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.
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Famous quotes containing the word climate:
“The question of place and climate is most closely related to the question of nutrition. Nobody is free to live everywhere; and whoever has to solve great problems that challenge all his strength actually has a very restricted choice in this matter. The influence of climate on our metabolism, its retardation, its acceleration, goes so far that a mistaken choice of place and climate can not only estrange a man from his task but can actually keep it from him: he never gets to see it.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)
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—Rutherford Birchard Hayes (1822–1893)