Horror Movie Plot Summer Creates More Vermont Flood Chaos

Rutland,Vermont Alderman Michael Talbot posted this
photo of water rescues Friday on Clover Street in
Rutland. That region was hit hard by the latest of
many rounds of flash flooding in Vermont this summer.

This summer in Vermont is playing out like a very bad horror movie. 

You know the tired, cliched plot of these things: The monster keeps attacking, but finally it's vanquished and killed. Or so everybody thinks.

 Just when the movie's characters start to relax, the monster strikes again. 

So it's been in Vermont. Through July, the monster in the form of flash floods keeps striking.  It did its biggest attack on July 10 and 11, which really blew the special effects budget, so to speak.

Then the monster kept up its campaign, picking off victims one by one, taking out bridges, roads and buildings in one, town, then another, then another, then yet one more pretty much through July

A week ago, we thought the monster had finally been taken down. The weather pattern changed, and we didn't have to worry about these intense rains any more. 

Or so everybody thought. 

Thursday night, it was Middlebury's turn.  The attack in the form of torrential downpours was extreme and brutal.  Six inches of rain in that one spot in just three hours. An inch of it came in just 10 minutes. Middlebury was sunk.

RUTLAND HIT HARD

Unfortunately, things continued on Friday. The flood monster seemed to make Rutland and Springfield its next victims. 

Several Rutland streets were inundated. Swift water teams rescued at least 20 people from flooded houses, mostly around Clover Street near Route 7.  An emergency shelter for flood victims was being set up at Rutland High School, VTDigger reported.

Water blocked Route 7 just north of the intersection with Strongs Avenue, at Clover Street.  Route 7 is the main North/South highway in western Vermont  Parts of busy West Street were also closed. 

A large sink hole reportedly opened up near the Rutland Regional Medical Center, and Stratton Road nearby was closed. Several  basements along Church and Center streets in Rutland flooded. Houses were also surrounded by water on Spruce, Granger and some other areas of the city.  Rutland Mayor Mike Doenges declared a state of emergency as the flooding worsened Friday afternoon.

Heavy rain fell in the morning, then an intense afternoon storm positioned itself perfectly to create the most serious flooding possible in Rutland. The heaviest rain - three to as much as 4.37 inches - was centered over and just east of Rutland. That allowed water to rush down the hills near Mendon and Rutland Town into the city. 

To add insult to injury, hail and damaging winds were reported in Middletown Springs, Wallingford, West Rutland and Clarendon. 

In Springfield, torrential rains flooded roads and at least one business. 

Meanwhile, new details emerged about the seriousness in Thursday evening's flooding in Middlebury 

On Thursday, floodwater invaded the Middlebury Police Department, forcing them to temporarily relocate, the Addison Independent reported. 

Middlebury Police Chief Tom Hanley said as much as four inches of water was in the building, and dispatchers were taking emergency calls with their pant legs rolled up and barefoot to avoid the water. 

The Addison Independent also received reports of flood damage and Davis Family Library, the Axinn Center and Weybridge, Sunderland and Allen halls at Middlebury College.  Water also flooded parts of the Marble Works complex and at least one house on Court Street was severely damaged by the flooding. 

UP NEXT

Though it's not definite yet, as this map indicates
there's at least a slight chance of renewed
flooding in northern New England, including
Vermont on Tuesday. This forecast will
almost certainly change a little one 
way or another, however. 

Believe it or not, there could be even more trouble on the horizon, but of course we're not sure yet. That's the style of horror movies, right? Keep 'em in suspense.

 We are in for a nice, dry, sunny weekend, which will help temporarily ease the tension. 

However, a strong, dynamic storm for this time of year is taking shape in the Midwest and will head toward the Northeaster U.S. by early in the week. 

The storm will very likely cause a big outbreak of severe thunderstorms and possible tornadoes in the Midwest and East Coast between now and Monday. 

The sort of good news is Vermont appears to be a little too far north to share in the severe storms and tornadoes, The very bad news is we could be in for some more heavy rain, possibly enough to cause renewed flooding.  

Details are still slim on this potential storm, so we don't know for sure whether Vermont will see more flooding, never mind how bad any high water might be or where in the state it might set up. 

Even the long range forecasts are discouraging. Sure, they're often not accurate, but still, they do call for above normal temperatures and rainfall well into the middle of August. That's a recipe for humid weather with torrential downpours - if individual weather systems set up the wrong way for us. 

This Vermont Summer Movie of 2023 is way too long and needs some serious editing.