Weather/Lake Condition Sat Nite 6p

[TomC]

well, it rained like crazy last night and all of today here in Moult. So far, 3+ inches in the rain gauge. the lake is very high, similar to June levels with the dock at my place actually now submerged which only happens in June. two little streams adjacent to the property are flowing vary rapidly. the rain is begining to taper off, at the same time the wind is starting to pick up. Approximately 10 inches of rain has fallen since a week ago!

Someone's water craft washed up on shore, having broken loose from its mooring (i have already contacted its owner and it is OK and secure, so unless I called you, its not yours!)

lots of washouts in the dirt roads of the area, but all in all, it looks like Moultonboro is OK from my vantage point in upper Moult Bay. Lots of debris floating around in the lake, so if you are boating, watch out.

Looking forward to Sunday and drying out (I hope)

[gravy boat]

Still raining pretty heavily here on Rt. 11A. Some washout on the sides of roads. The stream along Rt. 11B is VERY high and flooding a few yards side leading down to Rt. 11A due to some road damage/washout.

Our next door neighboors have 2 new streams cutting through their yard, and we have one as well. Nothing damaging, but just the rushing water taking the path of least resistence.

The wind is whipping up pretty nicely...I heard a very strong gust at about 6:30 pm. Glad we took down a bunch of trees on the property a while back...especially when we get strong winds/gusts.

Looking forward to some sunshine sometime during the Fall....

Stay safe, all ---
Gravy

[mcdude]

It's been pouring all day. My little lake is two feet higher than I've ever seen it before! My dock would be underwater except it has floated away! (and is caught on some branches a ways down the lake!) I'd post a photo but I'm on this slow modem up at the lake. Now the wind is picking up and the power is flickering off and on ...I guess I should sign off!

[Paugus Bay Resident]

Many docks by Zack's on Winnisquam are under water (some with boats tied to them) :eek: I checked on my boat this afternoon and couldn't believe how high the lake has risen in the past 10 days, especially considering the dam outflow. Looks like we get to deal with 50 mph winds now :rolleye2:

[Lakewinniboater]

I have to admit as horrible as I feel about your post McDude...... It made me giggle!

I hope that you get it back and that all works out well

[JK47]

50 mph winds! :eek: If anyone has any pics of the lake in this condition, it would be nice to see them (as well as tomorrow's windy day pics). I haven't been to the lake in over a month, and I'm interested to see how it looks in the aftermath of this rain/windstorm.

[Paugus Bay Resident]

JK47, I'll try to take some tomorrow

[Paugus Bay Resident]

Just heard (11pm) that the state is now sand bagging the top of the Lakeport dam to slow down the flow into Winnisquam and the Winni river. When I drove over the Mosquito bridge tonight I was amazed how high Winnisquam was. Lots of high water on Rt 3. Everyone stay safe.

[Bizer]

Just heard (11pm) that the state is now sand bagging the top of the Lakeport dam to slow down the flow into Winnisquam and the Winni river. ...

That seems kind of drastic. The lake is high, but it's still a foot lower than it was in June, 1998. Its only 3" above the May "full" (as of 10pm). If they really wanted to slow the flow, they could close the dam.

[Just Sold]

Channel 9 reported the lake could rise as much as 1 ft over the normal summer level. This could add a lot of debris from the shore into the lake. Hopefully not to much.

McD better get the Kayak out to tow the dock home! ;)

[Paugus Bay Resident]

Just reporting what I heard (Ch 9). I'll go down tomorrow morning to see for myself. Channel 9 is also reporting that the state said Winnipesaukee will likely rise to a level at least 1 foot above normal summer levels. Things can change very quickly. I assume they know what they're doing ;)

[JK47]

JK47, I'll try to take some tomorrow
Thanks, Paugus Bay Resident, looking forward to it :)

[ApS]

Still hoping for one more sunny day of sailing, so my boat's still in the water.

Although I checked my boat at the dock at sundown, it started banging the dock at midnight. The water level at midnight was higher than it was in May!

Lots of debris on and in the muddy water, too. I don't recall an October like this of late.

[Island Girl]

Thanks for the frequent updates to your lake levels page this week. It helps a lot to see what is going on.

[Bizer]

While Winnipesaukee & Winnisquam have risen about 20", Silver Lake (just downstream from Winnisquam) is up 74" in 10 days. I'm guesing that the TV station just announced the wrong dam. The flow at the Lakeport dam has been cut back from 2000 Cubic Feet per Second (CFS) to about 700 CFS. This is probably to reduce levels downstream. The flow at the Tilton dam (below Silver lake) is now over 4000 CFS, about 5 times normal.

http://www.bizer.com/lakelog.gif

[Island Girl]

http://fdimg.us.publicus.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=FD&Date=20051016&Category=NEWS01&ArtNo=110160001&Ref=V2&MaxW=200

Kevin Sperl/Staff Photo Not since 1984 has conditions warranted the sandbagging of the Lakeport Dam. With the levels of Lake Winnipesaukee reaching its maximum, Laconia Fire, Police and Public Works personnel fill and place sandbags around the top of the Lakeport Dam to gain another couple of feet of rising water.

