An intensifying area of low pressure in the Central Plains on March 10th, tracked across the Northern Great Lakes and into Hudson Bay on March 11th. Meanwhile, an area of surface high pressure was located across Eastern Canada and this allowed for a strong pressure gradient across Vermont.
Every event with a place to put it; 7 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.
An intensifying area of low pressure in the Central Plains on March 10th, tracked across the Northern Great Lakes and into Hudson Bay on March 11th. Meanwhile, an area of surface high pressure was located across Eastern Canada and this allowed for a strong pressure gradient across Vermont.
A strong low-level jet aloft preceded an approaching cold front on March 11th and eventually lowered to the surface during the afternoon. Surface winds of 25 to 35 mph with gusts in excess of 50 mph were observed with scattered tree damage and very isolated property damage across northwest Vermont.
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 Mar 11, 12:34 PM EST, 1 hour 26 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BURLINGTON VT
134 PM EDT WED MAR 11 2009
.SYNOPSIS...
A COLD FRONT WILL MOVE THROUGH THE REGION TODAY WHICH WILL BRING
COLDER TEMPERATURES TO THE NORTH COUNTRY TONIGHT AND THURSDAY. A HIGH
PRESSURE AREA OVER THE MID MISSISSIPPI VALLEY ON THURSDAY WILL
BUILD EAST AND BE OVER THE NORTH COUNTRY ON FRIDAY.
&&
.NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/...
AS OF 1053 AM EDT WEDNESDAY...COMPOSITE RADAR LOOP SHOWING MOST
OF THE STEADY RAIN HAS MOVED EAST OF THE FORECAST AREA AT THIS
TIME. HAVE ALREADY SENT OUT UPDATED ZONE FORECASTS TO GO WITH JUST
A CHANCE OF RAIN SHOWERS THIS AFTERNOON. MODELS SHOW A MID LEVEL
DRY SLOT TO MOVE ACROSS THE REGION THIS AFTERNOON...SO ONLY
EXPECTING SOME SCATTERED RAIN SHOWERS AROUND THE REGION FOR THE
REMAINDER OF TODAY. TEMPERATURES IN MOST LOCATIONS ARE ABOVE
FREEZING...AND THUS THE THREAT FOR FREEZING RAIN HAS ENDED ACROSS
EASTERN AND NORTHEAST VERMONT...AND THUS THE WINTER WEATHER
ADVISORY WAS ALLOWED TO EXPIRE. ALTHOUGH THE STEADY RAIN HAS ENDED
ACROSS THE REGION... STILL EXPECTING RISES ON AREAS RIVERS FROM
RUNOFF FROM RAINFALL AND SNOW MELT TO CONTINUE THROUGH THE
REMAINDER OF TODAY AND TONIGHT DUE TO THE MILD TEMPERATURES.
THUS...WILL KEEP THE FLOOD WATCH UP AT THIS TIME. WILL ALSO
MAINTAIN THE WIND ADVISORY ACROSS NORTHERN NEW YORK AND THE
NORTHERN CHAMPLAIN VALLEY...AS WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO INCREASE THIS
AFTERNOON.
TEMPERATURES WILL DROP SIGNIFICANTLY OVERNIGHT WHICH COULD CREATE
SLICK DRIVING CONDITIONS WITH RAPIDLY FREEZING SURFACES.
&&
.SHORT TERM /THURSDAY THROUGH FRIDAY/...
AS OF 410 AM EDT WEDNESDAY...HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS FROM THE WEST
WITH COLD AND DRY AIR MOVING INTO THE REGION. TEMPERATURES WILL
RUN ABOUT 10 TO 15 DEGREES COLDER THAN NORMAL. AND UPPER LEVEL
SHORT WAVE WILL SKIRT NORTH OF THE REGION FRIDAY INCREASING CLOUD
COVER IN THE NORTH...OTHERWISE MOSTLY SUNNY AND DRY.
&&
.LONG TERM /FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY/...
AS OF 352 AM EDT WEDNESDAY...BEGINNING PORTION OF THE WEEKEND WILL
SEE SFC RIDGE OVER THE NE...W/ A WEAK CD FRNT JUST N OF THE BORDER
IN SOUTHERN QUEBEC. MDLS CONTINUE TO BRING IN BACKDOOR FRNT DURING
THE DAY SATURDAY. W/ BLOCKING RIDGE TO THE SOUTH...FRNT WILL FALL
APART AS IT MVS SOUTH. WITH LIMITED QPF...WILL CONTINUE MENTION OF
MAINLY SL CHANCE FOR ANY SW AND A CHANCE FOR SW IN NE VT. PRECIP
DISSIPATES BY SAT NGT AS RIDGE BUILDS AGAIN INTO THE REGION RIGHT
THRU SUNDAY. SOME MDL DISCREPANCIES ARISE FOR NEXT MON AND TUES
CONCERNING A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WHICH MVS OUT OF THE SE. THE GFS
HAS HAD SFC RIDGE BECM MORE PRONOUNCED AND WILL BLOCK SYSTEM FROM
PUSHING TOO FAR N. ECMWF DOES BRING THIS LOW ACROSS MUCH OF NEW
ENGLAND ON MONDAY...PUSHING OFFSHORE ON TUESDAY. THIS WOULD BRING
WINTRY PRECIP TO THE CWA ESPECIALLY SC VT. W/ THIS DISCREP OVER
THE AREA IN THE MDLS...WILL ONLY GO WITH A SL CHANCE FOR ANY
PRECIP.
