Wednesday Evening Vermont Flood Update: So Far, Mostly So Good, But New Flash Flood Warning St. J/Lyndonville

Threatening clouds, but so far very little rain in St. 
Albans, Vermont so far today. Can't say the same for
some areas of the state that faced some pretty good 
downpours. Spotty flash flood risk lasts into the
evening, even though we've dodged a bullet so far.

UPDATE 7 PM

OK, bullet NOT dodged.

Just as I feared in my evening update an hour ago, enough rain has fallen in the Northeast Kingdom to prompt a flash flood warning.

The warning includes towns hit super hard yesterday, including St. Johnsbury and Lyndonville.

Up to two inches of rain has already fallen, and up to another 1.5 inches is anticipated soon.

The ground is so soggy and unstable there, that that amount of rain is more than enough so set off flash flooding.

So far, the flash flooding in the Northeast Kingdom doesn't appear to be as extreme as it was Tuesday. However, any added damage and trouble is just more misery for a Northeast Kingdom population that has already been through far too much. 

PREVIOUS DISCUSSION 

As of 6 p.m. this Wednesday evening all the flash flood warnings so far seem to be focused on New Hampshire.  Not good for them, but so far, Vermont has mostly dodged a bullet. 

However, a few more bullets might fly our way before the evening is over.  We'll still have to wait and see for the next few hours. 

Slow moving downpours are still crawling through the Green Mountain State. The risk of flash flooding is still there, especially in the Northeast Kingdom.

We have seen quite a few downpours around.  Very hit and miss, though. Some pinpoint places have received more than an inch of rain, while others, like here in St. Albans, had seen just a trace of rain and some rumbles of thunder through 6 p.m. 

The downpours that have limped southwest to northeast across Vermont have further "primed the pump" for possible local flash flooding if they get hit by more torrents of rain.  A flood advisory was hoisted this afternoon for parts of Bennington County, where one to two inches of rain fell in a short period of time. 

I'm noticing some pretty heavy rain has moved into Caledonia and Essex counties as of 6 p.m., so that will need to be watched closely. That's the zone that was so hard hit by Tuesday's floods. Which means even relatively brief downpours can set off more trouble and more damage. 

I'm also watching a heavy area of rain in eastern Addison County, which was moving quite slowly over steep terrain. That could cause trouble. 

Even though we haven't really had any major problems yet, the risk is probably peaking between now and about 9 p.m. as the day's rain - at least where it really poured - is beginning to add up. 

No guarantees we'll have flash flood problems. We might well get lucky.  But it's too soon to let your guard down. Let's wait and see what the next few hours bring.