Wild Storms, Tornadoes Hit Mid-Atlantic States While We In Vermont Keep Enjoying Quiet Weather. We Need Rain, Though.

A waterspout turned tornado
seen here damaging a 
beach resort on Long Island, NY.
Severe weather and tornadoes
hit the Mid-Atlantic states,
but we in Vermont stayed
on the quiet sidelines.

We in Vermont should be very thankful the weather system that just threw clouds across Vermont on Thursday didn't hit us head on.

The storm unleashed tornadoes, severe thunderstorms and flash flooding across the Mid-Atlantic states. 

A tornado ripped through Dover, Delaware of all places. A Kraft Foods plant was also damaged. Two hotels were badly damaged, and the city was strewn with broken trees, debris an downed power lines. Streets were flooded.  Miraculously, no injuries were reported. 

On Long Island, in Nassau County a waterspout came off of Reynolds Channel from Far Rockaway, Queens, and came ashore at a beach club. About 30 cabanas at the Sun and Surf Beach Club were damaged or destroyed by the likely tornado.  Luckily, there was only one minor injury, to a worker at the beach club. A state of emergency was declared in Nassau County because of the likely tornado.

Another possible tornado hit the city of Columbia, in central Pennsylvania, partially collapsing several buildings. 

Up here in Vermont, of course we were bystanders to all that, thank goodness. The clouds were a bit thicker than forecast, but not by much. Some rain actually worked its way into far southern Vermont, with Bennington reporting 0.2 inches. So a bit of needed water down there.

It seems like it's getting kind of dry here in Vermont, despite the scattered, sometimes even violent thunderstorms we've seen this month. The weekly U.S. Drought Monitor, released yesterday, has expanded the area of abnormally dry conditions in the Northeast Kingdom. That dry area now encompasses nearly a third of the state.

"Abnormally dry" is a condition that is just shy of a drought. 

Not much rain is in the forecast, either. As usual, let's get into the daily forecast

TODAY

It still looks like today will be the pick of the week in terms of weather conditions. We started the day quite cool, with dawn temperatures within a few degrees either side of 50 amid the usual patches of fog.  Autumn is creeping up on us. 

The day will turn out gorgeous, with mostly sunny skies, low humidity and highs well into the 70s, possibly near 80 in the warmest valley floors. Then, we enjoy Another clear, cool nigh.

SATURDAY 

Increasing clouds but still nice, highs in the 70s to near 80. A couple light showers could work their way into southern and eastern sections of the state during the afternoon and evening. 

SUNDAY

A risk of showers, but unfortunately, it looks like soaking rains will go by to our west and to our east. One low pressure system will move northward west of here, going through the eastern Great Lakes into western Quebec. Another, small but potentially wetter system will move northward near coastal New England and then head toward Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. 

Vermont will be caught in the middle. Which mean we'll have clouds and a shower risk, but light amounts of rain since most of the energy to produce downpours will be to our west and east. 

That said, a few showers could have locally moderate to briefly heavy rain, but that will only hit a small percentage of us. As it stands now, it looks like most of us will have a quarter inch of rain or less. There might be little more than that in far southern parts of the state.

MONDAY

The two storms I mentioned above will consolidate in northern Quebec. That will send cool, sort of moist air down in our direction. That means partly to at times mostly cloudy skies both days. Light showers should be scattered about, especially in the north and in the mountains. 

The cool north flow won't grab as much cold air as it could this time of year. Sometimes this weather set up keeps daytime temperatures in the 60s. Instead, we should be mostly in the 70s, with some 60s in the Northeast Kingdom

 

Trump Cheating Blue States With Disaster Relief

Vermont received FEMA disaster aid after the 
catastrophic July, 2023 floods, shown here. But that
was during the Biden administration. If another 
flood happened now, Trump very likely wouldn't
approve disaster aid because too many 
Vermonters voted against him. It's Trump
disgusting retribution against perceived enemies

 Things have gotten so bad that if a disaster strikes your blue state, you won't get assistance because the Orange Cockwomble, Donald Trump is butt hurt you didn't vote for him.

As Politico reported on July 29,  Trump earlier this summer overruled his own agencies when he denied disaster aid for four Democratic-led states.

The latest issue involves New Jersey, Massachusetts and Rhode Island, who were seeking federal disaster funds to help recover from a massive, record-breaking blizzard this past February.

FEMA field offices verified that the damage qualified for disaster assistance, but Trump overruled them. Presidents have sole authority to grant disaster relief to states, but historically, until Trump, presidents never overruled the field offices. 

Presidents Since George W. Bush and before Trump approved all 69 state requests for snow assistance, except for one, Politico reports. The one denial was because FEMA funds had been mishandled. 

This is a continuation of Trump ignoring disasters in Democratic-led states. Politico says Trump has rejected disaster aid for Democratic-run states at the highest rate in the entire 47-year history of FEMA. Meanwhile, Trump has approved nearly 90 percent of disaster aid requests from states run by Republicans. 

Politico continues: "He approve just 23 percent of disaster funding requests from states with a Democratic governor and two Democratic senators since returning to office 14 months ago. For states with a Republican governor and two Republican senators, it's the opposite - Trump has approved 89 percent of their requests."

In all previous administrations, there has been no discernible bias in presidential disaster declarations.  Democratic and Republican-led states got equal treatment. Until Trump. 

Interestingly, during the first Trump administration, his pattern of approving disaster assistance almost exactly matched previous administrations. It was only during the current term that the disparity became apparent. 

Since taking office for his second term, the Associated Press says Trump has approved 65 requests for major disaster declarations and denied more than two dozen others. 

On top of all that, Trump is taking longer to declare disasters than any other presidential administration.

Trump's spokesperson Abigail Jackson, wrote, "There is no politicization to the President's decisions on disaster relief."

Riiiiiight.  

Jackson also explains the slow approval on Trump conducting a more thorough review than any administration before him.  Yes, of course, sure. Can I do a rolling eye emoji here?

Democrats in Congress have asked the Government Accountability office to look into the criteria of how FEMA determines whether to recommend disaster declarations from Trump. But even if there's some sort of smoking gun at FEMA, that won't stop Trump from politicizing all current and future disasters. 

Two of the most recent disasters to hit the United States were the severe floods in Indiana and the extreme wildfires in and around Spokane, Washington.  Indiana is a red state. Washington is a blue state.

Two different states, two different disasters. But both have caused a lot of heartache and loss for residents of those states

Will Trump help Indiana and snub Washington? My guess is yes. 

It should be obvious to everyone except Trump and his minions that economically strapped individual, towns and states can't handle mega disasters on their own. But Trump only cares about himself. 

We knew that before he became president. But too many Americans didn't care, and here we are. 

 

Vermont Continues To Be Blessed By Great Late Summer Weather, But Rain Would Still Be Nice

A storm looms north of St. Albans, Vermont late yesterday
afternoon. Only a few places in far northern Vermont 
got some rain yesterday. 
Photo by Jeff Modereger.

As expected, any showers and storms pretty much stayed near the Canadian border yesterday and last night. 

One downpour just missed my house in St. Albans, Vermont during the late afternoon, which is too bad, because now I have to rig up the hoses to water the gardens. 

Especially since no rain is anticipated until Sunday, and that rain at this point does not look impressive. 

