of Interstate 89 in Richmond for a time. 

Some roads in Bolton, like Notch Road, are reportedly washed out and closed, too,

A huge trouble spot today might be Middlebury.

The flood-prone Otter Creek usually does not cause many problems around Middlebury. Today looks like it will be a sad exception.

Heavy rainfall has focused on the Otter Creek basin almost daily since Thursday.  Today, the water in Middlebury is likely to flood businesses on Bakery Lane and homes on Seymour Street.  WCAX-TV says swift water rescue teams are standing by in Middlebury, with the help of a team from Michigan.

The town's fire chief told people in flood prone areas of town to have a to-go bag ready for a quick evacuation. 

The rain ended late last night, and waters are receding again, or will soon, except for the Otter Creek.  Now, we're in for another week of flood risks, but - fingers crossed - it might not be too bad. But you never know.

THE OUTLOOK

Today

After torrential rains caused flooding around Hinesburg,
Vermont Sunday evening, the departing storm provided
this cheerful, hopeful goodbye. 

Surprise!  A dry day in Vermont. I suppose there could be an isolated shower, but it won't be anything to worry about.  

Almost all of us will get through the day without seeing a single, annoying rain drop.  

This summer in Vermont, though, there's a price for everything. The wildfire smoke is back. It was already a little hazy out there this morning, and it will get worse. The smoke will probably peak this afternoon.

An air quality alert is in effect today. 

Those of you in flood cleanup ought to be careful with that today. Between the smoke and the dust generated by all that mud left over that's drying in the sun, that's a lot of stuff to breathe. Plus, there's the mold that's surely forming in this humidity in basements and formerly flooded rooms. 

Probably best to wear an N-95 mask today while cleaning up.  Those with asthma and other lung issues also ought to try to take it easy today. Especially since once again, it's going to be on the humid side.

Tuesday

Here we go again with the risk of flooding. Another weather system is coming in, packing more showers and thunderstorms. Although it will be very humid, there won't be quite as much moisture for this upcoming cold front to tap into, at least compared to Sunday. 

Still, anything that falls now goes right to runoff. The soils can't absorb much of anything. Local instances of flash flooding are definitely on the table for Tuesday.  

That could happen anywhere in Vermont, but the best chances are from the Green Mountains east.  My guess is there will be some spots of trouble and more damage, but it will be isolated.  Not as scary as Sunday was.  And definitely no comparison to the catastrophic flood we had a week ago.

Wednesday

Another dry day! Yay!!!  Another big bonus is the high humidity, which has been an incredibly remarkable consistence presence in our lives since late June, will take an ever so brief break.

You won't be able to call Wednesday bone dry, but dew points could drop below 60 degrees, putting us in the comfortable range. It'll still be warm out there, with highs in the low 80s

Late Week

Another threat of some flooding from showers and thunderstorms. It's too soon to say exactly when in the period Thursday through Saturday is riskiest, but there could be some problems. 

Again, no way will it be as bad as the peak of our historic floods. But showers and storms could cause some local flash floods during that period.  We'll get more details as we get closer.

After that, no promises, but there's a hint we could actually see some dry, cool weather toward Sunday. That's uncertain, but it's a potential prize for us that might be dangling out there.