to cut their way through the tree-blocked roads to reach the blaze. Once there, they not only
fought the fire, but dodged falling trees, tree limbs, and huge ice chunks. No one was injured, nor
was any of the fire trucks damaged. In the Monadnock area, some 4800 residents were without
power and about 200 homes lost telephone service for up to 3 days. Outside this swath, ice prob-
lems were hardly noticeable. The rains produced minor flooding of roads in Winchester, Hinsdale,
and Ashuelot (Cheshire County).
March 36, 1991
NY: devastating ice storm paralyzed portions of western and northern NY
Presidential disaster declaration in 12 counties; 325,000 without electricity
worst ice buildups ranged from 1 to 2"
VT: power crews kept busy for several days repairing power lines
NH: significant sleet and freezing rain in southern NH
numerous outages from ice-laden power lines
ME: significant freezing rain and sleet storm in central portions
Key:
ice load (in.), wind speed (mph)
x = no weather data
Storm Data
3/34/91
NHZ004-006-007 Southwestern New Hampshire NHZ001-002 Northern New Hampshire
(Freezing Rain)--On March 3rd, a cold front moved east from the Great Lakes area through
southeastern Canada. Meanwhile, a low-pressure system over Georgia was moving northeast.
The Georgia low intensified and moved up the coast as cold air continued to flow into northern
New England from the Arctic high. By the time the precipitation arrived in northern New
England, enough cold air was present in the lower levels of the atmosphere to produce a signifi-
cant freezing rain and sleet event in southern New Hampshire, and heavy snow in the north. High
winds caused trees and limbs to go down on power lines, disrupting power from 90 minutes to 2
hours for 150 to 220 customers in the Rochester and Milton areas. There were numerous power
outages elsewhere across the state due to the weight of ice-laden power lines. The freezing rain
also caused numerous schools and businesses to shut down for the day.
64
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