New Hampshire had its warmest winter on record, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The average temperature for meteorological winter – December through February – was 28 degrees. That’s almost 9 degrees warmer than an average winter between 1896 and 2000.
Melting ice and slushy snow interfered with longstanding winter traditions and created tough conditions for skiers. Warm temperatures brought rain that fell on top of snow, causing major flooding in the North Country.
At the National Weather Service’s climate site in Concord, the temperature never dropped below zero degrees. There’s only been two other winters when that agency didn’t record any sub-zero temperatures at the site since recordkeeping began in 1868.
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The lowest temperature on the coldest night of the year has increased between 6 and 14 degrees across the state in the last 50 years, according to the state’s latest climate assessment.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Centers for Environmental Information
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New Hampshire’s average temperature during meteorological winter (December-February) from 1895 to 2024.
This winter was marked by a strong El Niño, a recurring climate phenomenon characterized by warm temperatures in the Pacific Ocean that can bring better chances for warmer temperatures in the northern United States.
But as humans continue to burn fossil fuels and heat up the atmosphere, winters in New Hampshire are also getting warmer over time.
State climatologist Mary Stampone said this winter is part of that pattern.
“When you look back at the long-term records, the average winter temperatures are steadily increasing,” she said. “Mild winters like this are on the high end because of the added influence of El Niño. But this is still much higher than what El Niño winters did in the 70s and the 80s.”
But, Stampone said, there’s still time to mitigate climate change enough to keep winters like this one as some of the warmest, instead of the new normal.
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“This doesn’t have to be every winter,” she said. “It can be our ‘warm’ winter, if we mitigate.”
Winter is the fastest-warming season in New Hampshire and most other places in the United States. This winter was the warmest on record for the United States as a whole, and seven other states also had their warmest winters, according to NOAA.
Minimum winter temperatures in New Hampshire are expected to warm more than seven degrees by the middle of the century in a scenario with a higher concentration of greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere.
But if people cut climate-warming emissions, winters are expected to warm less. In a lower-emissions scenario, minimum temperatures could warm about five and a half degrees, according to the 2021 state climate assessment.
Authorities ruled the death of a 62-year-old man who was found stabbed at his home in Laconia, N.H. last week a homicide, prosecutors said Tuesday.
An autopsy by the state medical examiner’s office found that John Anderson died from stab wounds to the neck, the office of Attorney General John M. Formella said in a statement.
Police went to Anderson’s apartment at 217 South Main St. the morning of April 14 for a welfare check when officers discovered his body, Formella’s office said in a previous statement.
No arrests were reported.
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State Police detectives asked the public for information about Anderson’s movements or activity at his home from April 12 to April 14.
Anderson’s death was the first of two homicides in Laconia on April 14.
Linda Dionne, 58, was found dead at 52 Old Prescott Hill Road around 1:40 p.m., Formella’s office said. An autopsy showed she died of strangulation.
Dionne’s son Christopher Garon, 32, was at the scene and shortly arrested and charged with second-degree murder, officials said.
Chloe Pisani can be reached at chloe.pisani@globe.com.
PORTLAND, Maine (WGME) — Police say they found a missing New Hampshire teen during a traffic stop in Portland on Monday.
Police say they stopped a car at the intersection of Hanover Street and Lancaster Street around 8:35 p.m.
Police say they arrested 19-year-old Wyatt Boulette of Springvale and charged him with operating after suspension or revocation and violating conditions of release. He was taken to the Cumberland County Jail.
A 17-year-old boy, who was a passenger in the car, had a warrant for his arrest. He taken Long Creek Youth Development Center in South Portland.
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Wyatt Boulette (Cumberland County Jail)
Police say another passenger, a 17-year-old girl, had been reported missing in Tilton, New Hampshire. She was taken to the Portland Police Department, where she was later released to her mother.
No other details have been released at this time.
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Anyone who has any information about this case is asked to call the Portland Police Department at (207) 874-8575. You may also text the keyword PPDME and your message to 847411.
A man was killed Monday in an exchange of gunfire with police in Ashland, New Hampshire, authorities said.
The office of New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella said Ashland police stopped a vehicle Monday evening on Main Street. A man in the vehicle, whose name has not been released, allegedly pulled a gun.
Officials said the man shot and wounded one police officer. The man was shot during the confrontation and was pronounced dead at the scene.
The officer is being treated at a hospital for a gunshot injury. No one else was hurt, authorities said.
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Formella’s office is investigating the shooting alongside New Hampshire State Police.
The names of the officers involved in the incident will not be shared until interviews are completed, authorities said. The man killed in the shooting will be publicly identified after next of kin are notified and an autopsy is conducted.
