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Nearly 17 inches of rain fell on Mount Washington in July, setting a record for the month

By Travis Andersen Globe Staff,Updated July 31, 2023, 5:33 p.m.

Mount Washington in New Hampshire has set a new record for rainfall in July with nearly 17 inches, officials said.

The Mount Washington Observatory said Sunday that weather observer Alexis George had measured 0.56 inches of precipitation on the mountain at 7:45 p.m. Saturday, and that another measure was taken overnight, totaling 16.91 inches of precipitation for the month.

That broke the previous record of 16.85 inches set in July 1996 and is almost 8 inches above the average precipitation for the month, the observatory said.

Temperatures, meanwhile, fell to nearly freezing over the weekend.

“Temperatures on the summit plummeted to the mid-30s last night and are expected to remain below seasonal averages through the midweek,” the observatory said in a statement. “If climbing into the White Mountains, expect conditions akin to fall rather than summer. This includes cooler temperatures, slightly elevated winds, and wind chills that are below freezing.”

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Heavy rains on July 16 hit some parts of the state hard, damaging roads, flooding basements, and even causing a sinkhole, as some waterways reached record highs. On Friday, the National Weather Service confirmed a tornado had touched down in southwest New Hampshire.

The twister first touched down in Swanzey, then it lifted briefly and touched down again near the border of Keene and Marlborough, before moving east along Route 101 to Dublin, where it toppled several hundred large healthy trees, forecasters reported Friday. The tornado’s path was 13 miles.

The damage in Dublin, N.H. included broken windows, siding and shingles ripped away, and trees toppled onto cars and buildings, according to the report.

Material from prior Globe stories was used in this report.

Travis Andersen can be reached at travis.andersen@globe.com.

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