January 2016 Summary – Warmer than Average

Blue Hill Observatory
January 2016 Summary:

The month was notable for being warmer than average with slightly less precipitation and snowfall than normal. The 24-hour mean temperature for the month of 29.5 deg F was 3.8 degrees warmer than the 120-year average for January, more than three degrees warmer than the 1981-2010 30-year average. Mostly due to the record warmth in December, the combined 24-hour mean temperature for December and January was the warmest on record with a mean of 36.2 deg F, and the comparable mean temperature for November through January was also the warmest on record with a mean of 39.5 deg F. January was generally warm with a few cold periods, the longest being a full week colder than average from the 18th to the 24th. The highest temperature for the month of 58F on the 10th was a new record for the date surpassing 54F in 2000. The coldest temperature of 4F occurred on the 5th.  There were twenty days during the month that averaged warmer than the 30-year normal including two days, on the 10th and 31st, that were twenty degrees or more warmer than normal. The warm early winter weather delayed the freeze of Houghton’s Pond until January 5, 2016, which tied for the third latest freeze of this pond on record. January was slightly drier than average with a precipitation total of 3.77 inches, which was about a half inch less than both the long-term 120-year average and the 30-year mean. The greatest amount in 24 hours was 1.55 inches on the very warm day on the 10th, and all of this precipitation fell as rain. The monthly snowfall was 14.3 inches, which was a few inches less than average. About half of this total, 7.1 inches, which was the greatest for the month in 24 hours, fell on the 23rd. This snowfall was from the northern edge of the Blizzard of 2016, which had earlier brought historic snows further south over the mid-Atlantic, as it passed off the coast of New England.  The mean wind speed was 14.0 mph, which tied for the ninth lowest on record for January, with a prevailing direction from the northwest. A peak gust of 55 mph was observed from the west-northwest on the 19th. January was much sunnier than average with 52 percent of the possible bright sunshine being observed, which is six percent more than the long-term average.

BHO Warmest December-January 24-Hour Mean Temperature, deg F (1885-2016):

1) 36.2 in 2015-2016
2) 35.4 in 2001-2002
3) 35.1 in 1912-1913
4) 34.4 in 2011-2012
5) 34.2 in 2006-2007

BHO Warmest November-January 24-Hour Mean Temperature, deg F (1885-2016):

1) 39.5 in 2015-2016
2) 38.9 in 2001-2002
38.9 in 2011-2012
4) 38.5 in 2006-2007
5) 37.6 in 1994-1995

BHO Latest Houghton’s Pond Freeze, (1885-2016):

1) January 18, 2007
2) January 16, 2012
3) January 5, 1974
    January 5, 2016
5) January 4, 2013
6) January 2, 1924
January 2, 2009
8) January 1, 2015

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