Relentless Heat, Humidity To Make Vermont Flood Cleanup Difficult, Storm Chances For Added Nerves Wave

Williams Hill Road in Richmond is one of at least
hundreds of local roads in Vermont that need
to be repaired after this week's floods. Hot, humid
weather will slow recovery efforts. 

UPDATE: 1:15 PM

Am nervously watching scattered thunderstorms early this afternoon.

The Storm Prediction Center has introduced a marginal risk of severe storms over us, which means an isolated one or two could cause damaging winds in small areas.

Of course, I'm more nervous about renewed flash flooding. We definitely won't see anything as widespread as Wednesday night. Not even close.

But I'm watching some storms head toward the worst of the flood zones carrying torrential downpours.

Some of these might cause more damage in small areas or undo repairs made just in the past couple of days to some roads. Since soils are saturated, brooks are running high and culverts are compromised, I wouldn't be surprised to see parts of a couple towns take a hit this afternoon.

Trouble is, there's no telling which ones until the storms hit. So, keep an eye to the sky today just in case. 

The chances of this happening have increased since this morning, as thunderstorms are proving more numerous than first thought. 

Today's storms should diminish and disappear this evening.

PREVIOUS DISCUSSION

We get spells of humid weather with torrential thunderstorms here in Vermont every summer but this is ridiculous. 

Not only have we endure yet another apocalyptic flood here in Vermont, the heat and especially the humidity have been relentless. 

And will continue to be at least through Wednesday.  To make us all nervous, there are chances of storms nearly every day until then, and those associated downpours could be locally heavy. Which would make anyone nervous after all we've been through this week. 

Because I don't want to induce panic, any new flood problems created by added thunderstorms would be pretty isolated and definitely not nearly as widespread as what we experienced Wednesday night and Thursday.

HEAT PERSISTS 

 We've already had nine days this year in Burlington that made it to at least 90 degrees, include four this month. There's a decent chance we could do three more Sunday, Monday and Tuesday as the heat intensifies here and up and down the East Coast over the next few days.  

Nights have offered no real relief. 

Since July 4, the temperature in Burlington has not fallen below 67 degrees. It probably won't get any colder than that  until Wednesday night. Over in Lebanon, New Hampshire, Friday was the seventh consecutive day they made it to 90. If it gets to 90 today, they'll tie the record there for longest heat wave.  

All this is bad enough in normal times. During emergencies, like Vermont is experiencing now, it's downright dangerous. 

Everybody wants to help their neighbors. Mucking out damaged homes and businesses, clearing debris and repairing roads, bridges and driveways is really hard work when it's nice and cool out. In this weather, you have to be careful, despite your enthusiasm for lending a hand. 

Volunteers are bringing tons of drinking water to disaster sites.  If you are working there, take full advantage. Take as much water as you want or need. Don't be shy. Your body needs it. If the water starts to run out, I'm sure people will bring more right away. 

Bonus if the volunteers bring stuff to fix your electrolytes too, like Gatorade or Pedialyte. 

It's also OK to take breaks. In fact, you must.  The flooding has already tragically claimed two Vermont lives. Don't let the cleanup add more to this. Heat is the most deadly type of weather in the U.S. 

I'm not discouraging anybody from helping out. I'm just saying be smart about it. 

Each day today through Tuesday will be at least 85 in most places. Some spots will be 90 or a little more, depending on if you're in the valley and the placement and timing of those ever-present humidity-driven showers and thunderstorms. 

Also, unfortunately, it's not a good idea to cool off in the rivers and streams affected by the flooding. Familiar swimming holes are not so, anymore, as many have been rearranged, or filled in with rocks and debris. There might well be lingering contaminants from the flooding as well.

Sorry to be Debbie Downer here. It is what it is, though. 

By the way, the heat isn't just here. The West has been baking in record breaking heat for a week now. The eastern United States from the Gulf Coast to Maine will now be treated by this oppressive weather as well.

Record highs might be set in the South and Mid-Atlantic this week, as highs could reach 100 degrees as far north as Philadelphia

STORM THREAT 

Anytime it's hot and humid, there's a storm threat, with the potential for torrential downpours. 

Such is the case with this hot spell. The storms will be hit and miss, and are most likely in the afternoon and evening, which is the usual case.

Many of us will get no rain at all today, and almost everybody that does see rain will receive manageable amounts, with no added damage worries. But I think it's possible that a couple places might be bullseye by torrential downpours that could dump an inch of rain in a short time. 

That's not enough to cause local flooding on the scale we just had. But it is enough to undo some of the repair work to roads and driveways and such.  Again, these would just be isolated instances. Still, it would be disheartening to see that happen, especially if any of these torrential storms hit our hardest hit communities like Plainfield, Barnet, Barre, Lyndon and others.  

On Sunday, high pressure will dominate, so if any storms manage to pop up, which is iffy, they'd be brief, isolated and won't last long.  It'll just be hot.

A weak disturbance Monday could trigger a few widely scattered storms. They might become more numerous Tuesday and Wednesday as some cold fronts approach.

SWEET RELIEF

Those approaching cold fronts might be something we'll all appreciate. Signs are growing that we'll have at least a couple days of cooler, far less humid and more importantly, very dry weather toward Thursday and Friday.

During this hoped-for episode, dew points and nighttime temperatures could fall into the wonderful 50s. Daytime highs would stay in the 70s to around 80, but the air will feel fresh, not heavy.  

I don't know how long that great weather will last in what has been a hot, humid, stormy summer, but we'll take anything we can get at this point.