Other showers and isolated thunderstorms ran right along the Canadian border in New York and northwest Vermont late in the evening.  But again, most of us missed out.  On the bright side there was no severe weather. 

As always, let's get into the Vermont dailies

TODAY

We started out this morning with comfortable temperatures in the 50s, with the usual patches of early morning fog, especially in the river valleys. Otherwise, the mostly clear skies we're starting out with today will become more cloudy by afternoon. Mostly high clouds, especially north. 

The weather system that caused renewed flooding in Indiana and Ohio yesterday and last night is passing to our south, and that's what's throwing the clouds our way. There's a slight chance of light showers near the Massachusetts border this evening. But nothing major.

FRIDAY

Friday still looks like the pick of the week. After another comfortable dawn with those patchy areas of fog again, we'l have sunny skies, low humidity, with highs in the 70s to near 80. Can't get much better than that. 

SATURDAY

We continue the trend we've had this summer of nice Saturdays, at least in northern Vermont. More morning fog, then sunshine, highs again in the 75 to 82 degree range. Some clouds might increase in the afternoon.

Further south, the clouds will probably come in on Saturday sooner than in the north, and there could be some afternoon showers. So head north if you want the nicest weather. 

SUNDAY

There is a chance of showers, but Vermont might get cheated out on soaking rains. At this point, it looks like one storm will take some decent rains northward through western and central New York and into western Quebec.

Another little coastal low looks like it will bring another batch of heavy rain, or at least heavy-ish rain northward through the eastern half of New England. 

Vermont will be in the middle, with much less rain. There's still a chance things could rearrange themselves so that the rain comes down a little harder, a little more beneficial. 

It should be warm, with highs in the low 80s. It will also be a little warm humid.

MONDAY

Cooler, with a risk of remaining showers. Not sure how cool yet, but it could be another hint of autumn. 

Hawaii Starts Cleanup After Enormous Hurricane-Related Floods

Damage from Hurricane Lala in Hawaii. The storm 
brushed past Hawaii Sunday, causing widespread damage

The center of Hurricane Lala ended up just missing Hawaii on Sunday,  but it still left a mess on the chain of islands. 

At least one person died and left tens of thousands of people without power after the storm caused high winds and especially catastrophic flooding on many parts of the island chain

 As PBS reports:

"Laupahoehoe, on the northeast coast of the Big Island, saw the heaviest recorded rainfall at 43.54 inches. The highest winds were atop the towering Mauna Kea volcano, where gusts hit 140 mph. At the lower elevation, residents all across the island chain experienced tropical storm force winds of 30 to 40 mph with gusts to 60 mph. 

The storm felled trees and power lines and caused serious flooding that swept some 100 homes from their foundations on the Big Island, authorities said. Gov. Josh Green said Sunday that no one is believed to have died when the homes washed away." 

Green said the flooding was more destructive than the wind. "It's the flood and the mud and the rock that poured through Naalehu, Pahala, Waiohinu..... These communities have a lot of cleanup to do and they're going to need a lot of support."

Hurricane Lala was on course to hit the Big Island of Hawaii, which would have made it the first time that's happened since 1871. However, it passed about 30 miles south of the island, The sprawling storm was still more than big enough to spread havoc through the Hawaiian islands.

Hurricane Lala weakened to a tropical storm once it got past the Big Island as it continued westward. However, once past the islands, it intensified again. Lala has sustained winds of 125 mph this morning at a position well west of Hawaii. 

The water is usually warmer west of the islands, which helps explain why the hurricane re-strenghened  Very warm ocean water is jet fuel for hurricanes.The hurricane is expected to turn northward and weaken again 

The eastern and central Pacific Ocean is at or near record warm temperatures, thanks to a combination of climate change and El Nino.  That makes the Hawaiian islands more vulnerable to hurricanes than usually. Historically, the water near the island chain has been relatively cool, which usually weakens tropical storms and hurricanes when they approach the state. 

Video:

Video from Jonathan Petramala gives a great summary of how much water and wind swept the Big Island. Click on this link to view, or if you see the image below, click on that.

 

Mostly Quiet Vermont Week Continues, Possible Storms Northwest This Afternoon; Weekend Rain Questions

I had a dream last night that Vermont was raked by
extreme tornadoes, like the one pictured, along
with extreme floods and August snow. Happily
for all of us, we're in the midst of a relatively
uneventful weather week. Though there could
be a few storms north late today. 

 The fog was a little slow to clear in some areas of Vermont yesterday, but it did clear, leading to a partly cloudy, seasonable day. Hope you enjoyed it!

Since we don't have much weather excitement, I have to tell you about one of my strange dreams last night. (I have vivid, weird dreams on a nightly basis).

In the dream, El Nino triggered a massive, unprecedented late August storm in the Northeast. 

Everybody in New England, including here in Vermont,  was told to expect a swarm of powerful EF-5 tornadoes, followed by hurricane force winds, rains that would cause epic floods followed by several inches of August snow. 

I'm extremely happy to report that I guarantee we won't see anything dramatic like that this week. Or any week. Sure, climate change and El Nino are making weather more extreme, but nothing like that!

Instead, were happily stuck with a week of fairly nice, mostly uneventful
weather, but with a few hiccups here and there. 

The first hiccup is today.

REST OF TODAY

We are still expecting that dying cold front to make its way toward us this afternoon, from the northwest. 

I'm a little gun shy now when I bring up a chance of thunderstorms. After last week, when it seemed any little thunderstorm would blow up into something severe, I don't want to relax too much about the chances of high winds or other problems with any thunderstorms. 

That said, the deck is stacked against severe weather. As this morning's National Weather Service forecast discussion points out, there is some wind aloft that thunderstorms could potentially use to create gusty winds down here where we live. But a lack of instability, dry air aloft and some showers in Quebec this morning will all work against any storms taking advantage of those winds aloft. 

To quote the National Weather Service/South Burlington office: "Strong to severe storms are not likely today, but cannot be completely ruled out."

Sigh.

If any storms happen, they're most likely in northern New York and the far northern Vermont, especially the northern Champlain Valley. Even those late afternoon and evening showers and storms will be hit and miss, so not everybody in this zone will get wet.

The further south you go, the less chance of rain. Everybody, or almost everybody in southern Vermont gets nothing. Overall, it'll be a typical August day, with highs near 80 degrees with moderate humidity.

THURSDAY

There might be some clouds around in the afternoon, but overall it'll be a nice day, as highs get well into the 70s. There could be a sprinkle over the northern mountains and Northeast Kingdom, but it won't be nearly enough to ruin this cool-ish August day.

FRIDAY

We'll be off to a cool start with patchy early morning fog.  Most places will be in the low 50s as dawn breaks, with the chillier valleys in the upper 40s. The fog will burn off to reveal the pick of the weather week, Highs will reach the 70s to near 80 under sunny skies and low humidity.

SATURDAY

Another nice one, as it looks now. Sunshine, with maybe some afternoon clouds It'll be up near 80 degrees.

SUNDAY

The next weather system arrives. It looks like the day might be showery, especially later on. But the amount and location of the rain, along with the timing of it, are still in the iffy stage. However, this doesn't look like a serious, scary storm at this point

 

Another Foggy Vermont Morning; Rest Of Week Looks Quiet

The sky looked ominous over St. Albans, Vermont 
yesterday, but nothing much came of it. Very
little rain fell in most of the state, except
for a few places in Addison and Orange counties, 

As usual, there were winners and losers with the rain Sunday night and Monday, but mostly losers. 

