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| A few cold hollows in northern Vermont got a bit of frost last night. The vast majority of us of course were frost free. Irises in my St. Albans, Vermont yard appear to be doing fine. |
Obviously, the vast, vast majority of us did not get close to the freezing point. But I'm sure a few intrepid gardeners in some mountain valleys are mourning dead plants.
These aren't necessarily overnight lows - it could have actually gotten a degree or two colder - but before 6 a.m. this morning
I noticed it was 30 degrees in Island Pond, Vermont and Saranac Lake New York. Whitefield, New Hampshire was down to 33 degrees and Morrisville, Vermont was at 34 degrees.
Frost was also reported in some of the cold hollows early Sunday morning, too.
Frost was also reported in some of the cold hollows early Sunday morning, too.
This morning chill is quite a contrast to this very date last year: On June 11, 2017, Burlington, Vermont reached 95 degrees, the hottest for so early in the season.
It's not going to get that toasty anytime soon, but don't worry, this bit of June cool is going away fast. Under the strong June sunshine, temperatures will race upward and hit the 70s by this afternoon. A number of places will reach 80 degrees tomorrow afternoon.
To be honest, frost in the northern New England cold hollows in June isn't all that weird. It definitely happens from time to time. It can even happen in July and August.
Historically, there have been much, much sharper June cold snaps than this. According to David Ludlum's Vermont Weather Book, it was 27 degrees in Chelsea and Somerset, Vermont on June 10, 1913. On June 19, 1946, our friends in Somerset got down to 25 degrees, with 27 degrees in Bloomfield. On June 23, 1940, subfreezing temperatures reached as far south as Bennington.
And I won't even get into the June snow and cold from the Year Without A Summer in 1816.
So yeah, it could have been a lot worse.
The cool air we just experienced is another episode in which we got the edges of a very frustrating late spring in parts of eastern Canada. Blasts of cold northern air have hit that region in recent weeks, but mostly missed New England. Back on May 24, there was a snowstorm in parts of New Brunswick and Newfoundland.
Even worse, one week ago, a record late season frost in Nova Scotia wiped out most of the blueberry crop there, and damaged a lot of other crops, such as strawberries, wine grapes, pears and asparagus. Even budding Christmas trees were damaged. Temperatures got into the mid and upper 20s in many parts of that region.
Early reports indicate more frost in and near Nova Scotia this morning.
That same cold snap hit here in Pennsylvania as well on June 10, 1913. It not only got down to 20 degrees in Somerset, PA but we had three inches of dry, powdery snow. There are old pictures of people sweeping snow off their porches with brooms. 20 degrees in June is already a big deal, snow is already a big deal in June. But 3 inches of dry, fluffy snow in June would be big news even in Alaska.
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