Flooding in New Hampshire, April 3 to 4, 2005

Name: Flooding in New Hampshire, April 3 to 4, 2005
Start: 2005-04-03T07:00
End: 2005-04-04T07:00
Location: New Hampshire

April 3 to 4, 2005 · NWS GYX · 10 events in 10 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 5 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $945,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 10

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.

A low pressure system moving slowly northeast from through the Mid-Atlantic States spread rain into New Hampshire during the afternoon of April 2. Heavy rain continued through the 3rd as the storm continued to move slowly northeast. Rainfall amounts ranged from 1 to 3 inches across the area with Pinkham Notch receiving 3.61 inches. The rain, in combination with snowmelt, produced numerous road washouts throughout the area and resulted in about 945 thousand dollars in damage.The Saco River at Conway rose above the 9 foot flood stage between 1:30 pm on the 3rd and 1:30 am on the 4th and reached a crest of 10.24 feet at 6:45 pm on the 3rd.The Ammonoosuc River at Bethlehem was above the flood stage of 8 feet from 12:15 pm to 2:30 pm on the 3rd and reached a crest of 8.17 feet at 12:30 pm.The Connecticut River at Dalton rose above the 17 foot flood stage between 5:45 pm and 7:00 pm on the 6th, reaching a crest of 17.14 feet at 6:00 pm. The Connecticut River at West Lebanon was above the flood stage of 18 feet from 10:30 am on the 3rd to 6:15 am on the 4th, reaching a crest of 19.34 feet at 5:00 pm on the 3rd.The Pemigewasset River at Plymouth was above the flood stage of 13 feet from 3:15 pm on the 3rd to 4:15 am on the 4th and reached a crest of 14.21 feet at 8:15 pm on the 3rd.The Smith River at Bristol rose above the flood stage of 8 feet at 9:30 am on the 3rd and remained above flood stage until 10:15 am on the 4th, reaching a crest of 8.22 feet at 5:00 am on the 4th.The Contoocook River at Henniker was above the flood stage of 12 feet from 7:00 pm on the 3rd to 4:00 pm on the 4th and reached a crest of 12.36 feet at 4:00 am on the 4th.The Warner River at Davisville rose above the 8 foot flood stage from 9:00 am on the 3rd to 9:30 am on the 5th and crested at 9.12 feet at 6:30 pm on the 3rd.

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 Apr 2, 2:58 PM EST, 16 hours 2 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 2, 2:58 PM EST, 16 hours 2 minutes before

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The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

10 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flood, Belknap

When: April 3, 7:00 AM EST to April 4, 7:00 AM EST
Where: Belknap forecast zone
Property damage: $100,000
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 43.950, -71.883

Flood, Northern Grafton

When: April 3, 7:00 AM EST to April 4, 7:00 AM EST
Where: Northern Grafton forecast zone
Property damage: $113,000
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 43.883, -71.267

Flood, Southern Grafton

When: April 3, 7:00 AM EST to April 4, 7:00 AM EST
Where: Southern Grafton forecast zone
Property damage: $113,000
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 43.950, -72.233

Flood, Strafford

When: April 3, 7:00 AM EST to April 4, 7:00 AM EST
Where: Strafford forecast zone
Property damage: $100,000
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 43.297, -71.029 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Sullivan

When: April 3, 7:00 AM EST to April 4, 7:00 AM EST
Where: Sullivan forecast zone
Property damage: $100,000
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 44.733, -71.383

Flood, Merrimack

When: April 3, 9:00 AM EST to April 4, 7:00 AM EST
Where: Merrimack forecast zone
Property damage: $250,000
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 43.298, -71.680 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Northern Carroll

When: April 3, 9:00 AM EST to April 4, 7:00 AM EST
Where: Northern Carroll forecast zone
Property damage: $75,000
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 43.874, -71.203 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Northern Coos

When: April 3, 9:00 AM EST to April 4, 7:00 AM EST
Where: Northern Coos forecast zone
Property damage: $10,000
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 43.517, -71.450

Flood, Southern Carroll

When: April 3, 9:00 AM EST to April 4, 7:00 AM EST
Where: Southern Carroll forecast zone
Property damage: $75,000
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 43.874, -71.203 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Southern Coos

When: April 3, 9:00 AM EST to April 4, 7:00 AM EST
Where: Southern Coos forecast zone
Property damage: $10,000
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 44.690, -71.305 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Flood: Flooding that develops more slowly than a flash flood: rivers leaving their banks, or water standing over land for an extended time.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in New Hampshire in 2005 Every state in 2005 This day in weather history Warnings in New Hampshire, April 2005

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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5451405, 5451409, 5451412, 5451413, 5451414, 5451406, 5451407, 5451408, 5451410, 5451411.