Vermont winter storms
Every recorded winter storm record since 1996 · 14 counties with a record
NOAA's Storm Events Database records 4,758 winter storm records in Vermont from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 157 a year since 2000. The deadliest was the February 12, 2008 winter weather in Addison County: 3 deaths and $27,000 in damage in 2025 dollars. Vermont ranks 28th of 51 states and territories by count and 3rd of 50 per square mile.
Winter storms in Vermont, 1996 to 2026
Winter storm records per year (NOAA Storm Events); 2026 to June 30, 2026.
- recorded, no damage figure
- under $1 million
- $1 million or more
- $10 million or more
- $100 million or more, or 10 deaths
- $1 billion or more, or 100 deaths
- a year's colour: its recorded damage or deaths
- a year with a death
- Records
- 4,7581996 to June 30, 2026
- A year since 2000
- 157average
- Deaths
- 2810 injuries
- Damage, 2025 dollars
- $80Mas filed
- Busiest year
- 2007309 records
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; deaths and damage as filed, damage in 2025 dollars. Search the record at NCEI.
Are winter storm records common in Vermont?
Vermont averages about 157 winter storm records a year since 2000, 28th of 51 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2007 (309). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Vermont records 5162 winter storm records since 1996, 3rd of 50 states and territories by that measure.
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1996, per 10,000 square miles of land area (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer; places under 1,000 square miles not ranked). Damage colours: Storm Events damage, 2025 dollars.
Which counties in Vermont have the most winter storm records?
Per square mile, Lamoille County leads Vermont: 325 days with a winter storm record since 1996, 704.6 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Chittenden County has the most winter storm records (463 since 1996); large counties collect more records simply by covering more ground, so the ranking counts days with a record per unit of area (a storm filed for several forecast zones adds several records but one day).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, days with a record in the county since 1996 per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer); in brackets, the count of records.
When is winter storm season in Vermont?
47% of its winter storm records since 1996 fell in December and January. The busiest month is January (1,124 records).
The values, month by month
Jan 1,124 · Feb 1,028 · Mar 792 · Apr 259 · May 10 · Jun 0 · Jul 0 · Aug 0 · Sep 0 · Oct 99 · Nov 352 · Dec 1,094 (records).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1996.
What were the deadliest winter storm records in Vermont?
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008-02-12 | Winter WeatherAddison County · forecast zone Western Addison Low pressure across the southern Mississippi River Valley on the morning of February 12th moved across the Ohio River Valley during the 12th and into New York and New England on the 13th. Snow overspread Vermont during the late evening hours of the 12th and continued into the morning hours of the 13th, where it mixed ... | 3 | 0 | $27K | |
| 2015-12-29 | Winter WeatherRutland County · forecast zone Eastern Rutland Widespread 3 to 5 inches of snow fell across Rutland county as well as a prolonged period of sleet mixed with some freezing rain. Roads were slick from the first winter storm of the 2015-16 season. A tractor-trailer and SUV collided along Route 4 near Killington that resulted in 3 indirect fatalities and 3 injuries. | 3 | 0 | $25K | |
| 2008-01-11 | Winter WeatherOrleans County · forecast zone Orleans An automobile accident involving two cars occured on Shattuck Hill Road in Derby during the late morning. It resulted in two fatalities and one injury. | 2 | 1 | $34K | |
| 2015-01-18 | Winter WeatherChittenden County · forecast zone Western Chittenden A heavy wet snow of 2 to 4 inches fell across eastern Chittenden county, yet the main culprit was very icy roads due to rain on very cold road surfaces that led to numerous vehicle accidents. This included a motor vehicle accident on Interstate 289 in Essex that left two fatalities and one injured. | 2 | 0 | $31K | |
| 2006-12-30 | Winter WeatherCaledonia County · forecast zone Caledonia A significant mid-level disturbance, with an associated surface low, moved southeast across southern Vermont during the late morning and early afternoon on the 30th. Snow began across Vermont around dawn and ended by mid to late afternoon with snowfall accumulations of 2 to 6 inches with isolated greater amounts in ... | 2 | 0 | $15K | |
| 2011-02-01 | Winter WeatherChittenden County · forecast zone Western Chittenden One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. A weak mid-atmospheric disturbance and inverted surface trough moved across Vermont during the afternoon of February 1st. A light snowfall occurred for much of the afternoon and early evening before ending prior to a significant snowfall event on February 2nd. Snowfall amounts were generally a dusting to 3 inches ... | 2 | 0 | $13K | |
| 2000-01-07 | Winter WeatherWindsor County · forecast zone Windsor A cold front moved across the area ushering in colder air. Periods of wet snow accompanied the front with falling temperatures. Roads became very slick with numerous accidents reported. Accidents on I-91 resulted in closure of portions of that interstate around Ascutney. One death resulted of a young boy and serious ... | 1 | 2 | $86K | |
| 2011-03-06 | Winter StormCaledonia County · forecast zone Caledonia Snowfall amounts of 18 to 24 inches were reported in Caledonia county, including 24 inches in Sutton, 21 inches in Walden and Lyndonville and 20 inches in St. Johnsbury. A two year old boy in Danville was accidentally killed in his driveway due to being struck by a family truck during snow removal operations. | 1 | 0 | $52K | |
| 2011-01-12 | Winter StormRutland County · forecast zone Eastern Rutland Generally 8 to 15 inches of snow fell across Rutland county with the higher amounts along the western slopes of the Green Mountains. Some specific snowfall totals included; 14 inches in Danby Four Corners, 12 inches in Castleton and 10 inches in Rutland. | 1 | 0 | $20K | |
| 1997-12-01 | Heavy SnowWashington County · forecast zone Washington An area of low pressure off the Middle Atlantic coast Sunday night (11/30/97) moved to near Cape Cod early Monday (12/01/97) and continued to move northeast thereafter. Snow and freezing rain developed during late Sunday night (11/30/97) and continued in the form of periods of snow Monday (12/01/97) into early Tuesday ... | 1 | 0 | $37K |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths direct and indirect, as filed by the National Weather Service, summed over each storm (one episode, or one named storm filed by several offices). Storm names from the titles of FEMA declarations that name the storm's counties.