&&
.AVIATION /18Z WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY/...
THROUGH 18Z THURSDAY...FRONTAL BOUNDARY HAS PUSHED MOSTLY THROUGH
THE FORECAST AREA AND RAIN SHOWERS HAVE ENDED ACROSS THE CWA.
CEILINGS WILL STEADILY IMPROVE AND SCATTER OUT THIS AFTERNOON AND
EVENING BUT WINDS WILL CONTINUE TO BE VERY GUSTY...ESPECIALLY AT
KMSS AND KSLK. AFTER COLD FRONT MAKES IT COMPLETELY THROUGH THE
AREA THE WINDS WILL SHIFT TO WNW AROUND 10 - 20 KTS WITH SOME
GUSTS NEAR 30 KTS. GUSTY WINDS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE 24 HOUR
FORECAST PERIOD.
18Z THURSDAY THROUGH MONDAY... PREVAILING CONDITIONS THROUGH THE
OUTLOOK PERIOD WILL BE VFR. COLD FRONT ON SATURDAY EVENING WILL
BE ACCOMPANIED BY SCATTERED SNOW SHWRS WITH BRIEF PERIOD OF MVFR
POSSIBLE...ESPECIALLY AT MOUNTAIN SITES.
&&
.HYDROLOGY...
AS OF 455 AM EDT WEDNESDAY...WARMER TEMPERATURES COMBINED WITH
RAINFALL AND SNOW MELT WILL LEAD TO ADDITIONAL RUNOFF AND RISES
IN AREA RIVER AND STREAMS...WITH SOME SHARP RISES IN RIVER LEVELS
POSSIBLE LATER TODAY AND EARLY THURSDAY. THE GREATEST POTENTIAL
FOR LOCALIZED FLOODING WILL COME MAINLY FROM ANY ICE JAMS THAT
FORM ON AREA RIVERS AND STREAMS. THE THREAT FOR ICE JAM FLOODING
IS EXPECTED TO DIMINISH TONIGHT AND THURSDAY AS COLDER AIR MOVES
INTO THE REGION.
&&
.BTV WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
VT...FLOOD WATCH THROUGH LATE TONIGHT FOR VTZ001>012-016>019.
WIND ADVISORY UNTIL MIDNIGHT EDT TONIGHT FOR VTZ001-002-016.
NY...FLOOD WATCH THROUGH LATE TONIGHT FOR NYZ026>031-034-035-087.
WIND ADVISORY UNTIL MIDNIGHT EDT TONIGHT FOR NYZ026>031-034-
087.
&&
SYNOPSIS...WGH
NEAR TERM...AMF/WGH
SHORT TERM...AMF
LONG TERM...JN
AVIATION...NEILES
HYDROLOGY...AMFHAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...CORRECTED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BURLINGTON VT 1231 PM EDT WED MAR 11 2009 NYZ035-VTZ003>012-017>019-121645- EASTERN ESSEX-ORLEANS-ESSEX-WESTERN CHITTENDEN-LAMOILLE-CALEDONIA- WASHINGTON-WESTERN ADDISON-ORANGE-WESTERN RUTLAND-WINDSOR- EASTERN CHITTENDEN-EASTERN ADDISON-EASTERN RUTLAND- 1231 PM EDT WED MAR 11 2009 ...FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT THROUGH LATE TONIGHT... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHERN NEW YORK...CENTRAL VERMONT...NORTHEAST VERMONT...NORTHWEST VERMONT AND SOUTHERN VERMONT. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. PLEASE LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR GO TO WEATHER.GOV ON THE INTERNET FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE FOLLOWING HAZARDS. FLOOD WATCH. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTERS ARE REQUESTED TO RELAY ANY REPORTS OF FLOODING TO THE OR WIND DAMAGE TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BURLINGTON. NYZ026>031-034-087-VTZ001-002-016-121645- NORTHERN ST. LAWRENCE-NORTHERN FRANKLIN-EASTERN CLINTON- SOUTHEASTERN ST. LAWRENCE-SOUTHERN FRANKLIN-WESTERN CLINTON- WESTERN ESSEX-SOUTHWESTERN ST. LAWRENCE-GRAND ISLE-WESTERN FRANKLIN- EASTERN FRANKLIN- 1231 PM EDT WED MAR 11 2009 ...WIND ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL MIDNIGHT EDT TONIGHT... ...FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT THROUGH LATE TONIGHT... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHERN NEW YORK AND NORTHWEST VERMONT. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. PLEASE LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR GO TO WEATHER.GOV ON THE INTERNET FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE FOLLOWING HAZARDS. FLOOD WATCH. WIND ADVISORY. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTERS ARE REQUESTED TO RELAY ANY REPORTS OF FLOODING TO THE OR WIND DAMAGE TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BURLINGTON. WGH
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BURLINGTON VT
1055 AM EDT WED MAR 11 2009
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1000 AM NON-TSTM WND GST SWANTON 44.92N 73.12W
03/11/2009 E55 MPH FRANKLIN VT TRAINED SPOTTER
ROOF PARTIALLY LIFTED OFF BUSINESS
&&
LAHIFFThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
7 strong wind. Local standard time, as filed.
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, March 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: 160517, 160518, 160520, 160521, 160522, 160523, 160524.