Flooding closes roads, prompts evacuations in Upper Valley area

Windsor — Officials have closed roads in Newport, Windsor and Cornish today in response to flooding associated with the January thaw that began with Friday night’s rainfall.

Emergency dispatchers used social media to ask motorists along Route 12A to find alternate routes to avoid flooded areas, while police and fire department responders set up roadblocks and asked residents in a handful of homes to evacuate.

As rising water levels from a small stream that connects the Connecticut River to Lake Runnemede inundated the parking lot of a retail plaza along Route 5 in Windsor, the Price Chopper there made an early afternoon decision to temporarily close its doors.

By the mid-afternoon, police and fire officials said water levels appeared to be stable or receding, but they expressed wariness about the possibility of a major ice jam breaking and creating a surge of water.

Posted Saturday at 4:10 p.m. Find a full report in the Sunday Valley News. Matt Hongoltz-Hetling can be reached at mhonghet@vnews.com or 603-727-3211.