For all the precipitation seen in recent weeks, Hanover might as well be notoriously dreary England or the Pacific Northwest this term, -- at least in the eyes of those who feel cheated out of the fun in the sun they had expected for sophomore summer.
John Lillywhite, a transfer student from Oxford, considered the summer's weather "perfectly normal," but most longtime Dartmouth students disagreed.
"This is not normal New Hampshire summer weather," Meryl Richards '05, a New Hampshire native, said. "Basically, the class of '05 just got screwed ... things are just going to hell."
"It's ironic to think that I would have seen a drier summer if I'd stayed home in Seattle," Jill Baskin, an '05 from Washington, remarked.
Precipitation records from the Organic Farm weather station lend some support to anecdotal student reports.
From June 10 to August 11, the organic farm reported 9.0 inches of precipitation, almost twice the 4.6 inches reported last year. And though student perceptions might be shaded by the unusually dry weather of last year, weather stations in the region show precipitation surpluses varying between 27 percent and 160 percent of the National Weather Service averages for the last 30 days.
The average rainfall in July totaled just 1.92 inches, 1.45 inches below normal, according to the National Weather Service.
But the strange weather patterns have not been isolated to New England. All over the Northeast this summer, sun has been scarce and rain clouds plentiful, with even seasoned climatologists noting a change.
Some have pointed to an overactive monsoon season, but other scientists have more dire predictions. Last month, the United Nations' World Meteorological Organization warned that extreme weather events would become more frequent.
"The world is seeing a change in general conditions and in extremes. We are trying to understand if it's getting more frequent," Ken Davidson, director of the WMO's climate program, told The Guardian.
Still, in Hanover some students saw the glass as half-full and talked about benefits of rainy weather.
Nate Cardin '05 said, "You really can't go mud-sliding on the golf course without mud, right? I'm from Florida, so I'm used to the daily afternoon showers that cool things down a bit."
