Vermont Natural Disasters and Weather Extremes
The chance of earthquake damage in Vermont is much lower than the national average. The risk of tornado damage in Vermont is much lower than the national average.
Earthquake Index, #26
| Vermont | 0.31 |
| U.S. | 1.81 |
The earthquake index value is calculated based on historical earthquake events data using USA.com algorithms. It is an indicator of the earthquake level in a region. A higher earthquake index value means a higher chance of an earthquake.
Volcano Index, #14
| Vermont | 0.0000 |
| U.S. | 0.0023 |
The volcano index value is calculated based on the currently known volcanoes using USA.com algorithms. It is an indicator of the possibility of a region being affected by a possible volcano eruption. A higher volcano index value means a higher chance of being affected.
Tornado Index, #39
| Vermont | 27.21 |
| U.S. | 136.45 |
The tornado index value is calculated based on historical tornado events data using USA.com algorithms. It is an indicator of the tornado level in a region. A higher tornado index value means a higher chance of tornado events.
Other Weather Extremes Events
A total of 3,393 other weather extremes events from 1950 to 2010 were recorded in Vermont. The following is a break down of these events:
| Type | Count | Type | Count | Type | Count | Type | Count | Type | Count |
| Avalanche: | 0 | Blizzard: | 2 | Cold: | 58 | Dense Fog: | 1 | Drought: | 4 |
| Dust Storm: | 0 | Flood: | 441 | Hail: | 446 | Heat: | 25 | Heavy Snow: | 83 |
| High Surf: | 0 | Hurricane: | 0 | Ice Storm: | 6 | Landslide: | 0 | Strong Wind: | 250 |
| Thunderstorm Winds: | 1,229 | Tropical Storm: | 0 | Wildfire: | 0 | Winter Storm: | 307 | Winter Weather: | 162 |
| Other: | 379 | ||||||||
Volcanos Nearby
No volcano is found in or near Vermont.
Historical Earthquake Events
A total of 1 historical earthquake event that had a recorded magnitude of 3.5 or above found in Vermont.
| Date | Magnitude | Depth (km) | Latitude | Longitude |
| 1962-06-21 | 3.9 | 25 | 45.37 | -72.7 |
Historical Tornado Events
A total of 14 historical tornado events that had recorded magnitude of 2 or above found in Vermont.
| Date | Magnitude | Start Lat/Log | End Lat/Log | Length | Width | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage | Crop Damage | Affected County | |
| 1955-03-22 | 2 | 43°00'N / 73°12'W | 0.10 Mile | 30 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Bennington | ||
| 1955-10-24 | 2 | 43°22'N / 72°30'W | 1.00 Mile | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Windsor | ||
| 1957-06-18 | 2 | 45°00'N / 72°52'W | 45°03'N / 72°49'W | 3.00 Miles | 500 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Franklin | |
| 1960-06-24 | 2 | 44°38'N / 72°54'W | 2.00 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Lamoille | ||
| 1961-06-13 | 2 | 44°56'N / 73°06'W | 44°58'N / 72°56'W | 7.90 Miles | 300 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Franklin | |
| 1962-05-20 | 2 | 44°48'N / 72°48'W | 1.80 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Franklin | ||
| 1962-07-09 | 2 | 43°18'N / 72°36'W | 43°22'N / 72°28'W | 7.60 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Windsor | |
| 1962-07-09 | 2 | 43°16'N / 72°30'W | 43°18'N / 72°24'W | 4.70 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 3K | 0 | Windsor | |
| 1966-08-11 | 2 | 43°18'N / 72°28'W | 1.00 Mile | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Windsor | ||
| 1969-05-29 | 2 | 43°12'N / 73°06'W | 0.50 Mile | 33 Yards | 0 | 1 | 25K | 0 | Bennington | ||
| 1970-08-03 | 2 | 44°48'N / 73°12'W | 44°50'N / 73°06'W | 4.50 Miles | 150 Yards | 0 | 7 | 25K | 0 | Franklin | |
| 1983-08-08 | 2 | 44°32'N / 73°09'W | 0.20 Mile | 10 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Chittenden | ||
| 1998-05-31 | 2 | 42°57'N / 73°17'W | 42°56'N / 73°11'W | 5.50 Miles | 400 Yards | 0 | 0 | 630K | 0 | Bennington | |
| Brief Description: During the morning hours of May 31, a strong low pressure system over the upper Great Lakes pushed a warm front across eastern New York and western New England. This set the stage for a major severe weather outbreak in southern Vermont. In this highly sheared environment several lines of severe thunderstorms formed ahead of an approaching cold front, which resulted in one tornado and several severe thunderstorms. The F2 tornado in Bennington County is the continuation of the tornado that crossed Saratoga and Rensselaer Counties in eastern New York. The tornado entered the county as an F2 but quickly weakened to an F1. The tornado followed route 67 from the state line through North Bennington to the South Shaftsbury area. The tornado dissipated approximately two miles east of South Shaftsbury along Lower East Road. This tornado produced extensive damage to many homes in North Bennington and South Shaftsbury. The Bennington College grounds were hard hit with many trees blown over or sheared apart. Approximately 8,000 customers lost power with some locations remaining without power for two to three days. Severe thunderstorms also downed trees, power lines and utility poles at several locations in southern Vermont. A severe thunderstorm at Shaftsbury in Bennington County produced large hail. | |||||||||||
| 2002-06-05 | 2 | 43°11'N / 72°44'W | 43°11'N / 72°44'W | 0.10 Mile | 150 Yards | 0 | 0 | 75K | 0 | Windham | |
| Brief Description: Thunderstorms, that initially developed in New York, and produced a macroburst in extreme eastern New York, moved into southern Vermont during the evening of the 5th. The storms spawned two tornados, one in Woodford Hollow, Bennington County and the other one near Wilmington, Windham County. The first touchdown, one mile north from Route 9, produced a swath 150 yards wide and a path length of one half mile. Many trees, as large as a foot in diamter, were either knocked over or ripped apart. Trees also fell on three automobiles. This tornado was assesed to be a F1 intensity, with winds estimated between 80 and 100 mph. The second tornado, 4 miles northeast of Wilmington, was even stronger despite a narrower swath of 50 yards. The path length was also about a half mile. This tornado, in addition to blowing some trees down, mostly destroyed a sturdy house on Haynes Road. The garage of the house was blown off its foundation. The family room was ripped off the end of the house, nearly killing the owner. Luckily the owner escaped without any injuries. However, antiques in the attic of the home, as well as numerous other possessions from throughout the house, were spread out for miles downwind, and a propane tanke was missing. The winds with this tornado were estimated between 125 and 150 mph. Non-tornadic thunderstorm winds blew some trees down in the town of Pownal. Lightnting struck a home in North Bennington causing a very small fire with minimal damage to the structure of the house. | |||||||||||
* The information on this page is based on the global volcano database, the U.S. earthquake database of 1638-1985, and the U.S. Tornado and Weather Extremes database of 1950-2010.