Damaging Wind in Vermont, May 20, 1996

Name: Damaging Wind in Vermont, May 20, 1996
Start: 1996-05-20T02:50
End: 1996-05-20T03:05
Location: Vermont

May 20, 1996 · NWS BTV · 1 event in 1 county or zone

A warm front moved across Vermont during late Sunday night (5/19/96) and early Monday (5/20/96). with locally gusty winds and heavy rain.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
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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: $15,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 1

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 BTV wrote it up.

A warm front moved across Vermont during late Sunday night (5/19/96) and early Monday (5/20/96). Thunderstorms moved across Vermont during the early morning hours of Monday...with locally gusty winds and heavy rain. Frequent cloud to ground lightning accompanied the storms.At approximately 3 AM EST (5/20/96) 25 cows were electrocuted by lightning strikes in Highgate, VT (Franklin County). In addition, between 245 AM EST and 315 AM EST two sheds were demolished in Derby, VT (Orleans County) by thunderstorm winds.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Orleans

When: May 20, 2:50 AM EST to 3:05 AM EST
Where: Orleans County, Derby Center
Property damage: $15,000
Coordinates: 44.950, -72.130

What these are

Thunderstorm Wind: Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Vermont in 1996 Every state in 1996 This day in weather history Warnings in Vermont, May 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: 5551270.