One Year Later: A Look at NH's Near Miss with Irene

As we think back to this day last year, New Hampshire residents were spending the early-morning hours gathering last minute supplies, filling their generators and awaiting possible Hurricane-strength destruction, the likes of which the Granite State hadn't seen in decades.

As it turned out, Hurricane Irene was downgraded to a tropical storm by the time it made landfall in New Hampshire, and a last-minute westerly turn brought the majority of heavy rain, flooding and destruction to areas of New York, Vermont and the western part of our state.

But that didn't mean we escaped our . Strong winds and steady rain brought down trees and power lines. One when he was hit with a falling branch, and thousands of Granite Staters went without electricity for hours and, in some cases, days.

Today, we look back, thankful that the images of torn-out bridges and the mass destruction exhibited in neighboring states was not our own, yet still wary of the possibilities should another storm find its way to New Hampshire.

Glance through the attached image gallery with pictures of damage in Bedford and other parts of the state, look back at our , and feel free to upload your own photos (above) and memories (in the comment section below) of this day in 2011.

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