Name: Damaging Wind in Vermont, September 15, 2002
Start: 2002-09-15T05:30
End: 2002-09-15T06:00
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

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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
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.

Heavy rain associated with the remnants of Tropical Storm Hannah moved across Vermont during September 14th and 15th. In the Vermont county of Franklin, pea size hail and very heavy rain was reported during the early morning of the 15th between Georgia Center and St Albans, Vermont.

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 Sep 15, 1:59 AM EST, 3 hours 31 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 15, 1:59 AM EST, 3 hours 31 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BURLINGTON VT
259 AM EDT SUN SEP 15 2002

PRECIPITATION CONTINUES TO INCREASE IN AREAL COVERAGE TO THE
SOUTHWEST OF THE FORECAST AREA EARLY THIS MORNING.  PRECIPITATION IS
IN ADVANCE OF AN APPROACHING COLD FRONT MOVING OUT OF THE EASTERN
GREAT LAKES.  DYNAMIC SUPPORT IS ALSO INCREASING WITH UPPER TROUGH
MOVING OUT OF EASTERN ONTARIO AND INTO WESTERN QUEBEC.  WILL
THEREFORE CONTINUE WITH THE IDEA OF CATEGORICAL PRECIPITATION FOR
ALL AREAS TODAY WITH HEAVY RAIN POSSIBLE.  PRECIPITABLE WATER VALUES
REACH 1.5 INCHES THIS MORNING THEN BEGIN TO DECREASE AS THE FRONT
MOVES ACROSS THE REGION.  PRECIPITATION SHOULD BEGIN TO TAPER OFF TO
SCATTERED SHOWERS OVER NORTHERN NEW YORK THIS AFTERNOON AND INTO THE
CHAMPLAIN VALLEY LATE IN THE DAY.  RAINFALL AMOUNTS SHOULD GENERALLY
BE IN THE ONE HALF TO ONE INCH RANGE.  HIGH TEMPERATURES TODAY ARE
ESSENTIALLY WHAT THEY WILL BE AT 12Z.

LARGE PRECIPITATION SHIELD SHOULD FINALLY CLEAR ALL AREAS AFTER
MIDNIGHT TONIGHT.  WILL CONTINUE WITH THE CATEGORICAL PRECIPITATION
PROBABILITIES FOR EASTERN VERMONT UNTIL ABOUT MIDNIGHT WITH EITHER
CHANCE OR SCATTERED WORDING IN THE EVENING HOURS.  PLENTY OF LOW
LEVEL MOISTURE AROUND SO OVERNIGHT LOW TEMPERATURES WILL GENERALLY
BE IN THE 50S.  THIS LOW LEVEL MOISTURE WILL LINGER OVER MOST AREAS
ON MONDAY AS SOUTHWEST FLOW ALOFT CONTINUES OVER THE REGION.  HIGH
PRESSURE NORTH OF THE REGION WILL REMAIN THERE AND NOT HELP TO
CREATE ANY LOW LEVEL DRYING.  SURFACE LOW PRESSURE IS EXPECTED TO
DEVELOP ALONG THE FRONT TO OUR SOUTHEAST AND REINFORCE THE
PRECIPITATION SHIELD.  PORTIONS OF SOUTHERN VERMONT WILL BE ON THE
FRINGE OF THIS...SO WILL MENTION A CHANCE OF RAIN FOR RUTLAND...
WINDSOR...AND ORANGE COUNTIES.

FLOW ALOFT BECOMES MORE NORTHWEST WITH TIME MONDAY NIGHT AND
TUESDAY...WHICH WILL ALLOW FOR THE LOWER LEVELS OF THE ATMOSPHERE TO
DRY OUT.  AS A RESULT...SHOULD SEE PLENTY OF SUNSHINE BY TUESDAY.
UPPER RIDGE AXIS BEGINS TO SHIFT OUT OF THE GREAT LAKES AND TOWARD
THE NORTHEAST.  THIS WILL ALLOW FOR SOME WARM AIR ADVECTION AT 850
MB TO DEVELOP OVER THE REGION AND BEGIN A WARMING TREND ON WEDNESDAY
AND THURSDAY.  UPPER TROUGH MOVING THROUGH THE GREAT LAKES ON
THURSDAY WILL EVENTUALLY PUSH INTO THE REGION ON FRIDAY AND GOING
FORECAST OF A CHANCE OF SHOWERS FOR FRIDAY AND SATURDAY LOOK
GOOD...SO NO CHANGES NEEDED IN THE EXTENDED.

WORK ZONES IN ALBWRKCWF

EVENSON

.BTV...NONE.

The radar

The Burlington radar (KCXX), 44 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 10:27 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Franklin

When: September 15, 5:30 AM EST to 6:00 AM EST
Where: Franklin County, Georgia Center
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 44.858, -72.912 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

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

More

Every storm in Vermont in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Vermont, September 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: 5320685.