Plenty Of Tree Damage, Flash Flooding In Wake Of Vermont Tornado-Warned Storms. Did Any Touch Down?

For what it's worth, interesting wind shift Sunday in
a tornado-warned storm in the southern end of 
Hinesburg, Vermont. Here, screen grab at 2:12
pm, judging by tilt of the tree, wind is 
coming in from the southwest. ....

As expected, Sunday turned out to be a wild day in parts of Vermont, with tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings flying.   

Most of the state got through Sunday with no trouble at all. It seems like the middle of the Green Mountain State took the brunt of the weather.  

While there was definitely wind damage, some of the biggest trouble Sunday stemmed from flash flooding. 

Sunday's two most intense storms - both of which carried tornado warnings -  hit pretty much the same areas in central Vermont, touching off tree damage, power outages and flash flooding 

Here's what I saw. 

STORM #1

The National Weather Service in South Burlington at 2:07 p.m. Sunday issued a tornado warning. for an area around Monkton, Starksboro and Huntington, and extended the tornado warning to areas around Waterbury, Waitsfield and Montpelier at 2:28 p.m.

...... Second screen grab, from just one minute later at
2:13 p.m. shows more intense wind and rain with
the wind now coming out of the east to southeast. This
is north of where the storm rotation was, but it's possible
that rotation influenced wind direction away from it.

There was one area of Monkton where trees were reported down.  I was in the southern end of Hinesburg at the time, an area covered by the tornado warning. 

I definitely did not see a tornado, as I was a little bit north of where the storm rotation was. But the area I was in at the Cedar Knoll Country Club experienced gusty west winds, followed quickly by even stronger southeast winds and torrential rains. 

That was potentially influenced by some sort of circulation a little to the south of me, or it could have been simply the orientation of downbursts. 

After the storm I traveled down Route 116 through Starksboro where if a tornado existed it would have crossed. At that particular point along Route 116 the only damage I saw was a few branches down and some minor flash flooding. 

STORM #2

Later in the afternoon, a fairly unimpressive looking storm in eastern New York intensified as it splashed ashore on the Vermont side of Lake Champlain.   

It developed torrential rains and gusty winds where I was in South Burlington and Shelburne around 4 p.m., then intensified further as it moved east. At 4:07 and 4:12 p.m., the National Weather Service issued a pair of severe thunderstorm warnings for a zone extending from central Chittenden County all the way to areas around Morrisville, Waterbury, Worcester, Montpelier and Johnson. 

That severe thunderstorm warning in a broad area around Waterbury was renewed at 4:43 p.m. Meteorologists at this point must have been beginning to see signs of rotation because they added the following sentences to this new severe storm warning: "Remain alert for a possible tornado! Tornadoes can develop quickly from severe thunderstorms." 

At 4:51 p.m., a tornado warning was issued for an area in and around Waterbury. Around that time, numerous trees were reported uprooted or snapped off at Little River State Park in Waterbury, which was in the middle of the tornado warning zone.  

 From what I can tell, the damage patterns reported didn't warrant the National Weather Service going out for a look see. So for now, we can conclude we had rotation, but no actual tornadoes with this episode.  Close but no cigar. Though if something changes, I'll update you.

FLASH FLOODING

Those two intense storms hit roughly the same areas. Both storms contained ferocious downpours. There were quite a few damage reports. I saw some flash flooding on French Hill in Williston, and it goes worse as the storms reached peak intensity further east. 

Torrential rains touched off some flash flooding on a very
flood prone spot on Williston Road in South Burlington.
As the storm moved east, it causes much worse
flash flooding in the Green Mountains especially
near Stowe, Worcester and Elmore 

Parts of the Bolton access road were damage, as was Route 100 between Waterbury and Stowe.  Part of Route 12 in Worcester was closed. 

Part of Route 14 in Hardwick was also shut down due to high water. A bridge washed out on Elmore Mountain Road, and other road damage was seen around Elmore and Worcester. 

In Stowe, Stowe Hollow, North Hollow, Moss Glen Falls roads and others in town were damaged and in many cases impassable.  

Damage from flooding in Vermont Sunday was definitely worse than wind or potential tornado damage.

OUTLOOK

Much calmer today in Vermont. Today was cloudy and showery across much of Vermont, though some afternoon sun broke out in the northwest. It's been a refreshingly cool one after all the humidity we've had lately.   

After a bright and much warmer Tuesday, the next chance of severe weather comes with some weather fronts Wednesday. The prospect for bad storms Wednesday is still really iffy, and so far, trends have been moving away from a severe risk, so fingers crossed!  

Quick Sunday Evening Update: Worst Is Over Northern Vermont; Unsure Yet If Any Tornadoes Developed

Intense wind and rain today in the southern part of
Hinesburg today, a short distance north of where
rotation was detected in a storm, prompting a 
tornado warning 

 Turn out the worst of today's storms focused their attention on central Vermont, where the National Weather Service office in South Burlington today had to issue two tornado warnings, several severe storm warnings and a flash flood warning. 

The first rotating storm blew through Charlotte, Ferrisburgh and Monkton before continuing on into the central Green Mountains at and beyond Buels Gore.

A wide funnel cloud was photographed near Monkton, and numerous trees were reported down in the area. But it's unclear whether a tornado touched down. I might have more info on that tomorrow.

I was just north of that circulation in the southern end of Hinesburg and encountered heavy rain with a gusty west wind that quickly turned into an even stronger southeast wind, which made me wonder if some sort of circulation was nearby.

A second storm, that was merely strong in New York state and over Lake Champlain later in the afternoon, turned into a severe thunderstorm that eventually developed enough rotation to require another tornado warning around Waterbury and just north of Montpelier around 5 p.m. 

I also don't know the outcome of that. The same storm, and the one before it dumped torrential rains that prompted flash flooding around Mount Mansfield.

THIS EVENING AND BEYOND

I think northern and central Vermont is now pretty much out of the woods. More storms could develop in New York and become strong, but I don't think they will be particularly severe, never mind tornadic.

As of 6 p.m., there were still some intense storms in New York between Glens Falls and Albany that could cause some problems in the next few hours south of Route 4. 

Torrential rain in thunderstorms put a flood-prone
section of Williston Road in South Burlington under water.

Flash flooding has caused a fair amount of damage in north central Vermont, especially around Elmore. Expect some high water and washouts to continue there for awhile as the runoff from the heavy rains drains away. 

Looking ahead, we could have numerous showers and a few garden variety thunderstorms Monday, but nothing severe. Also, the rain shouldn't be enough to cause any more flooding problems.

Going further into the week, the next chance of severe weather will come Wednesday, but that's iffy, and a lot of forecast updates need to come through before we say anything definitive about that. 

I'll have a full update on today's storms and what's next in tomorrow morning's post.