Community Corner

Portsmouth Storm Center: Coastal Roads Flooded

Snow finally stopped Friday morning.

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Friday, Jan. 3

  • 1 p.m. A vehicle was overcome by water in Rye on Route 1A. No injuries were reported. The vehicle was being towed from the scene.
  • 12:50 p.m. Some flooding was reported on Mechanic Street in Portsmouth.
  • 12:45 p.m. Parts of Route 1A in Hampton were closed in due to flooding.
  • 12:40 p.m. A crash was reported on Route 33 near I-95 north.
  • 11:30 a.m. The Portsmouth Recreation Department just posted this: "Wanna get away? The hot tub at Spinnaker Point is open and toasty warm! Relax after all the shoveling."
  • 10 a.m. The Portsmouth Recreation 3rd- and 4th-grade girls basketball league games scheduled for today have been canceled.
  • 9:54 a.m. The downtown parking garage was filled to capacity.
  • 7:50 a.m. Here's the latest National Weather Service forecast for Portsmouth for today: "Snow with areas of blowing snow before 11am, then areas of blowing snow and a chance of snow between 11am and 1pm, then areas of blowing snow after 1pm. High near 10. Wind chill values as low as -22. Blustery, with a northwest wind 15 to 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. Total daytime snow accumulation of 1 to 2 inches possible."
  • 7:41 a.m. A "water problem" was reported at the Christmas Tree Shop on Durgin Lane.
Thursday, Jan. 2

10:35 p.m. The latest National Weather Service forecast for Portsmouth calls for 12-16 inches of snow and wind chill temperatures as low as 25 below zero as a blizzard warning remains in effect until 10 a.m. Friday.
9:10 p.m. A crash was reported on the Spaulding Turnpike northbound.
8:09 p.m. A pipe burst in the basement of a home at 4 Weald Rd. and caused "some damage," according to an emergency alert. Firefighters responded to the scene.
6:30 p.m. Emergency responders got a call for a boat in distress on the Piscataqua River near Four Tree Island. Upon arrival officials determined the boat was not in distress.
4:26 p.m. The National Weather Service issued a blizzard warning for Portsmouth.
4:10 p.m. A 30-year-old man was struck by a vehicle in Newington near the Texas Roadhouse restaurant.
3:35 p.m. A crash was reported on I-95 south near Exit 7 in Portsmouth.
3 p.m. Portsmouth Regional Hospital released this statement: "Outpatient lab draw stations at the following locations will be closing at 4 today: Jackson Gray Medical Building on Borthwick Avenue; Pease Lab at 26 Manchester Way;and the Millennium Lab at 155 Borthwick Avenue. The Griffin Road lab draw station has closed for the day. ALL will be closed on Friday, January 3rd except for the Millennium Lab at 155 Borthwick which will be closing at 1:30 on Friday. Patients may still have their labs drawn at Portsmouth Regional Hospital."
1:50 p.m. The New Hampshire Department of Transportation just issued a statement reminding motorists to slow down and limit travel for the duration of the current storm. Because of the extremely cold temperatures, anti-icing chemicals have limited effectiveness and road conditions may be worse than they appear, according to NHDOT Director of Operations Bill Janelle. Advisory speed limits have been reduced to 45 mph on all interstates and turnpikes. For additional winter driving tips, click here.
1:14 p.m. Check out this incredible photo by Hampton-North Hampton Patch reader Heidi Buzzell Hirtle of a North Hampton fire engine that slid off the road while responding to an accident on Thursday morning. Fortunately, no one was hurt.
12:28 p.m. Portsmouth officials released the following statement: "Due to the expected inclement weather, the Library, Indoor Pool, New Connie Bean Center and the Spinnaker Point Adult Recreation Center will open at noon tomorrow (Friday, January 3, 2014). All of these facilities will remain open for the remainder of today (Thursday, January 2, 2014) unless circumstances demand otherwise. City Hall will remain open for normal hours both Thursday and Friday unless circumstances demand otherwise. If the weather worsens, call ahead to confirm these facilities are open. The Library can be reached at 427-1540; Indoor Pool at 427-1546; Connie Bean at 427-1547; and Spinnaker Point can be reached at 766-1484. City Hall can be reached at 431-2000. For information on snow emergency operations and emergency parking bans contact the Public Works Department at 427-1530, the Snow Phone 766-7669 (SNO-SNOW) or visit www.cityofportsmouth.com. You can also visit the Public Works Twitter for updates at #portsmouthdpw.
11:55 a.m. Gov. Maggie Hassan urged everyone to "exercise common sense" during the storm.
11:50 a.m. A crash involving a state police cruiser was reported on I-95 in Greenland. According to WMUR-TV there were no major injuries.
11:01 a.m. Portsmouth police are looking for suspects who damaged a bunch of windshield wipers, preventing drivers from driving in today's storm.
10:08 a.m. A tractor-trailer rollover was reported on I-95 north in Greenland.
9:56 a.m. Gov. Maggie Hassan just sent out the following tweet: "Heavy snow will continue throughout the day & night, encouraging Granite Staters to exercise caution on the roads and drive safely."
9:54 a.m. A single car crashed on its side on Route 101 east near Exit 6 in Epping. No injuries were reported.
9:30 a.m. According to emergency radio broadcasts, a fire engine responding to the crash on I-95 north in North Hampton is partially on its side, and the driver is still in the truck. A tow truck is responding to the scene.
9:17 a.m. A crash is now being reported on Interstate 95 north, just north of Exit 2, in North Hampton. Expect delays.
9 a.m. A box truck reportedly overturned on Route 101 east in Hampton in the area of Interstate 95 around 8:30 a.m. Thursday. No injuries were reported. An earlier accident was reported on I-95 in Hampton Falls.


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Get your shovels ready, Portsmouth. You're going to need them.

The first storm of 2014 is underway as the initial flakes began falling after midnight Thursday. The National Weather Service said there will be "near-blizzard" conditions.

During the day on Thursday there will be some accumulation, though much of the snow will come Thursday night into Friday before the storm ends Friday afternoon.

Below is some essential information on the storm. We will be updating this storm center article throughout the storm, so be sure to check back.

Current Forecasts
How much snow is Portsmouth expected to get Thursday and Friday? Here are the projections as of Thursday morning.Snow Emergency Declared
City officials declared a snow emergency for Thursday for parking purposes, with the exception of the downtown area.

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