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Storm Update: Icy Weather To Resume Today, Advisory In Effect For North Country

NHPR Staff

For the latest weather information and power outage maps, visit NHPR's weather information page right here.

Tune in to NHPR for weather information throughout the day.

  8:06 AM

The winter weather has led to a number of power outages for New Hampshire Electric Cooperative customers.

The utility’s spokesman Seth Wheeler says the outages peaked around 6 yesterday evening, with 5,600 customers out.

“Right now, at the moment we have about 2,000 members out, the majority of which are located in Moultonborough, where we had two locations where trees came down on wires and broke multiple poles.”

The company expects those customers to be restored by this afternoon, but Wheeler says there’s a possibility of additional outages throughout the day.

“We hope it’s not too bad, but the winds are forecast to blow at about 10-20 miles per hour with some higher gusts. We’re not out of the woods yet.”

Public Service of New Hampshire is reporting only a few dozen outages at this hour.

Wednesday AM:

There's a Winter Weather Advisory in effect for Grafton, Carrol and Coos counties until 7 PM this evening.

Today, rain, sleet and drizzle is likely in the morning - with rain, sleet or snow in the afternoon.  About an inch of accumulation is possible for most of the state.  Ice accumulation could be up to a tenth of an inch. High temperatures will be in the low to upper 30’s.

Tonight, rain and snow is likely with a chance of sleet in the evening, then a chance of snow and rain after midnight.  Lows in the low to mid 30’s.

Tomorrow, there's a chance of snow showers in the morning, then a chance of rain and snow in the afternoon.  Northern Regions could see 1 to 3 inches of accumulation.  Highs mid to upper 30’s.

Friday, cloudy with a chance of snow and rain showers.  Highs  low to mid 30’s.

Tuesday:

Department of Transportation spokesman Bill Boynton says many of the accidents from this morning’s commute have been cleared.

“It’s pretty much all rain up through Manchester and then north of there, you’re still getting into the wintry mix,” he said, just before 11 a.m. “We have light freezing rain and 31 degrees in Concord at this hour.”

Boynton urges drivers to use caution through the day.

“Still a lot of potential when you’ve got pavement temperatures hovering around 30, air temperatures around the freezing mark, and it’s still raining. That’s got a great potential for slippery road conditions,” he said. “Probably throughout the rest of the day, people just need to be aware of what’s going on out there and drive accordingly. Avoid driving, if you can.”

State police told WMUR this morning that a trooper was injured when his cruiser was hit on I-95 while assisting another driver.

10:31 AM:

10:12 AM:

Sidewalks are also slippery this morning in Concord, where a thin coat of ice is coating the roads and walkways.

Credit NHPR Staff
Ice coats the sidewalks in downtown Concord

9:50 AM:

Department of Transportation spokesman Bill Boynton says beginning at 8:30 this morning black ice began to cover roads south of the Lakes Region.

"Everything just started to ice at the same time, our crews have been out there, but they can’t be everywhere at once, so people need to be aware that there a very slippery conditions at this hour," he says.

State Police are responding to dozens of accidents across the southern part of the state, mostly clustered between just South of Manchester to just north of Concord. 

9:28 AM:

Numerous accidents and black ice led to a road shutdown at the junction of 93 South and I89 in Concord.

Credit Michael Brindley for NHPR
The shut down at the junction of 93 South and I89 in Concord.

9:15 AM:

A number of accidents and road closures are being reported around Central and Southern New Hampshire. We will continue to update this story on conditions as the storm develops. 

Credit Karlyn Borysenko for NHPR
Black ice stops traffic on Route 293

8:50 AM:

A storm is heading into New Hampshire with some heavy snow expected in the northern part of the state.

The storm was starting to make its way through the state Tuesday, with light snow, freezing rain and sleet.

The National Weather Service says at least several inches of snow could fall in parts of Coos, Grafton, Carroll and Sullivan counties. Some areas could see higher amounts. By Tuesday night. Some inland areas may get over 6 inches.

Snow was expected to turn into heavy rain in central and southern New Hampshire. A flood watch was in effect through Wednesday.

At least 200 schools have closed or delayed opening.

Utilities say they have response crews on standby and have reached agreements with nearby states to provide additional crews if needed.

Credit Chris Jensen for NHPR
Snow caused trouble on North Country roads during the Thanksgiving 2014 snowstorm

7:30 AM:

Less than two weeks after a storm left more than 300,000 customers without power, another storm is entering the state, having moved up the East Coast overnight, says Chris Legro, a forecaster with the National Weather Service in Gray, Maine.

“We’re expecting to see pretty much a mixed bag of everything across the state this morning.” “To start we’re going to see some snowfall work south to north that could be heavy at times in the afternoon, especially in the central and northern parts of the state.”

Areas around Whitefield and Berlin could get a foot of wet, heavy snow, he said, but it will be just above freezing in the southern part of the state.

“The southern part of the state, in and around Manchester and Concord and Portsmouth we are expecting to see mainly some heavy rainfall."

Meanwhile utility companies have crews standing by and state officials say they are monitoring the storm, considering whether they’ll need to open the Emergency Operations Center.

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