Vermont flood map: Flooding devastation captured in drone footage amid race to rescue dozens of stranded citizens

Vermont Gov. Phil Scott will host a press conference with Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator Deanne Criswell and the state congressmen at 11:30 a.m. local time Wednesday morning to provide an update on the historic flooding.

In Vermont, the long and grueling salvage operation is slowly beginning after two days of rain that swept the state in two months this week.

In the capital Montpelier, where streets were inundated by the swelling Winooski River on Tuesday, officials said water levels appeared stable at a dam just upstream.

“It looks like it won’t break. That’s good. That’s one less thing we need to have on the front lines,” said Montpelier Town Manager Bill Fraser. (AP)

Although heavy rains are expected to ease over New England during Tuesday, more extreme weather is brewing across the United States.

The Southern Plains and Lower Mississippi Valley are at risk of heavy rain Tuesday, the National Weather Service said in its short-term outlook.

Texas and other parts of the Southwest will continue to experience extreme heat as advisories, vigils and warnings are in place from Florida and Texas to California.

Some parts of Florida would see record/breaking temperatures in the coming days. Combined with the humidity, the “real feeling” of the heat is between 105 and 110 degrees Fahrenheit.

East Texas will hit the high 90s to low 100s on Tuesday, spreading north into more parts of the Southern Plains and Central Plains on Wednesday. Here, too, high humidity leads to heat indices of up to 110 °F.

West Texas and the desert southwest will not have as much humidity, but the air temperature will be hotter, ranging from the mid-100s to mid-110s, with a similarly high risk of heat-related effects.

After extreme rains battered the US Northeast, southern parts of the country are bracing for extreme temperatures, the National Weather Service forecast shows.

The forecaster said there will be “sweltering heat in the southern half of the US” by the end of this week, with “probabilities of a heat index in excess of 100 degrees (above 37C) on Saturday (mid) and Sunday (R)” .

According to the NWS, the next week is expected to be even hotter, with “hazardous” conditions in some parts, as “a heatwave will affect the southern, central and southeastern United States.”

Warnings and extreme heat warnings have already been rolled out in several parts, including southern Nevada, southern California, eastern Arizona, Oklahoma and Texas.

Meanwhile, Flordia will face “dangerous heat” this week “at least through Thursday,” continuing the hot and dry start of the rainy season for parts of the Sunshine State, the Weather Channel reported.

The National Weather Service (NWS) flood warning for parts of Vermont expires at 10:30 a.m. ET today. No further flooding is expected for central, northeast, northwest and southern Vermont, including various counties.

The weather service said heavy rain had stopped across the region. However, light rain is still possible. No new flooding is expected, but existing flooding may be slow to recede, the service warned.

Downtown Montpelier, a city of 8,000, was crowded between the Capitol and the Winooski River. Montpelier City Manager Bill Fraser warned Tuesday that the Wrightsville Dam, several miles north, could exceed capacity for the first time.

“Huge amounts of water would flow into Montpelier, which would drastically increase the existing flood damage,” he said, adding that there were very few evacuation options left. “People in high-risk areas may want to go to the upper floors of their homes.”

Just before noon on Tuesday, Montpelier police said the water had risen to within a foot of the dam crest and that every foot of water overflowing the spillway would double the inflow into the city.

Several rescue workers were stationed in Montpelier, where rescue, police and fire brigade operations were moved to a water treatment plant after severe flooding in the town hall and at the police and fire brigade. The radio towers they use for emergency calls are also not working, said Police Chief Eric Nordenson.

Shelters were set up at churches and town halls, but at least one shelter had to close as flooding intensified. Providing food and water to more than 200 people housed in the Barre Municipal Auditorium was a challenge.

“We’re trying to find ways to get supplies there,” said John Montes, the American Red Cross’s regional disaster officer for northern New England.