My mom was talking to her childhood friend up there last week and he said the same thing, he’s almost carried away by them every time he goes outside. He’s lived up there all his life but says there much worse this year. Are they cyclical, like many insects?
In my experience, they’re not truly “cyclical” as with cicadas and locusts, for example. They do respond to weather conditions, however. More rain during the spring and/or snow cover during the winter = more black flies. That’s certainly the case this year - we had snow on the ground continuously from December 1st until about April 10th. They also tend to disappear as soon as the temperature gets above 90 degrees for the first time.