Slippery Roads On Wednesday, Thursday In New Hampshire: Forecasters

GRAY, ME — While spring may be approaching, more winter weather is coming to New Hampshire, and forecasters and emergency management officials want Granite Staters to be prepared.

A low-pressure system, offering blizzard conditions in the Midwest and Great Lakes, will be heading to the state on Wednesday night through Thursday night, the National Weather Service said Wednesday. The snow was expected to be heavy, with a mix of sleet into Thursday.

Forecasters said more snow was also expected on Thursday night into Friday, but accumulations will be less.

After the Friday storm moves out of the area, expect gusty winds and colder temperatures.

AccuWeather.com forecasters were calling for slightly higher snow accumulations.

In the southern and central parts of the state, anywhere from 1 to 6 inches of snow was expected, with a thick band of 3 to 6 inches anticipated north of Nashua to Concord. According to forecasters, the Lakes Region and North County could get anywhere from 6 to 18 inches of snow — with a “StormMax” alert of up to 28 inches.

State emergency management officials warned residents to “take action” and have “confidence in the winter storm’s impact is high, and the storm is imminent or ongoing.”

HSEM Director Robert Buxton said residents should take “simple preparedness steps” to stay safe, including having and restocking a winter emergency kit, staying informed by listening to local weather reports, and signing up for NH Alerts.

Due to expected hazardous driving conditions, the New Hampshire Department of Transportation warned commuters to prepare for issues on Thursday morning and evening.

“Plan ahead if you must travel during winter weather,” DOT Commissioner Bill Cass said. “Expect snow to accumulate on the roads between plow runs and travel at appropriate speeds for the conditions. Please leave extra time to reach your destination and leave extra room between you and other vehicles. And please don’t crowd the plow.”

Buxton and Cass offered these winter weather reminders:

• Visit ReadyNH.gov for more preparedness tips to help you and your family stay safe.
• Consider working or schooling from home so crews can safely clear the roads.
• Slow down and move over for emergency vehicles.
• Before traveling, clear all snow and ice off your car, roof, around lights, and license plates.
• Bridges, overpasses, and exposed road areas are the most prone to slippery conditions.
• Find the latest road conditions at newengland511.org.
• Plan two ways out of your home in case of an emergency.
• Clear the driveway and front walk from ice and snow. This will provide easy access to your home.

William Hinkle, the media relations manager from Eversource, said the company was closely monitoring several forecasts and making preparations as necessary to respond to any potential power outages.

"We’ve taken steps to ensure that our system and equipment are ready, and we have secured additional contract crews to support our response," he said. "With a mix of winter precipitation in the forecast across the state, we’re particularly focused on the potential for significant amounts of heavy wet, snow, isolated icing, and gusty conditions — prepositioning crews and resources at our area work centers across the state based on the forecast."

Unitil also let its customers know it was preparing for the storm's impact.

“With a messy storm like the one forecasted, what we monitor closely is the type of precipitation that falls and the consistency of any snow,” Unitil Media Relations Manager Alec O’Meara said. “Sleet and normal-to dry snow tend not to stick to surfaces, while freezing rain and wet, heavy snow can damage trees and tree branches, which can cause outages.”

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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