Just how bad is the weather? (Boston, Washington: how much, buy, live)

[Debi1957]

No matter what the worse thing you can think of in MA...its still worth it for all the billions of positive there! I cannot wait for our move there....I am in tears now just thinking about it. I will gladly put up with shoveling snow if I get to see Florida in the rearview mirror for the last time!!!

[skytrekker]

Originally Posted by NChomesomeday

I think the thing this summary misses is that Boston is a lot of microclimates. What you list here describes Boston proper very well but go 10-15 miles away from Boston (into the 'burbs) and you are dealing with some significant differences. As a college student living in the city, I could do without a/c in the summer. Living 15 miles outside Boston in metrowest, we had to put central a/c in!

Winters in metrowest can easily dip below zero--if not ambient temp, then frequently via windchill.

Conversely, I think the heat and humidity are worse in summer. No cooling ocean breeze that often comes up in the afternoon closer to the water. So you can have a dewpoint in the high 60's, low 70's and an ambient temp 5-10 degrees warmer than Boston.

I tried to put into my post micro climates-

I did as I recall say that areas further inland become hotter in the summer then areas near the ocean-??

I made it very clear

Boston has a 'modified humid continental climate'. Which is, a climate with four distinct seasons. 'Modified' means it is ameliorated in both summer and winter by the Atlantic Ocean;less heat in the summer and less cold in the winter, compared to locations further inland.

From my location in inland eastern CT we did not have temperatures drop below zero last summer- making it theoretically a zone 7.
I think one has to go into southern New Hampshire-and west of Worcester to see a number of nights below zero.

As I alluded to earlier winters in greater Boston are 3-5 degrees warmer then 30 years ago- I am growing windmill palms in my garden in eastern CT- your analysis of Massachuseets climate is dated.

Also if you are in North Carolina, and 'think' any part of greater Boston is 'hot and humid' Then look at NC- I know Charlotte and the golden triangle had more then 90 days greater then 90 degrees in 2007.

So, North Carolina is becoming increasingly hotter- and Massachusetts more temperate. No?

[gamsauer]

Originally Posted by skytrekker

Also if you are in North Carolina, and 'think' any part of greater Boston is 'hot and humid' Then look at NC- I know Charlotte and the golden triangle had more then 90 days greater then 90 degrees in 2007.

OMG, yes, yes and YES! This past summer in Raleigh was horrific. I was literally in tears towards the end. I couldn't deal with the heat one more day.

My 2 cents: There is no perfect place. Raleigh summers are like Boston winters in that they last far too long. However; I personally prefer Boston's winters, high cost of living, public transportation system, food, history, beauty, Red Sox, Patriots over Raleigh's lower cost of living and um, um....let me get back to you on this.

[afewyearsinboston]

What about fog? Does it get foggy often in the greater Boston area or is it limited to the coast?

[LeavingMA]

The weather here as it is anywhere is really about preference. It you prefer many different climates, some really unpredictable weather, and it to be more on the cooler side, then you would probably enjoy it.

I must add that Florida hot is alot different than Georgia, NC, SC, and Virginia hot. I've been to Florida in the summer when it is around 90 and quite sticky. I then went up to the Atlanta area where it was 95, but more comfortable and actually felt cooler. I was also in D.C. this summer where it was around 90 and fairly comfortable, but by the time I got back to MA it was about 90 but significantly more humid and sticky.

I've spent quite a bit of time in North Carolina and South Carolina in the summer and 90 degree weather there feels more comfortable than 90 degrees in MA. When I was in South Carolina and it dropped from high 90's to around 86-90 it was beautiful and comfortable. Now, most people in and around New England consider the high 80's and up to be hot.

[findingmesomeday]

I'm not in NC. Hope to be someday. I don't hate it here in the Boston area by any means but 10 years (plus 4 years of college back when the dinosaurs roamed the earth) is enough. I'd move back to the PNW (now *there's* a controversial climate!) in a NY minute, but it's just not realistic now. Hence, NC. We've lived in VA which is not too much different.

RE: Humidity. The previous poster is correct, in my opinion. I look at the dew points during the summer. They are a good indication of how humid it really is. Anything above 65 and into the 70's is uncomfortable to oppressive. I noticed a number of days in the Boston area in the summer where the ambient temp *and* the dewpoint were higher than where some of my family lives in Ft. Lauderdale (18 miles inland).

It's not as hot here for as long but when it gets hot and humid--LOOK OUT!

[BK4FL]

Dang weather is so random everywhere! Tuscaloosa goes from 70-30 then back to 80 and down to 30 again. I remember the first year I lived in alabama that winter it got down to 8 deg one night and I was so unprepared I was renting this historic house and found that it was not so insulated... and the 2 space heaters I got at home depot were the only reason I was able to take showers for about 4 months... 100 degree summers and 8 degree winters go figure. but 70-90 degree summers sound sooo wonderful to me!!!

[BK4FL]

also humidity is nothing to me I am from a beach town in south florida some summers you coudl go outside and take a breath and seriously feel the moisture in your lungs.. crazy

[Stockholmaren]

Originally Posted by ChunkyMonkey

Weather is all relative to where you are from. Boston has generally warmer winters and cooler summers than the Midwest but colder and snowier than most big cities along the northeast. Compared to Northern Europe where I am right now, it is downright balmy.

What part of Northern Europe are you in right now? It's usually about the same weather as Boston unless you go north of Oslo/Stockholm.

[Stockholmaren]

I personally think the weather here in Boston has been great for the past three months when I lived here. The humidity wasn't that bad in the summer, and it's been sunny almost every day. The air feels crisp and clean, and I look forward to when I can go skiing