Vermont Flooding

[MyNameIsAugustWest]

1927, 1973, 1976, one more in the 90s that I can't remember the year but it drove my uncles out of business in Montpelier, 2011, and now 2023. Peruvian would know better than me but isn't the "100-year storm" an insurance invention? Vermont has had 5 such events in the last 100 years and 3 of them were well before climate change.

Not a denier...there's no doubt we're getting warmer but don't let sound bites shape your opinions....

[Cisco Kid]

Yep

The term "100-year flood" is used in an attempt to simplify the definition of a flood that statistically has a 1-percent chance of occurring in any given year. Likewise, the term "100-year storm" is used to define a rainfall event that statistically has this same 1-percent chance of occurring.

[Danno]

I was in South Londonderry during the 1976 one (hurricane Belle). That was nuts.

[Buster Highmen]

How many of the previous "100 year floods" were a result of hurricanes?

In that regard, this one ain't.

Nov. 3-4, 1927: Rain on frozen ground
Sept. 21, 1938: Hurricane
July 6, 1973: Rain, somewhat similar to this 2023 event
Aug. 9-10, 1976: Hurricane Belle
April 4-6, 1987: Snowmelt and spring rain
March 11, 1992: Ice jam on the Winooski River
June 27-July 13, 1998: Rain, somewhat similar to this 2023 event
Sept. 16-21, 1999: Hurricane Floyd
April 15-21, 2007: Rain on snow
July 9-11, 2007: Rain, somewhat similar to this 2023 event
June 14, 2008: Rain, somewhat similar to this 2023 event
July 24- Aug 12, 2008: Rain, somewhat similar to this 2023 event
April, May, 2011: Rain on snow
Aug. 28-Sept. 2, 2011: Hurricane Irene
May 22-26, June 25 to July 11, 2013: Rain, somewhat similar to this 2023 event

Maybe the incidence of these severe summer rain storms has increased. I'll let others bicker about whether it's climate change.

[Peruvian]

Think about how much worse this would have been without the mitigation efforts after Irene.

[Markeyz]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1900_Galveston_hurricane

[Vt-Freeheel]

Beavers? Causing the flood problems ?? [rollseyes]

It was the insane amount of rain that has fallen on the state that caused it. I am at, thankfully in slower steady downpours, 9 3/8" of rain during this period bob...

[From_the_NEK]

Think about how much worse this would have been without the mitigation efforts after Irene.

Actually in the case of the Winooski valley, it was the post 1927 mitigation projects (Wrightsville, Marshfield, Barre dams) that saved Montpelier from being completely washed away in this event. There was actually MORE rain than 1927. Those three dams held back a huge amount of water that would have rushed into the valley and destroyed the city. The flood was certainly bad, but it could have been SIGNIFICANTLY worse.

Beavers? Causing the flood problems ?? [rollseyes]

It was the insane amount of rain that has fallen on the state that caused it. I am at, thankfully in slower steady downpours, 9 3/8" of rain during this period bob...

Yep, that ain't a snow fall amount map .

[t-the-east]

Peruvian would know better than me but isn't the "100-year storm" an insurance invention?

I believe it was a concept from Bodie to surf the ultimate wave at Bells Beach

[Bottleman]

Actually in the case of the Winooski valley, it was the post 1927 mitigation projects (Wrightsville, Marshfield, Barre dams) that saved Montpelier from being completely washed away in this event. There was actually MORE rain than 1927. Those three dams held back a huge amount of water that would have rushed into the valley and destroyed the city. The flood was certainly bad, but it could have been SIGNIFICANTLY worse.



Yep, that ain't a snow fall amount map .

Yah. Folks conveniently forget those dams. Also, note that they were heightened in the 50s. Might be time to do it again.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wrightsville_Reservoir


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[singlecross]

[From_the_NEK]

Yah. Folks conveniently forget those dams. Also, note that they were heightened in the 50s. Might be time to do it again.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wrightsville_Reservoir

Very rough estimate, but I figure Wrightsville alone held back 3 BILLION+ gallons of water.

[boltonoutlaw]

I'll add that in the 200 years of people living in Vermont, there isn't a record of something this and widespread in the middle of summer. Major floods up to this point have been snow melt enhanced floods or tropical storm sourced floods. This nearly month long event is connected to neither of those.

The annual climate trend for much of New England seems to be moving to a dry>wet>dry>"holy shit when will it stop raining" cycle. Last year at this time most of Vermont was in drought conditions. I haven't analyzed actual numbers to verify my theory.

The Great Vermont Flood of 1927 was neither of those:
https://www.weather.gov/media/btv/events/1927Flood.pdf

Edit: From the article

This low had copious moisture
associated with the remnants of a former tropical storm

[From_the_NEK]

The Great Vermont Flood of 1927 was neither of those:
https://www.weather.gov/media/btv/events/1927Flood.pdf

From the .pdf you just linked...

Rainfall intensity increased during the morning of the 3rd as
a low pressure center moved up along the Northeast coast. This low had copious moisture
associated with the remnants of a former tropical storm

If you want to nit pick that it was no longer technically classified as a tropical storm, I suppose you have a bit of an argument. But weather tracking of actual development states of tropical systems from that time period is rather inexact.

[From_the_NEK]

Anyway, there is no question that the 1927 flood was by far the worst. That was a nearly perfect combination of variables to absolutely wreck many parts of the state.

[boltonoutlaw]

From the .pdf you just linked...



If you want to nit pick that it was no longer technically classified as a tropical storm, I suppose you have a bit of an argument. But weather tracking of actual development states of tropical systems from that time period is rather inexact.

I caught it my second time through. The November date led me off

[boltonoutlaw]

Anyway, there is no question that the 1927 flood was by far the worst. That was a nearly perfect combination of variables to absolutely wreck many parts of the state.

For a long while I lived in Bolton, VT which IIRC sustained the greatest loss of life in Vermont from that flood. The second building on the right going up the access road is one of few in town that survived the flood. It served as the morgue for a period of time after.

Sidebar: What the flood failed to ruin in '27 was accomplished in '61 when I-89 was built and most of the town was domained and its farms bisected.

[Vt-Freeheel]

And the giant Cat scrapers dug a new straighter channel for the river in some places which doesn't help.

[plugboots]

Definitely keep building in floodplains and build higher dams.
Oh, and kill the beavers

[Norseman]

,

[AK47bp]

Nice

[singlecross]

Beaver.

[Bottleman]

Beaver.

Thanks.

[singlecross]

I just had it stuffed

[Bottleman]

I just had it stuffed

We could have stretched that out for four more posts!!!!