Good morning all!
Thanks to a team effort from HBRF and Forest Service staff yesterday, we were able to get a Hubbard Brook perspective on Monday's rainstorm into the Morning Report newsletter in the Boston Globe. Thanks to everyone who helped make this happen!
Enjoy, Raisa
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Good morning, New Hampshire. I’m Amanda, and to the
2
percent of Granite Staters with BOTH an artificial and a real Christmas tree, I salute you. Also, happy solstice! On the shortest day of the
year, remember there is more light ahead.
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Today's topic: Record rain
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Once Ian Halm saw how bad the flooding was on Monday, he called his colleagues at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest in North Woodstock and told them to go home.
Later that evening, the road out was impassable, covered with water. Halm said it was a good thing they left when they did.
He had a front row seat to the flooding, since he’s both the deputy fire chief for Campton, Thornton, and Ellsworth, as well as the site manager for the experimental forest where scientists have been furiously collecting measurements to understand the ecological
impacts of the storm and track long term trends.
In his role as deputy fire chief, Halm spent Monday responding to emergencies, monitoring the Campton Dam, and asking people in at-risk areas to evacuate. He said only 10 or so people went to the emergency shelter the town set up. “A lot of people say, ‘Well,
I made it through Hurricane Irene… so I’m going to be good,” he said about the reluctance to evacuate. Luckily, the Campton Dam has held strong, and Halm said it remains in good shape.
As the site manager for Hubbard Brook, Halm has been helping to make repairs in the wake of the storm and gather measurements of the event. The forest is on track to receive 77 inches of rain this year, which he called a dramatic increase from the average rainfall
of 55 inches.
During the heavy rains Monday, the Hubbard Brook swelled to 6 feet, three times its normal 2 foot depth, with up to 4.7 inches of rain falling in some areas. Data from the event showed that the peak of the storm was the third highest on record.
“It’s very unusual to get so much precipitation in the liquid form in December,” said Halm. He called it the perfect storm, as the heavy rain, plus fog and warm conditions melted snow, adding even more liquid to the waterways.
The rainfall came when the ground was already saturated from rainfall earlier in the month.
It raises questions about whether heavy rainstorms in December are becoming more common and the far-reaching effects that could have on the area. Halm cautioned that it’s too soon to know for sure, but said that people need to be prepared.
– Amanda
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New N.H. Supreme Court Judge: Melissa Beth Countway, a former prosecutor, was approved
to serve on the N.H.
Supreme Court, where she will be age-eligible until at least 2041. She was one of Governor Chris Sununu’s first judicial appointees, and she is likely
to be the last he nominates to the state’s highest court.
Slaying in N.H. prison: A killer was indicted
on a murder charge for slaying a convicted murderer in the Northern New Hampshire Correctional Facility in Berlin earlier this year. Robert W. Lavoie,
57, is accused of purposely killing James Dale, 65, by striking him with a metal pipe.
A ski operator’s worst nightmare: The torrential downpour that soaked New England
on Monday shrunk snow cover as balmy temperatures moved through the region. High winds knocked down trees, which threatened to topple resorts’ intricate infrastructure. Roads and culverts, damaged by washouts, required repairs before drivers could make their
way to the slopes at all in the immediate aftermath. Here’s how
resorts are recovering.
Claudine Gay’s corrections: The Harvard president is
correcting
another instance of inadequate citation, found by a recent review and announced Wednesday night. Harvard announced the finding, hours after a congressional
committee announced an inquiry into how the university handled plagiarism allegations against Gay.
Holiday travel:
More than 103 million travelers are expected to hit the roads this year, an increase of 1.8 percent from last year but fewer than the 108 million in 2019, according
to AAA. If you’re driving, Dec. 23 and Dec. 28 are expected to be the most congested days. Here’s what else you should know about
the
best and worst times to travel around Christmas.
Fraught family gatherings:
At this year’s holiday table,
heated
debates will be on the menu, writes Globe Columnist Renée Graham. From wars, presidential politics, throwback fascism, to Taylor Swift, there will be
no shortage of things to talk about.
Here's
more Globe New Hampshire coverage.
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New Hampshire news to know
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The skier who triggered an avalanche on Mount Washington recounted the fateful run. Dominic Torro of Bow is an experienced skier with the gear and experience to take
on Airplane Gulley, a steep chute he’d skied dozens of times in the past few years. “The takeaway here is that you can never totally eliminate the hazards,” Torro said, adding he’ll be back on the slopes as soon as he recovers. (Concord
Monitor)
New Hampshire gained 3,051 residents last year, helping the state surpass the 1.4 million population mark, according to new U.S. Census data. That’s a slower growth rate than the year prior. (Union
Leader)
The New Hampshire kid governor had a busy year in her post, as she advocated to end poverty and hunger and to provide assistance to New Hampshire families dealing with food insecurity. Eleven-year-old Haydin Simmons of Plaistow is a sixth grader who organized
food drives and raised money for hunger walks. She will give her outgoing speech on Jan. 9, 2024. (The
Eagle-Tribune)
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Ian Halm captured this photo of the Campton Dam in Campton, with the roaring waters of the Mad River. (Courtesy of Ian Halm)
Got a picture to share? We may feature it in this space! Email it to us at
NHNews@globe.com or post it on Instagram and tag us: https://www.instagram.com/Globe_NH/.
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