The majority of us got less than a quarter inch of rain, with some people getting scarcely anything at all. Burlington reported just 0.08 inches of rain. My unofficial rain gauge here in St. Albans saw 0.11 inches. 

However, the weak cold front yesterday slowed to a crawl or even stalled across central Vermont yesterday afternoon and evening, so rain became generous in parts of that region. Sections of Addison County had over an inch of rain.

Parts of Orange County came in with the big win. Corinth reported a whopping 2.6 inches of rain and Newbury had about two inches. 

The lingering humidity, the rain showers, and last night's calm winds left us with another early morning of dense fog across Vermont. That will have lifted or be in the process of doing so by the time you read this.  Though a few places will take time to lose the low clouds and fog, and it could take until mid -morning to clear in some spots.

It'll be a quiet week as subtle signs of autumn begin to emerge. The swamp maples look reddish. Some sugar maples with salt damage near busy roads are sporting colorful leaves. Backyard gardens are starting to look ragged.

And it will be another week in the air will certainly feel summery and warm  enough. But most nights will be somewhat cool. Nights are longer now, so there's more time for the temperature to drop.

Early morning's patchy fog, itself a sign of autumn will be a risk many mornings. It's still summer, but it's beginning to fade. 

The details:

TODAY

After the fog disappears, the day will be decent. Partly sunny, highs near 80 with moderate humidity. The dew point will be in the low 60s, so you might feel just the slightest feeling of stickiness to the air. I suppose there's an outside chance of a brief shower over the mountains and in eastern Vermont but the vast majority of us should stay dry.  

WEDNESDAY

After a comfortable sleeping night, sunshine should boost us back to near 80 degrees by afternoon, says the National Weather Service. Those meteorologists are still watching a dying cold front that will be approaching us from the northwest in the afternoon and evening. 

That front could set off some showers and maybe a few garden variety thunderstorms in northwestern Vermont. Those showers are likely in the far northwest, with hit and miss chances in the rest of northwest half of the state. Areas to the south and east should get nothing. 

Those who do get rain won't get much, except for maybe one or two towns far northwest that get a real thunderstorm.  This front looks like a nothing burger as it washes out and dies overhead Wednesday night. So sad. 

THURSDAY-SATURDAY

Fingers crossed we have a gorgeous stretch of weather coming this way. Skies should be generally sunny, though a few clouds and isolated showers might linger on Thursday and skies could start to cloud up a bit Saturday afternoon Also, that patchy early morning dense fog might be back, too.

But the humidity will be low. Mornings will start out in the comfortable 50s and end up near 80 again in the afternoon each day. Late August can be a slightly warmer version of the pleasantness of September, and it looks like we'll have an example here. 

SUNDAY-MONDAY

The rain risks returns on these days, but it's still anyone's guess on how much we get and who gets the most. 

Person Fired For Contradicted Trump Is New FEMA Leader; "Teleporting" Administrator Is Ousted

Cameron Hamilton, fired in May, 2025 as acting FEMA
director for contradicting Trump, has now been
appointed the head of that agency. 

The administration had wanted to get rid of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. But it's still around. Hobbled, but there. 

Which is a fortunate victory against Donald Trump, who started his second term stridently calling for FEMA's abolishment, or at least seriously downsized. 

So much so that in May, 2025, the acting FEMA administrator, Cameron Hamilton was fired. That came a day after telling Congress FEMA should not be disbanded. 

Hamilton ended up winning out in the end  

He has just been named the new head of the agency

 Per the Washington Post: 

"Hamilton returns after the ouster of ...Noem as homeland security secretary and a significant shift at the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees FEMA. He will inherit a shrunken agency whose future continues to be uncertain. FEMA has lost thousands of staffers, including many senior officials and veterans, which churning through leaders during a time of low morale at the agency." 

FEMA is a critical agency helping victims of the increasing number and severity of weather and climate disasters in the United States. It's a lifeline that has been hobbled by the Trump administration.  The help the agency provides, which was already bureaucratic and sometimes ineffective before Trump, is even more so now. 

TELEPORTING OUT OF FEMA

Remember the FEMA teleporting guy?

His name is Gregg Phillips, who last December was appointed to FEMA's office of Response and Recovery, a top, consequential position. He was known for the strange things he said, most notably his story that he had been mysteriously teleported 50 miles to a distant Waffle House. We're not sure where he got that. 

Well, he's gone. In June, he was apparently forced out of the agency, according to CNN.  The report gave no particular reason why he's gone, but I imagine because the dude is just strange. 

Last Night's Vermont Predicted Rainfall Was A Bust, Some Showers Today, Pretty Nice Week Ahead

A sign that summer is ending The hydrangea flowers 
in my backyard are fading to pink and russet,
which is what normally happens as we head through
August and move toward September. 

A couple days ago, meteorologists all thought Vermont was in for a a good soaking rain that would have hit last night. 

So much for that. 

The forecast evolved so that newer forecasts had only northern Vermont receiving good rains. In turns out, the rain real rain stayed mostly in Quebec. Only light showers passed through the Green Mountain State. 

We've had a lot of surprises in the weather department lately. Those intense storms in northwest Vermont a week ago was the worst surprise.

I'm suspicious. I know National Weather Service meteorologists are top rate, dedicated and do the best job they can. 

My suspicious continues to be the infamous DOGE cutbacks at the National Weather Service. Those cutbacks have probably degraded the weather data meteorologists use to make their forecasts. Garbage in, garbage out. 

This is my suspicion. I have no proof. I'm hoping somebody out there is studying this, so that everybody knows the Trump administration does not care about Americans' weather safety. 

Soapbox done, on with an attempt to describe what comes next.

REST OF TODAY

It looks like a broken line of showers will start to develop along and ahead of a weak cold front sometime late this morning or around noon in northwest Vermont. Those showers will gradually strengthen. Some will become thunderstorms.

They'll probably reach peak strength roughly along a broad, fat line running between Middlebury and St Johnsbury. They won't be severe, though some could get fairly strong in the southern Champlain Valley.  This should happen around the mid and late afternoon and continue into the early evening as they head toward Rutland and White River Junction. 

After that, as the showers slowly head southeast, they'll begin to weaken. 

Rainfall in Vermont will be super variable, as they always are with summer showers and thunderstorms. a few lucky places will collect an inch of rain. Many places will see only maybe a quarter inch. It looks like some places in far northwest and in southeast Vermont might get very little rain. 

While all this is going on, the rest of today will be a muggy, but not super hot, because of the clouds. The dew point will rise to near 70 degrees, which is pretty ugly in terms of humidity. 

TOMORROW

Our cold front, it you can call it that, is really weak. So, unlike late last week, we're not going to see a huge shift in the weather. Tomorrow will be less humid, but not exactly super refreshing. It'll be kinda humid, but not terrible. Mediocre for August. 

But it will get at least partly sunny, with highs near 80 degrees, so not a bad day. 

