History of Flooding in Plymouth

From tropical storms to flash floods and ice dams, the town of Plymouth, New Hampshire has seen its share of major floods come and go throughout the years. The recent flooding on Thurs., Apr. 18 was a mild reminder of the harsh years through which the town of Plymouth has endured.

At nearly 17 feet high, the recent flooding seeped into the grassy fields and parking lots on Holderness Road near the Plymouth State University campus. "We made the decision as a university to clear out parking lots [on Holderness Road] which were flooded. And for a duration of 3 or 4 days, we had students park in other areas on campus," said Bruce Lyndes, News Service Manager for Plymouth State University.

However, while some off-campus apartments and businesses felt a slight impact, Lyndes said it was nothing compared to the impact of Irene in 2011. "Trucks from Physical Plant were driving up to the main campus. It was so bad that we couldn't conduct normal business. The latest incident in flooding was an inconvenience, but it wasn't a major catastrophe."

Irene reached a total measured height of 21.69 feet. Flood stage is about 13 feet. "To see the PE Center, Hanaway Rink, as well as the two gas stations and Physical Plant was quite a site," said senior meteorology major, Eric Brill. "I was in awe of the raw power Mother Nature had." The university's $16 million arena was flooded with four inches of water by 3:30 a.m. Plymouth Police Chief Jake Patridge said officials believed the facility's heavy flood door failed to work.

When asked what disadvantages the town of Plymouth has during floods, Brill said, "the buildings of the East side of the Pemigewassett River can, and have been in great danger whenever the snowpack from up North melts."

Spouts of extreme weather hitting the Pemigewasset River, particularly in the spring months, have always caused local floods. However due to the long New England winters, melted snow has often been a major contributing factor to the high water levels. Such was the case with the flood of 1936 when melted snow from a lengthy winter and intense rain from a stalled warm front flooded the streets of Plymouth and Holderness to the record height of 29 feet. "There isn't much anyone can really do about it, as putting some sort of retaining wall up would devastate some of the regions down South," said Brill.

As a meteorology major, Brill has a unique appreciation for the power of storms. "You hear of tornadoes happening in the Midwest, and hurricanes and typhoons happening around the world, but until you see these events occur in person, pictures and videos don't do it justice."

When Irene hit the town on Aug. 28, 2011, residential advisors had already arrived on campus before the school year started. With classes being delayed, there weren't any students to help move in, so the RAs took to helping displaced citizens find shelter in the Hartman Union Building. "The people that took shelter were from Plymouth and Campton," said Lyndes. "Regular people came here because we opened shelter to the community."

Regarding preparation in cases of flash floods, Lyndes said, "in my tenure here that hasn't happened. We are so tuned in to when there is a possible flood. It doesn't happen as a big surprise, we know it's coming. If we know there's ice on the river, if we know there's an ice melt, if we know there's precipitation, all those elements suggest to us that flooding is a probability and we act accordingly. We're proactive."

When asked if the campus is vulnerable to potential flooding in the future, Lyndes said, "I don't think we have much of a problem on campus because of the geographic location of our residence halls. The bulk of our students live 100 feet above the flood plain. You might get some off-campus students who are in trouble, and we would do the same thing and open a shelter that would probably accommodate between 50 and 100 people." These locations would likely be the HUB as the school has done in the past or the armory below Langdon Woods.

Though the university campus has the advantage of elevation, off-campus residencies have a history of seeing the bulk of flood damage in their basements. On Dec. 22, 1973 the fire department was called in at 3:30 pm in response to a flooded South River Street home. "We often will have to bring in a portable pump," said Captain Steve Vachon of the Plymouth Fire Department. "We have to shut off the utilities first, and then suck out the water before it freezes over. Holderness frequently has to evacuate on North South River Street in the 175A area. Generally we'll assist in closures or if anybody needs help evacuating or needs to be rescued."

In 1973, at water levels of 20 feet, power throughout the town was cut by the storm while fears mounted that low overnight temperatures would freeze the roads over into solid ice. The National Guard was called in as well as the Plymouth Civil Defense organization to serve residents and businesses on River Street and in nearby Holderness. 24 Guardsmen, 8 Civil Defense members, and 14 volunteers were responding to distress signals over the WPNH radio, which stayed on long after its normal schedule.

With such devastating recorded impacts, many wonder what could be done to stop such catastrophes from happening in the future. "There's nothing we can do to prevent flooding in the area," said Lyndes. "Because of the land, because of the river, because of the conditions Mother Nature has provided, we'll never be able to eliminate the threat of flooding. All we can do is appropriately plan, and we've done that with the AllWell Center and we did that with the ice arena."

To find out more information about floods in Plymouth feel free to contact Jennifer Gilbert NH Office Energy of Planning (603 271 1762) o any PSU Meteorology faculty (including Dr. Eric Kelsey , Dr. Sam Miller).