'Wow! What a night': Nearly all Vermonters should have electricity back by Sunday night

Thousands of Vermonters spent one of the loveliest and sunniest Saturdays this spring in the dark.

In the dark indoors, at least, as they coped with the loss of electricity caused by Friday evening's severe storms, which raked much of the state with wind gusts exceeding 40 mph, heavy rains and hail.

By Saturday evening, some 8,000 utility customers remained without power, down considerably from the tens of thousands who lost electricity Friday evening.

Seven of Vermont's 14 counties had a few thousand homes and businesses without power as the day dawned, with utility crews laboring to get electricity restored.

The largest number of outages were in the east-central part of Vermont, particularly Caledonia, Lamoille, Orange, Washington, Windham and Windsor counties.



"Wow! What a night!" Green Mountain Power wrote on its Facebook page Saturday morning. "Crews have been going non-stop since the wild winds hit."

The state's largest utility worked through Friday night and Saturday seeking to restore power to its many customers who had lost it. After learning of the storm's potential earlier in the week, Green Mountain Power nearly doubled its personnel out in the field to manage the task.

"Strong storms have caused outages throughout the state," Green Mountain Power said in a special banner across the top of its website. "Crews are working to make repairs, and won’t stop until all are back on."

By Sunday evening, virtually everyone except those living in very remote areas should have electricity restored, the utility said. It could take a few more days in the most remote areas.

Impacts were widespread. Typical was an incident in Orange County, where U.S. Route 5 in Bradford, south of the Toolbarn, was closed in both directions because the storm felled power lines and a tree.



Vermonters were urged to stay away from any felled trees or downed power lines.

Flood warning for Lake Champlain

The National Weather Service has issued a flood warning for shoreline counties on Lake Champlain, including Rutland, Addison, Chittenden, Franklin and Grand Isle counties in Vermont and Essex and Clinton counties in New York state.

"The combination of wind and wave action will enhance flood effects on windward facing shores, and may cause additional damage to shoreline roads and low-lying areas," the weather service warning states.

Water levels may rise to near flood stage by Sunday morning, posing a threat to roads, piers and docks that can be compounded by wave action. The warning specifically notes a risk to the Burlington waterfront at Perkins Pier and the King Street ferry dock.

At 11 a.m. Saturday, the lake level at the Rouses Point gauge was at 99.8 feet, just shy of the flood stage of 100 feet. At 100 feet, minor flooding is expected.

Early in the week, the water is forecast to reach 100.3 feet. Further water level increases are possible in ensuing days, the weather service warning states.

Major flooding is likely if the water level exceeds 101.5 feet. In the spring 2011 floods that beset lakeside property owners, the water level reached 103.2 feet.

The storm's superlatives

* Wind gusts exceeded 40 mph and reached 60 mph in multiple locations across Vermont, the National Weather Service said. They resulted from strong thunderstorms that pushed into the Northeast Friday evening ahead of a cold front.

* The highest wind gust recorded in or near Vermont was 68 mph on the west side of Lake Champlain. A 65 mph wind gust was recorded near the Canadian border in Orleans County.

* Over in the Adirondack Mountain High Peaks area, a 105 mph wind gust was recorded -- not exactly good hiking weather.

* Most of the gusts recorded and reported to the National Weather Service in Vermont were in the vicinity of 40 mph. Across much of eastern and central Vermont, and including areas closer to Burlington such as Shelburne, that was enough to knock down scores of trees and power lines and cut power to many thousands of utility customers.

Trees down, and more trees down

The National Weather Service's website provides details of the severe storm's impacts:

* Hail in places including Essex Junction and Richford (1.25 inches in diameter in Richford).

* Trees down in Alburgh.

* Trees down on a road in Colchester.

* A large tree down in Shelburne.

* Trees down on a road in Jericho.

* More trees and power lines down in Shelburne.

* Trees down in Westford.

* Trees down in Jay.

* Two more trees down in Shelburne.

* Tree down on Interstate 89 in Bolton.

* Trees down and power out in the Orleans County town of Glover.

* Small tree down in Burlington.

* Roof damage to a house on U.S. Route 7 in Shelburne.

* Trees down in Sheffield.

