Bennington County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Bennington 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 (25).

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. Jul 27, 2007Lightning$750,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Lightning struck the Green Mountain Christian Center on Harwood Hill Road in Bennington at around 20:55 EST, causing severe damage. One firefighter suffered heat exhaustion while trying to extinguish the blaze, and was sent to the hospital for examination. He was given fluids and then released.||The estimated damages to the church were around $750,000.

2. Mar 31, 1997Winter Storm, Bennington$750,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   On March 31 and April 1, a classic late season nor'easter tracked from the Chesapeake Bay area northeast to central coastal New Jersey then slowly out to sea. This system produced rain across Bennington and Windham Counties during the morning hours of March 31. The rain changed to heavy wet snow by early afternoon. Snowfall amounts were highly elevation dependent. Some specific snowfall totals included: 12 inches at Shaftsbury and 13 inches at Peru in Bennington County and 23 inches at West Wardsboro and 12 inches at Grafton in Windham County. The wet snow brought down many trees and power lines causing widespread power outages and road closures. Some areas remained without power…

3. May 31, 1998Tornado$630,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   During the morning hours of May 31, a strong low pressure system over the upper Great Lakes pushed a warm front across eastern New York and western New England. This set the stage for a major severe weather outbreak in southern Vermont. In this highly sheared environment several lines of severe thunderstorms formed ahead of an approaching cold front, which resulted in one tornado and several severe thunderstorms. The F2 tornado in Bennington County is the continuation of the tornado that crossed Saratoga and Rensselaer Counties in eastern New York. The tornado entered the county as an F2 but quickly weakened to an F1. The tornado followed route 67 from the state line through North…

4. Sep 16, 1999Flash Flood$476,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The remnants of Hurricane Floyd moved up the eastern seaboard on September 16 and during the early hours on September 17. The storm brought both high winds and heavy rainfall to Southern Vermont , which included a large swath of 3 to 6 inch amounts. Specific rainfall amounts included 2.91 inches in Bennington, 3.89 inches in Sunderland, 4.54 inches at Peru and 5.70 inches at Brattleboro. The rain produced significant flooding across the region, which proved destructive. Many smaller tributaries reached or exceeded bankfull. Water form the Millbrook in Weathersfield washed away a portion of State Route 5. The World's Fair in Tunbridge was cancelled for the first time in many years.…

5. Jan 19, 1996Flood, Bennington$300,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   An intense area of low pressure which was located over the Mid-Atlantic region on Friday morning January 19th produced unseasonably warm temperatures, high dewpoints and strong winds. This resulted in rapid melting of one to three feet of snow. In addition to the rapid snowmelt one to three inches of rain fell as the system moved northeast along the coast. This resulted in numerous road washouts and the flooding of several homes across the county.

6. Jul 29, 2021Flash Flood$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Town of Manchester suffered major impact from flash flooding. Bently Hill Road and Rootville Road were destroyed. Bromley Brook Road and West Road were damaged. Portions of Union Street were washed out with the ditch needing repair. Flooding was also observed on Richville Road at Union Street to Carlen Street. The Batten Kill River spilled over its banks along Sunderland Hill Road and Route 7A in Manchester, Sunderland and Arlington, turning fields and pastures into lakes. Damage also occurred to some railroads and residential buildings in the area.

7. Jul 10, 2023Flood$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The combination of heavy rainfall and the Batten Kill River overflowing its banks resulted in some areas of flooding in the Town of Manchester. A water rescue was conducted on Natural Form Way as workers were surrounded by about two feet of water. The Manchester Variety Store at the corner of Depot Street and Richville Road was flooded as well as several homes on Green Mountain Road. In addition, portions of Green Mountain Road were washed out into a field off Richville Road.

8. Jul 29, 2021Flash Flood$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Town of Sandgate suffered major impact from flash flooding. Culverts damaged portions of Sandgate Road, West Sandgate Road and Baldwin Brook. At West Sandgate Road, a six foot culvert overflowed with the road partially gone along with gullies along other portions of the road. Portions of Hamilton Hollow road were washed out and impassable. Lincoln Lane, Tate Hill Road and Chunks Brood Road suffered significant to severe damage. There was gully erosion along Woodcock Road. There was a stream bank failure, gully erosion and culvert failure along Wilcox Road. There was major gully erosion and one culvert failure along Southeast Corners Road. Some residential damage was also reported.

9. Jul 21, 2003Tornado$150,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A large upper air trough dug across the western Great Lakes on Monday, July 21. At the surface, a deep low pressure area moved across the eastern Great Lakes, driving a warm front across New England during the evening hours. The air became very unstable in the warm air mass behind the front. A supercell, that originated in the Mid Hudson Valley of New York and producing a long lived significant tornado, spawned a second twister which touched down in the town of Pownal, Bennington County. The twister cut a swath longer than 25 miles and up 150 yards wide. After touching down in Pownal, the tornado moved northeast into the city of Bennington, then continued into the Green Mountain…

10. Jul 27, 2007Lightning$150,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Lightning struck a vacant house on Harwood Hill Road in Bennington. The house was completely destroyed after the roof collapsed into the second story and continued to burn, subsequently collapsing that level.||State officials recommended that the house be razed.

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

96°FJul 8, 1988

All-time low

−20°F2 times, most recently Feb 6, 2015

Warmest night

75°FJul 5, 1999

Coldest day

−2°FJan 14, 2004

Wettest day

5.94 inOct 8, 2005

Hottest year

2023mean 51.0°F

Coldest year

1997mean 45.8°F

Wettest year

202154.73 in

Driest year

202529.90 in

Station N Adams Harriman Airport (USW00054768), 646 ft elevation, 19.6 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1987 to October 26, 2026; 98.1% 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 USW00054768.
• 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.