Vermont, 1996

High Wind in Vermont, March 19 to 20, 1996

March 19 to 20, 1996 · NWS ALY · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

A strong low pressure system tracked from eastern Kentucky to eastern Ohio between Tuesday morning March 19 and Wednesday morning March 20. This system produced damaging winds across Bennington and Windham Counties of southern Vermont.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 2 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$45,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
2

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS ALY wrote it up.

A strong low pressure system tracked from eastern Kentucky to eastern Ohio between Tuesday morning March 19 and Wednesday morning March 20. This system produced damaging winds across Bennington and Windham Counties of southern Vermont. North of Bennington on route 7, three utility poles were downed by the wind. At Shaftsbury in Bennington County trees fell on two homes and there were numerous reports of trees and wires down.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Bennington

When
March 19, 9:30 PM EST to March 20, 6:00 AM EST
Where
Bennington forecast zone
Property damage
$30,000
Coordinates
43.036, -73.093 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Western Windham

When
March 19, 9:30 PM EST to March 20, 6:00 AM EST
Where
Western Windham forecast zone
Property damage
$15,000
Coordinates
42.991, -72.714 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

High Wind
Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Vermont in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in Vermont, March 1996

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5551160, 5551161.