WEDNESDAY

Another cold front will approach, but it's another lame one, and it will probably fall apart as it comes through, or at least shortly after it comes through. It'll have enough oomph to set off some showers, especially in New York and maybe western Vermont. Since the front will be falling apart, showers are less likely further east.

This is a preliminary look. Things could change with this, but we're not expecting anything dramatic. It'll still be somewhat humid, with highs again near 80.

LATE WEEK

Despite the lame nature of the cold front, it should turn less humid, definitely in the pleasant range. If this forecast works out, it'll be a nice end to the week, with highs near 80 and lows comfortably in the 50s. 

Summer is fading, as no hot spell are in the forecast. The chances of more 90 degree days are still real, but those chances are fading. 

 

Epic Flood In Midwest, Rare Hawaii Hurricane

Just one example of the big flooding in the Midwest. This
image is from the Indianapolis areas. Source: Indianpolis
Fire Department. 

While we here in Vermont enjoy tranquil weather, conditions are anything but elsewhere in the United States.

Extreme flooding and intense thunderstorms have raked the Midwest. A rare hurricane blasted the Big Island of Hawaii. 

MIDWEST FLOOD 

At least six people  have been reported dead from the flooding so far that has swept from Iowa to West Virginia. Indiana and parts of Ohio have been especially hard hit. This will easily become a disaster with damages exceeding $1 billion 

Some areas of Indiana and Ohio have received at least 11 inches of rain in the past week. 

Unprecedented flooding occurred along the Whitewater River in Dearborn County, Indiana and adjacent Hamilton County, Ohio, which is near Cincinnati.  Another waterway, the White River in Anderson, Indiana, rose to a record 24.9 feet, exceeding a flood mark that had stood since 1913.

Drone footage over Noblesville, Indiana showed the flooding from the White River. as water scraped the bottoms of bridges, and spread out through neighborhoods, woods and farmland.  ..

Near Indianapolis, the White River though town was expected to crest Saturday at 21.4 feet, though officials cautioned that continued downpours could make that crest higher. The mayor of Indianapolis said this was the worst flooding the city has seen in decade. The Indianapolis Fire Department completed 50 water rescues, evacuating 91 people an 45 pets. 

The storms produced no fewer than 38 tornadoes between August 9 and 14, mostly in a band from Nebraska to Ohio

A derecho swept across Illinois, Indiana and Ohio on Tuesday, August 11, causing widespread destruction.  Hundreds of thousands of people lost power. Roofs were torn from houses and countless trees fell. Winds gusted to 99 mph in Gary, Indiana.

The derecho was only one of many waves of torrential storms that swept the region. They kept coming, one after another guided by that stuck heat dome to the south. Muncie, Indiana had six inches of rain in just a day, with more than 11 inches so far this month. 

A weather phenomenon called the Ring of Fire is at the root of this flood and thunderstorm disaster

Here's how a Ring of Fire works:  A strong hot high pressure system - a heat dome - has been parked over the south central United States for at least the past week or two.  Typically,  thunderstorms and heavy rain rides along the northern edges of the heat dome. 

These storms are often severe, but since heat domes often shift around, the dangerous weather doesn't usually stay in one place for long,  so particular locations usually escape the storms within a couple days. 

 The storms produced no fewer than 38 tornadoes between August 9 and 14, mostly in a band from Nebraska to Ohio

A derecho swept across Illinois, Indiana and Ohio on Tuesday, August 11, causing widespread destruction.  Hundreds of thousands of people lost power. Roofs were torn from houses and countless trees fell. Winds gusted to 99 mph in Gary, Indiana.  

More than 800,000 people were left without electricity because of the derecho.  The storm created dramatic Ohio traffic camera footage of intense winds flipping a car on a highway. 

The derecho was only one of many waves of torrential storms that swept the region. They kept coming, one after another guided by that stuck heat dome to the south. Muncie, Indiana had six inches of rain in just a day, with more than 11 inches so far this month. 

This was a once in a  thousand year flood, but that might not mean much any more. Our climate is different now, for short term and long term reasons.  A super El Nino, now building to become the strongest on record, is not energizing and warming the atmosphere, helping to intensify storms. It's hard to directly link El Nino and the Midwest floods, but the two don't seem entirely coincidental.

Climate change might also have played a role. The Ring of Fire weather pattern made flooding inevitable. but climate change can help make rainstorms ever more intense. It's possible the storm would have turned already intense rains even worse. 

Today, the flash flood risk has moved into West Virginia, 

Meanwhile, in Hawaii...

HURRICANE  LALA

Flooding in Hawaii, caused by 
Hurricane Lala. Source: Aaron 
Rigsby, via Facebook

A hurricane with a fun name but deadly intentions slammed the Big Island of Hawaii this weekend. 

Hurricane was almost the first hurricane to strike the Big Island since at least 1871. But the center of the storm stayed just barely offshore.   

At least one death was reported, and at least two houses were swept off their foundations. 

Per NBC News: 

"Footage on social media showed floodwaters rising, overtaking roadways and bridges as Lala dumped rain on Hawaii's Big Island. Howling winds whipped the top of palm trees and waterways swelled with fast-moving runoff from relentless rain that blew nearly sideways." 

The storms' winds slammed into Hawaii's tall mountains, including the giant Mauna Kea volcano. The high speed air was forced to rise as it hit the mountains. That lift increased the already torrential rains. More than two feet of rain was forecast in some spots.

The storm, now a strong tropical storm, was moving generally westward, slamming the rest of the Hawaiian islands with strong winds and flooding.

Lifeguards made 59 rescues Saturday in Honolulu, where officials urged people not to get into the water this weekend. 

The National Hurricane Center predicted eight to 12 inches of rain across Maui, and four to six inches across low elevations across lower elevations of the islands.  

Hurricanes usually fade away on approach to Hawaii.  Water in the central Pacific Ocean is relatively cool, and cool-ish water takes the power away from hurricanes. 

El Nino is currently boosting water temperatures in the eastern tropical Pacific to record warmth, allowing wannabe hurricanes to maintain themselves. 

Several hurricanes and tropical storms have passed very close to Hawaii in recent years, possibly reflecting warmer water created by climate change. A tropical storm in 2018 was the first one on record to strike4 Maui, but it caused only light damage. 

By far the worst hurricane in memory was Iniki, which struck the island of Kauai  in 1992. It is the only major hurricane to have hit the islands, 

 

 

Hint Of Autumn In Vermont. Next Up: Upcoming Rain Not As Big A Soaker As Previously Hoped

Yesterday was the first day this season that really felt like autumn was coming. 

Expected rainfall through Monday night. Decent rains
are forecast in the Northeast Kingdom, with lesser 
amounts south. Severe weather is unlikely, we hope!

Thanks in part to extra clouds during part of the day, and also some steady north winds, Saturday was a little cooler than forecast. In Burlington, we had the coolest average temperature since June 7. The temperature barely made it to 70 degrees in Montpelier and Newport. 

At dawn today, it was in the 40s statewide, except for a few low 50s near Lake Champlain. It will get a little warmer this week, but full summertime heat looks fleeting, at least for now. Let's get into it.

TODAY

There were already high clouds mixed with some wildfire smoke aloft, overhead early this morning in northern Vermont, while southern Vermont remained clear. I think northern Vermont might tend to temporarily clear out, and then clouds, and maybe a little smoke aloft will start to return this afternoon. 

