Nor’easter slams Sullivan County with heavy snow, power outages, travel bans

A powerful nor’easter produced blizzard conditions along New Hampshire’s seacoast and hazardous travel statewide as the storm peaked on Feb. 23. The National Weather Service “confirmed Monday afternoon that a blizzard had been reached in Portsmouth and Rochester,” while a coastal flood warning covered coastal Rockingham County from 1 to 6 p.m., putting low-lying coastal roads and properties at immediate risk.

Forecasts and observations differed across the state, producing a sharp geographic divide in accumulations. A social post warned, “Many areas are expected to receive 1–2 feet of snow,” while official storm guidance showed heavier totals focused in southern New Hampshire - roughly 8 to 14 inches in southern parts and 6 to 12 inches for Concord and central New Hampshire. A regional forecast breakdown predicted much of southern New Hampshire would pick up 4 to 8 inches, with portions of the lower Monadnock region, Merrimack Valley and the Seacoast possibly seeing 8 to 12 inches, and only a coating to 2 inches north of the White Mountains.

Wind amplified the danger from heavy snow. Forecasters warned of “storm force winds of 30 to 40 mph inland and up to 50 mph along the New Hampshire coast,” with localized gusts over 40 mph creating very low visibility in coastal towns. The storm photo record shows conditions on the seacoast: “Few motorists ventured out along Route 1A in Rye on Feb. 23, 2026,” a scene that matched warnings to avoid nonessential travel.

Travel systems were disrupted across the region. Road conditions were described as hazardous and travel bans were reported in some jurisdictions; a social post said, “Roads are hazardous, schools are closed, and thousands of flights have been canceled. Travel bans are active in some regions.” One operational tally cited 125 cancelled and 219 delayed flights at Boston Logan on Feb. 23, adding airport congestion to highway shutdowns for commuters headed toward Boston.

Utilities recorded scattered outages as crews worked to restore power. As of 5:30 p.m., Unitil reported 49 customers without power and Eversource had about 877 customers impacted, reflecting mostly localized interruptions rather than widespread long-duration outages. Emergency crews were described as “working tirelessly to clear roads and restore services,” with municipalities balancing plowing, road closures and responder safety during high winds and whiteout conditions.

Community response appeared on social media as neighbors shared updates and prayers. One Facebook post included the appeal, “Residents are strongly encouraged to stay indoors, avoid unnecessary travel, and check on elderly neighbors and vulnerable family members,” followed by a prayer block that began, “May every family stay warm. May power be restored quickly where it is lost.” That post showed 10 reactions, one comment and six shares at the time it was captured, and included a user comment invoking prayer for protection.

Notably, statewide reports and warning lists named Rockingham and eastern Hillsborough counties and specific towns such as Manchester, Nashua, Salem, Portsmouth, Rye and Hampton under blizzard or winter-storm warnings; Sullivan County was not cited by name in the available statewide accounts. Local officials and county emergency management will need to confirm Sullivan County’s storm totals, road closures and any outage reports as crews continue clearance and restoration work into the next day.