Power Outage in Burlington, VT

Tree and several branches down on power lines on Brigham Hill road as well as some isolated similar damage in town.

Trees and power lines downed by thunderstorm winds on Coon Hill road and spotty into Colchester Village.

Strong thunderstorm winds downed large tree branches onto power lines in eastern Williston.

Strong thunderstorm winds downed several large tree branches and a few soft wood trees (pines) on Sandhill road and nearby neighborhoods in Essex, causing power outages.

Strong thunderstorm winds estimated to be 50 knots or greater occurred across portions of Williston, especially north of Route 2A. Several reports of large tree branches of softwoods (pines/willows) downed by thunderstorm winds, causing power outages and minor structural damage.

Trees and power lines down on Dorset street.

Reports of scattered power lines down from Richmond to Bolton.

Tree and power lines down on Bolton Notch road.

Trees and power lines down across North Beach.

Numerous trees and branches fell by thunderstorm winds along with some power lines, especially along Texas Hill road.

Widespread large tree damage, downed power lines and some structural damage across Mallets Bay and Porters Point sections. also some damage to docks and boats on Mallets Bay.

Widespread large trees and branches fell by thunderstorm winds throughout the city from the New North End to the southern border with South Burlington. Power lines, vehicle and structural damage as well.

Several trees and power lines down.

Numerous trees and power lines down across Allen Martin Drive and Route 15. Some trees fell on vehicles, porches and a parked boat.

Trees down on power lines along Route 7.

Several large trees on houses in Jericho Center, as well as numerous reports of trees and power lines as well as other structural damage throughout Jericho.

Numerous trees, large branches and power lines down across Essex due to thunderstorm winds, including Chelsea, Sandhill, Old Stage roads.

Several large branches and a tree fell and downed power lines as well as snapped a few power poles.

Tree, branches and power line downed by thunderstorm winds along River Cove Road in Williston.

A developing area of low pressure moved from the Gulf of Mexico on during the night of the 30th and moved north into the eastern Great Lakes as it intensified during the evening of October 31st. As the surface low moved across Ontario during the night of October 31st, its associated cold front slowly edged across Vermont during the early morning hours of November 1st.||The upper level pattern was very strong and dynamic with a direct moisture feed from the Gulf of Mexico, thus delivering copious amounts of moisture into the northeast and NY.||Steady rain developed during the mid to late evening of October 31st and became heavy at times through the early morning hours of November 1st. Rainfall amounts 1.5 to 2 inches were common across much of Vermont with a swath of 2 1/2 to 4 inches across northwest and north central Vermont.||Numerous flooded streams, flooded and several washed out roads were reported in northern Vermont beginning just after midnight on November 1st and several larger rivers flooded as well, including the Lamoille, Missisquoi basins and portions of the Winooski and Mad River basins. Urban street flooding occurred in the Burlington area just after 10 pm on October 31st.||In addition, strong southwest to west winds, gusting to 40 to 50 mph and locally higher, developed around sunrise and continued through mid-afternoon before quickly diminishing by evening. These persistent strong winds combined with over-saturated soils, led to numerous downed trees, structural damage and escalated power outages to their peak of more than 100,000 outages. Estimated public infrastructure damage in excess of $5 million.

Record setting heat set the stage for an moderately unstable air mass, while a mid-level atmospheric disturbance provided the forcing and strong winds to develop scattered thunderstorms by late afternoon into early evening, some of which produced damaging winds and hail.||A strong micro-burst produced 80-100 mph winds and destructive hail in West Addison with a seasonal camp destroyed with one occupant receiving minor injuries. More than 15,000 customers were without power due to storms across VT.

A cold front moved across New York during the early morning hours and Vermont during the morning hours of September 11th. Preceding this cold front was a rather solid line of showers and thunderstorms that stretched from the Canadian border south to the Massachusetts border that moved across VT in the pre-dawn hours. Scattered severe thunderstorms knocked down numerous trees and caused subsequent power outages. In addition, numerous cloud to ground lightning strikes caused power outages and actually caused a fire that destroyed an historic dairy barn at the Shelburne Farms in Shelburne.

