Thursday Evening Update: Strong Thunderstorms Just Moving Into Vermont As Of 5 p.m

A busy National Weather Service radar as of shortly before
5:45 p.m. today. Quite a few storms in New York headed
into Vermont at that hour. Still a chance that one or two
of them could be severe this evening. 

 The storms we expected in Vermont are generally slightly later than we expected, but they are firing up. 

A couple storms did form ahead of the main batch. On strong thunderstorm zipped through part of southeastern Vermont earlier this afternoon. 

Late this afternoon, a batch of thunderstorms developed in the Northeast Kingdom, At 5:11 p.m., a severe thunderstorm warning went up southeast of Newport, with gusts of 60 mph possibly. 

However, the bulk of the severe weather, as originally expected, looks like it will stay mostly to the southwest. A severe thunderstorm watch is in effect for central and eastern New York, and that watch extends into Bennington County, Vermont.

A watch means there could be a severe storm. A warning means a severe storm is happening or is about to.

Storms should move through Vermont over the next few hours.  

As of 5:30 p.m., the storm I'm watching the most was approaching Glens Falls, New York from the southwest. It was carrying a severe thunderstorm warning. That rotating storm prompted a tornado warning, issued at 5:45 p.m., for an area a little north and west of Saratoga Springs, New York.

If it holds together, it could spell real trouble. Most likely in southern Rutland County or northern Bennington County if it keeps going on its current projections.

Overall, the weather setup this evening isn't perfect for severe storms, as there's a variety of weak weather fronts around that are keeping thunderstorms from becoming focused and strong. But there's enough potential for the risk of a few more strong to maybe severe storms for the rest of this evening. 

These storms are popping up quickly and sometimes fading quickly only to rebuild, so expect a few little surprises with storms for the next few hours. This could happen anywhere in Vermont. The vast majority of us will not see severe weather. But an isolated spot or two might. Other areas could see some relatively strong storms with gusty winds, even if they don't quite meet the criteria for severe storms. 

Things should taper off nicely by later this evening, with only widely scattered, light showers overnight. 

There might be a few more scattered showers and maybe a rumble or two of thunder tomorrow morning and early afternoon as a secondary cold front comes through. Things should whoosh toward much less humid air later in the day.