* Three trees down in a yard in Pittsford.

* Multiple trees down on Vermont 14 in Brookfield.

* Several trees down in Arlington

* Several trees down near Dorset.

* Several trees down in Manchester.

* Multiple large trees damaged in Manchester.

* Trees down in Danby.

* Tree down in Ascutney.

* Trees down in Concord.

* 30 reports of trees down across Bennington County.

* Trees down on Vermont 244 in Fairlee.

* Large number of downed trees near Athens.

* Multiple trees and wires down in Newfane.

* Multiple trees down in Thetford Center.

* Tree down in Ascutney.

Earlier:

The National Weather Service reported a line of "severe thunderstorms" extending from Jericho to Richmond to Mineville, New York, shortly before 8 p.m., moving east at around 40 miles per hour.

The storms brought 60 miles per hour wind gusts and hail. The National Weather Service said they had gotten reports of one-inch hail near Essex Junction and multiple trees down in Shelburne.

Expect wind damage to trees and power lines, the advisory said.

Green Mountain Power was reporting over 8,000 customers in had lost power at 8 p.m. Friday. Around 10,000 homes had no power at 9 p.m.

Shelburne was hit hardest, with over 2,400 customers having lost power. Over 1,000 homes lost electricity in Waterbury.

Thursday afternoon, the state's largest electricity provider, Green Mountain Power, said they had lined up external crews to help respond to widespread outages.

The weather service reported a line of "severe thunderstorms" extending from Jericho to Richmond to Mineville, New York shortly before 8 p.m., moving east at around 40 miles per hour.

The storms brought 60 miles per hour wind gusts and hail. The National Weather Service said they had gotten reports of one-inch hail near Essex Junction and multiple trees down in Shelburne.

Expect wind damage to trees and power lines, the advisory said. A flash flood warning is in effect until late Friday night for parts of Chittenden County, including South Burlington, Jericho, and Shelburne.

The majority of the storms has moved to the east, said Marlon Verasamy, a National Weather Service meteorologist.

"But we're not completely in the clear yet," he said.

Verasamy said he's seen lightning striking the ground all over the Champlain Valley on the radar, but most of the damage has been from wind.

A Burlington Free Press reporter described School Street in Shelburne as "filled with a river of water that can't be pumped out through the sewers."

"There's trees down all over the place," said James Mack, a Shelburne emergency dispatcher. A large tree was blocking U.S. 7 near the Shelburne Museum, Mack said, a major north-south thoroughfare in Vermont.

Mack said the town was also seeing minor flooding in some areas, including some roadway flooding, and advised motorists to avoid the town.

"Stay south of us or stay north of us," he said.

Earlier:

The National Weather Service issued a tornado watch late Friday afternoon for all of Vermont except the two southernmost counties of Bennington and Windham. Chittenden County and surrounding counties are included in the watch.

Meteorologist Marlon Verasamy said the tornado watch extends until 10 p.m., as unstable air, thunderstorms and showers begin moving into the state from New York, across Lake Champlain.

"The dynamics in the atmosphere show a chance we could see a tornado or two develop out of the showers," Verasamy said. "The big thing with the watch is to get people to be on higher alert, to keep an eye on media sources to see what's going on."

What should you do if you see a tornado?

"Take shelter immediately," answered Verasamy.

People at home with a basement should go to the most protected area of the basement. People without a basement, Verasamy said, should go to the middle of the house, preferably into a room with no windows, such as a bathroom or closet.

More: Summer is in the air, but it's still winter in the waters of Lake Champlain

People driving should find the first place to pull off the road and take shelter, in a building, a library or post office, for example.

"If you see something and it's too late to get to shelter, hunker down in your car," Verasamy said.

Most of the time, people who are out and about can see a storm forming in the distance, Verasamy said, which should be a signal to find shelter.

Tornadoes are rare in Vermont. The last one touched down near Washington, in Orange County, according to Verasamy. That tornado caused some damage to culverts and the roof of a garden shed.

Verasamy said Friday it is warm enough, with enough moisture in the atmosphere and an influx of unstable air to warrant the tornado watch.

Contact Dan D’Ambrosio at 660-1841 or ddambrosio@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @DanDambrosioVT.