Climate
Montgomery County lies within the northern portions of the humid subtropical climate. It has four distinct seasons. Hot, humid summers and chilly winters are the normal. Precipitation is fairly evenly distributed throughout the year, with annual totals averaging about 44 inches. Thunderstorms are common during the summer months with about 35 days experiencing thunder in the average year. While heavier precipitation is more common with thunderstorms in the summer, this is the season when droughts are most frequent. Summer precipitation is more variable than in winter.
The mean annual temperature is about 55 degrees F. The average summer afternoon maximum is about 85 F with the morning minimums about 65 F. In winter, the average maximum is about 43 F with the morning minimum about 28 F. Extremes heat waves can produce temperatures around 100 F with extreme cold snaps dropping lows to 0 to -10 F.
The average yearly snowfall for the county ranges from 21" in the southernmost extents to 32" across the northern portions where elevations are highest (850 ft. msl) in the Damascus area.
While infrequent, large snowstorms, called nor'easters (named for the northeast movement along the Atlantic Ocean coast and their strong winds blowing from the northeast) can sometimes paralyze the area. During the record snowy winter of 2009-2010, almost 100 inches of snow was officially reported by a National Weather Service observer in Damascus for the winter. The depth of snow on the ground also reached a all-time historical record of 37 inches during that winter in February 2010.
Read more about this topic: Montgomery County, Maryland
Famous quotes containing the word climate:
“The climate of Ohio is perfect, considered as the home of an ideal republican people. Climate has much to do with national character.... A climate which permits labor out-of-doors every month in the year and which requires industry to secure comfort—to provide food, shelter, clothing, fuel, etc.—is the very climate which secures the highest civilization.”
—Rutherford Birchard Hayes (1822–1893)
“There is much to be said against the climate on the coast of British Columbia and Alaska; yet, I believe that the scenery of one good day will compensate the tourists who will go there in increasing numbers.”
—Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945)
“Culture is the name for what people are interested in, their thoughts, their models, the books they read and the speeches they hear, their table-talk, gossip, controversies, historical sense and scientific training, the values they appreciate, the quality of life they admire. All communities have a culture. It is the climate of their civilization.”
—Walter Lippmann (1889–1974)