2018 Was Another Active And Beautiful Weather Year In Vermont

The year 2018 got off to a harsh start in Vermont with storms, record cold
flipping to record heat and rain. The weather caused ice jams,
like this damaging one in Swanton. 

It took me awhile to get through, but here's what I regard as the big weather events of 2018. Take a look if you want to relive the fun we had watching the clouds and eveything else the weather had to throw at us.

BONUS: A YouTube video at the bottom of this post that shows some of my favorite weather event and cloud photos I took during 2018. Don't forget to scroll down for that.

1. Severe start to year: The winter was as almost as harsh as it could get in the week or so of 2018. A nor'easter on January 4 caused a damaging storm surge along the New England coast. Temperatres fell to the teens and 20s below zero, culminating in a record low of 20 below on January 7 in Burlington.

Jan. 12-13: Wild swings in temperatures and heavy rains caused serious flooding and ice jams in parts of Vermont. Just five days after that minus 20 record low, Burlington recorded a record high of 61 degrees.

Between one and two inches of rain with these warm temperatures rapidly melted snow and river ice, causing big ice jams, flooding parts of Johnson, Swanton and other towns. Eden reported 2.82 inches of rain.

The temperature crashed on January 13. Blizzard conditions hit on the morning of the 13th in northern Vermont, and ice jams worsened, particularly in Swanton.

February 21: One year after an unprecedented February heat wave brought temperatures to 70 and above to Vermont for the first time on record, there was a repeat in 2018. Burlington "only" reached 69 degrees, which would have been by far the warmest February day on record had it not been 72 degrees the year before.

But Montpelier set a February record of 70 degrees, and Bennington reached a whopping 77 degrees.

The Four Big March Nor'easters:

The first, at the very beginning of March, largely missed northern and central Vermont but created some whopping winds in southeastern New England. Gusts reached 83 mph in Little Compton, Rhode Island and 83 mph in East Falmouth, Mass.

No enjoying my back deck in March, 2018 as deep snows
blocked access to it. Four nor'easters blaasted
New England during March. 

The second nor'easter, on March 8, socked southern Vermont. Woodford, Vermont reported 36 inches and Searsburg clocked in with 32 inches.

There were reports of near 30 inch snow totals in western Massachusetts, Connecticut and New Jersey. In the Massachusetts Berkshires, 18 inches of snow fell in three hours.

Northern Vermont only got about one to three inches of snow out of this.

The March 13-15 nor'easter really socked Vermont with heavy, wet snow. Eden, Stowe and Westfield, Vermont got 30 inches of snow. Two foot totals were reported in much of New England. An avalanche at Smuggler's Notch, Vermont injured five U.S. Army personnel who were training.

The fourth nor'easter on March 22-23 largely missed Vermont

April 4: Strong winds caused damage and widespread power 'failures in Ontario, Quebec, New York and Vermont. A northern New York man was killed when winds collapsed a sugar shack. Winds gusted to 63 mph at Burton Island, Vermont and 56 mph in Enosburg Falls.

Wet April: Burlington recorded 4.84 inches of precipitation in April, making it the sixth wettest April on record.

May 4 Severe weather

Roiling storm clouds near St. Albans, Vermont during a
May 4 severe weather outbreak. 

Severe thunderstorms and tornadoes affected parts of eastern New York, Vermont and New Hampshire. Vermont was under a tornado watch that day, but no confirmed tornadoes were reported in the Green Mountain State.

There were, however, some very severe thunderstorms.

Perhaps hardest hit was Shelburne, where many dozens of trees fell. At least one house sustained roof damage and blown out windows.

Other Vermont towns hit hrd were Brookfield, Pittsford, Ascutney, Thetford, Manchester, Danby and Colchester.

A tornado touched down just across the Connecticut River from Springfield, Vermont and traveled 35 miles through central New Hampshire. It was the longest tracked tornado in New Hampshire history.

