A weak cold front, supported by an energized mid-level disturbance, moved into a moderately unstable air mass across southwest Vermont during the afternoon of August 19th. Scattered thunderstorms developed across southern Vermont with one isolated severe thunderstorm that produced wind damage in the form of downed branches and power lines in the vicinity of Castleton.
Every event with a place to put it. 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.
A weak cold front, supported by an energized mid-level disturbance, moved into a moderately unstable air mass across southwest Vermont during the afternoon of August 19th. Scattered thunderstorms developed across southern Vermont with one isolated severe thunderstorm that produced wind damage in the form of downed branches and power lines in the vicinity of Castleton.
Fatal automobile accident along Route 4 in Mendon (Rutland county) during a severe thunderstorm at 327pm. Vermont State Police characterize fatal automobile accident weather related.
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 Aug 19, 12:30 PM EST, 1 hour 10 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BURLINGTON VT 130 PM EDT WED AUG 19 2009 .SYNOPSIS... A WEAK COLD FRONT WILL EXIST ACROSS THE NORTH COUNTRY AND COULD BE THE FOCUS FOR A FEW SHOWERS OR THUNDERSTORMS. OTHERWISE...EXPECT A GOOD DEAL OF SUNSHINE AND TEMPERATURES IN THE 80S. ANOTHER CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND STORMS WILL EXIST LATE THURSDAY INTO THURSDAY NIGHT WITH THE BEST CHANCE FOR SHOWERS AND STORMS FRIDAY AFTERNOON AND NIGHT AS AN UPPER LEVEL TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE MOVES IN FROM THE WEST. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/... AS OF 1046 AM EDT WEDNESDAY...COMPOSITE RADAR LOOP SHOWING SOME SCATTERED RAIN SHOWERS ACROSS THE REGION...AS A WEAK FRONTAL BOUNDARY MOVES SLOWLY SOUTH ACROSS THE NORTHERN CHAMPLAIN VALLEY AND THE ADIRONDACKS. DRIER AIR WORKING INTO THE SAINT LAWRENCE VALLEY...AS DEW POINTS THERE HAVE DROPPED INTO THE LOWER 60S. WILL UPDATE THE ZONE FORECASTS TO REMOVE THE MENTION OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS FROM THE SAINT LAWRENCE VALLEY ZONES...AS WEAK FRONTAL BOUNDARY HAS MOVED EAST OF THERE...BUT WILL LEAVE UP SLIGHT CHANCE POPS ELSEWHERE. SOME DRYING TONIGHT AS BOUNDARY PUSHES JUST SOUTH OF OUR AREA ALONG WITH COOLER TEMPERATURES. STILL LOOKING AT FOG DEVELOPMENT MAINLY EAST OF THE GREEN MOUNTAINS. && .SHORT TERM /THURSDAY THROUGH FRIDAY/... AS OF 330 AM EDT WEDNESDAY...UPPER TROUGH DIGGING INTO THE UPPER MIDWEST ON THURSDAY WILL EVENTUALLY MOVE SLOWLY INTO THE REGION ON FRIDAY. FEEL THURSDAY WILL NOT BE A BAD DAY AS PRECIPITATION SHOULD BE MAINLY TIED TO THE UPPER TROUGH AXIS/COLD FRONT WHICH WILL BE WELL TO OUR WEST. INSTABILITY WILL BE OVER THE AREA...BUT FORCING SHOULD BE WEAK. BOUNDARY TO OUR SOUTH WILL HELP INITIATE CONVECTION SO HAVE INCLUDED A CHANCE OVER OUR SOUTHERN AREAS...BUT FEEL ANY OF THIS PRECIPITATION WILL NOT MOVE NORTH UNTIL FRONT LIFTS NORTH THURSDAY EVENING. AREA GETS INTO THE WARM SECTOR LATE THURSDAY NIGHT...SO PRECIPITATION WILL BE NORTH OF THE AREA AND THEN WITH SLOW MOVING UPPER TROUGH COMING IN LATE FRIDAY...THERE SHOULD BE A WINDOW OF DRY WEATHER FRIDAY MORNING ALONG WITH SOME SUNSHINE. FLOW PATTERN WILL BE BRINGING IN HIGHER DEW POINTS ALONG WITH PRECIPITABLE WATER VALUES GREATER THAN 2 INCHES. AS A RESULT...SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL BECOME LIKELY FRIDAY AFTERNOON AND WILL HAVE TO MONITOR THE POTENTIAL FOR HEAVY RAIN AS SLOW MOVING TROUGH WILL NOT MOVE EAST OF THE AREA UNTIL THE WEEKEND. WARMER 