An area of low pressure moved across New England on December 25th with light rain and mild temperatures. This also resulted in snow melt which contributed to minor flooding.
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The episode as NWS BTV wrote it up.
An area of low pressure moved across New England on December 25th with light rain and mild temperatures. This also resulted in snow melt which contributed to minor flooding. Minor flooding of low lying areas occurred along the Great Chazy River in and around Perry Mills in Clinton county (crest of 8.64 feet on December 25th).
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 Dec 25, 5:40 AM EST, 4 hours 24 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BURLINGTON VT 540 AM EST THU DEC 25 2003 MAIN WX THREAT IN THE SHORT TERM CONTINUES TO BE FLOODING. CONCERNS WL THEN TURN TO POTENTIALLY HVY SNOW ACCUM NRN TIER VT TONITE/FRI. SO WHILE NO NEW SNOW ON THIS CHRISTMAS MORNING...MANY AREAS WILL SEE SOME BY THIS TIME TOMORROW. WILL BE LEAVING FLOOD WATCH UP THIS AM. STEADY RAIN LONG GONE...BUT MANY RIVERS STILL ON THE RISE...AS RUNOFF FROM RAIN AND SNOWMELT CONTINUES. WITH TEMPS STILL ABOVE FRZG IN MOST AREAS...THERE WILL BE SOME ADDED SNOWMELT TDY. TO THIS POINT...FLOOD PROBLEMS HAVE NOT BEEN SIGNIFICANT...WITH MAINLY FIELD FLOODING AND MINOR FLOODING OF LOW-LYING FLOOD PRONE AREAS. STILL POTENTIAL FOR ICE JAMS AS RIVER LEVELS RISE HOWEVER. OUR WX THRU FRIDAY WL BE DOMINATED BY CLOSED LOW AS IT MAKES ITS WAY EAST ACRS FA THRU TONITE AND THEN INTO MAINE DURING FRIDAY. COOLER AIR WL CONTINUE TO FILTER INTO RGN TDY...BUT NOT MUCH IN WAY OF PCPN EXPECTED ACRS FA FOR MUCH OF THE DAY AS WE WILL BE DRY SLOTTED. STG SHRTWV ROTATING AROUND BASE OF THE UPPER THIS AM WL LIFT NORTH FROM MID ATLC STATES TDY AND ACRS ERN NEW ENG TONITE. THIS WL RESULT IN DVLPMNT OF ANOTHER SFC LOW OVER ERN NEW ENG TDY...WHICH WL DEEPEN AS IT LIFTS SLOWLY NORTH INTO QUE TON/FRI. MSTR WL WRAPAROUND THE LOW AND BACK BUILD INTO NE VT LATER TDY AND THEN ACRS MUCH OF FA TON/FRI. PRIMARY AREA OF CONCERN WL BE OVR NRN TIER OF VT WHERE EXTENDED PERIOD OF DEEP MSTR COMBINED WITH GOOD VERTICAL MOTION IN WARM AIR ADVECTION PATTERN WL RESULT IN CHC OF SOME SIGNIFICANT SNOW ACCUM. HAVE GONE WITH 2-4 INCHES OVR MUCH OF NC/NE VT TONITE AND ANOTHER 2-4 FRIDAY. HIR AMTS CERTAINLY PSBL OVR HIR TRRN...AND ALG W/NW FACING SLOPES. NO HEADLINES IN FCST ATTM FOR SNOW...BUT NEXT SHIFT WL NEED TO CONSIDER AT LEAST AN ADVISORY FOR TON/FRI. CHANCES OF SIGNIFICANT SNOW DIMINISH AS YOU HEAD SOUTH AND WEST ACRS FA...BUT MOST AREAS WL SEE AT LEAST SOME NEW SNOW ACCUM BEFORE EVENT IS OVER. FRI NITE/SAT: LOW FINALLY LOSES ITS GRIP ON US AS IT TRACKS EAST OF MAINE INTO ATLC FRI NITE. HIGH PRESSURE THEN BLDS INTO RGN SAT. EXPECT SNOW SHWRS TO COME TO AN END FRI NITE WITH SUNSHINE RETURNING FOR SAT. && .BTV WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... FLOOD WATCH WEDNESDAY NOON THROUGH THURSDAY NOON VT...VTZ002>012-016>019 NY...NYZ028>031-034-035 RJS
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BURLINGTON VT 508 AM EST THU DEC 25 2003 NYZ026>031-034-035-087-VTZ001>012-016>019-251206- CALEDONIA-EASTERN ADDISON-EASTERN CHITTENDEN-EASTERN CLINTON- EASTERN ESSEX-EASTERN FRANKLIN-EASTERN RUTLAND-ESSEX-GRAND ISLE- LAMOILLE-NORTHERN FRANKLIN-NORTHERN ST. LAWRENCE-ORANGE-ORLEANS- SOUTHEASTERN ST. LAWRENCE-SOUTHERN FRANKLIN- SOUTHWESTERN ST. LAWRENCE-WASHINGTON-WESTERN ADDISON- WESTERN CHITTENDEN-WESTERN CLINTON-WESTERN ESSEX-WESTERN FRANKLIN- WESTERN RUTLAND-WINDSOR- 517 AM EST THU DEC 25 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR VERMONT AND NORTHERN NEW YORK. .DAY ONE...TODAY:RAIN FROM LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM THAT MOVED OVER REGION HAS MELTED SNOWPACK...WHICH HAS CAUSED RISES IN AREA STREAMS AND RIVERS...WILL CONTINUE FOR MUCH OF THE MORNING. A FLOOD WATCH IS IN EFFECT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY:SNOWFALL WILL ACCUMULATE IN NORTHERN PORTIONS OF THE REGION ON THE BACK SIDE OF THE EXITING LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM. 4 TO 8 INCHES ARE POSSIBLE...MAINLY OVER THE HIGHER TERRAIN OF NORTHERN TERRAIN. .SPOTTER CALL TO ACTION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in New York in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings in New York, December 2003
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: 5380212.