High pressure in the Canadian Maritimes combined with a developing low pressure system in eastern Pennsylvania early on the 11th of December to result in strong winds along the western slopes of the Green Mountains of Vermont. Winds in the Rutland area were around 40 mph (35 knots).
Every event with a place to put it; 2 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
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.
The episode as NWS BTV wrote it up.
High pressure in the Canadian Maritimes combined with a developing low pressure system in eastern Pennsylvania early on the 11th of December to result in strong winds along the western slopes of the Green Mountains of Vermont. Winds in the Rutland area were around 40 mph (35 knots).
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 10, 10:20 PM EST, 7 hours 40 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BURLINGTON VT
1020 PM EST WED DEC 10 2003
LATEST RADAR SHOWING SOME AREAS OF PCPN MOVG NORTH ACRS NRN
NYS...MAINLY WEST OF THE CHMPLN VLY. PCPN MAINLY IN FORM OF RAIN IN
ADRNDKS...BUT FRZG RAIN IN NRN PORTION OF ST LWR VLY WHERE TEMPS A
BIT BELOW FRZG. EXPECT THREAT OF FZRA TO CONTINUE IN ST LWR VLY
OVRNGHT...AND ALSO IN ERN VT LATE TONITE/THURS AM. ADVISORIES
ALREADY IN EFFECT. OTHER PROBLEM WILL BE WIND. STG LLVL JET DVLPS
OVRNGHT FROM SE...SO MAIN THREAT WL BE ALG WRN SLOPES OF GREEN MTNS
WHERE HIGH WIND WARNING IN EFFECT. PRESENCE OF INVERSION EXPECTED TO
LIMIT HIGH WIND THREAT ACRS REST OF FA. EVERYTHING WELL COVERED IN
GOING FCST. NO UPDATE NEEDED ATTM.
...PREVIOUS DISCUSION BELOW.....
...ICE AND WIND...
APOLOGIES FOR LATENESS...A LONG MRNG UPDATE TO SIGNAL EVENTUAL AFTN
PKG HEADLINES PUT ME BEHIND AND HAVE BEEN CATCHING UP EVER SINCE BUT
ALL PUBLIC PRODUCTS HAVE BEEN ISSUED.
..SHORT TERM DISCUSSION (TNGT THRU SAT)...
HIGH WINDS - STG LLVL JET >70KTS BUT INVERSION IN PLACE (HOW
STRONG?) BUT SE COMPONENT IN CLIMO FVRD WRN SLOPES OF GRN MTNS
BRGS THREAT TO AREA. KRUT HAS BEEN 15G25MPH WITH LTL GRADIENT
AND ALRDY SEEING ANTHR SE COMPONENT AREA (BLACK RVR VLY NY)
WITNESSING STG WNDS - KGTB 15025G35KT (GOOD INDICATOR FOR OUR FA).
FRZG RAIN - THE ABV INVERSION AND LACK OF MIXING E OF SPINE OF
NRN GRN MTNS AND TIMING OF PCPN KEY IN ANY PSBL FZRA AT ONSET.
CRNT TMPS IN L-M20S IN CT RVR VLY AND INVERSION PREVENTING MIXING
WL KEEP TMPS BLO FRZG THRU DAYBRK IN VLYS AND EVENTUAL WRMG ABV
FRZG BY MIDDAY. QPF DOESNT ARRIVE TIL 08/09Z BUT TMPS BLO FRZG
WL ALLOW FOR MINOR ICE BUILD-UP.
IN NRN ST LWRNC VLY...KMSS RPTG E WND ARD 10 MPH WITH TMPS IN L-M20S
AND SE GRADIENT HOLDS E WND THERE FOR AWHILE. QPF ARRIVES BY MIDNGT
AND ACCUM LKLY BFR GRADUAL WARMUP THU MRNG.
THEREFORE...WNTR WX ADV FOR THOSE LOCALES.
FLOODING - SNOWMELT WL OCCUR BUT NOT DRASTIC AS ABV FRZG TMPS ARE
SHORT-LIVED. QPF AMTS GENERALLY LESS THAN AN INCH AND FALLING INTO
SNOWPACK THAT IS CRNTLY AOB 10 PCT RIPE. LOCAL DRAINAGE...ACTUALLY
SNOW/ICE COVERED DRAINS MAY SEE SOME PONDING OF WATER BUT WE SHLD
BE OK.
