Super Active 2017 Weather Year Was Second Warmest On Record, Burlington, Vermont

Ice accumulation in St. Albans, Vermont during a
January 23, 2017 ice storm. 

As we woke up on this subzero first day of 2018, after enduring six days of such weather with plenty more on the way, here's something that might warm your heart.

Vermont - at least the National Weather Service office in South Burlington - had its second warmest year on record in 2017.

The mean temperature for the year was 48.7, second only to the record hot year of 2012, which had a mean temperature of 49.9.

This leave us with a list that shows all of the top five warmest Burlington years have happened since 1998, and seven of the top 10 warmest have been since that year, 1998. Records in Burlington go back to the 1880s.

December was cold, as we well know, clocking in at 3.5 degrees colder than normal. March was cold, too. But January, February, May, September and October were all at or near record warm, so that powered the toasty 2017.

Near zero visibility and stuck cars on Fairfield Hill Road in
St. Albans, Vermont during the March "Pi Day Blizzard"

Although some months in 2017 were quite wet, others were quite dry.

Precipitation for 2017 averaged out only somewhat wetter than normal, nowhere near any records. Burlington had 36.8 inches of rain and melted snow, which is just over three inches wetter than average.

Below is a pretty long list of weather highlights from 2017 in Vermont. It was an incredibly active, dramatic year, full of sometimes unprecedented weather events. Seems like everything was off the rails in 2017, including the weather.

January 23: An ice storm hit much of Vermont on this date. Luckily, in most places the ice accumulation fell just short of causing major damage or power outages, but there were a few power failures and quite a few small to mid-sized branches fell.  

Mid-February: A series of mid-February snowstorms in Burlington, Vermont brought the total for the month to 29.8 inches. That's the seventh snowiest February on record. That deep snow didn't last long. See next entry.

This very snowy April Fools Day 2017 scene in Burlington,
Vermont made us think that spring would never arrive,
but temperatures quickly warmed in the days
after this photo was taken and the snow quickly melted.

Amazing Late February Heat: The temperature at Burlington, Vermont soared to 63 degrees on February 23rd, breaking the record for the hottest February day on record. (Old record was 62 degrees in 1981)

But this was just a hint of what was to come. Two days later, on February 25, the temperature at Burlington soared to 72 degrees.

It's rare for a monthly record to be broken, and rarer still for the record to be broken by more than three degrees. But this was by nine degrees. Needless to say, this was by far the earliest 70 degree reading on record for Vermont.  

The temperature also hit 72 degrees in Bennington.

This heat wave ended that evening with a strong cold front, which brought strong to borderline severe thunderstorms to parts of Vermont. Also incredible for Vermont. Tornadoes were reported as far north as western Massachusetts, again unprecedented for February.

March 14-15: The "Pi Day Blizzard" struck the Northeast, hitting the northwestern half of Vermont, much of New York and Pennsylvania the hardest.

A thunderstorm approaches Colchester, Vermont on May 31,
2017. The shelf cloud had a telltale blue tint, indicating hail
was in the offing. It hailed heavily a few minutes after
this photo was taken. 

Burlington, Vermont tallied 30.4 inches of snow, the second biggest snowstorm on record for the Queen City. During the height of the storm, Burlington picked up five inches of new snow in just one hour.

Elsewhere, Bolton Valley, Vermont received 58 inches of snow from the storm. Lake Placid, New York clocked in with 42 inches, Hartwick, New York had 48 inches and Utica, New York had 36 inches. Binghamton, New York had its greatest snowstorm on record with 35.3 inches.

For the month of March, Burlington had 36.8 inches of snow, the third snowiest March on record.

April 28: The low temperature in Burlington, Vermont was 64 degrees. That's the warmest overnight low on record for any April day. Spring wasn't here yet, though. I got a half inch of snow at my house in St. Albans, Vermont on May 9.  

May 17-18: Record Heat, Severe Storms. Vermont got a very early taste of summer on May 17 and 18 as a brief, record setting hot spell enveloped the state. Plus, on the 18th, some very severe, mid-summer type thunderstorms struck.

A tornado over Sebago Lake, Maine on July 1, 2017 during
an unsually strong widespread severe storm and flash
flood outbreak in northern New England. 

On the 17th, Vermont record highs included 91 degrees at Burlington; 87 at Montpelier, and 89 in St. Johnsbury.

The next day, the 18th, Burlington reached 93 degrees, tying the all time record for the entire month of May.

