On Saturday morning, March 5th, a frontal system was located over the Ohio and Mississippi River Valleys.  Ahead of the front, south to southwest winds ushered in some very mild air.  Temperatures across most of southern and central New Hampshire warmed into the lower 50s during the day and remained well above freezing Saturday night.  At 7 AM Sunday, temperatures were in the upper 40s to lower 50s across the state.  By Sunday morning, March 6th, the front had moved east to the Appalachians and the strong southerly flow ahead of the system continued to bring mild temperatures and tropical moisture northeast from the Gulf of Mexico and southern Atlantic Ocean.   Temperatures Sunday climbed into the middle 50s across the state.   An area of low pressure began to develop over the southeastern states Sunday and then moved northeast along the frontal boundary Sunday night and Monday as it intensified rapidly.  Light rain, associated with the approaching cold front began to fall Sunday morning.  The precipitation became heavy by late afternoon as the intensifying area of low pressure approached New Hampshire from the south.  At the same time, colder air started funneling into the state from the north and changed the rain to snow across Coos County.  As the colder air continued to move southward late Sunday afternoon and evening, the rain changed to freezing rain across Grafton County and the higher elevations of Sullivan and Merrimack Counties.  Across the state, heavy snow, freezing rain and rain continued through the night and finally ended early Monday afternoon, March 7th.  In addition to the precipitation, strong and gusty winds developed across the region Sunday night and continued Monday.  Winds gusted to about 20 to 25 mph across much of southern New Hampshire during the storm with gusts of about 30 to 45 mph as the storm moved east Monday afternoon.
Across northern New Hampshire, snowfall accumulations from the storm ranged from 8 to 22 inches.  In Grafton and Sullivan Counties, ice accretions of �� inch were reported, although local amounts were likely higher.   This ice, in combination with the wind, brought down trees and tree limbs across Grafton and Sullivan Counties leading to numerous power outages and more than $700,000 in damage.
Rainfall amounts across the southern part of the state were generally in the 1 to 3 inch range, with locally higher amounts.  In addition, melting snow, due to the mild temperatures, contributed to the runoff from the storm.  The rainfall and melting snow caused river levels to rise which caused river ice to break and move downstream. Several breakup ice jams occurred, with the most notable jams being in West Claremont on the Sugar River and in Plymouth on the Pemigewasset River.  Other jams occurred on the Baker and Contoocook Rivers.  These ice jams remained in place for several days.

Heavy Snow in NORTHERN COOS, NEW HAMPSHIRE
From 06-MAR-11 14:00:00 to 07-MAR-11 15:00:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Official NWS Observations

Heavy Snow in SOUTHERN COOS, NEW HAMPSHIRE
From 06-MAR-11 14:00:00 to 07-MAR-11 15:00:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Official NWS Observations

Ice Storm in SULLIVAN, NEW HAMPSHIRE
From 06-MAR-11 14:00:00 to 07-MAR-11 15:00:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 400.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Emergency Manager

Ice Storm in SOUTHERN GRAFTON, NEW HAMPSHIRE
From 06-MAR-11 14:00:00 to 07-MAR-11 15:00:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 159.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Emergency Manager

Ice Storm in NORTHERN GRAFTON, NEW HAMPSHIRE
From 06-MAR-11 14:00:00 to 07-MAR-11 15:00:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 159.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Emergency Manager