Chittenden County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Chittenden 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 (810), USGS Conterminous (2).

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. May 1, 2011Lakeshore Flood, Western Chittenden$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Record lake flood levels as well as several high wind, damaging waves and seiche events caused considerable and major flooding of lake shore roads, residents and businesses. The flooding began April 13th and ended June 18th.

2. Aug 28, 2011Flood$3.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Flooding from Tropical Storm Irene caused extensive flooding across Chittenden County in the Winooski River Valley and other rivers such as the Browns River. Along the Winooski...homes and businesses were flooded in Richmond, and hundreds of acres of farmland were inundated. Routes 2 and 117 were inundated and impassable from Williston and Essex upstream through Richmond to Jonesville.

3. Jan 6, 1998Ice Storm, Chittenden$2.5 million
   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…

4. Aug 28, 2011Flash Flood$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Several areas of flash flooding occurred across eastern Chittenden county, especially in the foothills of the western slopes of the Green Mountains in communities such as Bolton, Hineburg, Huntington, Jonesville, Richmond, Westford, Jericho, Underhill, Essex and Williston. Several roads witnessed partial or full washouts. Several homes and businesses experienced flooding and many farmlands loss there late summer harvest due to flooding.

5. Aug 11, 1998Flash Flood$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A cold front moved across the region during the late afternoon and night of August 11th into the early morning of August 12th. With a warm humid airmass in place, thunderstorms resulted in torrential downpours during the night. Small streams and brooks quickly rose out of their banks. Initially, road flooding was especially severe in eastern portions of the county, including the towns of Underhill, Jericho and Westford with numerous roads closed or washed out.

6. Dec 1, 2010High Wind, Eastern Chittenden$1.3 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Widespread trees and large branches down, utility poles, partial roofs, barn and shed damage, etc.. Some of the hardest hit communities include Hanksville, Richmond, Bolton, Jericho and Westford.

7. May 23, 2013Flash Flood$1.1 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Flash flooding from heavy rainfall washed out roads, culverts, and bridges in Underhill, Jericho, and Essex. Route 15 was closed due to flood waters in Jericho. Roads that were particularly hard hit included Cilley Hill Road, Poker Hill Road, Weed Road, Sleepy Hollow Road, and Pleasant Valley Road.

8. Jun 25, 2013Flash Flood$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thunderstorms produced a quick burst of one to two inches of rain in a half hour, causing flash flooding and the closing of numerous local roads. Williston and Old Stage Roads were closed in Williston, and the French Hill section of Interstate 89 near the Williston/Richmond town line was closed with water over the roadway. Huntington Road in Richmond was closed as well. In Burlington, city streets were flooded and damaged by rushing water.

9. Jul 6, 2011Lightning$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Prospect Hall of the Holy Family Catholic church was totally destroyed by fire caused by a lightning strike.

10. 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. Many rivers and streams rose rapidly with some exceeding flood stage. By 0730 AM EST water was beginning to bubble up through manholes in the City of Burlington, and flooding of roads was a big problem through the morning in the City of Burlington. Widespread flooding of roads was reported in the Vermont towns of Underhill, Jericho and Williston.

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

101°FAug 11, 1944

All-time low

−30°F2 times, most recently Feb 12, 1979

Warmest night

80°F2 times, most recently Jun 19, 2024

Coldest day

−13°FJan 4, 1981

Wettest day

3.99 inJun 14, 1942

Snowiest day

25.3 inFeb 14, 2007

Hottest year

2024mean 51.0°F

Coldest year

1968mean 41.8°F

Wettest year

201150.92 in

Driest year

200123.27 in

Snowiest season

145.4 in1970-71

Station Burlington International Airport (USW00014742), 332 ft elevation, 0.8 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1940 to October 26, 2026; 100.0% 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 USW00014742.
• 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.