Climate Report - 3

Climate Report – 3

By Keith Carlsen

Introduction

Not even one of the ten candidate states has what most people would consider ideal weather. However, many of the candidate states have their strengths, or weakness, depending on how you look at them. South Dakota has many wind tunnels; Delaware, New Hampshire, and Maine get the occasional tropical depression; Idaho gets frequent summer heat waves; and Alaska has more in common with Russia than with the lower forty-eight states.

Most Free State Project members will need to make small adjustments to their life, no matter which state is picked. Members might need to buy warmer winter clothes, wake up 15 minutes earlier so they can shovel snow, or replace their car with one that has front-wheel drive. Delaware offers members the mildest climate, whereas North Dakota and Alaska offer members the most dramatic climate changes.

For the purposes of this report, climate consists of five major variables:

  1. Sunshine
  2. Humidity
  3. Winter Temperature
  4. Snowfall
  5. Wind

  1. Sunshine

    2. "The Alaska Report" by Joe Littlejohn, compares some of the candidate states and a few other states for sunshine in January:

    City State Avg January
    Sunshine
    Sheridan WY 57%
    Portland ME 56%
    Concord NH 52%
    Fargo ND 50%
    Green Bay WI 49%
    Duluth MN 48%
    Burlington VT 41%
    Boise ID 40%
    Anchorage AK 34%
    Mt. Washington NH 32%
    Grand Rapids MI 28%
    Seattle WA 28%

  2. Humidity

    3. Generally, the western and mid-western states are less humid than the eastern states. Wyoming is one of the least humid states being considered. The east coast states of New Hampshire, Maine, and Delaware range from average humidity to above average, depending on the season. Sussex County, Delaware even has a large swamp called the Great Cypress Swamp.

    Climatesource.com produced this map that shows average annual precipitation amounts for the entire country. The western and mid-western states tend to get noticeably less precipitation, according to the map. From least precipitation to most: brown, orange, yellow, light green, green, dark green, light blue, dark blue, and purple.

    (Climatesource.com has a special map for Alaska.)

  3. Winter Temperature

    4. In order to better understand the temperature issue, I listed the average January temperature for thirty-eight Wyoming, nine Idaho, nine South Dakota, nine New Hampshire, eight Alaska, eight Montana, six Maine, five North Dakota, two Delaware, and two Vermont towns. These towns are of varying size and from varying parts of the states. I listed a great deal more Wyoming towns because this information was originally compiled for a report on Wyoming.

    Based on just the cities listed, Delaware, Idaho, and Wyoming, seem to be the warmest states. Again, based on just the cities listed, Alaska, North Dakota, and South Dakota seem to be the coldest states. The entire state of Delaware is warm, when compared to the other nine states. Idaho has several warm and cold spots. Alaska has the second warmest areas and all of the coldest areas. Wyoming's warmest area is its banana belt area in Laramie, Platte, and Goshen counties. South Dakota's Black Hills are much warmer than rest of South Dakota.

    Average January Temperatures in degrees F for selected cities

    (From highest to lowest temperature)

