An early look at the weather for the New Hampshire primary election on Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2012, reveals benign conditions by New England standards.

While New England is slammed by winter’s worst during January, folks living in the region take Mother Nature’s rage with a grain of salt and won’t let weather get in the way of their right to vote.

At any rate, the weather should not be an issue in the upcoming New Hampshire primary election, despite the tradition of the election taking place in the face of Old Man Winter.

A weak storm will be passing by to the north over Quebec, Canada, around Jan. 10. With that track, only limited moisture would reach the state.

On the fringe of that storm, there may be considerable clouds and flurries for the state, especially over northern areas. Southern areas, where most of the population is, may escape even that from the storm with only a breeze to contend with.

While a significant storm will be born in the south-central U.S. next week, it will not reach New Hampshire until later in the week, well after the election, in the form of mostly rain.

(Katherine Welles/Photos.com0

Lame Winter in the Granite State Too

New Hampshire has received some snow this winter, so they are not quite in the snow drought as that of many northern states, the central and southern Appalachians and the Sierra Nevada in the West.

Yes, there is plenty of snow on the slopes in northern New England.

Lebanon, N.H., has received about 17 inches of snow thus far this season (as of Jan. 5), compared to a normal of 26 inches. Portsmouth has received about 5 inches so far this season with a foot falling on Manchester.

Since Thanksgiving, temperatures have averaged between 3 and 6 degrees above normal over New Hampshire, including the ever chilly Mount Washington.

The weather turned colder in New Hampshire earlier this week, as it did over much of the East. It appears temperatures will moderate this weekend, although far from the warmth going on over much of the Plains and West and soon to be in the mid-Atlantic.

The weather during the Jan. 8, 2008, primary in the state took place with dry weather and temperatures peaking in the 50s and 60s.

Over much of the state for this year’s primary, temperatures are likely to peak in the 30s after starting the day in the teens and 20s.

A pattern change toward somewhat stormier conditions and more seasonable temperatures is possible during the second half of January.