Spring 2014 Flood Potential

[CanisLupusArctos]

Property owners in the lakes region should monitor the weather this spring for conditions that would lead to flooding. We have quite a snowpack this year, and we entered the month of April with close to a foot of snow on the ground at the WeatherCam, which had been white to a depth of six inches or more since mid-December. Today we have 8 inches of snow on the ground.

There is even more snow in the mountains of the lakes region and to our north. It will become part of the lake and river levels when it melts. Some of the lake's ice is made of snow that fell, melted, and refroze during the winter. When that melts, it, too, will add to the lake level.

The condition of New Hampshire's roads is terrible after the toll frost heaves, and the melting/refreezing process have taken on them. Potholes and numerous breaks in the pavement exist. Given the already high water tables and the amount of snow left to melt, it will not take much for many roads to wash out. Take heed of flood warnings when they are issued.