Winter Storm — Merrimack, New Hampshire

2025-03-29 to 2025-03-31 · Merrimack, New Hampshire

Event narrative

Long duration mixed precipitation event impacted the region from the 29th through the early morning hours of the 31st. A stationary boundary was a focus area for waves of precipitation through this period. Snow overspread the area on the 29th before transitioning to sleet and freezing rain on the 30th. Ice accumulations were widespread, but heaviest amounts fell across the higher elevations in the Sunapee Region. Ice amounts of up to .78 flat ice accumulations were recorded in the western half of the region. Impacts: Power outage rate of 4% of county.

Wider weather episode

A surface backdoor cold front pushed south across New Hampshire on the 29th allowing shallow cold air to push across the state. The front stalled and became a stationary boundary through the morning of March 31st. Waves of low pressure tracked over the region over the next 36 hours bringing periods of mixed precipitation. Enough warm air moved in aloft by the 30th to bring freezing rain to areas of Southern and Central New Hampshire. Southwest New Hampshire across the higher elevations, mostly above 1000ft, took the brunt of the freezing rain where ice impacts occurred due to downed trees, branches and power outages. Warm air returned quickly by the afternoon of March 31st, melting most of the ice off the trees.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1248734. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.