    City State Avg Jan
    Temp (F)
    Dover DE 33.7
    Ketchikan AK 33.3
    Wilmington DE 30.4
    Boise ID 29.0
    Coeur d Alene ID 28.6
    Wheatland WY 28.2
    Phillips WY 27.8
    Chugwater WY 27.6
    Yoder WY 27.0
    Twin Falls ID 27.0
    Jerome ID 26.9
    Pine Bluffs WY 26.8
    Sandpoint ID 26.7
    Juneau AK 26.5
    Cheyenne WY 26.4
    Carpenter WY 26.2
    Albin WY 26.1
    Archer WY 26.1
    La Grange WY 25.7
    Torrington WY 25.1
    Glenrock WY 24.8
    Hot Springs SD 24.5
    Cody WY 24.1
    Burris WY 24.0
    Billings MT 23.7
    Midwest WY 23.5
    Lusk WY 23.4
    Pocatello ID 23.1
    Douglas WY 23.2
    Missoula MT 23.2
    Elk Mountain WY 22.9
    Dubois WY 22.8
    Casper WY 22.3
    Centennial WY 22.3
    Valdez AK 21.9
    Buffalo WY 22.1
    Belle Fourche SD 22.1
    Deadwood SD 22.1
    Nashua NH 22.0
    New Castle WY 21.9
    Mountain View WY 21.7
    Saratoga WY 21.2
    Great Falls MT 21.2
    Malad City ID 21.1
    Portland ME 20.9
    Keene NH 20.9
    Massabesic Lake NH 20.8
    Gillette WY 20.6
    Rawlins WY 20.5
    City State Avg Jan
    Temp (F)
    City State Avg Jan
    Temp (F)
    Deer Lodge MT 20.5
    Laramie WY 20.2
    Sundance WY 20.2
    Rock Springs WY 20.1
    Thermopolis WY 19.8
    Sheridan WY 19.7
    Idaho Falls ID 19.7
    Lander WY 19.5
    Lewiston MT 19.5
    Dillinger WY 19.2
    Yellowstone Park WY 19.1
    Augusta ME 19.0
    Concord NH 18.9
    Burlington VT 18.0
    Montpelier ID 17.9
    Hanover NH 17.7
    Kemmerer WY 17.6
    Bangor ME 17.5
    Saint Johnsbury VT 17.3
    Dillingham AK 17.2
    Lebanon NH 16.9
    Pierre SD 16.8
    Butte MT 16.7
    Rumford ME 16.5
    Miles City MT 16.0
    Anchorage AK 15.8
    Jackson WY 15.3
    Berlin NH 14.6
    Sioux Falls SD 14.0
    Riverton WY 13.8
    Highmore SD 13.5
    Lancaster NH 13.4
    Huron SD 13.2
    Fort Yates ND 13.2
    Colebrook NH 12.2
    Presque Isle ME 11.7
    Glasgow MT 10.8
    Aberdeen SD 10.1
    Watertown SD 9.9
    Caribou ME 9.9
    Bismarck ND 9.2
    Minot ND 7.5
    Nome AK 7.0
    Fargo ND 5.8
    Grand Forks ND 4.6
    Fairbanks AK -10.0
    Nenana AK -10.6
    North Pole AK -13.1
    Barrow AK -13.3
    City State Avg Jan
    Temp (F)

    Source: ftp.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/support/climate/taps/

  4. Snowfall

    5. In order to better understand the snowfall issue, I listed the average yearly snowfall amount for twenty-three Wyoming, ten Montana, nine Idaho, eight South Dakota, eight New Hampshire, seven Alaska, seven Maine, seven Vermont, five North Dakota, and two Delaware towns. These towns are of varying size and from varying parts of the states. I listed a great deal more Wyoming towns because this information was originally compiled for a report on Wyoming. There are two very noticeable observations. First, Delaware, on average, gets much less snow than the other nine states. Secondly, Alaska, New Hampshire, Maine, and Vermont, on average, get much more snow than the other six states.

    Average yearly snowfall in inches for selected cities

    (From lowest to highest)