A weak surface cold front, but potent mid-level disturbance developed thunderstorms in a moderately unstable environment across Ontario province Canada during the afternoon and evening of June 20th. These storms tracked eastward across northern New York during the night and reached Vermont just after midnight on June 21st. There were a few scattered reports of several large trees and utility poles downed with more than 2000 customers without power.

A mid-atmospheric wind core and disturbance moved ahead of the surface cold front into a hot, humid and very unstable air mass across northern New York then proceeded to rapidly move through much of northern Vermont during the evening hours of July 19th. Widespread wind damage in the form of downed trees and power lines that fell on vehicles and structures across the region. More than 15,000 customers were without power across the state.

An area of low pressure developed on a stalled surface front in southern New England on May 24, and developed into a coastal storm that lasted through May 26. Widespread steady rainfall of one to two inches produced minor flood problems, especially for areas that flooded on May 23. Heavy wet snow fell at elevations above 1200 to 1500 feet, and the combination of snow load and winds of 25 to 35 mph caused power outages. The low pressure moved out of the area on May 26.

Tropical Storm Irene moved across southeast New York and southwest New England during the morning hours of August 28th and then proceeded to track north along the Connecticut River Valley in Vermont during the afternoon and evening.||Strong to damaging winds in excess of 60 mph was observed within several miles of Lake Champlain in northwest Vermont as well as exposed higher terrain in southern Vermont and wind gusts approaching 50 mph downed trees elsewhere in Vermont during the afternoon hours. A peak wind gust of 85 mph was measured at the summit of Mount Mansfield (4400 ft - Lamoille county). Approximately 100,000 customers were without power during the storm.||The main, devastating impact from Irene was widespread, devastating flooding, especially for central and southern Vermont. Widespread rainfall amounts of 3-5 inches occurred across Vermont with 5 to 7+ inches across much of southern, central Vermont and elevations above 1000 feet along the spine of Vermont's Green Mountains and the Worcester range. ||Devastating flash flooding occurred across much of central and southern Vermont mountain valleys with substantial and some record breaking flood stages on larger rivers. ||This flood event will likely rank second to the November 1927 flood in the scope of meteorological and hydrological conditions/impacts as well as loss of life (84 in 1927), but likely first in monetary damage ((approx $500. million statewide vs $350. million (1927 in 2010 dollars)). There were nearly 2400 roads, 800 homes/businesses, 300 bridges and a half dozen railroad tracks destroyed or damaged from the flooding caused by Irene.

On the afternoon of August 21st, a cold front supported by a strong mid-atmospheric disturbance moved across a unstable air mass across Vermont. Numerous showers and thunderstorms developed during the afternoon with some containing large hail and damaging winds. The strongest storm was in Rutland county near North Pawlet, where a microburst produced straight line winds estimated, by a NWS Storm Damage team, between 70 and 90 mph. Hundreds of trees were snapped or uprooted as well as downed power lines and damage to vehicles. In addition, a corn field was flattened by these damaging winds.

A cold front and upper atmospheric disturbance moved across a warm, moist unstable air mass across northern New York and Vermont during the afternoon of July 6th. Thunderstorms developed across Franklin county New York and became more organized as they moved across the Champlain Valley of New York into Vermont. In Vermont, a well established squall line moved across the state during the afternoon with numerous reports of wind damage as well as lightning strikes. As a result of these storms, more than 15,000 customers in Vermont lost power.

A surface low as well as upper atmospheric energy traveled along a quasi-stationary boundary across northern New York and Vermont during the afternoon and evening of May 26th. The air mass ahead of this boundary was moderately to largely unstable and the combination lead to numerous reports of damaging winds and very large hail (up to 2.5 inches in diameter). Some 25,000+ customers lost power during these storms. ||In addition, several rounds of thunderstorms traversed the same areas in central Vermont near the Route 2 corridor between Middlesex and Lunenburg. The end result of 3 to 5+ inches of rainfall and severe flash flooding and resultant river flooding as well.

