Winter storm blasts Lakes Region, continuing into Tuesday

A strong spat of winter weather dumped ice across Belknap County and the broader Lakes Region early Monday morning, during a winter storm with a warning in effect, according to the National Weather Service in Gray, Maine.

Temperatures in Laconia hovered around freezing for much of Monday as a mixture of light snow, sleet and freezing rain continued to fall into the afternoon.

A warm front pushed through the area, bringing icy conditions to the interior of the Granite State, and lots of rain along the coast. A cold front was expected to follow, bringing blustery conditions through Tuesday. The remainder of the week was forecast to be cold with a possible arctic front rolling in to start the New Year. 

An arctic front is a boundary separating deep, cold arctic air from shallow, relatively milder polar air.

By late morning Monday, air and road temperatures along the coast and the inland midcoast warmed above freezing, allowing for a change to rain, and improving travel conditions there. The National Weather Services dropped their winter weather advisories in those areas. 

Shallow cold air was expected to hold fast across central New Hampshire and western Maine on Monday morning, the same period the bulk of precipitation was forecast to fall. Ice accumulation was predicted to be in the neighborhood of 0.5 inches, and some of that was evident on trees and power lines on Monday.

Thousands of Granite Staters were left without power Monday morning, according to the New Hampshire Department of Safety Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management. 

As of 9:30 a.m., about 13,000 customers were without power, as rain and ice made conditions hazardous. Hardest hit were Belknap, Carroll, Grafton, Merrimack, Stafford and Sullivan counties, which remain under a winter storm warning until 7 p.m. Tuesday. Before 11 a.m., that figure climbed to nearly 20,000 customers without power.

“If you lose power, keep you and your family safe,” Robert Buxton, director of the NH Department of Safety’s Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, said. “Never run a generator indoors. If you come across downed wires, stay away and call 911. Utility crews are out working hard to restore outages as they happen. If you come across a crew on the road, give them room to work.”

It is recommended to report power outages every 24 hours, until resolved. Contacts for local power companies include Eversource, 800-662-7764; Liberty Utilities, 855-349-9455; and NH Electric Co-op, 800-343-6432.

Of NHEC’s 86,330 customers, about 8,800 were affected, hundreds of whom were in the broader Lakes Region. In New Hampshire, about 2% of Eversource’s 551,740 customers were affected, with 1,200 of them in Laconia, about 10% of the city’s Eversource customers. Unitil had significantly fewer customers affected in New Hampshire at four. Two in Boscawen, one in Concord and another in South Hampton. 

And Buxton also recommended citizens remain informed about harsh weather conditions through the National Weather Service or by signing up for NH Alerts. Flashlights, rather than candles, are recommended for emergency lighting. Drivers are urged to take caution, drive slowly and be aware of working crews on the roads.

To sign up for alerts and learn more about power outage safety, visit ReadyNH.gov.