Burlington, Vt. – After two back-to-back record-wet summers, northern New York and Vermont just closed out one of their driest summers in more than a century, with 2025 ranking as the second driest since 1894. Rainfall totals were 4 to 7 inches below normal across the region, leaving widespread signs of drought stress by late August.
According to the National Weather Service in Burlington, summer precipitation measured only 7.64 inches in Burlington, down from more than 15 inches last year. Montpelier reported 5.45 inches, less than half of 2024’s 12.52 inches. In St. Johnsbury, totals dropped to 5.22 inches after last year’s 20.97-inch summer, underscoring the severity of the seasonal shift.
The drier-than-normal stretch followed two years of near-historic rainfall, including 2023’s record-setting totals, when some sites logged the wettest conditions since 1894. This summer’s rainfall deficit left water supplies reduced, soils parched, and drought conditions expanding across central and northern Vermont as well as New York’s North Country.
Temperatures averaged only 1 to 2 degrees above seasonal norms, thanks to periodic cooler intervals that kept the heat from becoming extreme. Still, the combination of prolonged sunshine and a sharp drop in rainfall heightened wildfire risk and stressed agriculture across the Champlain Valley and beyond.
Conditions are expected to remain dry into early fall, and officials warn additional advisories could be issued if rainfall stays limited.