The smoke is not near the surface,  so there won't be any air quality problems. Rainfall has been postponed again, so you'll have a dry day for outdoor activities. It will also be a little warmer than yesterday, as we get into the  upper 70s, give or take.

TONIGHT

It's still going to rain, later tonight, but not as much as we first hoped. There could still be some decent rains in the Northeast Kingdom, which is good because they need the rain more than other parts of the state. Up there, current forecasts give them a half to an inch of rain. 

The rest of us are in line for a tenth to a half inch of rain tonight through Monday. So nothing huge, but still, pretty decent. The northern Champlain Valley should have a little more than in southern Vermont. 

MONDAY

The rain won't be over as a cold front slowly makes its way toward Vermont.  It'll be a humid Monday quite a switch from the last few days. Dew points could get as high as 70s degrees, which is oppressive as hell.

Showers could break out at any time, most likely in the afternoon. There could be some thunderstorms, too, especially in western Vermont south of Burlington, as it looks now.  Meteorologists don't think we face more severe storms, but we'll have to watch western Vermont for an isolated strong storm or two. 

TUESDAY

A decent day. Sunshine, with lower humidity. Much better than Monday will be, but not rock bottom humidity like we expect on Monday.  Highs should get up to within a few degrees either side of 80.

REST OF WEEK

Another front should arrive Wednesday and Wednesday evening with showers and possible thunderstorms. So far, I'm not too impressed by this weather system, but we'll see how it plays out. We might  have some showers lingering into Thursday, but again, no big deal. 

Another round of nice late summer weather should return by late in the week. But remember, forecasts several days out are subject to big time revisions. Don't start planning your outdoor events for next weekend just yet.  

Vermont Escapes Storms For Once. Also, Fog Season Has Arrived, And Gorgeous Saturday

Weather radar late Friday afternoon showed some fairly
strong thunderstorms in eastern New York, but they 
barely brushed the extreme southwestern tip of 
Vermont, so for a change, no severe weather for us. 

 Some fairly strong storms developed in central and eastern New York yesterday with the latest weather disturbance, but Vermont for a change was left unscathed. There was some rain in southwestern parts of the state, but we ended our streak of three consecutive severe weather days. 

One strong looking storm (at least the way it looks on radar) barely brushed Pownal on the extreme southwestern tip of Vermont. That was it.

I've also noticed we've gotten into fog season in Vermont. In the late summer and the first half of autumn, the nights start getting cooler but the ground, streams, ponds, marshes and lakes are warm. 

The cool air comes in contact with the moisture emitting from the warmer soil and water. The cool air makes the moisture condense into locally dense fog.

We had areas of fog yesterday morning and even more so as we started today. The National Weather Service in South Burlington put out a special weather statement noting that locally dense fog was even more widespread than usual, so care needed to be taken on the roads.

The good news is this early morning fog always burns off quickly. By the time you read this, any fog in your area will be gone, or will be very shortly. We'll end up with our well-advertised gorgeous day. 

The forecast is the same as how I outlined it yesterday. Sunny, with highs generally in the 70s, very low humidity and maybe a slight, pleasant breeze from the north 

SUNDAY

Another pretty nice day, especially since they've postponed the arrival of some rain until a little later.  We'll start the day with clear skies. Except river valleys especially will see some early morning dense fog again. Like I said, tis the season.

Clouds should slowly  increase during the afternoon. But since the sun will stay out longer than earlier forecasts indicated, the National Weather Service has bumped up expected high temperatures a little. Most of us on valley floors should make it to near 80 degrees.

Some showers could arrive during the evening. 

SUNDAY NIGHT

If you're like Eddie Rabbit and you love a rainy night, you'll enjoy Sunday night. The entire state should enjoy a decent soaking. The uncertain part of the forecast is where potentially heavier rain might set up.  The National Weather Service thinks there might be a few streaks of an inch to an inch and a half totals somewhere in Vermont, but are unsure where.

Don't be surprised if you hear the roar of a downpour on your roof or a rumble of thunder, as you might be in one of those streaks of more drenching rains. If you end up outside of one of those areas of downpours, you should stills see a a quarter to a half inch of rain. 

Since this particular system looks like it will affect the entire state, then places that are too dry and avoided all of our recent wild thunderstorms should get some needed rain. Unless this storm pulls another surprise on us. 

MONDAY

The rain should taper off early in the day, and we'll be left with a damp, humid feel to the air for a few hours at least. An approaching cold front will take advantage of that moisture to set off some showers and maybe some garden variety thunderstorms. 

So far, we're not expecting any severe weather. The showers should tend to taper off in the afternoon and evening and we'll feel that humidity diminish again as drier air comes in from Canada.

REST OF NEXT WEEK

Basically seasonable weather as the hot and in many areas oppressively humid air stays locked in the souther, central and western United States. We should keep with our pretty average temperatures for mid-August, with no signs of terrible humidity creeping in just yet. Our next chance of showers is probably Wednesday or Thursday. 

Another Day, More Severe Storms In Vermont. Surprise Thunderstorms Possible - It Continues

A pretty shower cloud billows up looking northeast  from 
St. Albans, Vermont Thursday afternoon. While most of
the day's scattered showers and storms were harmless.
a couple brought damaging winds and hail to a few
spots in the state. 

As always, it seems lately, somebody in Vermont had a rough weather day. 

We have a few new severe storm reports from yesterday, as our pattern of rough weather continues. 

Most of us actually had a pretty nice day, with partly sunny skies and billowing clouds that made the day perfect for sky watching.

But there were a few trouble spots, the most notable being in western Rutland County. 

A severe storm there deposited ping pong ball sized hailstones on Fair Haven, and took down numerous trees along a section of Route 30 in Castleton. Elsewhere, in far northern Vermont, a storm took down at least one tree in North Troy.

So, it was the third day in a row with damaging storms in Vermont. 

TODAY

We've spend the past couple of days saying how glorious the weather will be today, but surprise! It turns out a couple more thunderstorms will hit parts of the state today. They probably won't be severe, but with our track record recently, you'd never know.

Meteorologists have known for days that a small weather disturbance would pass through Vermont today. A few days ago, that forecast suggested showers today. But in the past couple of days, it looked like a dry atmosphere today would support nothing more than some puffy clouds to decorate the skies.

Instead, the disturbance now looks like it will trigger some showers and maybe a couple of thunderstorms in a stripe heading southeastward from the central Adirondacks, through west central and southern Vermont  and into southern New England. 

At this point, it doesn't look like the storms will be severe, since the disturbance is weak and there's not a lot of heat and humidity to work with.  But I wouldn't rule out some gusty winds with one or two storms. 

Other than that, the day should be partly sunny/partly cloudy with highs in the 70s. With comfortable humidity as a bonus.

SATURDAY

Finally! A day without a risk that we'd have to beat a hasty retreat indoors to escape a sudden rainstorm.  We can expect sunshine, low humidity and highs in the 70s. Maybe close to 80 in the warmest spots in the Lower Connecticut River Valley.

Once again, we'll have a Saturday endorsed by the Vermont Department of Tourism and Marketing. We've been blessed with quite a few nice Saturdays this summer, in contrast to our general Green Mountain State rule that weekends cause rain.

SUNDAY

Speaking of rain, we think some will arrive Sunday, but we might still eke out a decent day. At least part of it. 