850 MB TEMPERATURES WILL RETURN ON FRIDAY WITH HIGH TEMPERATURES IN THE 80S ONCE AGAIN ALONG WITH DEW POINTS IN THE 65 TO 70 DEGREE RANGE FOR HIGHER HUMIDITIES. && .LONG TERM /FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY/... AS OF 300 AM EDT WEDNESDAY...HAVE CONTINUED TO GO WITH LIKELY POPS FOR FRIDAY NIGHT AS UPPER TROF PUSHES EAST FROM THE GREAT LAKES REGION. STILL LOOKS LIKE THERE IS POTENTIAL FOR SOME HIGH RAINFALL TOTALS WITH GOOD STREAM OF MOISTURE FROM THE GULF FOR THAT FROPA. TIMING OF HURRICANE BILL TRAVELING NORTH AND EAST MAY INFLUENCE THE TIMING OF ACTUAL FROPA. CONDITIONS WILL IMPROVE DURING THE DAY SATURDAY AS UPPER TROF LIFTS NORTH AND AWAY FROM THE REGION. THEN IT LOOKS LIKE SUNDAY AND MONDAY WILL REMAIN DRY AS SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE RIDGES INTO THE AREA AND UPPER LEVEL FLOW BECOMES MORE PROGRESSIVE AND ZONAL. FOR NOW LOOKS LIKE THERE WILL BE ANOTHER CHANCE FOR SHOWERS TOWARDS THE MIDDLE AND END OF NEXT WEEK AS ANOTHER UPPER LEVEL TROF MOVES INTO AND ACROSS THE REGION. && .AVIATION /18Z WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY/... THROUGH 18Z THURSDAY...SFC CD FNT AND MID LVL ENERGY MVG ACRS CHMPL VLY ATTM. ISOLD/SCT TRW PSBL ALG/SE OF KMPV-KRUT LINE THRU 21-22Z...OTHERWISE VFR. TNGT-18Z THU...VFR EXCEPT LOCAL IFR IN OVERNIGHT PATCHY FOG AT KSLK/KMPV THURS NIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY...PERIODS OF MVFR IN SHRA/TSRA. SUNDAY...VFR. && .BTV WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... VT...NONE. NY...NONE. && SYNOPSIS...EVENSON NEAR TERM...EVENSON/WGH SHORT TERM...EVENSON LONG TERM...NEILES AVIATION...NEILES/SLW
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BURLINGTON VT 343 AM EDT WED AUG 19 2009 NYZ026>031-034-035-087-VTZ001>012-016>019-200745- NORTHERN ST. LAWRENCE-NORTHERN FRANKLIN-EASTERN CLINTON- SOUTHEASTERN ST. LAWRENCE-SOUTHERN FRANKLIN-WESTERN CLINTON- WESTERN ESSEX-EASTERN ESSEX-SOUTHWESTERN ST. LAWRENCE-GRAND ISLE- WESTERN FRANKLIN-ORLEANS-ESSEX-WESTERN CHITTENDEN-LAMOILLE-CALEDONIA- WASHINGTON-WESTERN ADDISON-ORANGE-WESTERN RUTLAND-WINDSOR- EASTERN FRANKLIN-EASTERN CHITTENDEN-EASTERN ADDISON-EASTERN RUTLAND- 343 AM EDT WED AUG 19 2009 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHERN NEW YORK...CENTRAL VERMONT...NORTHEAST VERMONT...NORTHWEST VERMONT AND SOUTHERN VERMONT. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. A TIME PERIOD TO MONITOR WILL BE THE FRIDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH SATURDAY TIME FRAME AS A SLOW MOVING UPPER LEVEL TROUGH AND ITS ASSOCIATED COLD FRONT WILL BE MOVING ACROSS THE AREA. THESE FEATURES WILL BE ENHANCING THE POTENTIAL FOR SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS AND WITH A DEEP AMOUNT OF MOISTURE IN PLACE...THE POTENTIAL FOR HEAVY RAIN WILL EXIST. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. EVENSON
The Burlington radar (KCXX), 96 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 18:40 UTC.
2 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Branches and power lines downed by thunderstorm winds along Eaton Hill road.
A few branches and power lines downed by thunderstorm winds across Belgo road in Castleton.
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind, Rutland | 2009-08-19 | 86 | Male | Vehicle/Towed Trailer | Indirect |
| Thunderstorm Wind, Rutland | 2009-08-19 | 78 | Female | Vehicle/Towed Trailer | Indirect |
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Vermont in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyWarnings in Vermont, August 2009
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: 181474, 181471.