June 19: More severe weather in New England, with tornadoes reported in New Hampshire and Massachusetts. A microburst destroyed a barn in Waitsfield, Vermont. Fallen trees also briefly blocked Interstate 89 in Waterbury and Interstate 91 in Orange County. In Burlington, 2.29 inches o rain fell.

June 30-July 5 Heat Wave

Intense heat enveloped much of the eastern United States and southeastern Canada, with often fatal results. At least six people died of the strong heat in Vermont, which made this heat wave the state's worst weather disaster since Hurricane Irene in 2011. The heat wave death toll in Quebec was at least 74.

Daytime highs were bad enough: Daily highs in Burlington starting on June 30 were 93, 96, 97, 93, 95, 95.

The nights were oppressively hot. The low temperature on July 2 was 80 degrees, the highest minimum temperature on any date in Burlington since record keeping began in the 1880s. The temperature failed to drop below 75 degrees from early in the morning of June 30 to early morning July 3. Heat index were near 90 at dawn.

Clouds that looked like they belonged on a tropical island
sit over the Adirondacks in July in this view from
South Burlington. Photo was taken on one of many
hot days in July, 2018. 

"Relief" from the heat wave wasn't substantial. The high temperture on July 6 was 85 degrees.

July 31: July ended up being the hottest month on record in Burlington, Vermont with a mean temperature of 76.0 degrees.

August 14: Despite record rains and frequent flooding across most of the eastern United States during the summer, rain repeatedly missed northern Vermont, resulting in an intensifying drought. Persistent heat contributed to the worsening situation.

August 31: For the second month in a row, Burlington had a record hot month. August was the hottest on record with a mean temperature of 74.5 degrees. Climatologists said Vermont also easily had its most humid summer on record, which increased the misery.

Sept 3-5. More record heat in Vermont, especially on Sept. 3 and 5. Record highs 0f 93 degrees were set on both September 3 and 5 in Burlington. Plattsburgh, New York had a record high of 94 degrees on September 3.

Also on September 3, the heat was accompanied by locally severe storms. Fallen trees blocked Interstate 91 and Route 5 in Coventry. A lot of trees blew over in Irasburg, and a baseball field dugout was destroyed.

September 10. Despite some local showers, drought worsened in northern Vermont. Moderate drought covered much of the northwestern part of the state.

September 17: Burlington reached a record high of 87 degrees. After one more day of mid-80s temperaures the next day, the first extended spell of autumnal weather arrived.

September 21: Strong winds buffeted Vermont, and a few strong thunderstorms moved through in the late evening. A devastating tornado hit during this storm around Ottawa, Canada.

October 9-10: One last late season heat wave. Burlington tied record highs of 80 and 82 degrees on October 9 and 10. After this, the long-lasting hot weather pattern finally flipped for good, ushering in generally cooler than normal conditions from mid-October to mid-December.

October 24: "Snoliage" fell across much of northern and central Vermont as a dusting to a few inches of snow decorated the remaining fall foliage. Derby, Vermont got 5.1 inches of snow; Orleans, Vermont reported 4.5 inches of snow. Randolph, New Hampshire reported 11 inches.

"Snoliage" in St. Albans, Vermont, Oct. 24, 2018

Nov. 16. First in a series of November snowstorms put a premature end to autumn cleanup in Vermont. In many places, the persistent cold that followed kept snowcover on the ground until a Christmastime thaw.

East Enosburg received 14 inches of new snow, a foot fell on St. Albans and Burlington collected 7.9 inches. November as a whole was the fifth snowiest at Burlington, with 19.5 inches.

Nov. 23: Burlington dropped to a record low of 1 below zero, the earliest subzero reading on record, with data going back to the 1880s.

Nov. 27-29: Another big snowstorm, tbis time wet and heavy. The storm cut power to tens of thousands of Vermonters. Storm totals included 24.1 inches in Rochester and 16.5 inches in Westfield.

Dec. 21-22: Near record warmth and heavy rains melted the snow cover from November, creating widespread flooding across Vermont. Numerous roads were blocked by high water.

Here's my photo album of 2018 weather.