How Wet Will It Get? Labor Day Ends With Rain on NH Seacoast

The Labor Day holiday weekend comes to a wet and cool end with much-needed rain as a stalled cold front sends rounds of precipitation across the Seacoast region.

A light to moderate rain will be the focus of the forecast through Tuesday morning with some locally heavy downpours and thunderstorms, according to meteorologist Jerry Combs at the National Weather Service in Gray, Maine.

It will also help make up the 6-8 inch rainfall deficit that coastal areas of the Seacoast have right now.

"As long as the rainfall amounts aren't too high, this is exactly what we need," Combs told Seacoast Current.

Combs is expecting 1-3 inches to fall, with the potential for 4 inches in some spots. A Flood Watch is in effect for the entire Seacoast from Massachusetts into Maine through Tuesday as waves of precipitation move through.

"This is all due to a very moist air mass that's moved over the area. There's a kind of a stalled frontal boundary that's kind of a driving mechanism of all this. It's going to be a soggy Labor Day," Combs said.

Steady Rain Helps Best

Given the current drought situation, and if rainfall amounts don't exceed what is being forecast, Combs said high water should not be a major issue. That said, too much at once could create problems.

"If we get underneath a more persistent shower or storm that just dumps a couple inches in an hour or if too much falls in a short time, that could still result in some flooding concerns," Combs said."As long as it doesn't come down too fast and furious in a short time span, we should be able to take it."

Combs said the impact of the rainfall will be reflected in the U.S. Drought Watch update to be issued Thursday. It takes into account precipitation until Tuesday at 8 a.m.

Part of Strafford and all of Rockingham County are under a severe drought while York County is under a moderate drought.  Essex County in Massachusetts is in a severe drought.

Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com or via Twitter @DanAlexanderNH