Rutland County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Rutland 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 (106), NASA (1), USGS Conterminous (1).

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$50.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Devastating flash flooding occurred across much of Rutland county, mainly along and east of Route 7 and especially in the foothills of the western slopes of the Green Mountains, such as Rutland, Killington, Mendon, Wallingford, Brandon, Chittenden and Pittsford. Dozens of roads (state and local), including Routes 4, 7, 103 and 155, as well as several bridges were washed out or suffered severe damage. Several communities between Rutland and Windsor counties were isolated due to loss infrastructure. Dozens of homes and businesses experienced severe flooding and two fatalities occurred in Rutland-Mendon vicinity.

2. Aug 28, 2011Flood$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rainfall from Tropical Storm Irene caused devastating flooding along Otter Creek and its tributaries. Homes, businesses, and roads were flooded from Wallingford downstream through Rutland, Proctor, Pittsford, and Brandon. Otter Creek at Center Rutland crested at a new record of 17.21 feet, besting the previous record by almost four feet.

3. Apr 16, 2007High Wind, Western Rutland$3.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A powerful Nor'easter moved north along the Eastern seaboard on the 15th to the western tip of Long Island, NY on the morning of the 16th. Very strong east to southeast winds traveled across the peaks of the White Mountains in New Hampshire and the Green Mountains of Vermont during the morning and early afternoon of the 16th. The end result was damaging, channeled downslope winds of 60 to 80 mph in the Upper Connecticut River Valley of northeast Vermont and the southern Green Mountains in Rutland county.|Widespread tree damage in the form of hundreds to thousands of downed (uprooted or snapped) trees, collapsed chimneys, downed power lines and subsequent structural damage to…

4. Jun 14, 2008Flash Flood$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous Streets (West, Merchants Row, West, Washington, Clover, etc.), businesses, homes and vehicles severely flooded in downtown.

5. Jul 1, 2017Flash Flood$1.3 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Flash flooding damaged local roads and washed out culverts throughout southwest Rutland County. Flood waters rose into farm fields and rendered vegetable crops unusable.

6. Apr 16, 2007High Wind, Eastern Rutland$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A powerful Nor'easter moved north along the Eastern seaboard on the 15th to the western tip of Long Island, NY on the morning of the 16th. Very strong east to southeast winds traveled across the peaks of the White Mountains in New Hampshire and the Green Mountains of Vermont during the morning and early afternoon of the 16th. The end result was damaging, channeled downslope winds of 60 to 80 mph in the Upper Connecticut River Valley of northeast Vermont and the southern Green Mountains in Rutland county.|Widespread tree damage in the form of hundreds to thousands of downed (uprooted or snapped) trees, collapsed chimneys, downed power lines and subsequent structural damage to…

7. Apr 15, 2019Flash Flood$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Combination of rapid snow melt and 1-2 in/hour rainfall rates Rutland county caused the Otter Creek to rise out of its banks and caused scattered road washouts across the county. Additionally rising waters trapped a motorist in Killington and swift water rescue was required to save the individual. VEM Sit Rep reported major impacts in Castleton, Chittenden, Poultney, Pittsfield, Poultney Village, Proctor, Rutland, and Wells.

8. Jul 1, 2017Flash Flood$700,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Neshobe River was forced out of its banks in Brandon, causing extensive damage. Newton Road was heavily damaged, with much of the road scoured away to a depth of several feet. 16 homes were damaged, and residents were evacuated.

9. Aug 25, 2007Thunderstorm Wind$600,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous trees and power lines downed by thunderstorm winds throughout the city and immediate suburbs, including Proctor, Wallingford, Pittsford and Clarendon. Trees and large branches fell on homes, decks and vehicles as well as some blown siding and roof shingles.

10. Aug 26, 2022Thunderstorm Wind$500,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Barn collapsed due to an apparent microburst with 5 people trapped and around 80 dairy cattle. Injuries were little to minor to people but approximately 30 of the cattle needed to be euthanized. In addition about a dozen trees were downed by thunderstorm winds.

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

98°F5 times, most recently Aug 2, 1975

All-time low

−36°FJan 27, 1994

Warmest night

88°FAug 13, 1947

Coldest day

−10°FJan 1, 1918

Wettest day

6.12 inNov 4, 1927

Snowiest day

24.0 inFeb 7, 1978

Hottest year

2006mean 48.9°F

Coldest year

1917mean 42.4°F

Wettest year

201153.34 in

Driest year

196319.04 in

Snowiest season

112.5 in2002-03

Station Rutland (USC00436995), 620 ft elevation, 3.5 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1916 to October 23, 2026; 99.0% 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 USC00436995.
• 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.