High Wind — Eastern Chittenden, Vermont

2010-12-01 · Eastern Chittenden, Vermont

Event narrative

Widespread trees and large branches down, utility poles, partial roofs, barn and shed damage, etc.. Some of the hardest hit communities include Hanksville, Richmond, Bolton, Jericho and Westford.

Wider weather episode

A massive and powerful storm system moved from the northern Great Lakes on November 30th across Ontario into James Bay Canada on December 1st. An associated cold front slowly moved east across the Great Lakes toward New York and New England with development of several waves of low pressure. Meanwhile, a very strong area of high pressure was located across New Brunswick.

The large pressure gradient (> 40mb) between both systems resulted in very strong south to southeast winds in a return flow. Very strong wind dynamics at all levels in the atmosphere resulted in fierce low-level winds in excess of 100 mph just 4000 feet above the surface.

Some of these winds eventually transitioned across the higher peaks of the Green Mountains and caused strong to damaging down slope winds in excess of hurricane force to the western slope communities and actually spread wind gusts approaching 55 mph into much of the Champlain Valley from just after daybreak to late afternoon.

Some of the measured wind gusts included; 103 mph at the summit of Mount Mansfield, 90 mph in Cambridge (Lamoille county), 73 mph in Jeffersonville (Lamoille county) and Hanksville (Chittenden county), 66 mph in Nashville (Chittenden county), 62 mph in Sheldon Springs (Franklin county), 60 mph in Monkton (Addison county), 56 mph in Bolton (Chittenden county and Rutland Airport in Clarendon (Rutland county) with 53 mph at the NWS Burlington office at the airport in South Burlington (Chittenden county).

Damaging winds approaching and exceeding hurricane force (>74 mph) produced structural damage of partially blown roofs, collapsed barns, collapsed car ports, some blown-in windows at the Jericho Elementary school, downed utility poles, etc. along the immediate downslope communities such as Bristol, Monkton, Hanksville, Jericho, Underhill, Cambridge, Jeffersonville, Sheldon.

Strong to locally damaging winds, gusts up to 55 mph, occurred within the Champlain Valley as well in communities such as Williston, Essex, Essex Center, Hinesburg, St. Albans and Colchester. Much of this damage was in the form of downed limbs, branches, trees, playground sets and some isolated structural damage in the form of blown off roof shingles. The prolonged persistence of these strong and gusty winds accounted for the scope of damage across the region. In Vermont, over 35,000 utility customers lost power.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 263485. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.