General
Why Vermont Is Nervously Watching the Remnants of Hurricane Debby
The state has faced repeated flooding emergencies, with mountain streams turned into torrents, and could be in for another deluge.
Vermont, a state already battered by a series of severe floods, is once again bracing for a deluge as the remnants of Hurricane Debby trudge up the East Coast on Friday.
If the tail end of the storm hits the state head-on, as much as five inches of rain could be dumped on parts of central and northern Vermont, the National Weather Service warned. That could lead to scattered flash flooding and river flooding, especially in northern communities that are still recovering from heavy rainfalls in July.
“New England seems to be where tropical storms come to die,” said Rob Evans, the rivers program manager in the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation. “During their last gasp, they dump a ton of rain on us.”
Only last month the state was pummeled by storms that left at least two people dead and destroyed or severely damaged more than 50 homes. And in July 2023, a two-day storm dumped more than eight inches of rain, turning streets into rivers; flooding homes, businesses and farmland; and causing hundreds of millions of dollars in damage.
The state’s vulnerability to flash flooding has increased in recent years because of climate change, experts say, with supercharged storms dropping more rain than ever before on a mountainous landscape that funnels it into torrents.
That topography is an asset for Vermont in the winter, drawing skiers to its steep slopes. But, during the powerful summer storms, it brings danger, with small streams and tributaries emptying into narrow valleys, said Ben DeJong, the state geologist.
