As Expected, Severe Storms Roll Through Vermont; All Over Now

 Thunderstorm menacing Colchester, Vermont Friday evening. 

The forecast for Friday was pretty much nailed.

We were told several rounds and clusters of thunderstorms, some severe, would roll through Vermont during the afternoon and evening, and that's just what we got.

Despite my speculation that they might upgrade the slight risk of storms to enhanced, the level of activity pretty much exactly matched the criteria for the "slight risk," which is level two out of five in the alert level.

Slight risk means a few storms would become severe, but most of the area would be unscathed, and that's pretty much what happened.

Still, there were pockets of fairly substantial damage.

Poultney, in southwestern Vermont seem to take the brunt of the damage as two severe storms hit that down. The first, in mid-afternoon, knocked down numerous trees and cut power in South Poultney in the mid-afternoon.

Thunderstorm structure over Georgia, Vermont Friday evening

A second severe storm hit Poultney around 6:30 p.m., taking down many more trees and power lines.

Elsewhere, I saw photos on social media of a damaged barn in Westford. Numerous trees were down in places like Cambridge, Sheffield, Island Pond and Barton.

Down in Glens Falls, New York, there was a tornado warning. The storm produced a very pronounced wall cloud, a type of rotating storm structure that often produces a tornado.  However, no tornado is known to have touched down in that area.

At least most of us received some much needed rain.  I wouldn't call it the quality, slow, soaking rain we could have used. Instead, there were gullywasher downpours.

There was a lot of available moisture for these storms, so many of the downpours were especially heavy.  I know there was some street flooding in Burlington, and I saw a little bit of that in Milton and Colchester, too.

Burlington received just under an inch of rain from this storm. My unofficial rain gauge in St. Albans, Vermont caught 1.3" of rain, most of that in a torrential downpour that hit around 8 p.m.

Overall, the damage patterns, the downpours and the fascinating thunderstorm cloud structures out there made this pretty much a classic Vermont summer severe storm weather day.

The calm after the storm last evening in Georgia, Vermont. The
sun was trying to break through with light rain still falling
after a torrential thunderstorm has passed. 

As you got up this morning, I'm sure you noticed that wonderful change in the air.  It is so much less humid.

Today is a transition day, as we still have another cold front to get through later.

The front might be enough to set off a few more evening showers, but they will be light and scattered.  We certainly won't get any more loud thunderstorms to frighten the dogs.

That second cold front, as previously advertised, will bring us a shot of pretty chilly air for the last day of May and the first of June.  Clouds might, just might protect the cold spots from frost Sunday and Monday night, and the rest of us will get chilly, but not frosty.

Highs Sunday and Monday will barely make it to 60 degrees, as opposed to the low 70s we usually see this time of year. As far as I'm concerned, low 60s during the day are a LOT better than the mid-90s we saw n Wednesday.

There will be a warming trend later in the week, but it won't be anything extreme.  We'll probably get into the seasonable 70s.

We won't be getting much more rain, either.  There might be some light showers here and there during the week, but very soon, it's back to irrigating dusty gardens, I'm afraid.