Updated at 6:47 p.m.
Heavy rain and snowmelt were causing significant flooding throughout Vermont on Monday — including in cities and towns still reeling from catastrophic summer flooding — as rivers continued to rise into the evening.
The ongoing flooding, expected to crest overnight and recede by daybreak on Tuesday, had closed stretches of 15 roadways, prompted school closures, led to a few swift-water rescues and soaked basements of businesses that had only recently managed to reopen following the July deluge. This round of flooding will not be as severe, but it is affecting a broader swath of the state, Gov. Phil Scott said at a 5 p.m. briefing.
“I know this is the last thing Vermonters want to see right now,” he said. “It’s a real gut punch.”
Parts of the Winooski, Otter Creek, Passumpsic and Lamoille rivers were all expected to hit flood stage by Monday afternoon, said Mark Breen, a forecaster at the Fairbanks Museum & Planetarium’s “Eye on the Sky” weather program in St. Johnsbury. In some areas, several inches of heavy, wet snow were melting, adding to the river levels.
The storm knocked out power on Monday morning to 10,000 people, but crews had restored power to all except 1,100 or so customers as of 4 p.m., according to state officials. Officials activated seven swift-water rescue teams around the state. They had rescued three people in Jamaica and another person in Waterbury.
Fields flooded in Marshfield and Plainfield along Route 2. Vermont State Police also reported that Route 5 in St. Johnsbury was blocked due to a mudslide. A trailer park in Brattleboro was flooding, as well. In Milton, town officials said the Lamoille River could exceed its July peak on Monday night and told residents of low-lying areas near the river to evacuate. Richmond, Williston and Hinesburg also reported flooding that closed roads.
The Mad River Valley, largely spared from the brunt of the July floods, was taking a harder hit this time around. Water had nearly swamped the covered bridge in Waitsfield. Downriver, the Moretown Office of Emergency Management called for residents to evacuate the village. Earlier on Monday, students were sent home from Moretown Elementary School. The Valley Reporter posted photos on X showing water in the school.
The rate of water flowing into the Waterbury flood-control reservoir has exceeded the peak rate during the July flood, though the reservoir remained 14 feet below “action levels,” Natural Resources Secretary Julie Moore said. Still, she said, the latest forecasts suggested Monday would become the fourth-largest event in the reservoir’s recorded history.
The Winooski River was expected to peak at 16.7 feet in Montpelier on Monday evening, according to the National Weather Service. Moderate flood stage begins at 16 feet, and major flood stage begins at 17.5 feet. The river reached over 21 feet in July, when homes and businesses flooded downtown.
“Personally, I am pumping water out of my basement,” Barre Mayor Jake Hemmerick said earlier on Monday as he monitored water levels in the Stevens Branch of the Winooski River, which flows through the city. The state and Red Cross opened a regional shelter at the Barre Auditorium, and the city asked residents in a Facebook post to avoid several streets and squares downtown.
City officials in Montpelier closed a parking lot and started moving cars out of it. They urged residents to move their vehicles to higher ground. Students were dismissed from Montpelier High School around 1:30 p.m.
Montpelier residents sprang into action. Volunteers distributed sandbags to many downtown businesses and helped move belongings or merchandise.
Cindra Conison, owner of the Quirky Pet on State Street, had only recently reopened her flood-damaged pet shop. But on Monday, she, her husband and two friends were busy emptying the store shelves.
“I’m moving the store back to my house,” she said by phone.
On a nearby street, Michael Sherman helped move granola at Rabble-Rouser Chocolate & Craft. He and others then trudged into the frigid, muddy waters that had covered the store’s basement floor, looking for items that needed salvaging, including a dehumidifier and two fans that were left over from the summer cleanup effort.
“The whole city is becoming a fire brigade,” Sherman said. The practiced volunteerism was heartening — and heartbreaking, Montpelier resident David Hall said: “I’m just aggrieved that we’re in this position again.”
The rain and high winds were part of a large East Coast storm system that brought four inches of rain to New York City and grounded flights in Boston on Monday morning. Moderate to heavy rain was expected to taper to showers in the evening. Total rainfall could reach 1.5 inches to 2.5 inches, according to the National Weather Service.
“We’ll get through this together,” Scott said.
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This article appears in Dec 13-19, 2023.
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