Power companies are continuing efforts to restore electricity to parts of the state after this weekend’s winter storm brought heavy snow and icy conditions.
About 12,000 people were still without power as of Monday afternoon. More than 100,000 residents lost power at some point over the weekend.
Check the latest outage information here: Eversource | NH Electric Co-op | Unitil | Liberty
William Hinkle, a representative for Eversource, said the amount of ice in this storm caused issues for the power company.
“Up to a quarter of an inch of ice can add the equivalent of 250 pounds on a tree limb or powerline," he said. "And with tree damage being the number one cause of power outages in our state, that's a significant amount of weight that's being added to trees that might already be weighed down.”
Hinkle said Eversource expects to finish the majority of repairs by 11:30 Monday evening.
In Hopkinton, many residents have not had electricity since Saturday night — meaning no heat, no running water and no Internet. Drivers in town Monday had to contend with downed power lines, fallen tree limbs, and the fleets of electrical crews and plow trucks trying to get that debris off the roads.
Tom Kerins said he has stayed wrapped in blankets to keep warm in his home.
"Last night it got down really low, so I'm afraid that the pipes are gonna freeze," he said. "It's pretty scary. I don't remember anytime it being out for so long."
Taylor Pearson said neighbors in town have been coming together to help each other, but people felt unprepared this late in March.
"Everybody's had all their snow equipment put away for the spring, and ladders for roof shoveling have been put away," Pearson said. "Everybody was kind of, I think, settled in and ready for spring to be here.”
"We always have a killer storm in March or April sometime, when everybody's thinking spring, and, you know, the yards are raked," said resident Charlotte Thibault. "What are you gonna do? It's New England."
Schools in Hopkinton and neighboring towns were also closed Monday. Many residents said they expected to get power restored by tonight.
An earlier story published Sunday continues below.
Thousands of New Hampshire residents remain without power after a major storm dropped heavy, wet snow across parts of the state Saturday.
Eversource reported about 33,757 outages, as of 6:45 p.m. Sunday. At that time, Hopkinton and Henniker were two communities hit hard, with 3,045 and 1,921 outages, respectively.
Eversource had restored power to more than 62,000 customers by Sunday afternoon.
Out-of-state line crews joined the restoration effort, according to the utility.
New Hampshire Electric Co-op restored thousands of outages and had whittled the list down to 711 by night fall.
Unitil had 3,670 outages, including 1,213 in Bow and about 1,000 in Concord shortly before 7 p.m. Sunday.
We're continuing to work closely with our communities to respond to public safety issues like this tree-blocked road in Chichester, and crews have addressed more than 100 calls for support since yesterday. Please remember to stay away from any downed wires and report them to 911. pic.twitter.com/1wo1qCUlk5
— Eversource NH (@EversourceNH) March 24, 2024
An earlier story published Saturday continues below.
A storm underway across New Hampshire could deliver 10 to 20 inches of snow for some northern areas, while a wintry mix of snow, sleet and rain is in store for the Southern Tier.
Heavy snow in some areas could result in power outages.
The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning through Sunday at 5 a.m.
A flood watch is in effect for the New Hampshire coast.
Snow will turn to rain in the Southern Tier, increasing chances for localized flooding, according to the weather service.
As of 8:30 a.m. Saturday, few Granite Staters reported a loss of electricity. Eversource had 287 customers without power, with 107 of those in Keene. New Hampshire Electric Coop had 73 outages in Alton.
Kate Dario and Grace McFadden contributed reporting to this story.
