The Quality of Life is Grand

This region attracts individuals and a family because it is a great place to live and work thanks to its spectacular scenic beauty, close knit communities, low crime rate, and way of life that can't be duplicated. In fact, New Hampshire has been rated the Most Livable State in the U.S. for the last five consecutive years, the second Healthiest State in the U.S., and the Safest State in the nation and it's one of the best places in the country to expand or relocate your business.

For more on all there is to see and do in the region, including ideas for some grand adventures, see www.nhgrand.com.

Grand Hotels Provide a Great Introduction to the Region

There are three grand hotels in the region- the Omni Mount Washington Resort in Bretton Woods, Mountain View Grand Resort and Spa in Whitefield, and The Balsams Grand Resort Hotel in Dixville Notch. These historic one-of-a-kind resorts provide your company with options for hosting important customers or potential recruits for key positions in your company, or for simply taking a grand adventure over the weekend.

Below are images that show this beautiful part of the state, followed by weather data.

Mount Washington Resort, Bretton Woods New Hampshire	Mountain View Grand Hotel and Spa, Whitefield, New Hampshire	The Balsams Grand Hotel and Spa, Dixville Notch, New Hampshire
Snowmobiling in Berlin, New Hampshire	Skiing in the New Hampshire White Mountains	ATV riding, Berlin, New Hampshire
Fishing in Pittsburgh, New Hampshire	Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire (70 miles from Littleton, NH)	Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center
Colebrook Moose Festival, 2007	New Hampshire small town American patriotism (Photo credit: Tyra Mastriani)

Weather in New Hampshire's North Country

The North Country attracts many people to this region because of its four seasons of outdoor recreation. The winter lasts longer in North Country compared to southern New England, but many enjoy this extended ski, snowmobile, and ice fishing season. Below is a detailed overview on the region's weather patterns compiled by the University of New Hampshire.

Temperature

The climate of northern New Hampshire is seasonal having diversity in temperatures, precipitation, and storm potential throughout the year. Three weather stations were used to compile the data presented in this report. One station was located in Whitefield at 43°23'N, 71°36'W, and 1090' elevation, but only contained climate data from 1949 through 1972. However, this data was used to derive all climate information involving precipitation amount, type, and climate information such as monthly liquid precipitation amount, snowfall totals, and average snow depth. Lancaster, NH (44°29'N, 71°34'W, 900' elevation) provided temperature and wind data. Temperature data was available from 1948 through 2007, but wind data was only available from 2003 through 2005. Finally, humidity data was acquired from the airport at Berlin, NH (44°34'N, 71°10'W, 1158' elevation). Data was available from this site since 1996.

Precipitation

The region experiences a relatively consistent amount of liquid precipitation throughout the year with the wettest month being August (3.59") and the driest month being January (1.87") (Table 1, Figure 1). Summertime precipitation is predominantly in liquid form, however wintertime precipitation can be a mixture of both rain and snow depending upon the storm event. Most snow falls in December, with December through March being the active snow season. Monthly snowfall totals during this time range from 13.7" to 19.5". Because of colder temperatures, however, the snow tends to stay on the ground longer in February where the average snow depth on the ground is 13". Liquid precipitation averages for each month is a combination of all precipitation types that have been melted to the liquid state.

Monthly precipitation amount by type

The first table with the color graphs provides climatologically information on annual and season extremes of precipitation for both liquid (including melted snow and ice) and snow. The average annual liquid precipitation for Whitefield, NH is 34.34". However, the wettest year between 1949 and 1972 had 52.38", and the driest year had 28.71". Seasonally, summer (June through August) has the most precipitation with 11.03", however there have been historical spring (March through May) and fall (September through November) seasons that have exceeded this summer average amount. For flooding concerns, the highest 24-hour storm total over the period of record was 3.16" and that occurred during the fall. On average, there are 150 days throughout the year (41% of the year) when rain occurs. However, only five days a year have over an inch of rain, on average. Average annual snowfall is 80.6"; with 71% of that snowfall occur during the winter (December through February).

Though there is a chance of hurricanes in the region, because of the higher latitudinal location and distance inland, the hurricanes are usually of the weakest categories and are soon to be downgraded to a tropical storm by the time it affects northern New Hampshire. The most common precipitating severe weather event is a Nor'easter. This is a strong low pressure system that is located off the coast of southern New Hampshire that can bring copious amounts of both liquid and frozen precipitation. Their frequency is greatest from late fall through early spring.

Temperature in more detail

Temperature is highly variable in northern New Hampshire, yet showing a seasonal cycle throughout the year with January being the coldest month (average maximum daily temperature = 25.5°F; average minimum daily temperature = 2°F). The warmest month is July with an average maximum daily temperature = 79.2°F and an average minimum daily temperature = 52.9°F. (Table 3; Figure 2)

Monthly average maximum and minimum temperatures (°F) for Lancaster, NH.

1. Wind

2. Relative Humidity

New Hampshire is located in a relatively humid part of the United States, compared to western states such as California and Colorado. While this is typically not a problem during the cooler months, it can lead to natural human discomfort during the warmer months. However, the higher humidity is not unbearable, and New Hampshire's northern location means that the higher humidity is not necessarily coinciding with the hotter temperatures seen in more southern states such as Florida or the Carolinas.

The table below lists the monthly average relative humidity and dew point for Berlin, NH. The month with the highest relative humidity is December (89%) and the month with the lowest relative humidity is May (69%). Note that there is not a great range in relative humidity throughout the year. Dew point temperatures range from 10°F in January to 57°F in July.

Figure above Monthly average relative humidity (%, blue curve) and dew point temperature (°F, red curve).

Energy considerations

Heating and cooling degree-days are one measure to indicate how much energy could be needed to cool or heat an enclosed environment, respectively. The units are actually degrees Fahrenheit as opposed to days. To derive cooling degree-days, the difference between the daily maximum temperature (minimum temperature is used for heating degree days) and a base value is determined. The most common base value is 65°F. For example, if the daily maximum temperature was 85°F, this day would have 20 cooling degree-days, since the difference between the high and base temperature was 20 degrees. The table below presents the average total heating and cooling degree-days by month using a base temperature of 65°F.

Northern New Hampshire experiences far more heating degree-days than cooling degree-days. The month with the highest heating degree-days is January with 1590. The lowest month for heating degree-days is July with 56, however, July is the month with the highest cooling degree days (see below right). These data are often used when considering environmental control methods such as oil for heat and electricity for air conditioning.