Power outages, road closures continue throughout Monadnock Region
Snowplows filter through downtown Keene on Monday afternoon during a continuous snowfall that began Sunday night.
Kaiden, 7, Breelynn, 4, and Kolson Gates, 2, slide down the towering piles of snow outside the skate park on Gilbo Avenue in Keene during Monday's snowstorm. The siblings played in the snow with their brother and mom for three hours before taking refuge in their warm apartment.
In the wake of a fierce snow storm, thousands of Monadnock Region residents are without power, according to utility companies throughout the area.
Additionally, downed trees and wires from the wet, heavy snow have contributed to numerous road closures and vehicle crashes, according to first responders. As of about 2:30 p.m. Monday, the Cheshire County Sheriff’s Office dispatch center had handled more than 175 calls for service since midnight, the agency said in a Facebook post.
“Be safe, give yourself plenty of time if you need to travel and be prepared to deal with a detour due to the numerous road closure due to trees and wires down,” the post reads.
As of roughly 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, Southwestern N.H. District Fire Mutual Aid has dispatched more than 200 calls since the storm began, including dozens of reports of downed trees on wires, according to the agency’s Twitter feed.
In Keene, the following roads remain closed at about 9 a.m., according to police: Maple Avenue from Melody Lane to Oriole Avenue, the entrance to Wheelock Park up to the beginning of the parking lot near the pool and Wyman Road.
“Other roads may be restricted to one lane but remain passable. Drivers are urged to use caution when navigating the reduced-width roadways,” Keene Police Lt. Benjamin Nugent said in an email Monday afternoon. “Eversource and other crews continue to work diligently to return service and open roadways as soon as possible.”
According to Eversource’s outage map, as of about 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, more than 8,000 customers in southwestern New Hampshire were impacted. The areas reporting the most outages included Keene, Swanzey, Winchester, Peterborough, Jaffrey and Rindge. Some of those customers had been without power since 1 or 2 a.m., according to the utility, which serves a majority of the Monadnock Region.
Eversource customers were reporting power loss all over the southern portion of New Hampshire, with more than 57,000 customers affected statewide as of 8:30 a.m..
As of 8:30 a.m., Liberty Utilities reported a pair of outages in Alstead, which were expected to be resolved around 10 a.m. Tuesday, according to that company’s outage map. At the same time, The N.H. Electric Co-Op outage map, which reported more than 100 outages in Charlestown Monday, showed none in the southwestern portion of the state.
In a news release from Eversource Monday afternoon, the electric company said hundreds of crews were working in the state to clear damage from downed trees and wires and restore power.
“On top of the snow buildup and weakened trees from other recent storms, the winter storm hitting New England is bringing trees and limbs down onto the electric system and causing significant damage in nearly every region of the state,” Eversource President of Electric Operations in New Hampshire Doug Foley said in the release.
Eversource added that it’s pulling additional crews and resources from Connecticut and Massachusetts to assist in the restoration Monday. As of 12:15 p.m., workers had restored power to more than 50,000 customers statewide since the storm began Sunday evening, according to the release.
A news release Eversource sent Tuesday states that all customers still without power will receive an estimated restoration time later that day. The company has established mobile command centers in some of the hardest-hit communities, including Keene, to assist in those efforts.
With so many in need, the Keene Family YMCA encouraged anyone without power to visit the Summit Road facility, as long as it is open and has power, to access the showers, bathrooms, heat, electricity, WiFi or to seek shelter from the storm, the organization said in an email to The Sentinel. The Y is open Monday-Friday 5 a.m. to 9 p.m., Saturdays 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sundays 8 a.m. to noon.
In Swanzey, the town opened Whitcomb Hall as a warming center from 5-10 p.m. Monday night, according to a post on the Town of Swanzey Facebook page. The building is also available from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday. Residents can come to warm up, charge their phones or other devices, using their own chargers, and use the kitchen with their own food, according to the post. For more information, contact the town’s Deputy Emergency Management Director Pam Fortner at pfortner@swanzeynh.gov or 603-313-6571.
Jon Palmer, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Gray, Maine, said Tuesday around 8:30 a.m. that the Monadnock Region accumulated between 10 and 15 inches of snow.
This article has been updated with additional information from Eversource regarding restoration times.
Hunter Oberst can be reached at 355-8546, or hoberst@keenesentinel.com.
