PLYMOUTH — Water-related disasters, such as the historic flooding that destroyed roads, infrastructure and property in northern New Hampshire in December 2023, continue to trend upward as a result of global warming. These increasing disasters place immense financial stress on the already-strained budgets of individuals, municipalities, states and the federal government. The state of the winter snowpack — critical to the economy and lifestyles of northern New England — plays a significant role in the probability that these disasters will occur.

With a two-year, $192,000 grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, researchers at the Judd Gregg Meteorology Institute at Plymouth State University will comb through nearly a century’s worth of snowpack data from across the Northeast to develop a Snow Drought Index and other tools to be used by NOAA, the National Weather Service, the National Integrated Drought Information System and others to better understand the changes in winter precipitation and persistence and to help improve the protection of life, property and the ecosystems of the Northeast.

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