Low pressure off the Delmarva Peninsula on October 14th intensified rapidly into a strong Nor'easter as it moved across southeast Massachusetts into the Gulf of Maine on the 15th. There were three components to this storm...heavy rainfall, first snowfall of the season in the higher elevations and strong winds.||Strong north winds of 20 to 30 mph with gusts approaching 50 mph battered the Champlain Valley, as well as exposed higher terrain in portions of Vermont, for much of the late morning and afternoon hours of October 15th. This caused scattered damage to trees and tree limbs with isolated to scattered power outages. It also caused the ferries between Vermont and New York to shut down operations for several hours.||In addition, rainfall totals across Vermont ranged from 1.5 to 4 inches with minor street and small stream flooding. Snowfall was largely confined to elevations above 2000 feet with 3 to 7 inches being reported, but snowfall totals approached or exceeded a foot in the highest peaks (above 3500 feet).

On July 21st, a developing surface low across the Great Lakes traveled along a stationary boundary draped across the North Country. Surface conditions became increasingly unstable during the afternoon with temperatures in the 80s and dewpoints in the 60s and lower 70s. More importantly, an unseasonably strong mid-atmospheric shortwave and winds aloft tracked across this region as well, which allowed for thunderstorms to develop rapidly, intensify and maintain longevity.||During the afternoon and evening, scattered to numerous thunderstorms developed traveled across northern New York and through Vermont. Several storms strengthened into supercells that produced widespread wind damage to trees, power poles and structures as well as large hail in excess of golf ball size in diameter.||Some of the communities largely affected were Milton, Colchester, Essex, Jericho, Stowe, Brookfield, Chelsea and Rutland. In addition, very heavy localized rains caused some temporary problems in many communities, but did result in washed out roads, culverts in Chelsea.

On May 26th, record warmth combined with a westward moving backdoor surface cold front from eastern Quebec-Maine-New Hampshire and a mid-atmospheric disturbance that moved south from Quebec to produce numerous thunderstorms in the northern Champlain Valley during the evening hours. Eventually, these thunderstorms combined with storms in the Champlain Valley of New York to develop a large meso-scale Convective Complex that affected southern Vermont, eastern New York, western Massachusetts and Connecticut during the nighttime hours. ||There were numerous reports of branches and trees downed by thunderstorms winds, as well as hail up to one inch in diameter and some lightning strikes. Some trees fell on power lines, vehicles, mobile homes and a few houses with 20,000 customers without power at the height of the event. The hardest hit location was in Wells near Lake St. Catherine.

A very energetic mid-atmospheric disturbance moved across the Great Lakes during the afternoon and evening of June 10th. This developed a surface low along a cold front, which moved across Vermont during the afternoon and evening hours. These features moved into a very warm, humid and unstable airmass draped across Vermont that resulted in two rounds of widespread severe thunderstorms.||The first round moved across Vermont during the early to mid afternoon hours and the second round occurred during the evening.||In Vermont...hundreds to thousands of trees were damaged, downed or uprooted which caused downed power lines and structural damage to numerous buildings and vehicles. Tens of thousands of customers lost power due to the storms, with some outages that lasted several days.

Scattered thunderstorms developed in a moderately unstable airmass across the Champlain Valley of New York during the afternoon of the 16th. One thunderstorm developed in a favorable, highly sheared wind environment which eventually intensified into a supercell thunderstorm in Clinton county, NY. This supercell then proceeded to travel into Vermont affecting numerous communities between Grand Isle (Grand Isle county) and Concord (Essex county). Significant straight-line wind damage (estimated between 60 and 80 mph) in the form of snapped, uprooted and downed trees, downed power lines and some structural damage occurred in Grand Isle, Georgia (Franklin county), Westford (Chittenden county) and Hardwick (Caledonia county).||Also, there were several thunderstorms, including a supercell that developed in the northern Hudson Valley of New York and moved across Rutland and Windsor counties in southern Vermont. Significant straight-line wind damage (estimated between 60 and 80 mph) in the form of snapped, uprooted and downed trees, downed power lines and some structural damage occurred as well in Rutland (Rutland county) and surrounding communities.

