Franklin County, Vermont severe weather history spans 260 recorded events between 1957 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 53.8% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,045 nationally and #9 in Vermont.
260
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
10
Direct injuries
$514.7M
Property damage
The record
What the Franklin County, Vermont severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Franklin County, Vermont severe weather history averages 3.8 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 79 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 34 events fall before 1990 and 226 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Franklin County, Vermont record is lightning, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is flood, with $501.2M in reported property damage. In total, 9 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Franklin County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 140 | 0 | $2.1M | 87 | 1958–2025 |
| Hail | 71 | 0 | $8K | 2.5 | 1958–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 18 | 0 | $10.6M | 0 | 1997–2023 |
| Flood | 13 | 0 | $501.2M | 0 | 2006–2023 |
| Tornado | 8 | 0 | $605K | F2 | 1957–1973 |
| Lightning | 4 | 1 | $100K | 0 | 1996–2015 |
| Heavy Rain | 3 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2002–2005 |
| Strong Wind | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2000–2001 |
| Funnel Cloud | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2003–2003 |
Decade by decade
Franklin County, Vermont severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
8 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 7 touched down inside it and 1 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970-08-03 | EF2 | 0 | 7 | 4.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1963-07-04 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 5.9 mi | Crossed in |
| 1962-05-20 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 1961-06-13 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 7.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 1957-06-18 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1972-07-19 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1961-07-18 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1953-06-21 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Franklin County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 12, 2004 | Lightning | BAKERSFIELD | 1 | 1 | $0 |
| Aug 3, 1970 | Tornado | 0 | 7 | $25K | |
| Aug 31, 1993 | Thunderstorm Wind | Enosburg Falls | 0 | 1 | $500K |
| Jun 9, 1987 | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 | 1 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Heavy rainfall from Tropical Storm Irene caused flooding across Franklin County VT. Along the Missisquoi River and its tributaries, floodwaters inundated and forced the closures of routes 105, 118, and 108. The Missisquoi River at East Berkshire crested at 14.13 feet at 1:00 am EST August 29. Flood stage is 13.0 feet.
A cold front stalled across northern Vermont during the morning hours of July 15, 1997 and focused heavy convective rain during the morning of July 15. This resulted in numerous road and bridge washouts, especially in eastern Franklin county. Extensive flooding of tributary rivers was followed by flooding of larger rivers. Flooding of the Trout River was especially severe and resulted in major road and bridge washouts in Montgomery Center.
Numerous roads flooded with full and partial road washouts and swift water rescues in Montgomery, Enosburg Falls and Richford vicinity. Additional flooding later in te day as a result of river flooding from the Missisquoi river.||Flash flooding transitioned to areal flooding in and outside of the initial flash flooding area including the Missisquoi river and its tributaries.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
50,638
Population (ACS)
$307K
Median home value
30
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 8, 2024 | Tropical Storm | TROPICAL DEPRESSION DEBBY | EM |
| Apr 19, 2024 | Severe Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM | DR |
| Jul 14, 2023 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR |
| Jul 10, 2023 | Flood | FLOODING | EM |
| Mar 20, 2023 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORM AND FLOODING | DR |
| Aug 22, 2021 | Hurricane | TROPICAL STORM HENRI | EM |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Franklin County, Vermont?
260 events are on record between 1957 and 2025, causing 1 direct deaths and $514.7M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Franklin County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 140 recorded events — 53.8% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Franklin County?
8 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 7 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Franklin County?
30 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Franklin County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Franklin County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Franklin County as very low risk, placing it in the 29 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Franklin County, Vermont severe weather history data come from?
Every figure is drawn from United States federal public-domain records: NOAA/NCEI Storm Events for the event archive, NOAA SPC SVRGIS for mapped tornado paths, FEMA for disaster declarations and risk ratings, and the U.S. Census for population context. Dates are shown in UTC and recent entries may still be revised by NOAA.
Nearby
Neighbouring counties
- Essex County 135
- Grand Isle County 95
- Chittenden County 530
- Lamoille County 176
- Orange County 215
- Caledonia County 300
Cite this page
“Franklin County, Vermont.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/vermont/franklin-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.