Heavy Rain, Gusty Wind, And A 40-Degree Temperature Shift: NH Weather Update

GRAY, ME — Power companies are preparing for an unusual weather event on Friday, which is expected to feature inches of heavy rain, high winds, flooding, power outages, and then flash freezing in the evening across New Hampshire.

The National Weather Service issued three alerts on Thursday warning of “significant weather conditions” on Friday. The alerts run from 7 a.m. on Friday through 7 a.m. on Saturday.

Rain and warm temperatures are expected south of the Lakes Region for most of the day Friday, but cold air moving into the state during the evening will cause flash freezing on roadways and icy driving conditions. As much as two inches of rain was expected in New Hampshire. Forecasters expected temperatures to begin dropping around 7 p.m., and there could be a temperature shift of at least 40 degrees.

AccuWeather.com said snow, sleet, and freezing rain could make for slippery travel conditions throughout the Northeast and New England.

The NWS also issued a flood watch for Friday morning through Saturday morning.

“Widespread flooding is possible given the combination of rainfall and snowmelt,” the alert stated. “The rain will fall on frozen ground, which will increase runoff and could produce flash flooding. The snowpack along the coastal plains will be significantly reduced if not completely melted out.”

The alert stated that the snowpack would hold in the interior and mountain regions of the state but would be reduced and could result in some additional runoff.

“Cold temperatures on the backside of the storm system could cause flooded areas to freeze in place,” forecasters said.

The wind advisory was in effect from 1 a.m. on Friday to 2 a.m. on Saturday. Southeast winds of 20 to 30 mph were expected, with gusts as high as 50 mph.

“Gusty winds will blow around unsecured objects,” the alert stated. “Tree limbs could be blown down, and a few power outages may result.”

Utility Companies Preparing For Storm

New Hampshire electric utilities let customers and the news media know they are heeding forecasters' warnings and preparing for the storm.

Eversource, which restored power to more than 121,000 customers last week, said the combination of rain and strong wind would bring down trees and tree limbs across the state. The company this week has been searching for “potential trouble spots” and has brought in hundreds of outside employees to help with power restoration if needed.

“We recognize the timing of this storm, right before Christmas and on the heels of last week’s storm, is less than ideal, and we’re taking all necessary actions now so our team is ready to respond to whatever this storm may bring,” Eversource President of Electric Operations in New Hampshire Doug Foley said. “We’ll have crews prepositioned at our work centers throughout the state before the storm hits so they can immediately get to any damaged locations and restore power as quickly as possible. Our employees who work in the field and behind the scenes are ready to give up their holiday time off to ensure that our customers can enjoy their Christmas weekend.”

Unitil also issued a statement saying it, too, was preparing for the “potentially serious nature of the storm” by opening its emergency operations center Friday morning.

“Unitil has a complement of internal and third-party crews prepared to respond … should outages occur,” the company said in an email to customers.

Unitil also shared this preparedness video on YouTube.com.

Eversource reminded customers to stay clear of downed wires and immediately report them to 911. Outages can be reported online at Eversource.com or by calling 800-662-7764. Customers who signed up for the company’s two-way texting feature can send a text to report an outage and receive outage updates as they happen. Additional preparedness tips can be found at Eversource.com.

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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