Hampton Beach crowds swell as warm weekend draws scores outdoors

hampton beach drew large crowds over the weekend as summerlike weather sent scores of people to Seacoast-area beaches from Hampton Beach to Wallis Sands in Rye. The warm stretch also coincided with Black Mountain Ski Area's final ski day on Sunday, a season Erik Mogensen said lasted seven months.

Black Mountain Ski Area

Mogensen, the ski area's president and general manager, said Black Mountain's season lasted seven months. Killington in Vermont will be the only New England ski area outlasting Black Mountain, according to him. At Black Mountain on Sunday, Henniker skier Lisa Lamphere said, "We just wanted to have fun," during a 70s theme night.

Lamphere also said, "They know how to throw a party and the snow is fabulous." Her comments came as the ski area closed out a long season while beach crowds were building along the coast.

National Weather Service Forecast

The National Weather Service forecast showed temperatures climbing into the low 90s for southern New Hampshire on Tuesday and into the mid-80s elsewhere. A chance of a thunderstorm was forecast for Tuesday afternoon in the Mount Washington Valley and south of the White Mountains.

A cooler, drier front was expected Thursday and Friday, ending the warm run that packed beaches and pushed people outdoors across the state. For readers headed to the coast, the practical takeaway is simple: Hampton Beach and the rest of the Seacoast drew the weekend crowd, while the next notable weather shift was already on the forecast for later in the week.