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June 01. 2012 9:13PM

State under flood watch this weekend

Remember how nice Memorial Day weekend was? Get ready to pay for it.

Heavy rains will begin this morning that have the state on a flood watch, according to the National Weather Service.

“It's only lousy if you don't like rain,” said Margaret Curtis, a meteorologist with the weather service in Gray, Maine, which covers most of New Hampshire. “It's going to be a very wet weekend.”

Curtis said the rains will be heavy at times, resulting in rainfalls of up to 2 inches in southern and central portions of the state, but up to 6 inches in localized areas in the Conway and White Mountains areas. She said the entire state is under a flood watch and that the weather service expects portions of the Saco, Pemigewasset, Suncook and Warner rivers to reach flood stage.

“It's definitely something we want people to be aware of, particularly if they were planning to be camping near those beautiful babbling brooks that will be rising rapidly this weekend,” Curtis said.

Curtis said the state will also experience higher tides than normal in coastal areas.

The heavy rains come a few days after portions of the Monadnock Region experienced flash flooding Tuesday that damaged several state roads.

Gov. John Lynch is planning to tour the area on Monday to view the damage. The state has asked that the Federal Emergency Management Agency assess the damage in Cheshire County to determine whether the state is eligible for federal assistance.

“These heavy rains caused flash flooding that did significant damage to a number of roads. It is important we have an assessment completed to determine whether we qualify for federal aid, which will help the state and communities with the expense of fixing these roads,” Lynch said in a statement.

State Emergency Management officials are asking motorists to avoid roads that were damaged in the flooding. Many roads have been reopened, but this weekend's expected rain may weaken areas where temporary repairs have been made, according to the state.

“Work is continuing to repair flood-damaged roads, particularly in Keene and surrounding communities,” state Emergency Management Director Christopher M. Pope said in a statement. “We strongly urge people to watch for detours, lane closures and other unusual obstacles in that area.”

According to an extended National Weather Service forecast, some rain is expected each day until Friday, when the skies may clear again.

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