Power Slowly Being Restored After Winter Storm Quinn Strikes NH

CONCORD, NH — As forecasted for the past few days, heavy, wet snow is covering the state of New Hampshire knocking down branches and power lines and cutting power to more than 90,000 customers, mostly in the southern and southeastern parts of the state, at the height of the storm. New Hampshire Homeland Security and Emergency Management reported at just after 4 p.m. that 33,720 customers were without power across the state. The NHSP are reporting about 195 crashes and vehicles off the road since the start of the storm.

More than 42 roads are still closed. Only speeds on I-89 from New London to Lebanon are still below posted limits. I-95 in Portsmouth reopened to traffic at around 10:30 a.m. after a power line was knocked down.

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One man perished earlier today. Robert Rogers, 58, of Enfield, passed away after a crash on Route 14.

The National Weather Service posted the latest snow totals on Facebook this morning.

“Travel conditions are treacherous, avoid unnecessary travel! Go to readynh.gov/ for the latest storm information and storm safety tips,” the NH HSEM posted on Twitter. “Schools are closed across the state – Watch out for children, plows, people around snow banks and other areas where snow is blocking your line of sight.”

Engine2
TREE AND WIRES DOWN
3/8/2018 6:29AM
PINE ST #ExeterFireNH pic.twitter.com/bvEhK60YqD
— ExeterPFF3491 (@EPff3491) March 8, 2018

At around 9 p.m., Eversource reported more than 5,800 of its customers were without power including about 800 in Windham, 700 in Derry, 600 in Sandown, Hampstead, and Durham, and about 400 in Portsmouth. Smaller outages were reported in Hampton, Hollis, Hudson, Londonderry, Merrimack, Nashua, Newfields, and Rye.

Eversource noted in a press statement that more than 300 line, service, and tree crews working for the company had restored power to more than 61,000 customers so far today. The company has shifted crews to the southeastern part of the state where damage from the storm is most extensive, and additional contract crews, including crews from Canada, are assisting with the restoration effort.

"We recognize the significant disruption to our customers' lives when they lose power and we greatly appreciate their patience as our crews continue to work," said Joe Purington, New Hampshire Vice President of Electric Operation for Eversource. "As the snow continues to build up on trees and equipment, there may be additional power outages throughout the day. With hundreds of line and tree workers on the system, we are well-positioned to respond to any additional damage."

Crews came from as far away as New Brunswick to assist the company, according to the statement.

Fire at 23 Driftwood Road in Hampton @seacoastonline pic.twitter.com/TSFwBEsETf
— Max Sullivan (@MaxSullivanLive) March 8, 2018

Unitil is still assessing when it will be able to get power back on for more than 7,700 customers on the Seacoast and the capital region at 9 p.m. About 700 are without power in Exeter while about 600 are without power in Hampton. About 20 percent of Unitil’s customers in East Kingston are without power while Kensington is reporting 33 percent out and Kingston reporting 33 percent out.

Forty percent of Plaistow is still without power while more than 100 in Seabrook also have no power. Smaller outages were reported in North Hampton, Brentwood, Derry, Hampstead, and Hampton Falls.

The capital region was mostly spared from outages for the day but tonight, about 150 customers in Concord and Canterbury were without power, according to the online outage list.

"We are currently estimating that we will restore power to the majority of impacted customers by end of day Friday, with some single service and isolated pockets extending into Saturday evening," the company noted on Twitter at around 8 p.m. "Stay tuned for updates."

Liberty Utilites reported nearly 11,000 without power in Derry, Salem, Pelham, and Windham. The company noted online that it would be “working around the clock to restore power” to its customers but restoration might not be completed until 6 p.m. on Sunday, in some areas.

3/8/18 7:51PM Storm Quinn Update: we have restored 8000 customers today. 10,000 remain without power. Crews will work through the night to restore power. Shelter if needed at Ingram Senior Ctr, 1 Sally Sweets Way, Salem, NH 03079
— Liberty Utilities NH (@LibertyUtil_NH) March 9, 2018

New Hampshire Patch will update this post as more information becomes available.