Saturday, January 17, 2026

BLUE HILL METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATORY
MILTON, MASSACHUSETTS
ELEVATION 635 FEET, 10 MILES SSW OF BOSTON, MA

SATURDAY, JANUARY 17, 2026
ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME (EST)
SUNRISE: 0710E
SUNSET:  1639E

OVERCAST SKIES, SEASONABLE TEMPS AS SNOW MOVES NEAR….

A brilliant sunrise was witnessed today, with beautiful reds
and oranges and peaks of blue sky during the mid morning hours.
As the late morning approached, clouds settled over the area
and we have been under mostly overcast skies throughout the
remainder of the day. Snow has loomed to our west for much
of the morning and afternoon, though as of 1pm we have remained
dry.

Temperatures have risen above freezing after 8am this morning,
and we were slightly above average for the day. Dew points have
also risen, given the proximity to precipitation in the area
it is not surprising. Still though, even with the “above average”
temperatures, it has still felt very much like a winter day,
just dry and not as blustery.

Winds have been significantly lighter today, with light wind
conditions reported after around 9am. Wind flow has been mostly
out of the south, occasionally shifting to the southwest at times.
The average speed for the day is only around 10mph, and is
trending lower as the day progresses. The peak gust for the day
so far is around 24mph, which occurred at 7:30am.

Visibility has been impacted by higher dew points and moisture
in the air aloft. We have only had around 30-35 miles of
visibility throughout the day.

The maximum temperature so far today is 37F degrees, which is
3 degrees above the normal high of 34F. The minimum temperature
since midnight is 26F degrees, which is 8 degrees above the
normal low of 18F.

————————————————————–

Today’s Observations:

7 A.M.
Weather: Overcast altocumulus, few breaks in overcast ENE-S
Temperature: 30F; Dew Point: 23F; Relative Humidity: 74%
Wind: S @ 12 kts
Sea-level pressure: 1018.6 mb; 30.08 in. Hg: falling, then steady
Visibility: 30 miles
6-hr Max temp: 30F
6-hr Min temp: 26F
24-hr Precip: 0.0 inches
24-hr Snowfall: 0.0 inches
Snow Depth: 0 inches
BHO SA 1155 E70 OVC 30 186/30/23/1712/008/ FEW BINOVC ENE-S/ 8/05/
56007 10030 20026

10 A.M.
Weather: Overcast altocumulus, few stratocumulus ENE-SSE
Temperature: 34F; Dew Point: 27F; Relative Humidity: 76%
Wind: SW @ 5 kts, wind light
Sea-level pressure: 1019.0 mb; 30.09 in. Hg: falling, then rising
Visibility: 35 miles
3-hr Precip: 0.00 inches
3-hr Snowfall: 0.0 inches
BHO SA 1455 E100 OVC 35 190/34/27/2105/009/ FEW SC ENE-SSE WND LGT/
8/55/ 53004

1 P.M.
Weather: Broken stratocumulus, overcast altocumulus
Temperature: 37F; Dew Point: 28F; Relative Humidity: 71%
Wind: S @ 3 kts, wind light
Sea-level pressure: 1015.1 mb; 29.98 in. Hg: falling, then more slowly
Visibility: 35 miles, thin fog NNW-NE
6-hr Max temp: 37F
6-hr Min temp: 30F
6-hr Precip: 0.00 inches
6-hr Snowfall: 0.0 inches
Snow Depth: 0 inches
BHO SA 1755 E60 BKN 75 OVC 35 151/37/28/1803/998/ THN F NNW-NE WND LGT/
8/55/ 56039 10037 20030

————————————————————–

SUMMARY FOR FRIDAY, JANUARY 16, 2026

TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
MAX…….30   NORMAL…..34
MIN…….15   NORMAL…..18
MEAN……23   NORMAL…..26

DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR (1991-2020) NORMAL…………….-3
TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH………………………+61 [+3.6 DEGREES/DAY]

HEATING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON: JUL 2025 THRU JUN 2026)
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY…………….42  DEPARTURE……..-3
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE MONTH……………544  DEPARTURE…….-62
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE SEASON………….2784  DEPARTURE…….-32
TOTAL HEATING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE……..2546  DEPARTURE……+238

PEAK WIND GUST (MPH):
Note: Instruments designated #1 = Main Tower, #2 = South Tower,
F420C, Contacting, Merlin, and Richards are all on Main Tower.
E=Estimated *=Last of multiple occurrences

F420C (Official)………..46 W    @   01:21 P.M.
VECTOR #1 (1-Sec)……….46 W    @   01:21 P.M.
VECTOR #2 (1-Sec)……….46 W    @   06:14 A.M.
DAVIS #1……………….48 WNW  @   01:21 P.M.
DAVIS #2 ………………44 WNW  @   06:14 A.M.
RMY #1 (Instantaneous)…..46 W    @   01:21 P.M.
RMY #2 (Instantaneous)…..50 W    @   06:15 A.M.
MERLIN…………………46 W
RICHARDS (C5C) (Inst)……49 W    @   01:21 P.M.

