Vermont weather July-August?

[Tosto]

What kind of weather should I expect in Vermont from July - August? Will I need to pack warm clothes for temps under 40 degrees on the Long Trial?

I've never been to Vermont, so I have no idea. I'd hate to find out the hard way that it can go below freezing at night in the mountains! Thanks.

[Tin Man]

One year, I had frost on the fourth of July in Mass.

[Quoddy]

Last year, in August, the very lowest temperature I saw was exactly 40F on two mornings, both times when camped at about 3500' in the northern section. That should be fairly typical for August temperatures. I never stopped wearing shorts, and only wore a windshirt over my SS synthetic on three occasions, including once on top of Camel's Hump and once on top of Mount Mansfield on cool windy mornings.

[wilconow]

I was on the AT/LT the first week of July last year and it was very pleasant. 70s during the day 50 at night? Not too hot not too cold. few to no bugs. Short not nasty Thunderstorms almost every day

[Yahtzee]

I was on the AT/LT the first week of July last year and it was very pleasant. 70s during the day 50 at night? Not too hot not too cold. few to no bugs. Short not nasty Thunderstorms almost every day

That was my experience both times, as well. Every day between 4-5 pm a big thunderstorm would hit, last 20 minutes and stop.

Bugs can still be bad in early/mid July. Aug/Sept are usually spectacular. Did the northern half last Labor Day weekend and had fantastic weather most of the trip.

[4eyedbuzzard]

VT is a long state N to S and the weather can be quite a bit cooler in the far north by Mt. Mansfield area and at higher elevations such as near Killlington. Generally expect warm days(low 70's to mid 80's) and cool nights(low 40's to 55). It can get quite cold at night even sitting up by a campfire. But know that it can also get both hotter and colder than this. You must be able to stay dry and warm if severe weather strikes. Hypothermia is always a potential danger in the mountains, and especially in New England.

The record low is 19 in July and 24 in August, but I wouldn't gear up for anything less/worse than 40 degrees or so at night. And daily high temps under 60 during the day are very rare. http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0930262.html

[Deadeye]

I was on the AT/LT the first week of July last year and it was very pleasant. 70s during the day 50 at night? Not too hot not too cold. few to no bugs. Short not nasty Thunderstorms almost every day

That's pretty typical. The good news is that if it's any colder than that at night, it's likely due to radiational cooling on a beautiful, clear, calm night. You can get some days into the 90's, and there's also the chance of wet, shivering days in the 40's and 50's.

[peakbagger]

It can range from just around freezing (rare) to in the 90's. Plan for 40 degrees and you should be in good shape. With the exception of the Mansfield area, its a green tunnel, so exposed ridgeline hiking is pretty minimal. Early July can be buggy, the trade off is late July into August tends to be hazy with higher likelyhood of afternoon thundershowers. The trail does get a lot of use during the summer, so some of the popular shelters may be full when you arrive at them.

[Littlest Hobo]

I found it quite chilly on the LT last year - around mid-August, there were a couple of nights where the temp dipped into the mid-30s. Met quite a few AT hikers who were waiting to pick up their cold weather gear in NH. An ongoing topic amongst them was how cold the nights were in Vermont.

That being said, there were some record cold temps in 2007, so this might be an aberration. If you are planning on hiking the trail between July and August, you should be okay if your sleeping bag is rated to 40 degrees.

[Tosto]

Wow, thanks for all the great info. I really appreciate it.
I'll plan accordingly.