New Hampshire, 2012

High Wind in New Hampshire, October 29, 2012

October 29, 2012 · NWS BOX · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

Sandy, a hybrid storm with both tropical and extra-tropical characteristics, brought high winds and coastal flooding to southern New England. Easterly winds gusted to 50 to 60 mph for interior southern New England; 55 to 65 mph along the eastern Massachusetts coast and along the I-95 corridor in southeast Massachusetts and Rhode Island; and 70 to 80 mph along the southeast Massachusetts and…

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 3 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
$247,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
3

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 BOX wrote it up.

Sandy, a hybrid storm with both tropical and extra-tropical characteristics, brought high winds and coastal flooding to southern New England. Easterly winds gusted to 50 to 60 mph for interior southern New England; 55 to 65 mph along the eastern Massachusetts coast and along the I-95 corridor in southeast Massachusetts and Rhode Island; and 70 to 80 mph along the southeast Massachusetts and Rhode Island coasts. A few higher higher gusts occurred along the Rhode Island coast. A severe thunderstorm embedded in an outer band associated with Sandy produced wind gusts to 90 mph and concentrated damage in Wareham early Tuesday evening, |a day after the center of Sandy had moved into New Jersey. In general, moderate coastal flooding occurred along the Massachusetts coastline, and major coastal flooding impacted the Rhode Island coastline. The storm surge was generally 2.5 to 4.5 feet along the east coast of Massachusetts, but peaked late Monday afternoon in between high tide cycles. Seas built to between 20 and 25 feet Monday afternoon and evening just off the Massachusetts east coast. Along the south coast, the storm surge was 4 to 6 feet and seas from 30 to a little over 35 feet were observed in the outer coastal waters. The very large waves on top of the storm surge caused destructive coastal flooding along stretches of the Rhode Island exposed south coast.

Sandy grew into a hurricane over the southwest Caribbean and then headed north across Jamaica, Cuba, and the Bahamas. As Sandy headed north of the Bahamas, the storm interacted with a vigorous weather system moving west to east across the United States and began to take on a hybrid structure. Strong high pressure over southeast Canada helped with the expansion of the strong winds well north of the center of Sandy. In essence, Sandy retained the structure of a hurricane near its center (until shortly before landfall) while taking on more of an extra-tropical cyclone configuration well away from the center. Sandy’s track was unusual. The storm headed northeast and then north across the western Atlantic and then sharply turned to the west to make landfall near Atlantic City, NJ during Monday evening. Sandy subsequently weakened and moved west across southern Pennsylvania on Tuesday before turning north and heading across western New York state into Quebec during Tuesday night and Wednesday.

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 Boston/Norton, MA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Oct 29, 3:40 PM EST, 15 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Oct 29, 3:40 PM EST, 15 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Oct 29, 3:44 PM EST, 11 minutes before
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In the hours before

Local storm report, Oct 29, 3:00 PM EST, 55 minutes before
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Local storm report, Oct 29, 3:01 PM EST, 54 minutes before
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Local storm report, Oct 29, 3:06 PM EST, 49 minutes before
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Local storm report, Oct 29, 3:28 PM EST, 27 minutes before
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Local storm report, Oct 29, 3:32 PM EST, 23 minutes before
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Local storm report, Oct 29, 3:36 PM EST, 19 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

3 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Cheshire

When
October 29, 3:55 PM EST to 5:00 PM EST
Where
Cheshire forecast zone
Measured
50 kt (58 mph) estimated gust
Property damage
$27,000
Reported by
ASOS
Coordinates
42.919, -72.251 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The Automated Surface Observing System at Jaffrey Municipal - Silver Ranch Airport (KAFN) recorded wind gusts to 53 mph. In Keene, a tree was downed across Base Hill Road.

High Wind, Eastern Hillsborough

When
October 29, 4:00 PM EST to 7:22 PM EST
Where
Eastern Hillsborough forecast zone
Measured
55 kt (63 mph) measured gust
Property damage
$110,000
Reported by
ASOS
Coordinates
42.915, -71.716 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The Automated Surface Observing System at Manchester-Boston Regional Airport (KMHT) recorded sustained wind speeds of 38 mph and gusts to 63 mph. In Manchester, a tree was downed on Harrison Street. In Hudson, a tree was downed on Lawrence Road, bringing down wires that sparked a fire that damaged a house. In Merrimack, a tree was downed, taking down wires and closing Amherst Road from Meetinghouse Road to Riverside Drive. In Nashua, a tree was downed onto a house on Broad Street, near the Hollils line. No structural damage was found. Numerous trees were downed, blocking roads.

High Wind, Western and Central Hillsborough

When
October 29, 5:00 PM EST to 6:35 PM EST
Where
Western and Central Hillsborough forecast zone
Measured
50 kt (58 mph) estimated gust
Property damage
$110,000
Reported by
Newspaper
Coordinates
42.915, -71.716 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

In Milford, numerous trees were downed, some blocking roads. A tree was downed onto a house on Nashua Street.

What these are

High Wind
Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in New Hampshire in 2012Every state in 2012This day in weather historyWarnings in New Hampshire, October 2012

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: 416743, 416744, 416746.