CONCORD, NH — As expected and predicted, a blustery storm is making its way through New Hampshire and bringing with it, wind gusts of up to 40 mph and power outages across the state.
A hazardous weather outlook and flood watch were issued on Monday morning by the National Weather Service, warning of heavy rain and wind gusts through 1 a.m. on Tuesday. The storm is expected to dump up to 4.5 inches of rain on some parts of New Hampshire. Snow melting in the northern part of the state is expected to create runoff and flooding threats.
“Minor to moderate flooding is possible along main stem rivers as well as streams, many of which are still running high from last week`s rainfall,” the NWS said in an alert. “Widespread low-land and poor drainage flooding is also possible.”
The watch flood is in effect through late Monday night.
Power Outages
Around 11:30 a.m., the state’s four electric companies reported more than 43,000 customers without power in the Granite State — down from a peak of around 50,000 earlier in the day Eversource is reporting the most number of customers out — nearly 30,000.
The largest outages for the company are Wakefield, with nearly 2,600 out, and Pembroke with more than 1,900 customers without power. Pittsburg is reporting 1,700 out while Grantham and Rochester have more than 1,000 without power.
Earlier, the town of Raymond had nearly 3,000 customers out, while Manchester had nearly 2,000 out at one point.
Amherst has more than 500 out, while Manchester has around 420 without power. In Londonderry, 150 are without power. This company reported smaller outages in Bedford, Merrimack, Milford, Nashua, North Hampton, Portsmouth, and Windham, which had more than 1,000 out earlier on Monday.
New Hampshire Electric Co-op reports around 9,500 customers without power, including major outages in Bartlett and Jackson. Most outages are under 500 and centered in the Lakes Region and North Country.
Unitil reports around 7,000 customers without power in both Concord and the capital region and on the Seacoast and Rockingham County. Earlier, 1,200 Concord customers were without power, about 5 percent of the company’s customers in the city. But all but a handful have been restored.
Most of the company’s outages are in the southern part of the state including nearly 1,200 who are without power in Danville. More than 600 are out in Exeter and Kingston. Smaller outages are being reported in Atkinson, Hampstead, Hampton, Hampton Falls, Kensington, Newton, and Plaistow.
“This is a long duration wind event, meaning we expect new outages to appear on the system for the next several hours as crews pick up issues that have already been reported,” Unitil External Affairs Manager Alec O’Meara said. “Additionally, there may be periods where bucket truck arms cannot safely extend due to the winds, further delaying efforts. We will be working to address public safety issues with first responders and restoring power where possible during the peak hours of the event.”
Liberty Utilities reported nearly 2,000 customers earlier today but restored power to nearly 1,800 homes in Pelham, Salem, and the Upper Valley.
State officials warn Granite Staters to be safe during the storm.
“Keep you and your family safe if you lose power,” Robert Buxton, Director of the New Hampshire Department of Safety’s Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management said. “Practice power outage safety. If you come across downed wires, stay away and call 911. Never run a generator indoors.”
Source: Patch
