Synoptic Climatology HBR has a continental climate of long, cold winters, and mild to cool summers. The site is dominated by air flow from the west or south west. The arctic airmasses are cold an d dry bringing air from subarctic North America. As a result of these synoptic conditio ns, from November through April, north and northwest winds strongly dominate . In May through October west wind becomes more important than north wind with northwest still being the dominant direction.
Cyclonic storms are an important feature.
These storms can come in from the west or may originate over the Atlantic coast and travel north. Water Balance A more or less constant amount of precipitation year round and a maximum of potential evapotranspiration in the summer leads to a surplus of water for most months of the year with the possibility of there being a small soil moisture deficit in July. Spri ng snowmelt which mostly takes place in April provides considerable soil moisture which aids spring growth but is not generally fast enough to produce flooding. Climatic Factors Affecting Flora and Fauna Flora and fauna respond to the large scale climate at this site which shows a well marked seasonal change in temperatures ranging from -8.5 C in January to 18.8 C in July. Most soils at the site have adequate moisture for growth during all of the growing season.