Addison County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Addison County: 0.
2. Weak tornadoes were under-recorded before Doppler radar coverage became national in the early 1990s, so earlier decades read low. Ratings use the Fujita scale before February 2007 and the Enhanced Fujita scale after.

Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, 1950 to 2025.

Every storm within 100 miles

1. Tropical storms and hurricanes (34 kt or more, still tropical) at closest approach. Post-tropical remnants with gale-force winds are listed but not counted. Direct: track within 50 miles; near: within 100 miles. Distance is measured to the county boundary for counties and to the city centre for cities, using positions interpolated hourly between HURDAT2 fixes.

National Hurricane Center HURDAT2, 1851 to 2025.

Smoke overhead

1. A smoke day is a date on which a smoke plume traced by NOAA Hazard Mapping System analysts from satellite imagery covered this place's point (the county's population centre or the city centre). Counts here are of medium or heavy smoke. Since 2018 analysts have often drawn light smoke as one area over most of the continent, so light-smoke counts are not comparable from year to year. The plumes show smoke anywhere in the air above, not air quality at the ground, and smoke hidden by cloud is missed.

NOAA Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, 2011 to 2026, retrieved October 30, 2026.

Claims by ZIP code

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026. NOAA Storm Events through 2026.

River crests

River gauges

1. Crests are the highest and the recent crests the National Weather Service lists for each river gauge in the county that has a flood stage, not every flood. Flood categories use each gauge's current flood stages; crests from before levees, dams or channel changes may not be comparable. Crests measured on an old datum are left out of the rankings.

NOAA National Water Prediction Service gauge records, retrieved October 30, 2026.

1. The Palmer Drought Severity Index is computed by NOAA each month from the county's average temperature and precipitation, relative to the county's own climate. Zero is normal; -3 or lower is severe drought and -4 or lower extreme drought. It describes the long-term balance of moisture, not water supply or crop losses.

NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, 1895 to September 2026, issued October 6, 2026.

Every earthquake of magnitude 4 or more within 50 miles

1. Earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or more in the USGS Comprehensive Catalog since 1900. Within 50 miles means the epicentre lies within 50 miles of the county boundary (or inside the county).
2. Small earthquakes were under-recorded before the modern seismic networks of the 1970s and are still missed in remote areas, so early decades read low. Magnitudes are as the catalogue reports them and mix scales (moment, local and body-wave).

USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog, 1900 to present, retrieved October 30, 2026.

Mapped landslides

Mapped by VT GS (124).

1. Landslides mapped in the USGS compilation of landslide inventories across the United States (version 3.0, 2025), rated probable or better. The compilation joins inventories made by federal and state agencies for different purposes and areas, so the number mapped in a county reflects how closely it has been surveyed as much as how often its slopes fail. An area with few records may simply not have been mapped. Deaths are as recorded in the inventories; a slide listed in two inventories is counted once.

USGS Landslide Inventories across the United States, version 3.0, retrieved October 27, 2026.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Aug 28, 2011Flash Flood$20.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Several areas of flash flooding occurred across Addison county, east of Route 7 and especially in the foothills of the western slopes of the Green Mountains in communities such as Lincoln, Ripton, Hancock, Granville, Bristol, East Middlebury, New Haven, Monkton, Salisbury and Leicester. Dozens of roads (state/local) witnessed partial or full washouts, including Routes 7, 17, 116 and 125. Several homes and businesses experienced flooding and many farmlands loss there late summer harvest due to flooding.

2. Jun 27, 1998Flash Flood$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   An area of low pressure tracked across New York and New England during the late night of Friday (June 26) and morning of Saturday (June 27). Heavy convective rains fell with 3 to 6 inches across the county. Extensive flooding occurred, especially along the New Haven and White Rivers. A number of people were without power. A state of emergency was declared with the National Guard assisting cleanup operations.In Bristol and Lincoln extensive road washouts resulted with a number of bridges washed out. The New Haven River ripped up trees and moved trailer homes off their foundations. In Bristol up to 10 people had to be rescued with a number of evacuations. In Lincoln, the library…

3. Aug 28, 2004Flash Flood$1.7 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A cold front moving into Vermont from southern Canada triggered afternoon and evening thunderstorms. The thunderstorms in Addison county were accompanied by torrential rainfall from late afternoon into the early night with 2 to 5 inches of rainfall falling on already saturated soil. In the Bristol and New Haven areas, extensive washouts of Routes 116 and 17 were reported along with mudslides. Numerous smaller roads were flooded or washed out. Many homes reported flooded basements.The New Haven River cut away portions of its banks and destroyed a parking lot. The Bristol Elementary School and school grounds were flooded. Sidewalks were damaged and some trees uprooted by the water.

