Flood Issues Worse Than Expected In Vermont Today

Screen grab of a video by a person named Lydia who provided to WPTZ-TV
today this video of an ice jam breaking up and flowing along
the New Haven River in Lincoln, Vermont.  

Just a head's up: As of 3 p.m. today, flooding in Vermont is worse than anticipated during this brief, rainy, mild spell. This is especially true in southern Vermont.

I mentioned this morning about the ponding of water on roads. That has happened. But it has gone beyond that in a few places.

Rainfall has been heavier than expected in many areas, especially. Flood warnings are now up for Bennington and Windham counties, where there are plenty of problems.

In Brattleboro, the towns fire department said it was evacuating two mobile home parks and a senior housing complex due to ice jams and flooding on Whetsone Brook, NECN reports. Parts of Route 9 heading west out of Brattleboro are flooded.

Flooding is also reported in Grafton, Chester and Arlington due to rain, snow melt, and ice jams. A mudslide of all things was reported along Route 7A in Arlington.

Rainfall totals in far southern Vermont could reach three inches before precipitation tapers off later today.

Things aren't as bad in central and northern Vermont, but there is the risk of a few ice jams and areas of high water there today.  Some ice jams have been reported along the New Haven River in central Vermont and the Ausable River in New York, but so far there has not been serious flooding along those two waterways.

Snow cover is deeper in northern Vermont so much of the rain is soaking into the snow pack. At my house in St. Albans, the brook that runs by my place has gone up and is flowing briskly, but it is no where near high enough to cause trouble.

A cold front was slowly pressing into Vermont from the west as of 3 p.m. That will force the rain to change to snow and taper off pretty quickly once the front goes by. The threat of local flooding and ice jams will continue for several hours, though, as rain and some snow melt continue to drain downhill.

Meanwhile, virtually all of southern New England is under a flood warning as rain has been much heavier there. High winds are causing additional damage along the coast.