New Hampshire, 2002

Strong Wind in New Hampshire, March 10, 2002

March 10, 2002 · NWS GYX · 8 events in 8 counties and zones

Strong, gusty west winds downed limbs onto power lines causing scattered power outages. About 1500 customers were affected, some without electrical service for up to 10 hours.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 8 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
8

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS GYX wrote it up.

Strong, gusty west winds downed limbs onto power lines causing scattered power outages. About 1500 customers were affected, some without electrical service for up to 10 hours. Most of the outages occurred in Barrington, Dover, Rochester, Farmington, Strafford, and Durham. Peak wind gusts were measured at 46 mph in Laconia and 45 mph in Concord. The strong winds developed behind a cold front that moved through the area early in the day.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Gray, ME wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 10, 2:41 AM EST, 5 hours 19 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 10, 2:41 AM EST, 5 hours 19 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAY ME
241 AM EST SUN MAR 10 2002

CDFNT NOW CROSSING INTO WRN NH AND WL BE AT THE ERN END OF OUR FA BY
12Z.  NRN END OF THE LINE OF TSTMS APPR TO BE FALLING APART AS
INDCTED BY LGTNG DISPLAY.  MODELS SHW STRNGST WNDS ARE AHD OF THE
FRNT WTH OBS SHWG ARND 20G35KT.  20 TO 30 KT WNDS BHND THE FNT DURG
THE DAY TODAY WTH CAA.  LOOK FOR SOME CLRG BHND THE FNT WTH FALLING
TEMPS.  SCT SNSHWRS IN THE MTNS BUT NOT MUCH IN THE WAY OF ACCUM.
GENLY CLR SKIES TNGT AND MON BUT CLDS START TO FILTER IN FRM THE W
MON NGT FOR A CHC OF SOME SNW N AND SNW OR RAIN S AS ANOTHER LOW
EMERGES THE GTLAKES AND HEADS FOR NRN ME TUE NGT.

.GYX...
ME...GLW.
NH...GLW.

TEB

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

8 strong wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Strong Wind, Belknap

When
March 10, 8:00 AM EST to 10:00 PM EST
Where
Belknap forecast zone
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
43.519, -71.423 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Coastal Rockingham

When
March 10, 8:00 AM EST to 10:00 PM EST
Where
Coastal Rockingham forecast zone
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
42.985, -71.089 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Interior Rockingham

When
March 10, 8:00 AM EST to 10:00 PM EST
Where
Interior Rockingham forecast zone
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
42.985, -71.089 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Merrimack

When
March 10, 8:00 AM EST to 10:00 PM EST
Where
Merrimack forecast zone
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
43.298, -71.680 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Southern Carroll

When
March 10, 8:00 AM EST to 10:00 PM EST
Where
Southern Carroll forecast zone
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
43.874, -71.203 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Southern Grafton

When
March 10, 8:00 AM EST to 10:00 PM EST
Where
Southern Grafton forecast zone
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
43.941, -71.820 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Strafford

When
March 10, 8:00 AM EST to 10:00 PM EST
Where
Strafford forecast zone
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
43.297, -71.029 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Sullivan

When
March 10, 8:00 AM EST to 10:00 PM EST
Where
Sullivan forecast zone
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
43.361, -72.222 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Strong Wind
Non-thunderstorm winds below high wind criteria that nonetheless caused damage or casualties.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in New Hampshire in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in New Hampshire, March 2002

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5287438, 5287439, 5287440, 5287441, 5287442, 5287443, 5287444, 5287445.