A week after historic flooding inundated Vermont, another 1 to 2 inches of rain fell over most of the state Sunday, according to the National Weather Service. Some areas — particularly Chittenden, Addison and Orleans counties — saw 2.5 to 3 inches.
But according to Rodney Chai, a meteorologist with the weather service’s Burlington office, it could have been far worse — as it was in New Hampshire and southern New England.
“We kind of dodged a bullet here today,” he said. “Things were not as bad as we anticipated.”
Even still, according to Chai, the weather service received multiple reports of mudslides and landslides around the state Sunday. Early Saturday morning, a mudslide destroyed a home in Ripton and forced the evacuation of about a dozen people.
Mark Bosma, a spokesperson for Vermont Emergency Management, said Sunday afternoon that the agency was aware of flooded roads but had not received any reports of damage that day.
It was not immediately clear whether the precipitation contributed to a fatal car crash that took place Sunday morning in Glastenbury.
Shortly before 7:30 a.m., according to Vermont State Police, a Pontiac Vibe traveling north on Route 7 crashed into a guardrail and ejected a passenger, Dorothy Oshea, 71, of Bennington. She was taken to Albany Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead. The driver, Bradley Hilchey, and another passenger were uninjured.
Police reported that the accident took place in heavy rain and that there was standing water in the road at the time. According to Bosma, the state Office of the Chief Medical Examiner would be charged with determining whether the death was related to recent flooding.
Vermont remained under a flood watch into Sunday night and water levels on the Otter Creek reached minor flood stage, according to the weather service. Most other rivers in the state remained high but below flood stage.
Though Monday is expected to be far drier, according to Chai, Vermont is set to experience another threat: poor air quality due to smoke from Canadian wildfires. The air quality index is likely to reach the low 100s, which is unhealthy for certain groups of people.
“It’s going to bring back memories of the smoky skies before all this rain began,” Chai said.
