Wet, Windy Winds Create Wasteland

Thursday’s sudden storm brought about more than dangerous, heavy winds to Durham, NH: over 50 trees were completely knocked over and uprooted, causing damage to cars and buildings but no people, according to the UNH Grounds and Events Manager.

The storm, which was the result of cold air from Canada mixed with warm air from the southern United States, created a strong low pressure system. This Noreaster came from the coast and produced winds gusts near 68 mph in nearby Portsmouth, NH.

Mary Stampone, of the Department of Geography at UNH, explained that although winds of 68 mph were not the average during the storm, the winds were still high enough to cause severe damage to trees.

“I would be shocked if it didn’t get close to setting a record,” said Stampone of the winds.

Thomas Byron, the UNH Grounds and Events Manager, explained that mostly pines and some hardwoods fell Thursday night and into Friday morning. Falling limbs hit parked cards, causing damage to some vehicles, and even hit the honors dorm, Hubbard Hall.

Although the dorm building was hit, only a window was broken. No other damage or injuries to students occured.

Erika Mantz, director of Media Relations at UNH, explained that UNH decided to delay their opening at 4 a.m. Friday morning. Five hours later, however, the school decided to curtail operations for the entire day.

“Power came back on sometime Friday afternoon,” said Mantz. Despite the return of power, damage throughout campus and the continued lack of power in surrounding towns made normal daily functions impossible.

Meanwhile, the Dimond Library, survived its own share of damage over the weekend. A water damage break flooded the building Friday night. The library, which was closed all weekend, may require a more expensive fix than anything charged by removing trees, explained Mantz.

Although no students were injured in the storm, UNH Maintenance workers were forced to work extra hours starting from 2:30 a.m. until early Friday morning.

Unitil Utility Company, a local power company, explained that while this storm was damaging, the 2008 ice storm hit the area harder. They surmise that everyone should be restored to power within the next day. Unitil, which provides power to many in southern NH, has been participating in specialized training since the 2008 storm.

The local hospitals were unavailable for comment on the storm, but were aware of many calls to the fire department reporting fallen trees and powerlines.