Winter Weather — Northern Grafton, New Hampshire

2022-11-20 · Northern Grafton, New Hampshire

Event narrative

A hiker planned to summit Mount Lafayette in the White Mountains on November 19-20th. The hiker didn't return to the trailhead as planned on Sunday and because of the harsh winter conditions a search party was immediately initiated that evening. Because of the harsh winter conditions bringing low visibility, blowing snow and cold wind chills the Search and Recovery mission was hampered. The search party spent the next two days looking for the hiker until her body was found on Wednesday in the upper elevations of Mount Lafayette. Cause of death was recorded as exposure to the elements.

Wider weather episode

Heart of winter conditions were forecasted and observed in the alpine areas of the White Mountains. Gusty westerly winds on exposed ridges continued to increase through the afternoon hours with wind gusts around 50 mph increasing to 60 mph by the afternoon hours. With air temperatures in the lower teens, wind chill values were will below zero and continued to drop through the afternoon and evening. Night time wind chill values were estimated to be around -25F around 5000ft elevation. In addition, low visibility and light snow were recorded as snow showers streamed across the mountains.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1058793. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.