The Last Rains of A Very Wet July Cause Road Damage, Flooding In Western New Hampshire

Several roads in Langdon, N.H. were washed out following rains on Thursday, July 29. The town’s police department urged caution to residents on July 30. Rain hit Sullivan County again on Sunday, August 1. (Courtesy Langdon Police Department)

Around 20 towns throughout western New Hampshire are dealing with washed-out roads, damaged bridges and flooding after rain hit the area over the weekend.

Jennifer Harper, New Hampshire’s Homeland Security and Emergency Management director, said recovery efforts have been difficult. She said her crews and the state’s department of transportation have been out helping affected towns.

“[Towns] don’t have a lot of staffing resources,” she said. “Everyone is short-staffed. I know a lot of the communities were having a hard time securing gravel or sand and they needed to do some temporary repairs.”

July was one of the wettest months on record, with some parts of the state getting about a foot and a half of rain.

That meant when this past weekend’s rain fell, there was nowhere for the water to go.

“It gets to a certain point where it can’t hold anymore, just as a sponge would,” said Andrew Pohl, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service.

Scientists say climate change is driving more of this volatile weather and an overall increase in precipitation in the Northeast.

Click here for the full story from New Hampshire Public Radio.