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SPRING
As
the sun climbs higher in the sky and the days get longer, the
winter snow pack slowly melts away and a new season envelops the
Lakes Region. For the residents of the area, or those who
can't wait to do some boating, spring can never come soon
enough. Watching the brown barren hillsides leaf out and
return to their summery royal green state is a favorite pastime,
because it means summer is almost here, and with summer comes the
activities and fun that the Lakes Region is famous for.
Although Spring technically
begins in March, some years, you'd never know it. There have been
some massive snowstorms in late March and even early April, but
those do tend to be less common. So what is the overall
weather like in
spring? While many consider April or May to be rainy months, that
is not always the case. Last April, we had virtually no
measurable precipitation at all. Fortunately, the unusually deep
snow pack kept water in abundant supply. People were actually
concerned about severe flooding which likely would have occurred
had spring rains actually fallen in addition with snowmelt. It
doesn't really sound possible, but the The Lakes Region has had
many wells go dry in the past eight months, and another dry spring
will only make things worse. The average precipitation
amount for April is 3.30 inches and May usually has 3.60 inches.
Hopefully this Spring, we will come closer to average, that is,
unless we get a lot of snow, which doesn't look likely. As
for springtime temperatures, they will range from highs in the
lower forties in March, to the fifties in April, to the upper
sixties in May, to the upper seventies in June. As for
nighttime lows, you can expect teens and twenties in March,
thirties in April, around forty in May, and around fifty in
June. It is not uncommon to have major summer teases in
Spring. Last year in early May, the Lakes Region sweltered as the
temperatures soared to ninety degrees.
What is there to do in the
spring? Well, come mid May, the ice and snow is gone, the trees
are starting to leaf out, the weather begins to warm, and no
salmon or trout are safe. This is the time of the 21st
annual Winni Derby, when fisherman from all over descend on Lake
Winnipesaukee to compete for over $65,000 in prizes. If you would
like some more information on the Winni Derby, please click
here.
Spring skiing can also be a major
draw, but the quality of snow conditions, or if there is any snow
at all depends on mother nature. Some years, the spring
skiing can be a gift from the heavens and other years, pure
misery. The spring of 2001 and 2008 offered what many regarded as the
best spring skiing ever, as the extraordinarily deep snow pack
kept snow on the trails well into May. Those years were the best on record for many New Hampshire ski areas.
Spring in the Lakes Region is a
time of dramatic rebirth and change, and it's a time of the year
you should experience.