Figures from Poughkeepsie
Kingston has no NOAA engineering weather station of its own, so every weather figure here is NOAA's for Poughkeepsie, which the humid-hour fact places about 18 miles from Kingston. Both fact cards on this page give the full wording. In short: Poughkeepsie's sheet carries a design wind speed of 100 mph, a design rainfall rate of 2.8 inches per hour and about 88 freeze-thaw cycles a year, plus about 249 hours a year with the wet-bulb reading above 73°F and about 1,006 above 67°F.
Wind and rainfall rates like these are what engineers size buildings and drains with. For painting, the freeze-thaw count is the one to keep in mind. About 88 cycles in an average year is a lot of chances for water caught in a joint or a soft spot of wood to freeze and expand.
How wood siding loses its paint
Peeling on a wood house usually follows a pattern, and the pattern tells you the cause:
- Peeling down to bare wood usually means moisture coming from behind or under the paint: a gap at a joint, a missing bead of caulk, or water from inside the house.
- Peeling between coats points to a coat that couldn't grip the one below it, often glossy old paint that wasn't scuffed, or a coat put over dirt or chalk.
- Cracking and alligatoring come from many layers of old, brittle paint that can no longer flex with the wood.
- Peeling low on the walls often traces to splashback, snow or soil touching the siding.
A careful painter will tell you which of these they see and how the preparation answers it. Our exterior painting page goes through the steps.
What freeze-thaw means for preparation
On a house that freezes and thaws often, the details that keep water out are worth more than an extra finish coat:
- Caulk at joints, corners and where trim meets siding, with a product rated for exterior movement.
- Primer on every bare spot, including board ends and the bottom edges of siding.
- Sound, scraped edges around every peeled area so the new film starts on firm paint.
- Window sills and thresholds given extra attention, since flat surfaces hold water.
Summer humidity and drying
Warm weather isn't automatically good painting weather. Those wet-bulb counts measure sticky, saturated air, and a water-based coat gives up its moisture slowly when the air around it is already full. Late in the day, as siding cools, condensation can form on it and leave soapy-looking runs on a film that's still soft. A sensible crew finishes each wall with enough daylight left for it to firm up, and starts the next morning only once the overnight damp has burned off the boards.
New York and home improvement licensing
The state's position comes from a May 2026 consumer alert by the Department of State's Division of Consumer Protection, printed word for word in the fact card on this page. We quote it rather than summarize it, and we draw no conclusion from it about any place it doesn't name.
Booking an exterior job
Exterior work belongs in the weeks when days and nights both stay above the product's minimum and the siding is dry. Book early, ask what happens on rain days, and ask whether the price includes repairs to rotted trim or only painting. The pricing guide explains what changes the cost, and paint sheens and finishes covers which sheen suits siding, trim and doors.