Apparent tornado leaves path of destruction in Orange County
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By Peter Hirschfeld Vermont Press Bureau - Published: May 10, 2009
WASHINGTON – An apparent tornado carved a path of destruction through the heart of this Orange County town Saturday afternoon as high winds tore the roof off a six-unit apartment building and razed a sizable barn.
At least three area residents said they witnessed a funnel cloud touch down in the village of Washington during a severe storm that displaced six families and caused hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage.
Capt. Ryan Bresette of the Washington Fire Department lives near the affected area and said he saw the twister from his home.
"These dark gray clouds parted, and it just came rushing down, and it was a true tornado," Bresette said. "I saw it with my own eyes. I couldn't believe it."
Linda Vermette owns and lives in the white, two-story apartment building on Route 110 in the center of the village. She said she had been watching the thunderstorm come in on an open air porch.
"The wind started coming in, so we went inside," Vermette said. "Then all of a sudden the house just shook and rumbled. We thought a tree hit the house, but then we went outside and saw what really happened."
The flat rubber roof had gone airborne and landed in a crumpled heap in Vermette's back yard. A truck owned by her husband, Armond, was covered in wood sheathing, sheet metal and thick rubber that had just minutes earlier been affixed to the vinyl-sided, circa 1900 building.
Bricks from three chimneys in Vermette's building scattered like Legos across the lawn. A flagpole, anchored by a large granite block in the front of the local post office, had toppled onto a side street.
"I couldn't believe it," Vermette said. "It just happened so fast. Within seconds it was over."
All but one family had found temporary housing with friends or family, Vermette said. By 6:30 p.m., about an hour after the apparent twister hit, scores of area residents had poured into village streets to witness the phenomenon and help affected tenants move clothing, electronics, food and mattresses out of the water-soaked apartments.
"We've got water everywhere," said Norm Vermette, walking across his sopping-wet carpet in a second-story apartment.
Heavy rain continued after the roof blew off and saturated the bulk of many residents' belongings.
Pieces of roof clung to treetops 100 yards away. Stands of cedar were leveled by the storm, and two giant maples – one in Vermette's lawn, the other at the entrance of the nearby Washington Elementary School – snapped and fell in the heavy winds.
Bresette said no one was injured.
"We've been checking everywhere and we haven't heard of any injuries," he said.
Vermont meteorologists contacted Saturday evening were unable to confirm a tornado, though officials at Vermont Emergency Management said the National Weather Service is investigating.
Storm damage was comparatively minor elsewhere in the state with no injuries reported and minimal property damage.
In Cambridge, a culvert near the Wrongway Bridge on Route 15 East backed up causing flooding and in Middlebury three or four local roads were closed due to downed tree limbs, according to Vermont Emergency Management. Local road crews and power utilities were handling the situations. Fairbanks Museum and Planetarium weather forecaster Steve Maleski said large hail was reported in Bridport.
Hunter Shaw lives in a brick home a few doors down from the apartment building. He and Harry Roush had been planting onions and leeks outside for much of the day and were just finishing up when the storm picked up.
"It was not looking good," Shaw said. "There were dark skies, a lot of rumbling."
Shaw said the tornado appeared from over a hill to the west and headed down toward the village.
"It was rotating and loud, almost like a grinding sound," Shaw said. "I ran inside and was halfway to the cellar yelling 'Tornado! Get in the cellar!'"
Shaw and Roush holed up in the basement and said they could hear the twister pass overhead. A 50-foot-by-100-foot hoop barn about 500 yards away, they said, was on the ground flopping in the wind when they got outside.
"Just not something you'd ever expect to see around here," Shaw said.
Vermette, who has lived in the apartment building since she and her husband purchased the place in 1970, said the structure is fully insured.
Though damage to the house is extensive, Vermette, 61, said she feels fortunate no one was hurt.
"I'm just glad everyone's all right," Vermette said. "It's the last thing we ever expected, but no one got hurt and that's the main thing."