Burlington, Vermont Power Outage Today

Storm season and outages in Burlington

NOAA’s Storm Events Database lists 133 storm reports for Chittenden County from 2015 through 2025, most often thunderstorm wind (90), hail (19), flash flood (11), and flood (9). The busiest full year was 2016 with 17 reports and the quietest was 2023 with 8, so the risk changes a lot from one year to the next.

Reports peak in July (51 since 2015), followed by May and June. October is outside those three months, so an outage now is less likely to be weather-related.

NOAA’s own narratives name power outages in 57 storm episodes in Chittenden County since 2015, most often in January. That count is a floor, since the database records outages only when a spotter or agency mentions them.

What the most common storm types in Burlington do to the grid:

• Thunderstorm wind. Straight-line wind pushes trees and limbs into distribution lines. These outages are usually local, a street or a neighborhood at a time, and crews clear them circuit by circuit.
• Flood. Floodwater reaches ground-level transformers, meters and low-lying substations. Utilities may shut power off ahead of the water on purpose, and wading near flooded equipment can electrocute.

Storm reports that name Burlington

Within Chittenden County, 22 NOAA storm reports since 2015 name Burlington as their location or in their description: thunderstorm wind (17), flood (3), and flash flood (2). That is about 17% of the county’s reports. Reports naming Burlington are most common in July. The busiest full year was 2019 with 6.

Who a power outage hits hardest in Burlington

70.5% of occupied homes in Burlington are heated with piped natural gas, and 19.3% with electricity (US 41.3% electric). A gas furnace still needs electricity for its blower and ignition, so a long winter outage leaves these homes cold too, though a gas supply stays on when the grid fails. Never heat a home with an oven, grill or camp stove indoors.

Residents aged 65 or older are 12.1% of the population in Burlington, below the US share of 17.2% and 13.7% report a disability (US 13.3%). These are the households most likely to depend on powered medical equipment such as oxygen concentrators, CPAP machines and refrigerated medicine. If someone in your home does, ask the utility whether it keeps a priority or medical-needs list, and register before the next storm rather than during it.

About the housing: 61.2% of the housing in Burlington was built before 1970 (US 35.5%), and older neighborhoods often have overhead service lines and mature trees close to the wires, which makes them more exposed to storm outages; 58.5% of households rent (US 34.8%), so many residents depend on a landlord to restore building systems and cannot add a generator or battery themselves.

Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 (housing, heating fuel, age and disability tables).

If the power is out in Burlington

About 44,843 people live in Burlington, the largest of the 4 Vermont cities on this site. Report the outage to the utility so a ticket exists for your address, then check Burlington Electric Department’s outage map for an estimate. If neighbors have power and you do not, report it again: the fault may be on the line to your house alone, which is a separate repair.

Burlington power outage map

Burlington Electric Department’s outage map has the official restoration estimate for your address; the count above comes from residents. Food and generator safety: power outage guide.

Burlington power outage questions