Those famous computer models have settled on a storm system coming into New England, probably beginning  later Sunday, but there's still questions about how much rain Vermont will get and whether those damn thunderstorms will start hassling us again. 

As it stands now, it looks like clouds will thicken and lower as we go through the day, with some showers arriving, maybe by late afternoon. Again, as it looks now, Sunday night looks rainy. We have an OK shot at having a statewide, soaking rain, which is great news for those parts of the state that missed out on the downpours from all those hit and miss thunderstorms we've had lately. 

Especially if this thing goes a little further north than expected, enough instability and deep moisture could reach Vermont to also touch off some overnight thunderstorms, just to make things noisy. Iffy this point, but we shall see.

MONDAY/TUESDAY

Maybe yet more showers and thunderstorms Monday as a cold front passes through. An early guess at next Tuesday suggests sunny and seasonable mid-August weather

No Escaping The Vermont Severe Weather: More Yesterday, Maybe A Little More Today

A distant thunderstorm erupts yesterday afternoon, looking
north from St. Albans, Vermont. Some storms were 
unexpectedly strong Wednesday afternoon, producing
scattered wind damage and hail.

 Yesterday in Vermont was supposed to be a pretty nice day: Partly sunny with just a chance of a shower or garden variety thunderstorm. 

Instead, the weather radar was lit up like a Christmas tree by early afternoon. And an atmosphere that Wednesday morning seemed like it was incapable of yielding any real volatility did just that. 

So, we have more severe storm damage reports this morning. A Chittenden County storm before 1 p.m. knocked down four large trees along Route 2A in St. George. Another good sized tree fell and blocked busy Route 116 near the South Burlington/St. George town line. Small hail fell in South Burlington. 

But we weren't done yet. Another severe storm ripped through central Vermont during the evening, ripping down trees and utility wires around Goshen. Chittenden and Rochester were pelted by quarter-sized hail.

We might not be done with this kind of weather yet

TODAY

NOAA's Storm Prediction Center has the northeastern half of New England, including the portion of Vermont north and east of Interstate 89, under a marginal, level one out of five risk of severe storms today.

So, nothing widespread, but still, the chance of some trouble. It looks like any area in central and northern Vermont could see an isolated severe storm today. Especially north of Route 2.

The biggest risk is a few incidences of strong gusty winds and hail.  The freezing levels in the atmosphere is a little low for August, so that increases the chance of hail. We shouldn't see anything like David Letterman's canned ham-sized hail, but small hail is a decent bet if any stronger storms form. And there's a chance of a few larger chunks of ice, maybe up to the size of quarters. 

A few showers could break out at any time today, but the best chance of thunderstorms is during the late afternoon and evening. As is usually the case, they will be hit and miss. Some places will see nothing, a number of other Vermont towns will see some rain and a rumble of thunder but nothing exciting, and a small minority might get blasted by a storm. 

One encouraging note: At least one weather model doesn't give us much of anything today in terms of storms. I wouldn't necessarily lean on that model to be right, but it's a sign of hope, I guess.

Unlike many summer days with thunderstorms,  today won't be particularly hot, nor humid. Highs will only be in the 75 to 82 degree range, with dew points in the so-so low 60s. So slightly humid, but not ridiculous.

FRIDAY

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say we will have no severe weather. The atmosphere will be extremely hostile to anything like that, while at the same time it will be extremely nice to us humans. 

The cold front will have passed, leaving us with mostly sunny skies, low humidity and a nice cool breeze from the north. Highs will only be in the 70s, maybe near 80 in the warmest towns in the lower Connecticut River Valley

A patch of clouds could come over Friday night, but they will do nothing other than keep temperatures a tad higher than they otherwise would be. Expect lows in the 46 to 55 degree range, generally. So it will still be a nice cool sleeping night

SATURDAY

At this point, it looks like another beauty. It will basically be a repeat of Friday: Sunshine, highs in the 70s, a slight cool breeze.

SUNDAY

It's not looking so nice, at least later in the day. The next weather disturbance comes through, potentially with beneficial rains. The storms so far this month - bad as they've been - have been hit and miss. Many areas are pretty dry. 

We don't have an absolute guarantee on this little storm yet. It could go too far to our south, giving us not all that much rain. If for some reason it goes to the north of us, it could pull in enough unstable, humid air to give us, sigh, another risk of severe storms. 

At the moment, anyway, it looks like just a light to moderate rainfall Sunday afternoon and night. As always, stay tuned for updates!

Vermont Avoiding Midwest Weather Chaos, Though A Few Storms Could Rumble Through Here Today, Tomorrow

Damage from severe weather in Tinley Park, Illinois on
Tuesday. Photo via Facebook, Midwest/Great Lakes
Storm Chasers

 Midwestern storms - likely a derecho - yesterday made the violent storms that hit Franklin County, Vermont on Monday evening look like a pleasant summertime sun shower. 

The Midwestern storms caused at least three deaths, and I predict this will be another billion dollar disaster for the U.S. 

Intense thunderstorm winds swept from Iowa to West Virginia. At least six tornadoes were reported and more will emerge as National Weather Service meteorologists investigate the carnage today. Two tornadoes struck suburban Chicago, an area that has been especially raked by severe storms and tornadoes this summer.

The National Weather Service had at least 723 reports of powerful thunderstorm winds. Straight line winds gusted to over 90 mph in several Illinois towns. 

In Portage, Illinois, a house exploded because of weather related causes, killing a person there. Police officers responding to the explosion had to walk a mile to the house because fallen trees made all streets in accessible. 

There's no rest for the Midwestern weary.  Severe thunderstorms are likely today in a broad band from South Dakota and Nebraska to Indiana and Kentucky. Flash flooding is also a good bet in large parts of the Midwest over the next four days. 

Here in Vermont, we're going to just mostly watch all this from the sidelines. But we will have some showers and thunderstorms to harass us for the next couple of days. 

TODAY

Not quite as nice a Wednesday as we thought yesterday, but still pretty good. It'll be partly sunny with temperatures peaking at around 80 degrees. It's now looking like we'll have some hit and miss shower and thunderstorms across central and northern Vermont this evening. At this point it looks like maybe only 50 percent of us get wet. 

Even better: So far at least, these storms don't look l like they'll be strong. We're definitely hoping for no more surprises like we saw Monday evening. 

THURSDAY/THURSDAY NIGHT

More showers and storms are likely during Thursday and Thursday evening as a cold front approaches. Many places won't have thunder at all, or if they do, it'll be just a couple of rumbles. There's still a chance one or two storms could be strong north of Route 2, but that's really iffy. Shower chances are lower in southern Vermont. 

By the way, we're starting to get out of the season in which severe thunderstorms are most likely. Severe storm season, such as it is in Vermont is usually from around Memorial Day to early August. We can still get severe thunderstorms into September, but the chances of that happening are now much lower than they were at the peak of summer. 

