New York Must Be Cold

Andromeda

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Aug 22, 2015
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It has always bothered me that the USMA website says to prepare for the heat. Whenever I read that I couldn't help but thinking, it's probably really cold up there. Is it actually hot during the summer in NY? Is this a product of global warming? Or is it just that they don't want you to pass out in your gear?
 
Yes it's hot in the summer. AND cold in the winter. So the worst of both worlds. And it's decently humid.
 
It gets pretty darn cold in the winter, but believe it or not, the Northeast does get pretty hot in the summer. I'm from Mass. and we have plenty of humid 80-90 degree days in July/August and even early September. New York is slightly hotter than Mass, so I would be ready for the full spectrum of temperatures.
 
I can take 100 degree temperatures (maybe with difficulty, as the deep south has been cooling down), but it's the cold I'm worried about. I've seen a snow flurry once, and it melted immediately upon impact with the ground. Stuff looked nasty, thinking back.
 
In the East and South, it's the humidity plus heat that's rough to get used to. It's hard to breathe, sweat does not evaporate, and being athletic in it feels like running in a steam room at times. No trade winds like Hawaii. Those accustomed to desert dry heat or West Coast lack of humidity can be hit hard by a New York July, especially for the sudden transition into plebe summer.

Yes, it gets very cold, but there is more time to get used to it. That said, cadets from non-snow/ice hometowns get a few hard lessons in walking on ice, learning to layer and understanding the high humidity of summer is positively bone-chilling in the winter version. Add in winds off the nearest body of water anywhere in the NE, and it's just...raw.
 
New York winters are something else. Snow is great, cold is not. Unless you're trying to shovel it...
 
I do well/really enjoy the cold weather, and don't necessarily mind some heat, but i'm sort of dreading plebe summer in the midst of a Maryland summer. I'm sure the temps at WP wouldn't be drastically different.
 
I do well/really enjoy the cold weather, and don't necessarily mind some heat, but i'm sort of dreading plebe summer in the midst of a Maryland summer. I'm sure the temps at WP wouldn't be drastically different.
You and 1000 plus others will be too busy/tired to think about it. You will be damp or sweaty most of the time, and you and classmates will just embrace the suck. You will shower every chance you get. Ice cream will never taste better.
 
I have the expectation of getting up there and feeling the heat slowly drain from my body.... It may have to do with my northern-most expedition: Nashville. It just felt cold. No explaining it, it just felt cold, despite it being like 90 degrees.
 
I have the expectation of getting up there and feeling the heat slowly drain from my body.... It may have to do with my northern-most expedition: Nashville. It just felt cold. No explaining it, it just felt cold, despite it being like 90 degrees.
I had several tours in San Diego and Pearl Harbor, reporting to USNA for duty in July. Heat and humidity no problem, no trade winds, but ok. I thought I was gonna die, that first winter, I was so cold. Took me a year to re-acclimate to East Coast. The winters are fairly short in MD near the Bay. Couple of snowstorms (ok, we just had a monster record-setter this weekend) Jan-Feb, some cold, windy and rainy rawness Nov, Dec and Mar. Spring and fall are great with low humidity and nice temps, with a few stormy spots. You'll adjust but will definitely understand what it means to be cold in a humid climate.
 
It's currently 26 oF in West Point, NY. It's cold. How cold that is depends on what you are used to.
 
OP: Seriously? Check the Weather Channel or Google for NY weather. If you are ultimately commissioned you can plan on being stationed in some of the coldest (or warmest) spots on earth.
 
You do realize that you may get assigned to any number of hot/cold/wet/dry places (with little choice in the matter) once commissioned????
 
The prepare for the heat is regardless of where you are from. Show me how many southerners live without air conditioning these days. So, yes, the temperature and humidity don't compare to South Georgia in August, but then again, you don't get to retreat into AC until the academic year begins and that is only in the academic buildings. There is no respite at night since the barracks aren't (for the time being) air conditioned and have horrible air flow, so even if you are used to working all day in the heat, you won't have the evenings to recover.
 
...and then all of this leads to prickly heat and outbreaks to your previously clear skin.
 
I can take 100 degree temperatures (maybe with difficulty, as the deep south has been cooling down), but it's the cold I'm worried about. I've seen a snow flurry once, and it melted immediately upon impact with the ground. Stuff looked nasty, thinking back.

Winters in that area of NY are cold and LONG.
 
Start learning now about the kind of base layers (aka long underwear) you will want to have with you to survive a winter at WP.
 
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