A strong nor’easter that impacted New Hampshire brought blizzard conditions to parts of the state.
The National Weather Service confirmed blizzard conditions in Portsmouth and Rochester on Saturday.
The criteria for blizzard conditions is specific: Three consecutive hours of sustained winds or frequent gusts at 35 mph or above and falling or blowing snow that reduces visibility to a quarter of a mile or worse for at least three straight hours.
It’s likely that conditions in Portsmouth, Rochester and other coastal communities achieved blizzard status from the late morning to the late afternoon, at least, on Saturday.
The snow moved in Saturday morning and moved northward throughout the day. Snow fell heavily at times, especially after sunset, when some bands brought snowfall of 1-2 inches per hour.
Any leftover snow will quickly shut down with clearing skies overnight.
When it’s all said and done, many spots in southeastern New Hampshire will see 8-14 inches of snow, with the highest amounts in southeastern parts of the state. Elsewhere north and west of the capital city, about 2-8 inches accumulated as the storm, although extremely strong, could not bring heavy snow to far northwestern areas that are hundreds of miles from the storm’s center of circulation.
Winds gusted at 35 mph or above across southeastern spots for several hours, with the strongest gusts — some above 45 mph — blowing at the immediate coastline. It will be windy overnight with some blowing and drifting snow at times.
The concern for flooding at the coastline is low, though splash-over is possible, especially at the high tide times. At Hampton Beach, the tide to monitor is 9:08 a.m. on Sunday.
SUNDAY AND BEYOND
Looking forward to Sunday, lots of sunshine is expected but it will be windy and bitterly cold in the morning with just a BIT of improvement in the afternoon.
There is a wind chill advisory in Coos, Grafton and Sullivan counties.
On Monday, it’ll be cold but less windy, while it’ll be more mild with some sunshine on Tuesday.
Stay tuned to the Storm Watch 9 team for the latest forecast.
Be weather aware! Download the WMUR app for Apple or Android devices and turn on push notifications. You can choose to receive weather alerts for your geolocation and/or up to three ZIP codes. In addition, you can receive word when precipitation is coming to your area.
Comments