[T]he National Weather Service has issued a flash flood watch for 11 Vermont counties, expected to last until 11 p.m. on Thursday.
Worcester-based meteorologist Roger Hill, who reports weather for Radio Vermont, said the areas to watch are headwaters and tributaries across the Central Green Mountains in the Barre and Montpelier area — up to Chittenden and Lamoille and down south towards Rutland.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if this is going to be another washout situation,” Hill said.
A flash flood watch is issued when the conditions for rapid flooding are present, such as heavy rainfall that overwhelms small creeks and streams. Flash flooding can damage culverts and erode town roads and driveways, creating unsafe driving conditions.
“The worst of the flooding issues are going to accrue this afternoon into this evening,” Hill said.
He said lighter showers are expected into Friday morning, with widely scattered showers and thunderstorms over the weekend. Temperatures are predicted to cool back down into the weekend before rising on Sunday into the 70s.
The National Weather Service in Burlington is forecasting 1.5 to 2 inches of rainfall for central parts of the state, with the least amount of precipitation in the northern Champlain Valley and southern counties.
Hill said Vermonters should exercise caution and not pass through flooded roads.
“The old adage from the National Weather Service is turn around, don’t drown,” he said. “Folks will come across an area that looks like a washout and they think they can go through that, but it has caused some fatalities in the past, so I hope they will be careful returning home from work.”