FRIDAY

The first hint of autumn of the season. Well see brisk northwest winds and partly sunny skies. There could be some brief light showers over the Green Mountains and Northeast Kingdom. Highs should reach the 70s, with maybe a few upper  60s in higher towns north and some remote areas of the Northeast Kingdom

SATURDAY

A beauty! After a cool start with readings in the low 50s at dawn, we should see sunshine with highs in the 70s. Rock bottom humidity, too

SUNDAY

Some changes to the previous forecast, as it might not be as nice as we initially hoped.  Another disturbance in the fast west to east flow looks like it could spread some rain and showers our way. Southern Vermont in particular might see a good soaking rain, which would be great since they've mostly been missing out on the showers and storms lately. They could really use the rain.

The path and orientation of this weather system is still in question, so expect some changes to the forecast. 

Clean Up From Ferocious Storms In Franklin County. So Far, No Signs Of Any Tornado Touchdowns

Large trees snapped off in this yard along Maquam
Shore road in Swanton this morning. 

 The song of today in St. Albans and Swanton was the buzz of chainsaws. 

Large fallen trees and branches were everywhere, especially in St. Albans City and along Maquam shore in Swanton. 

Tree crews filled the streets cleaning up the mess. Homeowners in the two towns spent a good part of the day playing pick up sticks in their yards. 

The National Weather Service in South Burlington, in a Facebook post this afternoon, said they have not dispatched anyone to determine whether there was a tornado or not.

Part of the statement said, "There was brief radar indicated rotation between St. Albans and Fairfield, VT that prompted the tornado warning at 7:35 p.m. However, we have not received any reports of damage near Fairfield, nor anything to prompt us to go survey, so we will stand down on sending any teams out at this time."

As I noted this morning, I clearly saw rotation in the clouds last evening, but no sign of any real funnels or tornadoes. I live on the east side of St. Albans, kind of on the way to Fairfield, so I would have been close to the most intense rotation.

The National Weather Service noted that strong straight line winds of 60 mph, and locally in excess of 70 mph hit in some areas.  

I did my own little storm survey this morning. It seems like there were two concentrated areas of wind damage. One right through St. Albans City, and another worse one along Maquam Shore in Swanton.That area had many, many downed trees, mostly in a two-mile wide band near and north of Cohen Park, 

Almost all the trees along Maquam Shore fell in basically the same direction, so I'd assume that area got hit by a microburst. My guesstimate is winds in St. Albans City reached maybe 60 to as much as 70 mph in the most intense gust

The worst hit area of Maquam Shore easily had 70 mph winds. Probably more than that in isolated spots. I wouldn't be surprised if there was an isolated gust to 80 mph or more. I didn't go out to North Hero to look at the damage there. 

I'm glad the storms moved right along because the rainfall out of them was incredibly torrential. Jeffersonville picked up 2.09 inches of rain. Smuggler Notch reported 1.85 inches. Derby Line reported 1.59 inches. At my unofficial rain gauge in St, Albans, we collected 1.38 inches 

WHAT'S NEXT

I'll have a full report in the morning, but a couple things to point out. There were some thundershowers up near Montreal this afternoon moving generally southeast toward Vermont. Those storms were pretty much garden variety, and showed a weakening trend as they headed south toward the border. 

As of 5:30 p.m., those now light to moderate showers were on the Vermont border between Richford and Newport. Nothing scary will come out of these. 

It's now looking like some scattered showers and thunderstorms might develop tomorrow after all, mostly north. So far, it doesn't look like anything severe will get going,.

More showers and possible thunderstorms see like they're in the cards Thursday. Again, so far anyway, it doesn't look like we'll have anything dreadful like last evening.  

Another Unexpected Round Of Wild, Destructive Storms Slams Vermont, Tornado Warning In Franklin County

An apparent rotating wall cloud with last evening's 
severe thunderstorm in Franklin County, Vermont.
View is from Fairfield Hill Road in St Albans.
That blue tint in the clouds indicate the storm
had plenty of hail in it. Lots of dime-sized hail
fell with the downpour at my house when the
main storm arrive. 

 This has been the summer of wild storms in Vermont and we were hit again last evening. 

Ferocious storms hit northern Vermont, especially in Franklin County last evening. The storm even prompted a tornado warning as one particular storm showed definite rotation. It's unclear whether any tornadoes touched down.  I certainly saw rotation in the clouds as the storm approaches my St. Albans house. 

The hardest hit areas seemed to be around Swanton and St. Albans.  The Maquam Shore area of Swanton and areas near St. Albans Bay had many, many downed trees and wires. There were also reports of tree damage in North Hero

In St. Albans, trees are down everywhere. Trees fell on or against houses on Main Street and  Lasalle Street. A tree reportedly fell on a tractor trailer unit in Swanton.  A tree and wires fell onto a car on Maquam Shore Road. The Swanton Fire Department was so swamped from dealing with so many trees down and other storm-related emergencies that they had to call in mutual aid from Philipsburg, Quebec.

A house in Fairfax was struck by lightning. An large apartment building roof caught fire in Essex Junction during the storms but we're still unsure if that as lightning or something else.  Dozens of people were evacuated, and five apartments were damaged.

More than 3,500 homes and businesses were without power in northwest Vermont last evening. Scattered incidents of storm damage continued into central Vermont. Hail stones, some as big as quarters, rattled some areas in Franklin County, 

Torrential rains with the storms prompted a flash flood warning in an area around Cambridge, Jeffersonville and Underhill. 

 We had been expecting showers and thunderstorms with an approaching cold front last evening. In the middle of the day, NOAA's Storm Prediction Center added a marginal risk of severe storms over northern Vermont. That mean there was a chance of an isolated incident or two of severe weather. 

But the instability with this weather system surprised us all. The storms really fired up to pretty extreme levels. Even after the worst of the storms passed through the  northern Champlain Valley at around 7:30 p.m., strong thunderstorms maintained themselves over northern New York and Vermont until around midnight. 

I was watching the initial, very severe storm as it approached St. Albans last evening and was a little surprised to see it intensifying as it did so

 

I was not far from the southern end of the storm and was even more surprised to see an area of clouds lowering and starting to spin. 

Near zero visibility amid torrential rain and screaming
straight line winds during the intense storm in
St, Albans Vermont last evening

Its forward motion was slow, but the spin maintained itself as what seemed to be the wall cloud passed overhead. It was not raining at this point. 

Suddenly, we had a wind gust from the south that I'd estimate at about 55 mph. The gust lasted just a few seconds. It was immediately followed by a sharp, very brief westerly wind gust of maybe 50 mph. 

I definitely was not hit by a tornado, but those weird gusts seemed to indicate something in the atmosphere was trying 

Then the wind calmed down briefly before the storm's gust front arrived. I was on the southern edge of the most intense downburst of wind and rain. . I could hear a loud roar as the (non-tornadic) straight line winds passed by just to my north. Here at my house, it was pretty windy, too, but the top wind gust was probably "only" about 55 to 60 mph

You can view a brief video of the apparent wall cloud in St. Albans, showing what it actually looked like at normal speed, and speeded up to show the rotation. Click on this link to view it. 

As of this writing, I'm not sure whether the National Weather Service will send investigators out to determine whether any storm damage was related to tornadoes. It appears virtually all the damage in northwest Vermont was caused by straight line winds.  I don't know whether there was a brief tornado spin up in there or  not. 

Stay tuned for updates. 

WHAT'S NEXT?

This has been a very stormy summer for the Midwest and eastern United States. Believe it or not, Vermont has missed out on several big storms that passed a little to our south. We've only been on the edge of it. 

