A flood watch has been issued for most of New Hampshire north and west of Manchester. A coastal flood watch has also been issued for coastal Rockingham county from Monday afternoon through the evening.
Gusty winds will increase to 20 to 35 miles per hour with some gusts reaching 40 to 50 miles per hour along the coast, according to forecasters.
The National Weather Service said Monday morning that the threat of moderate to major flooding would likely increase during the day, “especially in headwaters areas likely to experience significant snow melt.” That includes the Pemigewasset River in Plymouth and Woodstock, the Saco River in Bartlett and the Ammonoosuc River in Bethlehem.
In communities along the Pemigewasset River, roads were closed Monday morning and residents were evacuated from their homes.
Woodstock Fire Chief John Mackay said parts of Route 112 and Route 175 were closed Monday, and the fire department evacuated two cabins that were experiencing flooding. He said they were watching for danger as floodwaters rose near large propane tanks, and may evacuate people in the area below those tanks if waters continued rising.
“This is starting to come close to Hurricane Irene several years ago,” Mackay said.
The state has partially activated its emergency operations center “to support communities that are experiencing damage from severe rain, flooding and wind.”
Officials are urging people to exercise caution, be alert for crews clearing debris and to never drive through flooded roadways. Drivers can monitor road closures at www.newengland511.org.
Outages
As of 11:45 a.m. Monday, more than 30,000 people were without power statewide. The majority of those were Eversource customers. State safety officials are reminding people to stay away from downed wires and to not run a generator indoors.
Closings
WMUR reports nearly three dozen early dismissals and afternoon activity cancellations for local school districts, mostly in the White Mountains region. You can find a full list of closings and delays here.
Source: NHPR
