New Hampshire, 2016

Heavy Snow in New Hampshire, December 29 to 30, 2016

December 29 to 30, 2016 · NWS GYX · 14 events in 14 counties and zones

An area of low pressure moving northeast from the Carolinas on the morning of the 29th combined with a low dropping southeast from Canada to form an intense area of low pressure that moved through the Gulf of Maine during the early morning hours of the 30th. Much of New Hampshire received between 6 and 16 inches of snow with lesser amounts along the Connecticut River Valley.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 14 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
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
14

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.

An area of low pressure moving northeast from the Carolinas on the morning of the 29th combined with a low dropping southeast from Canada to form an intense area of low pressure that moved through the Gulf of Maine during the early morning hours of the 30th. Much of New Hampshire received between 6 and 16 inches of snow with lesser amounts along the Connecticut River Valley. Along the Seacoast, most of the precipitation fell as rain with only an inches or two of snowfall accumulation. Inland from the coast and across southern areas, the rain changed to a heavy, wet snow which clung to trees and wires which resulted in scattered power outages. More than 11,000 homes and businesses saw outages due to the storm.

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 Dec 29, 3:54 AM EST, 3 hours 6 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 29, 3:54 AM EST, 3 hours 6 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Dec 29, 3:46 AM EST, 3 hours 14 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

14 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Belknap

When
December 29, 7:00 AM EST to December 30, 1:00 AM EST
Where
Belknap forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
43.519, -71.423 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Cheshire

When
December 29, 7:00 AM EST to December 30, 1:00 AM EST
Where
Cheshire forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
42.919, -72.251 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Eastern Hillsborough

When
December 29, 7:00 AM EST to December 30, 1:00 AM EST
Where
Eastern Hillsborough forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
42.915, -71.716 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Interior Rockingham

When
December 29, 7:00 AM EST to December 30, 1:00 AM EST
Where
Interior Rockingham forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
42.985, -71.089 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Merrimack

When
December 29, 7:00 AM EST to December 30, 1:00 AM EST
Where
Merrimack forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
43.298, -71.680 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Northern Carroll

When
December 29, 7:00 AM EST to December 30, 1:00 AM EST
Where
Northern Carroll forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
43.874, -71.203 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Northern Coos

When
December 29, 7:00 AM EST to December 30, 1:00 AM EST
Where
Northern Coos forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
44.690, -71.305 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Northern Grafton

When
December 29, 7:00 AM EST to December 30, 1:00 AM EST
Where
Northern Grafton forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
43.941, -71.820 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Southern Carroll

When
December 29, 7:00 AM EST to December 30, 1:00 AM EST
Where
Southern Carroll forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
43.874, -71.203 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Southern Coos

When
December 29, 7:00 AM EST to December 30, 1:00 AM EST
Where
Southern Coos forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
44.690, -71.305 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Southern Grafton

When
December 29, 7:00 AM EST to December 30, 1:00 AM EST
Where
Southern Grafton forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
43.941, -71.820 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Strafford

When
December 29, 7:00 AM EST to December 30, 1:00 AM EST
Where
Strafford forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
43.297, -71.029 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Sullivan

When
December 29, 7:00 AM EST to December 30, 1:00 AM EST
Where
Sullivan forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
43.361, -72.222 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Western and Central Hillsborough

When
December 29, 7:00 AM EST to December 30, 1:00 AM EST
Where
Western and Central Hillsborough forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
42.915, -71.716 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Heavy Snow
Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in New Hampshire in 2016Every state in 2016This day in weather historyWarnings in New Hampshire, December 2016

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: 670529, 670530, 670531, 670532, 670533, 670534, 670535, 670536, 670537, 670538, 670539, 670540, 670541, 670542.