Flood in Vermont, April 14, 2002

Name: Flood in Vermont, April 14, 2002
Start: 2002-04-14T00:05
End: 2002-04-14T11:00
Location: Vermont

April 14, 2002 · NWS BTV · 1 event in 1 county or zone

During April 13th and 14th, a slow moving cold front drifted southeast across the area. An area of low pressure moved along the front, passing across the region with widespread rainfall.

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: $40,000
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.

During April 13th and 14th, a slow moving cold front drifted southeast across the area. An area of low pressure moved along the front, passing across the region with widespread rainfall. Flooding occurred due to the combination of snowmelt and 1 to 3 inches of rainfall across the area. The heaviest rainfall was in the south half of Vermont. In Orange county, gravel road washouts were reported in the towns of Braintree and Randolph. Some erosion damage to a railroad track was reported in Randolph.

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 13, 8:35 PM EST, 3 hours 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 13, 8:35 PM EST, 3 hours 30 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BURLINGTON VT
935 PM EDT SAT APR 13 2002

NO UPDATES TO ZONES...FORECAST ELEMENTS IN GOOD SHAPE.  HAVE DECIDED
TO KEEP FLOOD WATCH GOING...ALTHOUGH MAINSTEM RIVERS ARE FINALLY
COMING UP IN RUTLAND--ORANGE--CALEDONIA COUNTIES AT THIS HOUR.  WE
MAY NEED TO ENTER WARNING MODE IN THE NEXT HOUR OR TWO.

ST. JEAN

.BTV...FLOOD WATCH VTZ007-008-010>012 FOR TONIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flood, Orange

When: April 14, 12:05 AM EST to 11:00 AM EST
Where: Orange forecast zone
Property damage: $40,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 44.006, -72.377 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Flood: Flooding that develops more slowly than a flash flood: rivers leaving their banks, or water standing over land for an extended time.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Vermont in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Vermont, April 2002

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: 5292377.