Snow? Humidity? (Dover, Newark, Georgetown: living in, zip code, relocate to)

[teebopop]

We are looking to relocate to Dover, DE area.

Can someone tell me what the average snowfall is for winters?

What about the humidity? My husband has emphysema. Will living in this area be detrimental to his health?

Thanks in advance.

[Honeycrisp]

I think DE is fairly mild, temperature-wise, but your best bet would be to go to weather.com and type in the zip code or city that you're interested in, it'll bring up a lot of weather info, and then some ;-)

[SXMGirl]

Delaware doesn't usually get too much snow, and the roads are usually cleared quickly. I thought it was unusually humid this summer, and I stayed in the a/c. As long as you have air conditioning, he should not have a problem in the summer. Depending on where you live, you might need to hire someone to plow your driveway when it snows. We bought a snow blower when we moved here and have only used it a few times. Usually I just let the snow melt overnight.

[katreese]

Originally Posted by SXMGirl

I thought it was unusually humid this summer, and I stayed in the a/c.

Oh boy! I so hope you are right. I moved here 2 weeks ago and have about keeled over permanently from the heat. I understand I'll acclimate eventually though.

[elizamary]

most of the East coast is humid and the further north you go, the less humidity. The further south...........more humidity.
That is what I have found.
Also......each year is different. Some years more moisture than others.

We moved her almost 2 years ago and bought a snow blower. Have not used it yet.

[anniebleu]

30+ years in Delaware! We had much snowier winters earlier on, which pleased our children, but last winter was a dud for those of us who like some snow, and, in general, the winters recently have been much less snowy. So perhaps this argues for global warming. (?)

Katreese, welcome, and I hate to say it, but I have never known a less than very humid summer in Delaware. August was, temperature-wise, almost cool for this long time Delawarean, and welcomed after all the days in the 90's in July. I think, though, that the Newark area, which is about 40-50 miles north of Dover (depending where in Dover and where in Newark), is slightly cooler, but that includes in winter. I do remember Newark getting snow when Dover hasn't.

[maryCh]

We are coming into our 2nd winter here in central DE, so we too are on the learning side of the fence. I will say, I was pleasantly surprised at the mild temperatures this past winter. We moved from central NC (almost dead center of the state), and the winter was worse there (per my parents) than it was here!

Our neighbors, who have been in the Dover area for about 15 years (and who are from PA, by the way), said it seems "bad" winter weather cycles about every 10 years or so. Don't know when the last "bad" year was, though.

As far as humidity, it seems like the humidity in central DE was easy enough to live with, for us. But then again, it also seems we have breezes blowing just about every day. Could that be the bay effect coming into play? I know back in NC, humidity was awful! And July and August were miserable, with the 95+ temps for days on end and no breeze at all. Ironically, a lot of central Carolinians welcomed hurricane season, just to get a break in the still, hot weather!

It really does depend on where you come to DE from, in how it compares to other places.

Mary

[Joe84323]

If you talk to old timers, they will tell you it snowed much more in the past than it does now. 1996 was the worst we had, and we had about 25-30 inches depending where you lived.

[anniebleu]

I found the following on Google, titled "Delaware Monthly Snowfall (in inches)":

1965-66 over 21" (I wasn't in the state in the '60's)

1966-1967 15" in Dec., 25" in February

1978-79 36" in February! I was living in Dover at the time--and wow does our family remember this! There were two close together snowfalls totalling this amount, and it was all there on the ground for quite some time! Our children adored it!

95-96 very snowy

1999-2000 also snowy (can you sense I'm running out of online time?)

2002-3, over 40" total.

No impressive totals since then.

Back to work!

[teebopop]

Actually, we were trying to decide which place was best for retirement: Delaware or North Carolina.

We don't mind the snow too much because it does melt. But the humidity is of concern.

I thought if we looking in the Georgetown area (and south) we'd find some place where the humidity wouldn't be so bad.

And having lived in San Diego for 30 years just up the street from the ocean, we did get a lot of ocean breezes that helped on the few days we did have humidity in SD.

I'll keep watching this forum for more info. If anyone wants to chime in about any place other than Dover (specifically south of Dover), please go ahead.

Thanks for all the info.