Winter Storm — Caledonia, Vermont

2011-03-06 to 2011-03-07 · Caledonia, Vermont

Event narrative

Snowfall amounts of 18 to 24 inches were reported in Caledonia county, including 24 inches in Sutton, 21 inches in Walden and Lyndonville and 20 inches in St. Johnsbury.

A two year old boy in Danville was accidentally killed in his driveway due to being struck by a family truck during snow removal operations.

Wider weather episode

On March 6th, a slow moving north-south oriented cold front, laden with copious amounts of moisture, entered western Vermont by late morning, central Vermont around midday and eastern Vermont by late afternoon. In addition, a surface low in the Tennessee Valley tracked along this cold front to the mid-Atlantic states by evening, then the New York City vicinity during the early morning hours of March 7th and to the Maine-New Hampshire coast by late morning.

This surface low and cold front was responsible for severe weather along the Gulf coast states as well as flooding in the Tennessee and Ohio River Valleys on March 5th and 6th.

On March 5th into the morning hours of March 6th, temperatures were in the 40s across Vermont which promoted significant snow melt to the region.

On March 6th, heavy rainfall preceded the cold front as it moved across Vermont. The cold front crept across western Vermont during the late morning hours, temperatures fell 12-15 degrees within an hour and heavy rain changed to heavy sleet and then wet snow.

The cold front slowed across central Vermont during midday resulting in more rainfall (up to an inch) with a gradual changeover to sleet then snow. In eastern Vermont, heavy rainfall (1-2 inches) fell through early to mid-afternoon before colder air eventually filtered into the region...reaching the lower Connecticut River valley toward evening, where icing was the main hazard.

At the same time, rapid snow melt and heavy rainfall accounted for ice-covered rivers to swell and cause ice flows. There were several reports of ice jams and flooding related problems in the Passumpsic, Missisquoi and Winooski river valleys.

Heavy snow continued from the afternoon of March 6th to midday on March 7th with the heaviest occurring in the early morning hours of the 7th with snowfall rates of 1 to 3 inches per hour. Total snowfall accumulations ranged from 20 to 30 inches across much of the Champlain Valley and northern 1/3 of Vermont, 10 to 15 inches of snow with ice accumulation up to 1/4 inch in central Vermont and 2 to 6 inches of snow with 1/4 to 1/2 inch ice accumulation in the lower Connecticut River valley.

NWS Burlington office in South Burlington received 25.8 inches, a new March snowfall record and the 3rd highest snowfall total all-time.

Most roads were impassable with numerous accidents and stuck vehicles with portions of Interstate 89 closed multiple times. Burlington Int'l Airport was closed from midday on the 6th to midday on the 7th. Nearly 10,000 customers lost electrical power, nearly all school districts were closed on the 7th along with local/state governments.

Slightly more than a dozen dairy farms lost milk production due to trucks unable to reach farms and production facilities.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 277128. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.