A mid-level atmospheric disturbance and accompanying surface trough moved into a very warm and unstable airmass across Vermont during the late afternoon hours of the 27th. Thunderstorms developed along this boundary in the Champlain Valley of New York and intensified as they moved across Vermont. ||There were numerous reports of wind damage in the form of downed trees and power lines across the state, which resulted in thousands without power. Large hail was reported in Caledonia county and lightning struck a house in Brighton (Essex county) that caused a fire.

A mid atmospheric disturbance and surface trough moved into a warm and unstable airmass across Vermont during the late afternoon and early evening of the 19th. Scattered thunderstorms moved into Vermont during the late afternoon and evening hours and produced localized wind damage in the form of downed trees and powerlines. Some communities affected included Shelburne (Chittenden county), Johnson (Lamoille county), Benson (Rutland county) and Royalton (Windsor county).

A backdoor cold front and mid-level disturbance moved into a moderately unstable airmass during the afternoon of the 2nd, which resulted in the development of showers and thunderstorms across northern New York that moved into Vermont. Some of these thunderstorms were locally severe, which produced damaging winds that knocked down trees and powerlines in South Burlington and Richmond (Chittenden county) as well as Barre (Washington county) and North Williamstown (Orange county). A tin barn was collapsed by thunderstorm winds in Bradford (Orange county). In addition, some of these severe storms produced large hail of 3/4 inch in diameter or greater, including just shy of golf ball size in Moretown (Washnigton county), nickel size hail in South Burlington (Chittenden county) and East Barre (Washington). ||In addition, the bell tower of the Old Brick Church in Williston (Chittenden county) was struck by lightning that caused a fire to the structure. Also, lightning struck a home in South Burlington (Chittenden county) which resulted in a minor fire and structural damage.

A warm frontal boundary moved into southern Quebec during the morning of the 25th and this allowed an influx of warm and increasingly humid air throughout the day. A mid-level atmospheric disturbance moved across northern New York into the Champlain Valley of Vermont by late afternoon, which developed scattered thunderstorms with localized severe weather. A severe thunderstorm developed in Essex county New York and moved across Lake Champlain into Colchester. Numerous trees and powerlines were knocked down in the Mallets Bay section of Colchester, especially along Church Rd. In addition, a lightning strike to an apartment building on the opposite side of Colchester caused a fire and damage to the roof and a few apartments.

A mid-level atmospheric disturbance and surface cold front moved across a moderately unstable airmass during the early afternoon of the 20th. This led to the development of scattered thunderstorms across the Champlain Valley of Vermont. One of these storms produced one inch diameter hail, as well as a 54 mph wind gust at the National Weather Service office in South Burlington. Also, a few small microbursts in northern Williston and Essex knocked down numerous large branches and trees, including a 50-60 foot oak tree that downed powerlines and blocked Route 15 in Essex.

A mid-level atmospheric disturbance and surface cold front moved across a moderately unstable airmass during the early afternoon of the 20th. This led to the development of scattered thunderstorms across northern Vermont. Numerous large tree branches and limbs were blown down and onto powerlines in Richmond.

A surface trough and mid-level atmospheric disturbance encountered a very warm and humid airmass across northern New York around midday on the 19th. This resulted in the development of a line of thunderstorms, that intensified as they moved into the Champlain Valley by early afternoon. These thunderstorms produced severe weather, including downed powerlines in Charlotte, trees down in Richmond, Underhill and Colchester and large branches down in Milton.

A weak surface trough combined with surface dew points around 65 degrees and an upper level disturbance to produce severe thunderstorms across northwest Vermont. In Chittenden county, trees were blown down on Rte 2-A in Williston. Additionally, numerous large trees were uprooted in a 1 mile wide path in the town of Richmond, and some trees fell across a road. Small hail was also reported with the thunderstorm in Richmond. A ski lift was damaged when trees fell on it at a ski resort near Richmond. Numerous power outages were reported.