In the next couple of days, more big, destructive storms will hit the Midwest and East. Today, intense storms are likely in Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and northern Kentucky. 

Some of those same areas may be hit again tomorrow. Potentially serious flash flooding could hit parts West Virginia, Ohio and Kentucky today. That flood risk will continue tomorrow and Thursday in those regions.

Once again, Vermont will be sitting just outside the main storm areas. We do have a risk of more thunderstorms. Even maybe a strong one or two. But fingers crossed, nothing like last evening. Here are the daily outlooks:

TODAY

A nice one, especially for those who unfortunately have to clean up the mess left by last night's storm. Sunshine will boost temperatures up to near 80 degrees or so. The humidity won't be rock bottom low, but definitely better than on recent days. 

WEDNESDAY

Another nice one  - almost a repeat of today.  The only difference is a few showers and thunderstorms could pop up near the Canadian border in the evening as the next weather system approaches.

THURSDAY

This is our next shot at more thunderstorms as a fairly strong cold front approaches. For now, it doesn't look like this front will create widespread severe weather. But, depending on the timing of the front, some storms could bring gusty winds again.

We'll have more on this as we get closer to the event. 

FRIDAY

Lingering showers, especially over the northern Green Mountains in a cool northwest flow of air. Highs will only be in  the 70s. Maybe upper 60s in hill towns and parts of the Northeast Kingdom. 

WEEKEND

So far, looking delightful: Sunshine with rock-bottom humidity with refreshing air. Highs will only be in the 70s again. Lows will be down in the 45 to 52 degree range,  though a little warmer near Lake Champlain. That will be the most comfortable sleeping weather we've had in ages. 

 

The Long Dangerous, Twisted Journey Of The Alleged Arsonist Of The Destructive Spokane Wildfires

Devastating scene in Spokane, Washington 
after the fires. An arsonist set the fire. The
alleged suspect has quite a history of 
crime, arson and mental illness. 

 Aaron Farinacci, the man arrested and charged with the worst of the devastating Spokane wildfires, allegedly has a history of setting fires around the city.  This one just happened to be by far the worst. 

The more information that comes out, the more court hearings we have, the more we learn that Farinacci appears to be a dangerous and deeply troubled man. 

He is charged with setting the largest and most destructive wildfire in Spokane. But court records indicate he has a history of setting fires. He giant Spokane fire was just by far the worst one he set. I  

The AP paints a vivid picture of how the horrible wildfire began: 

"On Saturday, Paul Child, 64, was driving with his grandson along some railroad tracks in his rural neighborhood northwest of Spokane. He saw a man standing and looking toward nearby trees. About 10 minutes later, as they were returning home, the man was still there.

'He was bent over in the brush, acting nervous,' Child told the Associated Press on Tuesday, 'You get the feeling this guy's up to something.'

"No longer than 10 minutes after I got home, my daughter says, 'There's a fire,'" Child called. My first words were 'That SOB started a fire!," it was the exact spot where he was standing.'"

As noted in a previous blog post,  a responding sheriff's deputies found the man matching the description Child offered walking more than a mile away from the fire's ignition point. Child arrived and basically said, "That's the guy."

Farinacci was wearing a green t-shirt that read, 'Who needs luck I have charm,"  In his backpack and fanny pack, he had cigarettes, waterproof matches and a butane lighter. 

He told deputies when he was arrested he didn't set the fire and was not anywhere near where the blaze started. The deputies were unaware of Farinacci's past suspicious activity with fires, and they were busy coordinating evacuations, so they let him go.

By Monday, August 3, investigators knew the fire was deliberately set, and the arrest was made. 

Farinacci haas quite a history anyway.  He served about a decade in prison for killing his father 16 years ago in Arizona. He was 21 years old at the time, and the shooting stemmed from an argument with his father over doing the dishes.  

 As KREM reports, Farninacci shot his father once in the face as he entered his room, the again in the back as the father turned to leave. He later died at a hospital.

Farinacci ran from the house and shot himself in the chest with the same gun he used on his father.  Farinacci later told police the shooting was an accident and told them he "deserved to be sentenced to prison as he took someone's life."

KREM continues: "He was convicted of manslaughter and aggravated assault in 2012. He was released from prison in 2020, and records show that he was discharged from probation in 2024 while living with a girlfriend in Washington State."  

Farinacci, 37, is suspected of setting several fires, each of which only covered areas about the size of buses. Another fire last August that he might have started blazed through a state park prompting evacuations, though no houses burned, according to the Associated Press.

During a court hearing Thursday, Angust 6, Judge Jeremy Schmidt found probable cause to charge Farinacci with four additional counts of arson for fires the suspect told a detective he's set since last summer. 

If detectives, prosecutors and court papers are accurate, Farinacci is a scary dude with potentially serious mental issues. Even if you don't include the time he shot his father

As KREM reports: "He told detectives his son was born in May, 2025 and he was 'having trouble dealing with life issues.'  A detective who interviews Farinacci wrote, "He feels fire is powerful, beautiful, and that things that go through fire experience a kind of rebirth."

Detectives said Farinacci admitted to starting 25 fires since last July. He's only been charged with four of them because detectives couldn't corroborate that information. One of the fires he's suspected of starting was on in July, 2025 which burned more than 1,200 and threatened some homes.

Investigators said Farinacci that "'Who needs luck I have charm" t-shirt when he set a fire on August 11, 2025.

Six days before the big conflagration, on July 24, Farinacci said what he started what is known as the Indian Bluff Fire, which ultimately harmed no homes. 

By July 31 Spokane and the rest of eastern Washington was under a particularly dangerous red flag warning, meaning the risk of wildfires the next day would be extremely 

Farinacci was paying attention to the weather forecasts. He'd waited at least a couple weeks for a day with high winds, hot temperatures and low humidity. He also said he researched other arsonists and ways to create time delay devices for setting wildfires, KREM reported.

If that's true, he weaponized weather warnings meant to protect the public. This raises another issue. There's absolutely no evidence Farinacci was involved in weather betting.

On-line prediction markets like Polymarket allow people to bet on the outcome events, like elections, sports and other occurrences. 

"It's not just easy to start a fire - now there's a potential financial incentive," said Kaitlyn Trudeau,  a California-based climate scientist with Climate Central. 

For example, as High Country News points out Polymarket list nearly 20 questions to be on during the January 2025 Los Angeles area wildfire calamity.  

The questions included "How many acres will the Palisades Fire burn by Friday? Will the Palisades Fire reach Santa Monica by Sunday? When will the Palisads fire be 50% contained?"

You can see the logical next betting question is, "How big will the next wildfire get during the next red flag warning." And you can see how somebody might start a fire so they can win big with the online gambling. 

In any event, on that dry, windy August 1, the alleged arsonist said the picked the spot where he set the big fire because he knew it would be bad, though he didn't intend for the blaze to get as big as it did. He placed a time delay device in the dry grass.

Those hundreds of Spokane area homes were now doomed. Residents will be picking up the pieces for a long time. 

The Associated Press said that the other two major fires around Spokane on August 1 were started by humans, but officials didn't say whether the fires were intentional or accidental.  

Meanwhile, while most other fires across the West were started by lightning or human accidents, some are being investigated as arson. One horrible very mentally ill people can wreck the lives of so many others.