The costliest winter storm records in Vermont
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998-01-06 | Ice StormChittenden County · forecast zone Chittenden One storm episode: 4 records in 4 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 1 | $10M | |
| 2013-12-20 | Ice StormFranklin County · forecast zone Western Franklin One storm episode: 7 records in 5 places, 2013-12-20 to 2013-12-21; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $5.3M | |
| 2007-02-14 | Heavy SnowWashington County · forecast zone Washington One storm episode: 9 records in 9 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $2.9M | |
| 2010-02-23 | Winter StormWindsor County · forecast zone Windsor One storm episode: 4 records in 4 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $2.3M | |
| 1997-03-31 | Winter StormBennington County · forecast zone Bennington One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $1.4M | |
| 2014-12-09 | Winter StormWashington County · forecast zone Washington One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $623K | |
| 2008-12-11 | Winter StormWindsor County · forecast zone Windsor | 0 | 0 | $343K | |
| 2018-11-26 | Winter StormWindsor County · forecast zone Windsor | 0 | 0 | $294K |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: property and crop damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, in 2025 dollars.
Are winter storm records becoming more frequent in Vermont?
Vermont's count per decade against the whole country's, and its share. NOAA recorded every event type only from 1996, so earlier decades are not comparable; the share of the national total is the fairer comparison across decades.
| Decade | Vermont | United States | Vermont's share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996-99 | 582 | 32,893 | 1.8% |
| 2000s | 1,974 | 88,805 | 2.2% |
| 2010s | 1,182 | 103,626 | 1.1% |
| 2020-26 | 1,020 | 62,015 | 1.6% |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.
The most recent winter storm records in Vermont
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-02-22 | Winter WeatherWindham County · forecast zone Eastern Windham | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-02-22 | Winter WeatherWindham County · forecast zone Western Windham | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-02-22 | Winter WeatherBennington County · forecast zone Bennington | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-02-20 | Winter WeatherGrand Isle County · forecast zone Grand Isle | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-02-20 | Winter WeatherWashington County · forecast zone Washington | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-02-20 | Winter WeatherWindham County · forecast zone Western Windham | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-02-20 | Winter WeatherWindham County · forecast zone Eastern Windham | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-02-20 | Winter WeatherBennington County · forecast zone Bennington | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-02-20 | Winter WeatherLamoille County · forecast zone Lamoille | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-02-20 | Winter WeatherFranklin County · forecast zone Western Franklin | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-02-20 | Winter WeatherAddison County · forecast zone Western Addison | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-02-20 | Winter StormOrange County · forecast zone Orange | 0 | 0 | – |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; the newest months are revised by NCEI as reports arrive. Search the record at NCEI.
Federal disaster declarations for winter storm records in Vermont
FEMA has declared 7 disasters in Vermont for winter storm, counting its incident type and declarations that name snow or winter storm or ice storm or blizzard in the title (FEMA files most storm disasters under Severe Storm); 6 were major disasters, the latest on April 19, 2024.
| Declared | Number | Title | Areas named |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-04-19 | DR-4770 | Severe Winter Storm | 5 |
| 2015-02-03 | DR-4207 | Severe Winter Storm | 10 |
| 2014-01-29 | DR-4163 | Severe Winter Storms | 7 |
| 2009-01-14 | DR-1816 | Severe Winter Storm | 2 |
| 2001-04-10 | EM-3167 | Snow | 9 |
| 1998-01-15 | DR-1201 | Severe Ice Storms, Rain, High Winds and Flooding | 6 |
| 1993-05-12 | DR-990 | Heavy Rain, Snowmelt & Flooding | 4 |
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), through October 2, 2026. OpenFEMA dataset page.
Next
- Lamoille County: the county's whole recordThe Vermont county with the most winter storm records per square mile
- Winter storms across the United StatesEvery state ranked, by year and month
- Every natural hazard in VermontTornadoes, floods, storms, heat and the federal declarations
- Severe thunderstorm wind in Vermont2,342 records
- High wind and dust storms in Vermont1,086 records
- Floods in Vermont911 records