[Sherylcatmom]

Originally Posted by Alaskapat528

Sounds much like AK. It'll get dark around 4 or 4:15 pm or so and then stay dark until about 10 a.m. for couple of months...long winters, short, but beautiful summers. I hate the dark so I love it as the daylight increases in the Spring and expands to all the daylight.

No sunrise until 10 am? Wow! I guess there's always somewhere more extreme. Are Alaskan summer days incredibly long?

I'd guess on Vermont's shortest days, it starts getting light at 6:30 am and starts getting dark by 4:30 pm. I'm not precise with numbers so I'm hoping others here will verify or correct this.

[vter]

Originally Posted by Nelly Nomad

Having spent my first Vermont winter, I must say I wasn't particularly impressed. Locals and natives had talked a good game during autumn ("Oooooooo Vermont wiiiiinterrrrr") but when it was all said and done, it wasn't anything I hadn't experienced before. I've lived most of my life in New England and the Upper Midwest, so I know winter.

The only difference I noticed here in Vermont was the greyness. It seemed to be grey 75% of the time. This has to be the greyest state I've ever lived in. I'm not complaining, because I actually enjoy overcast.grey days. But I can see where it might be depressing for those who need sunlight.

To be honest, I was disappointed that we didn't even get one good blizzard here or an extended period of well-below-zero days. There was decent (but not extraordinary) snow coverage in December and January, but that's it. I was expecting winter to live up to the hype ("Oooooo it starts snowing in October and continues right through April or May!!!"). Heck, in April, we had a couple days in the upper 70s. Not exactly extended winter.

What I was most disappointed in was the lack of proper snow removal. This is Vermont. I expected the roads to be clear because Vermonters know how to deal with winter. For my money, depending on "solar-clearing" doesn't cut it .

Overall, I'd rate the Vermont winter as average. I certainly didn't hate it (I could never hate a winter that includes snow ) but I wasn't overly impressed either. Ah well, maybe next winter will be THE winter .

This past winter was pretty tame I'll give you that. We didnt get any big huge storms, although we did get quite a bit of snow. It just didnt stick around. We also didnt have days on end of sub-zero weather that we can sometimes get.
Blizzards are not something that happen a lot. Usually our storms are 6-12 inchers. A few years ago though, we had the Valentines Day Storm-3 feet in 24 hours. That was awesome!

[Alaskapat528]

Originally Posted by Sherylcatmom

No sunrise until 10 am? Wow! I guess there's always somewhere more extreme. Are Alaskan summer days incredibly long?

I'd guess on Vermont's shortest days, it starts getting light at 6:30 am and starts getting dark by 4:30 pm. I'm not precise with numbers so I'm hoping others here will verify or correct this.

Yes the summer can be magnificent. Last summer there was alot of rain and temps were chilly, seems to be a summer like that every so many years. Starting in June there is almost 24 hours of daylight which I love. It is great for gardens, plants, etc. In August it starts to taper off to losing daylight slowly and that is when I hate it lol.

[arctichomesteader]

Originally Posted by Alaskapat528

Yes the summer can be magnificent. Last summer there was alot of rain and temps were chilly, seems to be a summer like that every so many years. Starting in June there is almost 24 hours of daylight which I love. It is great for gardens, plants, etc. In August it starts to taper off to losing daylight slowly and that is when I hate it lol.

The summer here in VT was the same way last year...last year just sort of stunk, for weather...

[Alaskapat528]

Originally Posted by arctichomesteader

The summer here in VT was the same way last year...last year just sort of stunk, for weather...

Do you normally get hot and humid temps there in the summers?

[arctichomesteader]

Originally Posted by Alaskapat528

Do you normally get hot and humid temps there in the summers?

Yeah. It's not as bad in the mountains though. It's also not as bad as further South but, still a bit hot for me at times...

[Sherylcatmom]

Originally Posted by arctichomesteader

Yeah. It's not as bad in the mountains though. It's also not as bad as further South but, still a bit hot for me at times...

I agree with every word. I wish Vermont was less hot and humid in summer but I'm not willing to move where it really is drier. I love it here and am willing to run the AC as needed.

[arctichomesteader]

Originally Posted by Sherylcatmom

I agree with every word. I wish Vermont was less hot and humid in summer but I'm not willing to move where it really is drier. I love it here and am willing to run the AC as needed.

I can't stand AC, for some reason it dries me out too much. I can tolerate the heat a lot better when I'm surrounded by woods/streams/etc., but in the city around pavement and buildings so close together it's almost unbearable to me. I'll never live in the South, this was the determining factor when I decided against moving South. I couldn't take the heat and humidity there. So, sooner or later, I'll be headed North.

The only good thing I see about the heat here is I can manage to even get things like watermelon to grow in my garden, whereas when I head North (AK), I'll likely need a greenhouse or at least cold frames for that.

[Sherylcatmom]

Originally Posted by arctichomesteader

I can't stand AC, for some reason it dries me out too much. I can tolerate the heat a lot better when I'm surrounded by woods/streams/etc., but in the city around pavement and buildings so close together it's almost unbearable to me.

Me, too. I hate nights that are so sticky that we know we won't sleep a wink unless we run the AC. The AC-cooled air has a severe quality I don't like, but eventually I'll sleep. If we move, we won't choose a house so embedded in the city (small city though it is) and will have much more green around us. Presumably that will mean fewer A/C nights.

[Summerz]

Originally Posted by Sherylcatmom

Me, too. I hate nights that are so sticky that we know we won't sleep a wink unless we run the AC. The AC-cooled air has a severe quality I don't like, but eventually I'll sleep. If we move, we won't choose a house so embedded in the city (small city though it is) and will have much more green around us. Presumably that will mean fewer A/C nights.

I agree, need my sleep

Word of warning if you move stay away from campgrounds!
The campfire smoke can get so bad here on the most perfect nights....we have to close our windows.
And it can travel for miles.
And last and last.
I know we will avoid that in the future.