Flooding on River Road in New Haven on Thursday morning. Photo by Caleb Kenna/VTDigger
Throughout central and northern parts of the state, Vermonters awoke to flooded rivers and damaged infrastructure Thursday morning after the remnants of Tropical Storm Beryl dumped heavy rain on the region.
Towns and cities from Addison to Caledonia counties were hit with 3 to 5 inches of rain late Wednesday, with some totals exceeding 6 inches, according to Jessica Storm, a meteorologist in the Burlington office of the National Weather Service.
“It’s kind of localized, but we had a wide swath of heavy rain and flood impacts,” she said Thursday morning.
Mark Bosma, a spokesperson for Vermont Emergency Management, called the damage caused by Wednesday’s flash flooding “extensive.” He said the state’s urban search and rescue teams, as well as the Vermont National Guard, “were in the field, assisting communities with rescues and evacuations.” Swiftwater rescue teams from out of state were also expected to arrive, he said.
The most significant flooding hit Barre City, Williamstown, Groton, Barnet, Lyndonville and Marshfield, according to the weather service. Early rainfall totals showed Hinesburg collecting the most overnight: 6.76 inches. Evacuation orders were issued in at least five towns overnight: Barre, Williamstown, Groton, St. Johnsbury and Moretown.
As many as 7,000 customers lost power in the early hours of Thursday, according to VTOutages. By 8:45 a.m., close to 2,500 outages remained — clustered largely in rural towns around Caledonia, Washington and Chittenden counties.
As the rain mostly petered out Thursday morning, attention turned from flash flooding to rising rivers. Officials were most focused on portions of the Winooski, Mad, Missisquoi, Passumpsic, Lamoille and Wells rivers.
“Generally, if you live near one of those rivers, just be aware,” Storm said. “Follow the local officials’ guidelines. Heed evacuations if that’s being instructed to you.”
Scattered showers were expected in parts of the state Thursday, according to Storm. “It’s not anything like yesterday,” she said. But with soils saturated and rivers full, she added, “any rainfall is not good.”
Barre City employee Everett Hoyt tries to clear a storm drain on Summer Street clogged by overnight flooding. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger
In Barre, a thin layer of mud covered some streets and sidewalks downtown, while others saw signs of hydraulic damage. Only a handful of people were out and about early Thursday assessing the scene in a city that has now been battered two years in a row on the very same day.
Vermont’s four southern counties were largely spared flooding, with Rutland and Windsor counties receiving no more than an inch and a half of rain, Bennington and Windham counties recording no more than a quarter inch and the towns of Bennington and Brattleboro reporting none at all, according to the weather service.
Glenn Russell and Kevin O’Connor contributed reporting.
This story will be updated.
Read the story on VTDigger here: Vermont digs out after more than 5 inches of rain cover portions of the state.