HARDWICK – We were treated to some relatively seasonable and precipitation-limited weather this past week. A few scattered showers were noted Wednesday and Thursday, and again on Monday. The totals between the three days, however, amounted to less than an inch in gauges from Stannard and Craftsbury to Plainfield. Highs generally ranged from the upper-70s to mid-80s, with humidity slowly increasing throughout the weekend.
Monday, a low-pressure system stalled over southern New England spun precipitation in our direction, with thunderstorms developing over the mountainous terrain in the afternoon. The directional flow of the winds around this system kept the precipitation in a remarkable stall as the system moved north over Vermont. Some areas just east of our coverage area were hardest hit by the blossoming precipitation, leading to rainfall amounts of five to eight inches of rain and catastrophic flash flooding Tuesday morning in places like Danville, Morgan, and Holland.
Mark Breen, Senior Meteorologist & Planetarium Director at Fairbanks Museum & Planetarium in St. Johnsbury said the museum saw 7.96 inches of rain between 11:30 p.m. Monday and 7 a.m. Tuesday morning; “by far the most intense rain in 130 years,” he said, according to the Caledonia Record..
A flash flood emergency was issued in these areas, which is a higher-order flash flood warning that allows wireless devices to warn individuals of the need to evacuate lower areas near rivers and streams and is especially helpful at night, when dangers aren’t readily apparent while people are sleeping. Some smaller creeks and streams in Cabot and Walden were noted to have some rises within their banks where rainfall amounts of an inch and a half fell, but precipitation amounts of a trace to a few tenths of an inch were the trend west of Stannard Mountain and Route 2. Some scattered showers were expected to add some additional minor accumulations Tuesday afternoon.
Another frontal system progresses from the Hudson River Valley through the eastern St. Lawrence River Valley today. As it moves from southwest to northeast, scattered showers and thunderstorms are expected to develop by midday, and become more numerous by late afternoon. Additional rainfall amounts of one to three inches are possible during this time. Per the usual, it will be very difficult to pinpoint the exact location of heavier rainfall until hours before the event. Listen carefully to media sources for possible flash flood warnings tomorrow and be prepared to take appropriate actions. Also understand that we have some buffer from lack of antecedent rain, which means it will take more rain to reach thresholds for flash flooding.
Rain will last into Thursday morning. The frontal passage will not provide much in the way of heat and humidity relief as we look at highs reaching the high-80s with oppressive dewpoints. The next frontal system begins to develop to our west in the Ohio Valley on Friday, and crosses the region Saturday into Sunday. Expect some steady rain out of this system on the order of another inch or two, with another chance for some locally higher amounts. It looks like we will get a little bit of relief from the heat and humidity Sunday night into Monday. The forecast details are as follows:
Wednesday: Partly sunny in the morning. Mostly cloudy by mid-afternoon. Scattered showers and thunderstorms, becoming numerous by afternoon. Locally heavy rainfall possible. High: 84. Low: 67.
Thursday: Partly sunny. Scattered showers in the morning. High: 87. Low: 63.
Friday: Partly sunny. Isolated showers in the afternoon. High: 88. Low: 67.
Saturday: Mostly cloudy. Rain spreading from west-to-east midday. Isolated thunderstorms. High: 85. Low: 64.
Sunday: Mostly cloudy. Rain and thunderstorms, tapering off by evening. Locally heavy rainfall possible. High: 85. Low: 59.
Tyler is our weather reporter and a community journalist. He works as a nurse and EMT, volunteers with Hardwick Rescue and helps to train new EMTs.
