Close To 10,000 Remain Without Power In New Hampshire: Dec. 18 Storm Update

CONCORD, NH — Blustery wind and downpours caused tens of thousands of electric customers in New Hampshire to lose power Monday.

At the height of the storm, around 80,000 customers in the state were without power. According to the National Weather Service, anywhere from an inch to 3 inches of rain fell on the various locations around the state.

Most communities received between 1.5 and 2.5 inches of rain in Concord and the capital region. On the Seacoast, communities received around 1.5 inches of rain. But some inland Rockingham County communities received 2 to 2.5 inches. According to spotters, most Hillsborough County communities received 2 to 3 inches of rain.

Major Flooding, River Depths Reported

Several rivers reached extremely dangerous flood water levels, according to forecasters.

The Saco River in Bartlett, for example, reached 14 feet deep around noon on Monday. By 7:45 p.m., the river was nearly 18 feet deep in Conway, the NWS said. The Pemigewasset River in Plymouth surged to more than 20 feet deep. The Piscataquog River in Goffstown repeatedly reached more than 10 feet at 7:45 p.m. on Monday. Around 8:30 p.m., the Warner River in Davisville had reached about 8.5 feet deep. The Suncook River reached 9 feet deep in North Chichester around 11:15 a.m.

Flood warnings were also issued for the Souhegan, Suncook, and Ammonoosuc rivers.

As the rain moves out of the state, continue to practice flood safety. Some rivers are not expected to crest until later today or early Tuesday. Avoid driving if you can. It's more difficult to see flood waters and potential hazards in the dark. #ReadyNH #NHwx #BeSafe #BePrepared pic.twitter.com/z0Vckh7wev
— NH Homeland Security and Emergency Management (@NH_HSEM) December" class="redactor-linkify-object">https://twitter.com/NH_HSEM/st... 18, 2023

According to forecasters and state safety officials, wind gusts reached up to 65 mph.

Flood warnings remain in place through Tuesday morning.

“Excessive runoff may result in flooding of rivers, creeks, streams, and other low-lying and flood-prone locations,” a National Weather Service alert said. “Area creeks and streams are running high and could flood with more heavy rain.”

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As of 9 p.m., about 10,000 were still without power in the state, with electricity not expected to be restored by some companies until Tuesday evening.

Eversource reported around 5,500 customers were still without power while electricity had been restored to more than 51,000 households.

The company requested customers to stay away from downed power lines as crews continued to work during the evening to restore power to its remaining customers.

“We know the timing of this storm is terrible as people are trying to enjoy time off or prepare for the Christmas holiday,” Eversource New Hampshire President of Electric Operations Doug Foley said. “The fierce winds and heavy rains brought down trees and limbs that caused significant damage to the electric system and widespread power outages in communities across every region of the Granite State. We have hundreds of crews on the ground working as we’ve continued to take on damage and outages throughout the day with the weakened state of trees and heavily saturated ground following other recent storms making downed trees and limbs more likely. Our employees are committed to working around-the-clock until all of our customers affected by this storm have their power back.”

Unitil, which had more than 11,000 customers without power during the storm, expects all of its customers to be restored by Tuesday evening.

“The majority of what is left in the Seacoast area are scattered outages of 50 or less customers apiece,” Unitil External Affairs Manager Alec O’Meara said. “As the larger possible pickups are completed, the restoration process slows, as fewer and fewer customers are brought on with each successive repair. However, conditions have improved since earlier today and crews will continue to work until all customers have been restored.”

Around 9 p.m., the company had around 2,000 customers without power, with only a handful in Concord and the capital region.

About 2,000 New Hampshire Electric Co-Op customers were without power at around 9 p.m. All of the outages in the North Country, Lakes Region, and Upper Valley, were less than 250 customers for each community.

Liberty Utilities reported around 250 customers without power in Atkinson, Pelham, Salem, and the Upper Valley.

The latest weather conditions can be found on the front page of every Patch.com site in the United States, including the 14 New Hampshire Patch news and community websites covering Amherst, Bedford, Concord, Exeter, Hampton, Londonderry, Manchester, Merrimack, Milford, Nashua, North Hampton, Portsmouth, Salem, Windham, and Across NH. Local weather reports for New Hampshire are posted on Sundays and Thursdays. Alerts are published when needed.

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