A low pressure system near James Bay, Canada on the morning of July 1 moved east across Quebec. The associated cold front in the central Great Lakes Thursday morning, July 1st, moved into northern New York during the afternoon. The cold front continued east into northern Vermont during the evening of the 1st of July. Thunderstorms preceded and accompanied the front. Some of the storms were severe with large hail and/or strong winds. In the South Burlington area, nickel size hail was reported. A number of power outages were reported in the county.

A low pressure system moved across southern Quebec during Wednesday, June 9th. The associated trailing cold front tracked slowly across northern New York and Vermont during the morning and afternoon hours. This front was preceded and accompanied by thunderstorms with damaging winds. In Grand Isle (Grand Isle county) trees were blown down, while in Chittenden county, trees and limbs were blown down with one tree on a house in the town of Milton, and in the town of Hinesburg trees were snapped. In Fairfax (Franklin county), trees and power lines were blown down.

A complex storm system which extended along the east coast of the US from Cape Cod south to Cape Hatteras spread a mixture of sleet, freezing rain and light snow across much of Vermont during Sunday, November 17th. Colder air moved in as the storm system reorganized and intensified near Cape Cod Sunday night (November 17th). Heavy snow snow fell Sunday night into Monday morning (November 17-18th), with accumulations generally 8 to 12 inches. Numerous power outages were reported in Chittenden county.

A warm front moved northeast across the region, followed by a warm and humid airmass. Scattered thunderstorms developed during the afternoon of June 26th, and a few of them reached severe criteria. A cluster of thunderstorms in Chittenden county resulted in numerous downed trees and power lines in the Vermont locations of Burlington, Shelburne, Colchester and Essex Junction.

A storm system moved into southern Canada Saturday, March 9th. The associated strong cold front moved across the area during the early morning hours of March 10th. Strong winds were associated with this low pressure system and strong cold front during the early morning of March 10th. Trees and power lines were reported blown down countywide, with numerous homes without power.

A storm system moved slowly northeast along the New England coast Friday, March 30th and Friday night. Significant snow fell across the area, especially across the elevated terrain. Lesser amounts fell in the valley along the shores of Lake Champlain. A few snowfall reports by county included: Addison county...South Lincoln 16.1 inches with 5.5 inches in Cornwall. Chittenden county...11.8 inches in Hanksville with 4.o inches in Underhill. Rutland county...East Wallingford reported 14 inches while the city of Rutland had 6 inches. The snow that fell was heavy and wet with some power outages and slippery roads with some accidents.

A storm system moved northeast from coastal New Jersey Thursday, March 22nd into the Gulf of Maine during Friday, March 23rd. Significant snow fell across the area. The snow was heavy and wet with power outages reported and a number of accidents. Snowfall was generally 7 to 25 inches with the greatest amounts in the mountains. A few reports included: Addison county...South Lincoln 25 inches with 7.9 inches in Cornwall. Chittenden county...Hanksville had 25.7 inches while Westford reported 11 inches. Franklin county...Berkshire had 6.7 inches.

A strong storm system moved across the Canadian Province of Quebec Friday night, February 9th and Saturday, February 10th. The associated cold front was accompanied and followed by very windy conditions. In the town of Milton, a tree was uprooted by the wind and destroyed a car injuring the driver. This incident occurred around 7 AM. Winds also blew down scaffolding in the town of Williston. Trees and power lines were blown down in Charlotte around 830 AM with power outages reported.

Strong gusty winds in the Burlington area resulted in a small boat capsized on Lake Champlain. Also, power outages were reported in Burlington due to tree limbs brushing against power lines.

A storm system moved through the eastern Great Lakes Monday night, January 3rd and then into Canada on Tuesday, January 4th. During the early morning hours strong winds blew along portions of the western slopes of the Green Mountains. In Underhill, an observer reported measured winds of 82 mph (71 Knots). The winds blew a tin roof off a house in Underhill with trees and power lines down.