January 2024 Summary – Fifth Wettest on Record

Fresh snow cover along the Great Blue Hill summit road on January 8, 2024. Photo by Amanda Joly.

Blue Hill Observatory January 2024 Summary: 

January was warm and very wet with more snowfall and much less sunshine than average. The approximated 24-hour mean temperature for the month of 29.8 deg F was 3.9 degree warmer than the 1891-2020 130-year average for January, and it was 2.6 degrees warmer than the 1991-2020 30-year average. The average maximum temperature of 36.4 deg F was 1.7 degrees warmer than the 30-year normal, and the average minimum temperature of 24.0 deg F was 5.7 degrees warmer than the 30-year normal. Twenty days during January were warmer than average, and the coldest period was in the middle of the month from the 15th-22nd. The warmest temperature reached 57F on the 13th, while a high of 53F and a low of 41F were observed during rain and wind on the 10th. The lowest temperature was 10F on the 20th and 21st, and this reading tied as the seventh warmest January monthly minimum temperature on record. The total precipitation was 9.24 inches, which was 4.74 inches more than the 30-year normal, and the month was the fifth wettest January on record. The largest storm brought 2.88 inches of rain, which started with a trace of snow and sleet, on the 9th-10th, and this amount was the greatest in 24 hours. During the heaviest rain and strongest winds of the month, a total of 0.61 inches of rain was recorded in a single hour during the passage of a squall line early on the 10th. The lowest sea-level pressure of the month, 28.97 inches, was observed during the storm on the morning of the 10th. Other notable storms brought 1.72 inches of rain on the 13th, which surpassed the previous record for the date of 1.54 inches in 1979, and 0.95 inches of liquid equivalent and 13.2 inches of snowfall on the 6th-7th, which was the greatest snowfall and the most in 24 hours during January. The total snowfall for the month was 20.6 inches, which was 2.0 inches more than average. Both Houghton’s Pond and Ponkapoag Pond froze over for the first time this winter on the 9th, which tied as the 3rd latest freeze date on record for Houghton’s Pond. The mean wind speed was 11.7 mph, which tied as the second lowest on record for January, and the prevailing wind direction was from the northwest. The highest wind gust was 70 mph from the south-southeast during the heavy rainfall and warmth on the 10th. With all the rain, January sunshine was much below average with 98.0 hours of bright sunshine, or 34 percent of possible, which was 12 percent less than the long-term average for the month.

BHO Highest January Monthly Minimum Temperature, deg F (1886-2024):

1) 18 in 2023
2) 17 in 2002
3) 12 in 1937
   12 in 1990
5) 11 in 1891
   11 in 1932
7) 10 in 1949
   10 in 1953
   10 in 2024

BHO Highest January Precipitation, inches (1886-2024):

1) 11.61 in 1979

2) 10.97 in 1958

3) 9.85 in 1978

4) 9.56 in 1956

5) 9.24 in 2024

6) 8.49 in 1996

7) 8.47 in 1999

8) 8.41 in 1936

BHO Latest Houghton’s Pond First Freeze Date (1885-2024):

1)  18 January 2007
2)  10 January 2022
3)  9 January 2012
   9 January 2024
5)  5 January 1974
   5 January 2016
7)  4 January 2013
8)  2 January 1924
   2 January 2009
10) 1 January 2015

BHO Lowest January Mean Wind Speed, mph (1886-2024):

1) 11.4 in 2023
2) 11.7 in 2021
   11.7 in 2024
4) 12.2 in 2001
5) 12.8 in 2011
   12.8 in 2020
7) 13.0 in 2022

Mike Iacono
Chief Scientist
Blue Hill Observatory