National Weather Service says more flooding is possible Wednesday, but worst is over today

The worst appears to be over for now, as floodwaters recede in the Northeast Kingdom. More showers and thunderstorms are forecast to move into the state today, but they're expected to be isolated, and not very strong.

More from Vermont Public: Parts of Northeast Kingdom hit by flash flooding

Vermonters should instead be prepared for more potential flooding Wednesday.

That's all according to Pete Banacos, the science and operations officer with the National Weather Service in Burlington.

He says showers and embedded thunderstorms should arrive Wednesday afternoon and evening. They may include torrential downpours that could lead to more flash flooding.

"Everyone needs to be on their toes and ready — ready for that potential tomorrow," Banacos says. "We're expecting widespread one inch of rain for most sections, but with some of these thunderstorms, especially those that are slower-moving or do what we call back-building — which means they ... basically train across the same areas — that's where we could see locally higher amounts of rain, perhaps in excess of two inches."

More from Vermont Public: Flash flooding tears through rural communities in Vermont's Northeast Kingdom

He notes that it's too far out to predict where those heavier rains might be.

But Banacos says areas that have already received a lot of rain are where he worries about the most.

"The soils are quite saturated anywhere from Addison County up through Washington County and across most of the Northeast Kingdom," he says. "Those are the areas that I would be most concerned with, because as you get the heavy rain on already saturated soils, it's going to go almost immediately into runoff, and that can create those flash flood issues."

This comes after what Banacos says is a record-setting amount of rain in St. Johnsbury in one day, 8.08 inches.

"And they've been keeping records there since 1894," he says. "The previous record was back in 1913, 4.99 inches."

According to the National Climate Assessment, the Northeast now sees 55% more extreme rain than it did in 1958. And Vermont is expected to see more frequent and more intense extreme rain in the future, as humans continue to burn fossil fuels.

During this most recent round of flooding, so much rain fell over St. Johnsbury and the surrounding area, according to Banacos, because of thunderstorms stalling overhead between midnight and 4 a.m. Tuesday.

"It was quite localized right in the Passumpsic Valley of Caledonia County, and then a little bit up into Essex and Orleans County," he says. "They just didn't move for several hours."

Even with floodwaters receding Tuesday afternoon, the National Weather Service in Burlington is urging Vermonters to heed local law enforcement and town officials regarding road closures, since those roads can be weakened by water damage.

Numerous roads continue to be closed due to washouts — St. Johnsbury officials are updating road conditions on their Facebook page, and more closure information can be found at NewEngland511.org.

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