The VIX spiked to 69.47 at 4:07 p.m. ET, just a few minutes after the equity markets closed (the VIX is calculated up until 4:15 p.m. ET, when index options trading ends) and settled at 69.25 for the day.
This makes today the second highest close ever for the VIX, behind the 69.95 from last Friday.
To put things into perspective:
by Bill Luby (VIX and More )