An intense slow-motion storm system dropped immense amounts of rain on parts of the Lower Hudson Valley, north of New York City, beginning on Sunday and continuing through Monday. The same system brought historic amounts of rainfall to Vermont and Connecticut on Monday night with dramatic results: Vermont’s capital city was fully flooded, prompting state officials to ban travel to the city’s downtown area. One death has been reported as a result of the storm. Though conditions have cleared and cleanup has begun, all of Vermont and some New York counties remain in a state of emergency as of Tuesday morning.
Widespread flooding in Vermont
Continuing rainfall on Tuesday morning was unwelcome news for the state, which was deluged on Monday night.
In a tweet, Governor Phil Scott said the flooding in sections of Vermont “surpassed what was experienced during Tropical Storm Irene.” He said that President Biden approved an emergency-disaster declaration for all 14 counties and that federal assistance and resources will be provided to the state.
Montpelier, the state’s capital city, was hit heavily by the storms with floodwaters filling the streets at historic levels. The Washington Post reports that Montpelier’s downtown was closed after nine inches of rain fell onto the city over the course of two days. Montpelier Police Chief Eric Nordenson said in a Tuesday morning update that water levels were beginning to decrease downtown but at a slower-than-expected rate. Residents are still being asked to avoid the area and authorities have extended the travel ban until 3 p.m. Officials are also monitoring the water levels at the Wrightsville Dam, noting that there’s a chance of spillover that could affect downtown water levels.
The current forecast
The weather across New York State has continued to improve. The National Weather Service forecast that rain showers in New England will lessen going into Wednesday. A state of emergency still remained in Orange, Ontario, Rockland, Clinton, Essex, and Oswego counties on Tuesday morning.
On Tuesday morning, the Metro-North Hudson train line from Croton-Harmon to Poughkeepsie remained closed with the agency continuing to provide limited bus services between the two areas:
The Lower Hudson Valley got more than a half-foot of rain in a few hours
Communities in New York’s Orange, Rockland, Putnam, Westchester, and Clinton Counties were inundated with as much as five to eight inches of rain in the space of few hours on Sunday, quickly prompting widespread flash flooding. In Orange County, the flooding killed at least one person — an unidentified woman in her 30s — according to county officials.
Though the full extent of the damage across the region is not yet clear, the Highlands communities of West Point, Highland Falls, and Fort Montgomery on the west side of the Hudson River were hit particularly hard, experiencing the worst flooding since the remnants of Hurricane Irene struck the region in 2011.
Floodwaters also washed out parts of multiple major roadways, forcing the closure of parts of U.S. Route 9W, State Route 218, State Route 293, State Route 17M, and State Route 32 in Orange County; U.S. Route 9W and the Palisades Interstate Parkway in Rockland County; State Route 403 and State Route 301 in Putnam County; State Route 190 in Clinton County; and U.S. Route 6 in Westchester County. A state police official told the New York Times that several bridges in the region had collapsed.
The storms also prompted widespread flight delays, and the rainfall in the Hudson Valley shut down rail service between New York City and Albany because the tracks flooded:
A neighborhood along Cedar Pond Brook in Stony Point flooded as well:
The storms have produced 100-year and 1,000-year rainfall events across at least four states thus far
The excessive rainfall also produced flash flooding in Pennsylvania, Connecticut, New Hampshire, and Vermont on Sunday.
This post has been updated.
