Tropical Storm — Belknap, New Hampshire

2011-08-28 · Belknap, New Hampshire

Wider weather episode

Hurricane Irene made landfall across western Long Island, NY and was downgraded to a Tropical Storm as it moved into and through New England. The center of Irene was located just to the southwest of New Hampshire at 5 pm Sunday evening August 28 and then travelled up the Connecticut River Valley to the northern border of New Hampshire by 11 pm. The storm brought a prolonged period of strong and gusty winds and heavy rain to the state. The high winds snapped or uprooted numerous trees throughout the state causing more than 160,000 customers to lose electrical and/or communication services. The heavy rains caused rivers and streams throughout the state to flood causing damage to bridges, roads, and property.

The strongest winds across the state began Sunday morning in southern areas and spread northward during the day. The strong winds continued into the evening as the center of Irene approached. Winds continued to be gusty overnight as the storm moved away from the area. Observed maximum wind gusts included 63 mph at Portsmouth, 52 mph at Concord, 51 mph at Manchester, 48 mph at Laconia, 45 mph at Berlin, 39 mph at Whitefield, and 30 mph at Lebanon. On the top of Mt. Washington, winds gusted to 104 mph as the storm approached and 120 mph as it moved away. The combination of wet soil and the prolonged period of strong and gusty winds brought down numerous trees throughout the state. One person was killed and three people were injured across the state due to falling trees or branches. In Wolfeboro, a 30 year-old man was killed and a 60-yr-old man was injured when a tree fell on them while cleaning up debris in the roadway. A man in Concord was injured when he was struck by a falling tree branch. In Bedford, a man was injured by a falling limb while cleaning up other tree limbs.

Rainfall amounts across the state ranged from 1.5 to 3 inches across southeastern New Hampshire with 3 to 6 inches across most of the remainder of the State, except in the White Mountains where 5 to 8 inches of rain fell. Rainfall was elevation dependant with the highest elevations receiving the greatest amounts. In the White Mountains, much of the rain fell within a period of only several hours causing serious flash flooding of rivers and streams across Carroll, Grafton, and Coos Counties. Many bridges and roads were washed out or damaged by the flash floods. Observed precipitation amounts included over 7 inches at Pinkham Notch, Bartlett, and Randolph, and between 6 and 7 inches at Alexandria, Gorham, Wolfeboro, and Center Sandwich. Much of the higher terrain in central and southern New Hampshire received between 4 and 6 inches of rain.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 340776. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.