Rivers in New Hampshire

Contoocook River at Henniker

Merrimack County, New HampshireNWS HENN3USGS 01085000Gray office

Below flood stage
6.73ftStage

Observed Tue, Sep 29, 4:30 PM EDT

Flood stage
12.00 ft
Forecast crest
6.70 ftTue, Sep 29, 8:00 PM EDT
Record crest
21.30 ft1938

Open the live map with the river flood outlook

Flood stages and impacts

CategoryStage
Major flood20.00 ft
Moderate flood16.00 ft
Minor flood12.00 ft
Action10.00 ft
  1. 15.00 ftIn Hillsborough, Henniker Street floods with 3 feet of water and Bear Hill road is impassible.
  2. 14.00 ftIn Hillsborough, Henniker Street floods with 2 feet of water and the High Tide restaurant is inaccessible. In Henniker, Western Avenue floods.
  3. 13.00 ftIn Hillsborough, Bear Hill road floods as well as Henniker Street from High Tide restaurant to Old Henniker Road.
  4. 12.00 ftIn the town of Hillsborough, Hennicker Street and Bear Hill Road flood. In Henniker, flood waters encroach on parts of Western Avenue.
  5. 10.00 ftLowland flooding begins.

Flood outlook

Chance of flooding, October to December

CategoryChance
Minor flooding7%
Moderate floodingUnder 5%
Major floodingUnder 5%

The three-month chances are the River Forecast Centers’ long-range flood outlook, issued September 28, 2026.

Crest history

17 crests on NOAA’s list since 1938.

#DateStage
1September 21, 193821.30 ft
2April 17, 200714.54 ft
3October 16, 200513.75 ft
4May 15, 200613.48 ft
5April 3, 200413.32 ft
6March 16, 201013.25 ft
7January 18, 197713.22 ft
8October 22, 199613.18 ft
9June 26, 194413.13 ft
10April 6, 196013.12 ft
11April 13, 194012.72 ft
12April 4, 200512.36 ft
13July 11, 202312.36 ft
14March 23, 194812.29 ft
15April 17, 199612.25 ft
16March 15, 197712.06 ft
17May 1, 195612.05 ft

Most recent crests

  • July 11, 2023: 12.36 ft
  • March 16, 2010: 13.25 ft
  • April 17, 2007: 14.54 ft
  • May 15, 2006: 13.48 ft
  • October 16, 2005: 13.75 ft
  • April 4, 2005: 12.36 ft
  • April 3, 2004: 13.32 ft
  • October 22, 1996: 13.18 ft
  • April 17, 1996: 12.25 ft
  • March 15, 1977: 12.06 ft

Nearby

Upstream, downstream and the gauges around this one.

What this means

Forecasts by the Northeast River Forecast Center. Forecasts are issued routinely year-round.

Sources

Stage, flood stages, impacts and crest history from NOAA’s National Water Prediction Service. Streamflow and the daily record from the U.S. Geological Survey.