[mcdude]

Wendy: We've been chuckling about this ourselves! Overnight the dock has miraculously floated back over in front of the cottage. Time to get out in the kayak and tie it to a tree or something as JustSold has suggested. :D Very windy out there! The foliage is actually peaking around here. Would be very nice if the weather weren't so gloomy!

[Bizer]

I guess there ARE sandbagging the Lakeport dam. I apologize for doubting PBR. (Actually, I though it was the TV station that goofed). However, the lake is still 13" below the 1984 level and 9" below the 1998 level (when they didn't use sandbags). I don't understand their use. Perhaps they are anticipating a large runoff from the hills over the next few days. FYI: As of 10:30, the lake is at 4.74, down a tad from the 7am reading of 4.75 (so it is not rising).

If anyone is going by the dam today, I'd like to find out how high the dam is above the current lake level.

[GWC...]

everyone posted to the same Lake Level thread; rather than creating new threads because of ?????

This from an earlier thread regarding the Lake Level provides some interesting info:

I'm not sure about the rain we're supposed to get today but it appears the lake has stopped rising and is headed back down. No wonder, if you look at the link below you'll find an amazing amount of water pouring out of Lakeport.


Lake level:
http://www.des.state.nh.us/rti_internal_home/station_information_display.asp?ID=WEIN3&NAME=Lake+Winnipesaukee#ops

Dam info:
http://www.des.state.nh.us/rti_internal_home/station_information_display.asp?ID=LKPN3&NAME=Lakeport+Dam

FYI : If you care to track the waters flow downstream look below. It appears Winnisquam came up 2 ft and has settled back 1 ft. Silver Lake came up 5 ft (!!!!) and has come down 1 ft.

http://www.des.state.nh.us/rti_internal_home/winni.asp

This is also an informative link, including wind speed:

http://www.wunderground.com/weatherstation/WXDailyHistory.asp?ID=KNHGILFO3

[Phantom]

Does anyone have a map or link that they could post showing the route/path that water leaving Lakeport Dam takes ??

[Resident 2B]

Phantom,

Although I do not have a map, the last of the three web sites in the post highlighted above your post shows some detail.

The water goes through the Lakeport Dam into Lake Winnisquam. From Lake Winnisquam it goes into Silver Lake and then into the Winnipesaukee River. You can see the flow on the Winnipesaukee River near Exit 20 of I-93.

The Winnipesaukee River dumps into the Merrimac.

The problem is if the level of Lake Winnipesaukee was to be lower by increasing the water through the Lakeport Dam while the down stream lakes and rivers are already high and in some cases in flood, There would be a bigger problem. Silver lake is up over 6 feet in the last 10 days as it is.

The folks that operate the dam do a great job of keeping the right amount of water in Lake Winnipesaukee while doing their best to moderate down stream problems.

I hope this helps.

[GWC...]

Try this MapTech link:

http://mapserver.maptech.com/homepage/index.cfm?lat=43.526201&lon=-71.473342&scale=100000&zoom=100&type=1&icon=0&searchscope=dom&CFID=1837931&CFTOKEN=94121118&&latlontype=DMS

[mcdude]

I've uploaded a few photos of all the water and rain up in my neck of the woods. CHECK IT OUT (http://mysite.verizon.net/vze3nm2c/october2005floodphotos/) :rolleye1:

[Island Girl]

Incredible amounts of water. Nice job, McD.

[Rattlesnake Gal]

Thanks for taking the time for the photos. Very dramatic.
I'm glad your dock came back to you! :confused: Isn't this the dock that floated away last winter? I thought you fixed it.

[mcdude]

:D Thanks for pointing that out, RG! As you can see I did not do such a great job! :laugh:

[Bizer]

Does anyone have a map or link that they could post showing the route/path that water leaving Lakeport Dam takes ??

Water from the Lakeport dam pretty much follows US-3 to Lowell, MA. It rarely is more than a mile from US-3.
The water drops about 12 feet into Opechee Lake thence passes through downtown Laconia into Winnisquam. It flows under route 3 at Mosquito Bridge which is at Winnisquam Marina. The river stays on the south side of Route 3 all the way to Franklin as depicted on the attached map. (about 9 miles from corner to corner).
http://www.bizer.com/000river.jpg


In Franklin it merges with the Pemigewasset river to form the Merrimac river and turns south to Concord, Hooksett, Manchester, Nashua, and Lowell. It leaves US-3 and turns east to Lawrence, Haverhill and the Atlantic Ocean.

[Rattlesnake Gal]

When I drove over the Mosquito bridge tonight I was amazed how high Winnisquam was.

We were amazed at the water level too!

http://www.winnipesaukee.com/photopost/data/513/medium/176A2_Oct_05_099_2.jpg

[Phantom]

Thanks all for the maps :)

[Lin]

neat photos McDude. We're sure hoping our canoe was far enough away from the shoreline. Going up this week to close down camp. Hoping for good weather.