Flood — Carroll, New Hampshire

2023-05-01 · near Center Ossipee, Carroll, New Hampshire

Event narrative

Locally heavy rain caused Route 16B flooding at the intersection of Route 16 in Center Ossipee.

Wider weather episode

A broad area of low pressure across the Great Lakes region stalled out well to the west of the region early on Sunday April 30th. A secondary area of low pressure developed and moved up the Eastern Seaboard and tracked across interior New England from Sunday April 30th through Monday May 1st. Heavy rainfall occurred, and flooding was enhanced for this weather event due to the seasonal timing of the rains with spring soils being high in moisture and the vegetation still dormant. These two factors lead to increased run-off. Rain started across southern and coastal areas early on Sunday April 30th, with the heaviest rainfall Sunday night into early Monday morning. The rainfall on Sunday produced limited flooding, but set the stage for what was to come by swelling rivers and filling ditches ahead of the heavier rain. Heavy rain started around 3 AM and continued through 10 AM Monday with rainfall rates between 1 to 1.5 inches an hour. This caused flooding to rapidly develop, resulting in widespread flash flooding. The rainfall ended by midday on Monday May 1st. Runoff spilled into tributary rivers and major rivers that led to ongoing flooding for the next several days with most rivers cresting late on Monday May 1st or on May 2nd.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (43.7500, -71.1500)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1102186. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.