Flood in Vermont, April 14, 2002

Name: Flood in Vermont, April 14, 2002
Start: 2002-04-14T04:00
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

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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $10,000
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 Washington county, minor flooding was reported in the Mad River Valley.

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 14, 1:19 AM EST, 2 hours 41 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 14, 1:19 AM EST, 2 hours 41 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BURLINGTON VT
219 PM EDT SUN APR 14 2002

FLOOD WATCHES/WARNINGS FOR SOUTH CENTRAL...EAST CENTRAL AND
NORTHEAST VERMONT STILL LOOKING GOOD AND SEE NO REASON TO MAKE ANY
CHANGES.  HEAVIEST PRECIPITATION WAS OVER ADDISON...RUTLAND...
WINDSOR...AND ORANGE COUNTIES WHERE 1 TO 2 INCHES OF RAIN FELL.
STILL GETTING PRECIPITATION OVER THE NORTHERN SECTIONS OF THE
FORECAST AREA WHERE THERE WILL BE SOME 1 INCH AMOUNTS.  WARM
TEMPERATURES OVER THE LAST 24 TO 36 HOURS AND CONTINUED ABOVE NORMAL
TEMPERATURES TODAY WILL HELP ANY ADDITIONAL SNOWMELT OVER THE HIGHER
TERRAIN.  ALTHOUGH SNOWPACK MAY NOT BE THAT EXTENSIVE...IT WILL
STILL HAVE AN IMPACT TODAY.  THUS WILL MAINTAIN THE FLOOD WATCH FOR
TODAY.  ANY PRECIPITATION WILL BE THIS MORNING AND CONFINED TO
NORTHERN VERMONT WHERE DEFORMATION AXIS WILL EXIST.  MOST LOCATIONS
SHOULD THEN SEE PARTLY SUNNY SKIES FOR THE AFTERNOON HOURS.  LOW
LEVEL THICKNESS TRENDS SUGGEST HIGH TEMPERATURES WILL BE IN THE
UPPER 50S TO THE MID 60S TODAY.  NORTHWEST GRADIENT THIS MORNING ON
THE BACK SIDE OF THE DEPARTING LOW WILL TAPER OFF AND WINDS WILL
BECOME LIGHT AND VARIABLE THIS AFTERNOON.

PROGRESSIVE UPPER FLOW PATTERN WILL ALLOW FOR A COUPLE OF SHORTWAVE
TROUGHS TO IMPACT THE FORECAST AREA LATER TONIGHT.  FIRST IS
CURRENTLY MOVING ACROSS NORTH DAKOTA AT THE MOMENT WITH A SECOND
FEATURE OVER THE CENTRAL PLAINS.  THESE SYSTEM WILL MOVE INTO THE
FORECAST AROUND MIDNIGHT AND EXIT THE AREA MONDAY MORNING.  FEATURES
ARE ALREADY PRODUCING PRECIPITATION AND HAVE AMPLE DYNAMIC SUPPORT.
WILL THEREFORE MENTION SHOWERS LIKELY FOR LATE TONIGHT...THEN
SCATTERED SHOWERS IN THE MORNING FOR MONDAY.  PLENTY OF CLOUDS/LOW
LEVEL MOISTURE TO KEEP TEMPERATURES RATHER MILD TONIGHT...THEN WITH
INCREASING LOW LEVEL THICKNESSES AND SUNSHINE MONDAY AFTERNOON...
HIGH TEMPERATURES WILL BE IN THE 60S TO AROUND 70.  THIS DESPITE THE
THREAT OF SHOWERS IN THE MORNING.

UPPER RIDGE AMPLIFIES OVER THE NORTHEAST ON TUESDAY.  AXIS OF HIGHER
850 MB TEMPERATURES BEGINS TO GET POINTED TOWARD THE FORECAST AREA
WITH +14C OVER WESTERN NEW YORK TUESDAY MORNING.  THUS WOULD EXPECT
THE WARMING TREND TO CONTINUE WITH TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY BEING THE
WARMEST DAYS OF THE WEEK.  MOST LOCATIONS SHOULD BE IN THE LOWER TO
MID 70S WITH NO PRECIPITATION EXPECTED.  THIS IS UPWARDS OF 20
DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL.  GOING FORECAST HAS GOOD HANDLE ON THE
WEDNESDAY NIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY TIME PERIOD AND WILL NOT MAKE ANY
CHANGES HERE.

WORK ZONES IN ALBWRKCWF BY 300 AM...BUT WILL MAKE ANY LAST MINUTE
CHANGES WITH RESPECT TO WHERE THERE WILL BE LINGERING PRECIPITATION
EARLY THIS MORNING.

EVENSON

.BTV...FLOOD WATCH FOR TODAY ACROSS VTZ007-008-010>012.

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, Washington

When: April 14, 4:00 AM EST to 11:00 AM EST
Where: Washington forecast zone
Property damage: $10,000
Reported by: NWS EMPLOYEE(OFF DUTY)
Coordinates: 44.273, -72.615 (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: 5292380.