- Mar 25, 2007
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It hasn't been as bad as it was when I first moved to New England. When I first moved here, which wasn't all THAT long ago, we got about 6-8 feet of snow every winter (sometimes in only 2-3 snowstorms), and it would start with a light snow for Halloween and last till early May. In shadows over the parking lot snow dumps, the snow would seriously last till nearly June. Winter temps Jan-Feb didn't get above freezing, ever, for a solid two months, sometimes three (mid Dec - mid March). The thing is, if it's that cold consistently then it doesn't get very windy, and the only precipitation you get at all is snow. You don't get ice or sleet or freezing rain except in fall/spring. Snow is easier to drive in than the ice and freezing rain. You can ride a mountain bike in consistently cold, non-windy weather, with enough layers on. Snow falls off power lines and trees, even rotten trees.
Now it doesn't snow till December at least, just the freezing rain and sleet. There are enough warmish days that it's always windy, blowing what snow there is, into your eyes. The ice storms ensure that trees and power lines come down with annoying regularity. I will agree with anyone who says it's a real fool who moves to this climate and relies exclusively on the power/gas company for heat and cooking, but the firewood from other states brings bug problems here. The downed trees mean a lot of chainsaw work in hazardous weather, a lot of blocked roads that emergency crews can't get through. The past few springs, we've had late frosts and snowstorms, big thunderstorms in April - May during the orchard bloom times, so not much fruit from the local trees.
So far this year, the snow has come late and we've had a few warm thaws. Lots of ice storms and power outages, and those aren't normal. I've been glad for the kerosene lamps and the wood stove. Today is the usual cold, and we're due for a snow/ice storm tonight, I'm hauling firewood for sure. But I made sure to wrap my fruit trees in burlap this fall to save the spring buds.
Now it doesn't snow till December at least, just the freezing rain and sleet. There are enough warmish days that it's always windy, blowing what snow there is, into your eyes. The ice storms ensure that trees and power lines come down with annoying regularity. I will agree with anyone who says it's a real fool who moves to this climate and relies exclusively on the power/gas company for heat and cooking, but the firewood from other states brings bug problems here. The downed trees mean a lot of chainsaw work in hazardous weather, a lot of blocked roads that emergency crews can't get through. The past few springs, we've had late frosts and snowstorms, big thunderstorms in April - May during the orchard bloom times, so not much fruit from the local trees.
So far this year, the snow has come late and we've had a few warm thaws. Lots of ice storms and power outages, and those aren't normal. I've been glad for the kerosene lamps and the wood stove. Today is the usual cold, and we're due for a snow/ice storm tonight, I'm hauling firewood for sure. But I made sure to wrap my fruit trees in burlap this fall to save the spring buds.