THE XCPTN TO THIS RULE WL BE THE HIGHEST ELEV OF GRN MTNS WHERE STG
S/SE WNDS OF >50 KTS COMBINED WITH T/TD IN 40S SHLD ACCELERATE SOME
OF THE SNOWMELT THAT HAS BEEN OCCURRING THERE TDY WITH TMPS IN 40S
TDY.
COORD WITH NERFC ERLR...BELIEVE SNOWPACK IN HIGHEST ELEVATIONS WL
RIPEN WITH SOME RELEASE AS RUN-OFF INTO STREAMS AND LWR ELEVATIONS.
MEANWHILE...LWR ELEVATIONS HAVE AN EQUALLY SUBSTANTIAL SNOWPACK AND
WL NOT EXPERIENCE AS MUCH AS A SNOWMELT. THEREFORE...RUNOFF FM
HIGHER ELEVATIONS WL LKLY RUN INTO LWR ELEVATION SNOWPACK AND
INCREASE RIPENESS BUT PREVENT FM A MASSIVE RUNOFF AND FLOODING
PRBLMS.
THIS SYSTEM EJECTS E WITH COLDER AIR FILTERING FOR SOME -SHRA/SHSN
THU NGT WITH STG CAA CONTG INTO FRI. MAV GUIDANCE ABT 8-15 DEGS
MILDER
THAN MET FOR FRI DESPITE STG CAA EVIDENT IN 3HRLY TREND...DROPPING
DEWPINTS INTO THE SINGLE NUMBERS. H8 TMPS COLDER THAN -10C WITH CONTD
CAA WL MEAN A COLD FRI AND HAVE LEANED STRONGLY TO MET VALUES.
SAT WL FEATURE BUILDING HIGH PRS AND A RESPITE BFR THE NXT PSBL
STORM THAT HAS COME BACK TO LIFE AFT SVRL DAYS OF BEING
DISCOUNTED...A FAMIALR TREND LAST YEAR AND WITH LAST WEEKENDS STORM.
STAY TUNED...
&&
.LONGER TERM DISCUSSION...
LOW FINALLY EXITS INTO THE CANADIAN MARITIMES LATE FRI INTO SAT...AS
RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE WORKS EAST ACROSS THE MIDWEST/GREAT LAKES
REGION INTO THE NORTHEAST. ETA AND AVN/GFS MDLS SHOWS THE
POSSIBILITY OF SOME LIGHT LK EFFECT OFF LAKE ONTARIO AS HIGH MAKES
ITS WAY EAST OVER OUR AREA. 500MB HGTS ON ETA MDL HAVE WESTERLY FLOW
OVER LAKE. SFC WND FLOW WILL BE LIGHT AS HIGH MVS EAST. WILL
CONSIDER A CHANCE FOR SOME...BUT ONLY IN THE SOUTHERN PORTIONS OF
THE DACKS. OTHERWISE LOOKING FOR MSUNNY SKIES OVER AREA FOR THE DAY
SAT.
SUNDAY INTO MONDAY LOOKS AGAIN TO BE CHANGING FROM RUN TO RUN.
LATEST 12Z AVN/GFS RUN NOW HAS LOW MOVING CLOSER TO SOUTHERN NEW
ENGLAND(SOUTH OF CAPE COD) THAN THE PREVIOUS RUN(WHICH WAS BEING
PUSHED EAST OFF COAST NEAR VA/NC AREA. IF THIS RUN HOLDS...THE
SOUTHERN HALF OF CWA SEE MORE SN AND WILL CONSIDER BUMPING UP POPS
IN THAT AREA NOW NEWLY AFFECTED. LOW THEN MVS FAR ENOUGH DURING DAY
MONDAY. SOME LINGER SN FOR EASTERN HALF VT POSSIBLE UNTIL LOW PULLS
AWAY FROM REGION.
RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS INTO REGION DURING DAY MONDAY INTO
TUESDAY...BEFORE ANOTHER LOW HEADS TOWARDS REGION FROM THE SE ON
WEDNESDAY. WITH MDL GUIDANCE STILL INDECISIVE ON STORM TRACK FOR
SUN/MON...WILL JUST GO WITH CHANCE OF SN FOR NOW AND WAIT FOR
FURTHER RUNS TO SEE WHERE LOW WILL TRACKS.
&&
.BTV WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
VT...HIGH WIND WARNING LATE TNGT - NOON THU VTZ011-016>019.
WINTER WX ADV LATE TNGT - NOON THU VTZ003-004-007-010-012.
NY...WINTER WX ADV TNGT - MIDDAY THU NYZ026-027.
.SHORT TERM... SLW
.LONGER TERM... JNThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Vermont in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings in Vermont, 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: 5380176, 5380177.