Late in the afternoon, scattered, but very severe thunderstorms moved into Vermont. The worst was in West Addison, where an intense microburst blew a camp away with a 75 year old woman and her dog inside. Luckily, they were rescued with minor injuries. Other damage was reported in South Burlington, Williston and Barton.

May 31: Strong thunderstorms brought lots of hail and scattered wind damage to much of northern Vermont. In Colchester, so much hail fell that some remained on the ground four hours after the storm ended.  

June 11: Another brief early season hot spell peaked. Burlington, had a record high of 95 degrees, which was the hottest for so early in the season.

June 19: Scattered flooding was reported in southern Vermont. Parts of Rutland and Brattleboro flooded. A mudslide closed a section of Route 30 northwest of Brattleboro

Storm clouds loom over Lake Champlain off of Burlington,
Vermont in early August 2017/ 

June 30-July 1: Flash flooding and severe thunderstorms hit New England, especially in New Hampshire and Maine. Much of Vermont, except the northwestern part of the state, also endured flash flooding.

Several tornadoes were reported in New York, New Hampshire, Maine. Some counties in those states endured three different tornado warnings in one day. This in places that haven't had a tornado in years.

The National Weather Service in Gray, Maine issued seven tornado warnings on July 1. The previous record for the most tornado warnings in an entire year from that office was six.

This chill dude sporting special eye-protecting glasses
checks out the partial eclipse of the sun in Burlington,
Vermont on August 21, 2017

No tornadoes were reported in Vermont, though there was a rotating wall cloud reported in Wilder. Flash flooding was the problem in Vermont, as well as New Hampshire and Maine.

An uprooted tree floating down the raging Mad River in Waitsfield speared the side of the town's covered bridge. Several buildings were damaged by flooding in Hartford, Vermont, as well as in numerous towns in New Hampshire.

August 21: Great viewing in Vermont for the partial eclipse of the sun. (Total eclipse through the middle of the United States.) However, the sky was smoky as it was for most of August and September due to numerous wildfires in the western parts of the U.S. and Canada.

August 22: A rare tornado watch was issued for the western part of Vermont. Though no tornadoes touched down, there were numerous reports of severe thunderstorms. A roof blew off a barn in Vergennes. Trees and wires were reported down state wide. And Burlington, Vermont endured street flooding from torrential rains.

Sept 2: A cold morning in an otherwise warm month. 28 degrees in Saranac Lake, New York, 34 in Bennington, Vermont

Workers performing emergency, temporary repairs to a wind
damaged roof in Milton, Vermont after a severe October 30,
2017 windstorm cused widespread damage.

Sept. 24-27: An unprecedented late season heat wave hit the eastern two thirds of the United States, including Vermont. Burlington had four consecutive days in the 90s, by far the latest 90s on record. Montpelier and St. Johnsbury also had their latest 90s on record.

This was only the second September on record in Burlington that had four days in the 90s. The other, 1945, had 90s in the early part of the month.  

Interestingly, none of the eight days that hit 90 this year in Burlington happened during astronomical summer. The September 90s hit after the autumn equinox and the others occured in May and early June, before the summer solstice.

October: A record hot October in Vermont messed with the fall foliage season. The colors came up to two weeks late, and were subdued due to many unusually warm, humid days. Burlington broke the record for the hottest October by a large margin of 2.2 degrees above the previous record set in 1947.

Nearly six inches of fresh powder led to this holiday
scene in West Rutland, Vermont on December 25, 2017
The storm marked the beginning of a sharp, year-end
subzero cold wave that lasted into the first days of 2018.

October 29-30: One of Vermont's worst wind storms struck wide areas of the state, especially west of the Green Mountains. Widespread tree, power line and structural damage hit many towns, especially around St. Albans, Georgia, Milton and Colchester. Gusts reached over 70 mph in several locations.

More than 64,000 Vermont homes and business lost power, some for up to a week. There was also widespread wind and flood damage in New Hampshire and Massachusetts.

November 10: An early morning cold front brought an unseasonable round of cloud to ground lightning, thunder and hail to much of Vermont. The cold front was followed by record and near record cold, including 5 above in Saranac Lake, New York, 15 in Springfield, Vermont and 16 in Morrisville, Vermont.

December 24-31: Winter storms were followed by intense cold to close out 2017. Many communities failed to rise above 10 degrees in the last five days of the month, with widespread teens and 20s below at night. Montpelier had its 10th coldest December on record.