Tornadoes in Southern Vermont

THE FOLLOWING DESCRIPTION HAS BEEN EXTRACTED FROM A NOAA/NWS NEWSLETTER - THE GREEN MOUNTAIN GAZETTEER.

Bennington County hit

The last day of May brought severe weather to southern Vermont. The hardest hit area was Bennington County where a tornado damaged homes and property in North Bennington. This tornado originated near Round Lake NY and tracked eastward. The greatest damage was done in Mechanicville NY where the tornado reached it greatest intensity with estimated winds of 200 mph.

The tornado moved rapidly eastward into Vermont, producing damage in North Bennington before dissipating in Shaftsbury. Buy the time the tornado moved into Vermont it had weakened considerably from its peak.

        This tornado was one of about two dozen that occurred across New York and southern New England that day. It was one of the biggest tornado outbreaks in the northeast in decades.

        Funnel clouds were also reported that day in the Brattleboro area but no tornadoes were confirmed to have touched down. Strong straight-line winds also did damage to areas of Bennington and Windham Counties.

        This followed more widespread severe weather across Vermont that occurred 2 days before the tornado outbreak.

For additional details on the meteorological background and images from this tornado outbreak, have a look at the Storm Summary from the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Albany, New York.

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