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"It was no longer a hurricane Monday night, but Sandy brought high winds and heavy rain to New Hampshire, leaving about 200,000\u00A0Granite Staters without power.Live Updates: Latest information on Hurricane SandyThe National Hurricane Center said the storm became a post-tropical cyclone as it merged with two cold-weather systems in the mid-Atlantic region.Gov. John Lynch declared a state of emergency earlier in the day as the then-hurricane was still offshore. About 1-3 inches of rain was expected, and up to 4-5 inches of rain could fall in some areas. Wind gusts of 76 mph on the Isles of Shoals and 62 mph in Londonderry were recorded.On Mount Washington, the highest wind gust was 118 mph by 6 p.m.\u00A0\"It's clear that New Hampshire will be experiencing a very, very significant weather event,\" Lynch said.The emergency declaration gives the governor extra authority to deal with the storm and helps line the state up for federal disaster relief, as necessary.The governor mobilized 100 members of the National Guard who are on standby to help when needed. Guard members were stationed in Manchester, Plymouth and the Air National Guard Base at Pease.See the latest weather photos u local in the slideshow below.12986246Lynch said he's staying at the Emergency Operations Center to monitor the storm. High wind warnings were in place across the state, and more than 211,000 outages were reported Monday evening.By midnight, that number had dipped just below 200,000.Several towns, including Windham and Derry were hit hard by outages. Many residents said they weren't surprised.\"I was expecting it, especially when I saw something burning down here, and then I saw some sparks,\" said resident Ed Lynch. \"I said, 'Uh oh. It's not going to be too long. The power is going.\"Trees and branches blocked many roads across the state. Transportation officials said at least 50 local roads were closed, along with four state roads:\u00A0Mast Road in Goffstown, Route 125 in Lee, 107 in Raymond and Route 155A in the Lee/Durham area.A tree ripped down a major power line and closed Rockingham Road at Page Road in Londonderry. Several companies must work together to clear such closures.\"When Public Service comes and clears the scene, we'll clear our line, but we have to have them come first,\" said foreman Dan Harte of Fairpoint Communications.Shoppers stocked up on supplies in case of lengthy power outages during Hurricane Sandy.At the Market Basket on Daniel Webster Highway in Nashua, officials said there was an increase in business over the weekend.Authorities said most people were stocking up on water and batteries.The store's assistant manager said the volume of customers Monday was only slightly above average.Coastal flooding is one of the concerns over the next couple of days. Many people gathered at Hampton Beach on Monday morning to watch the high, crashing waves ahead of the storm.\"This is the worst I've ever seen, and I've lived here 35, 40 years,\" said resident Charlene Fowler.At Hampton River Marina, workers and boat owners made final checks before the heaviest wind and rain arrived.\"I think it will be OK,\" said Rich Cosentino, of Exeter. \"I don't think the water will rise above those rocks, but from what I'm hearing the surge isn't going to be as high here as it is down south.\"More than 10,000 flights across the Northeast were canceled, including at Manchester-Boston Regional Airport.Amtrak stopped service throughout the Northeast corridor, and public transit systems in New York, Philadelphia and Washington were shut down. The MBTA shut down train and bus service at 2 p.m.\u00A0"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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