4. Aug 3, 2023Flash Flood$1.2 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Training showers and thunderstorms with torrential rainfall affected portions of Addison County on the evening of August 3, 2023. The axis of heaviest rainfall was fairly narrow and extended from near the town of West Addison, VT through the towns of Middlebury and East Middlebury. Within this band 3 to 6 inches of rain fell leading to severe flash flooding. A CoCoRaHS observation site in Middlebury reported 6.12 inches of rain in approximately 3 hours from this event. Numerous roads were flooded with several swift water rescues needed in Middlebury and East Middlebury.

5. Jul 1, 1998Flash Flood$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A storm system tracked across New England with steady rainfall. The previous month was very wet so soil conditions remained saturated. Rivers and streams rose rapidly with many exceeding flood stage, especially the New Haven River. By 9 AM EST some roads in the Ripton, Vermont area were under water and were washed out by late morning. In the towns of Lincoln and Bristol a number of residents were evacuated due to the flood waters.

6. Jul 1, 1998Flash Flood$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A storm system tracked across New England with continued periods of rainfall. With saturated soil conditions rivers and streams remained at or above flood stage. Areas along the New Haven River continued to flood, especially in Bristol. A number of roads were washed out in the county. Portions of Rte 12A were flooded in and around East Granville. Local sources of drinking water became contaminated.

7. Jun 14, 2008Flash Flood$750,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous road and driveway washouts, including Route 125 in Ripton through East Middlebury.

8. Aug 6, 2008Flash Flood$750,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A destructive flash flood occurred across portions of Addison County. The hardest hit area was along and adjacent to Route 125 between East Middlebury and Hancock. Sections of route 125 were destroyed by the Middlebury River draining to the west, and the Robbins Branch and Hancock Branch draining to the east. Several bridges were damages or washed out, and numerous residences and campers were stranded. Damage was reported as far west as Orwell Vermont, where flooding closed Murry Rd.

9. Jan 6, 1998Ice Storm, Addison$750,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A storm system moved from the Tennessee Valley on Wednesday (January 7) and Thursday (January 8) into New England thereafter. A cold front across New England and New York associated with an Arctic High Pressure system across Canada resulted in a flow of low level cold air into northern Vermont. Warm moist air riding over this low level cold air resulted in a major ice storm across northwest Vermont. During Friday afternoon (January 9), a few thunderstorms with gusty winds and small hail moved across the Champlain Valley of Vermont. Ice accumulations during this event were generally between 1 and 2 inches with locally greater accumulations over portions of Grand Isle county…

10. Jul 16, 2000Flash Flood$600,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    An upper level low over the eastern Great Lakes and western New York and it's related surface low pressure system resulted in showers and thunderstorms across Vermont during the afternoon and night of Sunday July 16th. Slow moving thunderstorms resulted in especially heavy rainfall across the eastern two thirds of Addison county. Especially hard hit were the towns of Lincoln, Bristol and Ripton. By 1030 pm EDT (930 pm EST) several bridges had been washed out in and around Ripton and Rte 125 was closed. The New Haven River, as well as other small rivers, flooded.

1. Storm Events records before 1996 cover only tornadoes, thunderstorm wind and hail. Damage figures are as reported by the National Weather Service at the time, not adjusted for inflation.

NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, 1950 to 2026, issued October 26, 2026.

All-time high

104°FAug 21, 1916

All-time low

−32°FDec 30, 1933

Warmest night

79°F2 times, most recently Jul 18, 1900

Coldest day

−11°FJan 14, 1914

Wettest day

4.70 inAug 18, 1986

Snowiest day

24.0 inMar 9, 1916

Hottest year

1949mean 49.6°F

Coldest year

1904mean 42.0°F

Wettest year

197648.10 in

Driest year

193323.23 in

Snowiest season

124.0 in1971-72

Station Cornwall (USC00431580), 345 ft elevation, 7.5 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1894 to October 15, 2026; 90.8% of days in the last 30 years are complete. Records at a single station can differ from a city’s official threaded record, which may combine several stations.

NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily.

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries, retrieved October 30, 2026. Statewide declarations are not listed.

Neighbouring counties

• Tornadoes NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, through 2025.
• Tropical cyclones NOAA National Hurricane Center HURDAT2 (Atlantic; Northeast and Central Pacific), through 2025.
• Wildfire USGS/USFS Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity, through 2026.
• Storm events NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, through 2026.
• Flood insurance OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026.
• Declarations OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Weather records NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily, station USC00431580.
• River crests NOAA National Weather Service, National Water Prediction Service river gauges, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Drought NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, through September 2026.
• Smoke NOAA NESDIS Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Landslides USGS Landslide Inventories across the United States, version 3.0 (2025).
• Earthquakes USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog (ComCat), retrieved October 30, 2026.

Joins, thresholds and known limits are set out in the methodology. Found an error? Report it. Page built October 30, 2026.