    City State Avg Yearly
    Snowfall (in)
    Lovell WY 18.0
    Pavillion WY 18.3
    Dover DE 18.4
    Willington DE 21.4
    Boise ID 21.4
    Worland WY 22.4
    Green River WY 25.2
    Idaho Falls ID 27.5
    Dubois WY 28.3
    Pierre SD 28.3
    Twin Falls ID 28.7
    Watertown SD 29.4
    Riverton WY 29.5
    Torrington WY 29.7
    Carpenter WY 30.3
    Miles City MT 31.2
    Buffalo WY 32.0
    Evanston WY 32.6
    Dickinson ND 33.1
    Cody WY 33.4
    Laramie WY 33.9
    Aberdeen SD 34.4
    Moorcroft WY 34.8
    Grand Forks ND 35.1
    Hot Springs SD 35.1
    Newcastle WY 35.6
    Pine Bluffs WY 37.2
    Billings MT 37.8
    Kaycee WY 39.2
    Fargo ND 39.8
    Rapid City SD 40.1
    Malad City ID 40.6
    Huron SD 41.0
    Thermopolis WY 43.1
    Bismarck ND 43.1
    Wheatland WY 43.6
    Minot ND 44.1
    Rock Springs WY 44.2
    Yoder WY 45.0
    Pocatello ID 45.2
    Helena MT 46.3
    Cheyenne WY 52.4
    Missoula MT 53.0
    City State Avg Yearly
    Snowfall (in)
    City State Avg Yearly
    Snowfall (in)
    Grangeville ID 53.4
    Nome AK 54.4
    Coeur d Alene ID 54.7
    Joliet MT 57.5
    Durham NH 57.9
    Montpelier ID 58.3
    Sheridan WY 58.6
    Livingston MT 61.2
    Nashua NH 62.1
    Great Falls MT 62.1
    Spearfish SD 62.5
    Kalispell MT 63.0
    Concord NH 65.0
    Rutland VT 65.9
    Lewiston MT 66.4
    Anchorage AK 67.6
    Fairbanks AK 70.4
    Sandpoint ID 70.7
    Hanover NH 71.2
    Brunswick ME 74.6
    Augusta ME 77.9
    Bangor ME 79.1
    Plymouth NH 80.4
    Casper WY 82.1
    Burlington VT 82.2
    Berlin NH 83.4
    Madison ME 84.1
    Chittenden VT 84.8
    Dillingham AK 85.9
    Juneau AK 87.9
    St Johnsbury VT 89.0
    Ludlow VT 89.5
    Rumford ME 90.7
    Colebrook NH 90.9
    Presque Isle ME 91.4
    Montpelier VT 93.9
    Newport VT 97.7
    Bethlehem NH 99.7
    Deadwood SD 110.0
    Caribou ME 114.5
    Cordova AK 118.0
    Bozeman MT 130.4
    Valdez AK 285.5
    City State Avg Yearly
    Snowfall (in)

    Source: ftp.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/support/climate/taps/

    Climatesource.com produced this map that gives general estimates for snowfall though out the county. The map vividly shows that New Hampshire, Maine, and Vermont are the three snowiest states in the lower forty-eight. >From least snow to most: white, light orange, light green, green, dark green, light blue, blue, dark blue, purple, and gray.

  5. Wind

    6. Generally, the mid-western states are the windiest states, followed by the western states, and finally by the eastern states. Generally, the eastern states are not any windier than the rest of the country. However, the eastern states have been known to experience very fast winds, especially near the mountains and coastline. South Dakota and North Dakota are by some distance, the windiest states.

    Average Wind categories for selected western cities: These numbers are estimates collected from several sets of wind maps:

    Avg Wind
    (Mph)     		State Cities
    0-12 Wyoming Sheridan, Green River, Riverton, Worland, Lander, Jackson, Thermopolis, Evanston
    Montana Missoula, Bozeman, Helena
    Idaho Boise, Nampa, Lewiston
    12-14.5 Wyoming Cheyenne, Laramie
    South Dakota Pierre, Sioux Falls
    North Dakota Fargo
    Montana Billings, Great Falls
    Idaho Pocatello, Idaho Falls
    14.5+ Wyoming Casper
    South Dakota Rapid City, Aberdeen
    North Dakota Grand Forks, Bismarck

Conclusion

Weather is much less important than several other factors, however; weather should be considered. Weather is important because it is easier to do outdoor campaigning in a state with little snow and rain, than it is in a state like New Hampshire (with lots of snow and rain), southern Alaska (lots of snow and rain), or Delaware (with lots of rain and some snow). Being warmer than North Dakota, South Dakota, or Alaska is another factor that helps with outdoor campaigning. Also, campaigning might be influenced by humidity, sunshine, or wind.