January 2019 Summary – Warmer and Wetter Than Average

Blue Hill Observatory

January 2019 Summary:

January was slightly warmer and wetter than average with very little snowfall and abundant sunshine. The 24-hour adjusted mean temperature for the month of 26.7 deg F was 1.0 degrees warmer than the 120-year average for January and about a half degree warmer than the 1981-2010 30-year average. The average maximum temperature of 34.3 deg F was a half degree warmer than normal, and the average minimum temperature of 17.9 deg F was nearly one degree above normal. The highest temperature for the month was 57F on the 24th, and the lowest temperature was -2F on the 21st and 31st. On the 21st, the maximum temperature of 3F was a new record for the date, surpassing 9F set in 1985, and it was the coldest daily maximum temperature for any month in more than 50 years since a high of 2F was observed on January 8, 1968. It also tied as the fourth coldest daily maximum ever recorded in January. There were several large swings in temperature during January from near 0F cold on the 20th-22nd to the monthly high of 57F on the 24th and back to near 0F on the 30th-31st.  Precipitation totaled of 5.35 inches during January, which was about an inch more than the long-term 120-year average and the 30-year mean. The greatest amount in 24 hours was 2.00 inches during the biggest storm of the month on the 19th-20th that included snow, sleet, rain and freezing rain. January snowfall totaled just 4.7 inches, which was more than 11 inches less than the long-term mean and more than 12 inches less than the 30-year normal. The most frozen precipitation in 24 hours was 4.2 inches during the storm on the 21st-22nd. The January snowfall total was the lowest since 2.9 inches was measured in 2007, and the seasonal snowfall total for October through January of 12.4 inches tied for the 12th lowest on record. The mean wind speed was 13.7 mph, and the prevailing direction was from the NW. A peak gust of 77 mph from the south occurred on the warmest day of the month during heavy rain on the 24th. January had above average sunshine, with 149.8 hours of bright sunshine, or 52 percent of possible, which was six percent more than the long-term mean of 46 percent.

BHO Coldest January Daily Maximum Temperature, deg F (1885-2019):

1) -1 on January 28, 1888
2) 1 on January 12, 1886
3) 2 on January 8, 1968
4) 3 on January 6, 1896
   3 on January 4, 1904
   3 on January 21, 2019
7) 4 on January 17, 1907
   4 on January 24, 1907
   4 on January 16, 1994

Mike Iacono
Chief Scientist
Blue Hill Observatory