Name: Flash Flood in Vermont, April 23, 2001
Start: 2001-04-23T06:00
End: 2001-04-23T11:00
Location: Vermont

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 1 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $5,000
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.

Mild weather accompanied by snow melt and periods of light rain resulted in flooding of low lying areas, fields and a few local roads. The Essex Junction river gage on the Winooski River exceeded flood stage. Low land and field flooding was reported from Richmond and Jonesville to Essex. The North Williston Road was closed for a period of time.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Burlington, VT wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 23, 2:26 AM EST, 3 hours 34 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 23, 2:26 AM EST, 3 hours 34 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BURLINGTON VT
326 AM EDT MON APR 23 2001

HI PRES RDG ACRS RGN WITH CDFNT DOWN TO SNE CST XTNDG WWD AS A WFNT
ACRS LK ERIE TO LWR MI.  TMPS CRNTLY 30S/L40S WHICH HAS HELPED TO
SLOW RUNOFF BUT ACCELERATED SNOWMELT WL RESUME AGN TDA SO WL EXTEND
FFA THRU TDA.  RVR LVLS HAV STABILIZED AND RECEDING IN SOME CASES
BUT WL BEGIN RISNG AGN LTR TDA.

WFNT WL PUSH NWD TDA AS HI PRES RDG MVS EWD AND INCRG SW FLOW
DVPS.  PATCH OF MID CLDS MVG NE ACRS FA BUT THERE SHD BE FAIR AMT OF
SUN AS UPR RDG WL KEEP DEEPER MSTR N/W OF FA.  LL THKNS AND LI FIELD
DEFINE THE FNT QUITE WELL AND SUGGEST W ZNS HAV BEST CHC OF GETTING
INTO WM SECTOR AFT 18Z WITH ERN VT LTL CHC SO WRMST TMPS W AND
COOLEST E.  H8 TMPS QUITE WRM AT 12-14 AND WITH FULL MIXG/HTG IN WM
SECTOR WUD SUPPORT L80S.  HWR...HTG WL BE TEMPERED BY LTR ARRIVAL OF
WM SECTOR W ZNS SO WL TRIM BACK TO 70-75 W AND COOL TMPS TO MID
60S NE VT.

MDLS SHW WM SECTOR MVG ACRS REST OF FA TNGT WITH SRLY BREEZES AND
INCRG DWPTS ENSURING A MILD NGT WITH TMPS MSTLY IN 50S.  BAND OF
MSTR AHD OF CDFNT MAY RCH ST LAW VLY BY DAYBRK SO WL KEEP CHC
SHWRS/TSTMS LATE FOR ST LAW VLY...BUT DRY ELSW.

TUE LOOK LIKE AN INTERESTING DAY WITH GREAT POTL FOR SVR BUT INSTABY
WL BE LMTG FCTR.  CDFNT FCST TO COME IN 2 STAGES.  FIRST FNT PROGGED
THRU FA 15-21Z AND WL LKLY BE ACCOMPANIED BY SHWRS/TSTMS AIDED BY LL
CNVGC AND UPR DIV ASSCD WITH RT ENTRANCE RGN OF UPR JET.  VRY
DYNAMIC WND FIELD WITH 80KTS AT H5 RSLTG IN STGLY SHEARED ENVIRON
WITH SFC-H5 SHEAR 30-35 M/S.  INSTABY WL BE LMTG FACTOR WITH CAPES
400-800 AND LI/S 0 TO -3.  BEST CHC SVR WL BE ACRS ERN ZNS WITH LTR
ARRIVAL OF CDFNT AND MORE SUN/HTG POTL.  SITN WL HAV TO BE MONITORED
CLOSELY GIVEN STG WIND FIELD.  WRMST TMPS TUE WL BE ACRS S VT WHERE
H8 TMPS 12-14 SUPPORT L80S WITH FULL SUN BUT WITH INCRG CLDS AND
PSBL AFTN SHWRS/TSTMS WL CUT BACK TO MID 70S.  BUFKIT SNDGS SHW POTL
FOR STG GRAD WNDS W ZNS SO WL INDCT WNDY.

SCNDRY FNT WHICH MATCHES H8 WND SHFT WL MOV THRU MON NGT WITH GOOD
PUSH OF COLDER AIR.  H5 S/WV MVS THRU BHND FNT SO WL KEEP CHC SHWRS
FOR TUE NGT...WITH PRTL CLRG LT.

XTNDD...DRY AND COOL CONDS XCPTD WED WITH MODERATING TMPS THU.
ADDED CHC SHWRS FRI PER AVN WHICH SHWS FROPA AND S/WV PSG.

.BTV...FLW FOR THE OTTER CREEK AT CENV1
       FLW FOR THE AUSABLE RIVER AT ASFN6
       FLOOD WATCH TODAY NYZ028>031-034-035-VTZ001>012.

KJC

The radar

The Burlington radar (KCXX), 9 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 11:00 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, Chittenden

When: April 23, 6:00 AM EST to 11:00 AM EST
Where: Chittenden County, Countywide
Property damage: $5,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 44.461, -73.081 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Flash Flood: Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Vermont in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings in Vermont, April 2001

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: 5243772.