FASTEST MILE:
CONTACTING ANEMOMETER/OFFICIAL………………32 W    @   01:22 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE VECTOR #1 AVERAGE…………..31 W    @   01:22 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE VECTOR #2 AVERAGE…………..33 W    @   06:15 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS #1 AVERAGE……………34 W    @   01:22 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS #2 AVERAGE……………34 W    @   01:22 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RMY #1 AVERAGE……………..30 WNW  @   06:15 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RMY #2 AVERAGE……………..32 W    @   06:15 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RICHARDS (C5C) AVERAGE………31 WNW  @   06:16 A.M.

AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION:
CONTACTING/OFFICIAL……..17.8 W  [426 total miles] VECTOR #1………………17.0
VECTOR #2………………17.8
DAVIS #1……………….18.0 W
DAVIS #2……………….17.9 WNW
RMY #1…………………16.2 W
RMY #2…………………17.4 WSW
RICHARDS (C5C)………….16.7

PRECIPITATION (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST):
TOTAL PRECIPITATION 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M……..0.00 DEPARTURE…..-0.15
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH (JAN)……..0.96 DEPARTURE…..-1.45
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR (2026)……..0.96 DEPARTURE…..-1.45

SNOWFALL (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST):
TOTAL SNOWFALL 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M…………..0.0 DEPARTURE…..-0.6
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE MONTH (JAN)…………..3.4 DEPARTURE…..-5.7
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE SEASON (2025-2026)……10.3 DEPARTURE….-13.9

————————————————————–

PRELIMINARY CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR JANUARY CALENDAR DAY DATA
DATE: MAX/MIN/MEAN/DEP/PRECIP/SNOW/SUN(MIN)/SUN(%)/PEAK GUST/VEC1/RMY GUST
PEAK GUST: F420C (Official)
VEC1: Vector #1 1-second gust
RMY:  R.M. Young #1 wind gust recording system (Instantaneous)
TSTM: Thunderstorm day (thunder heard some time during day)
….: Data not yet available, records not finalized
M:    Missing data

1/1  29/11/20/-9/0.15/2.7/264/48         43 NW  VEC1 43 NW  RMY 42
1/2  25/12/19/-9/0.00/0.0/397/72         26 W   VEC1 26 W   RMY 27
1/3  30/14/22/-6/0.00/0.0/342/62         31 WNW VEC1 31 WNW RMY 31
1/4  30/21/26/-2/0.03/0.4/171/31         26 NNW VEC1 27 NNW RMY 28
1/5  25/11/18/-10/0.04/0.2/249/00        23 SSE VEC1 22 NW  RMY 23
1/6  32/22/27/-1/0.01/T/000/00           22 ENE VEC1 21 E   RMY 23
1/7  36/30/33/+6/0.25/0.1/000/00         23 NW  VEC1 21 ENE RMY 24
1/8  45/30/38/+11/0.00/0.0/500/90        26 NW  VEC1 27 WNW RMY 27
1/9  50/32/41/+14/0.06/0.0/228/41        41 SW  VEC1 42 SSW RMY 44
1/10 50/36/43/+16/0.36/T/022/04          33 W   VEC1 31 W   RMY 31
1/11 41/30/36/+9/0.06/0.0/079/14         43 WNW VEC1 41 WNW RMY 43
1/12 37/24/31/+4/0.00/0.0/303/54         47 WNW VEC1 46 WNW RMY 47
1/13 45/28/37/+11/0.00/0.0/457/81        35 SSW VEC1 35 SSW RMY 33
1/14 49/39/44/+18/T/0.0/017/03           36 SSW VEC1 36 SSW RMY 36
1/15 51/25/38/+12/0.00/0.0/…/..        39 SW  VEC1 39 SW  RMY 38
1/16 30/15/23/-3/0.00/0.0/…/..         46 W   VEC1 46 W   RMY 46

1/17 The low since midnight is 26F, the daily normal low is 18F.

————————————————————–

JANUARY DAILY RECORDS TO DATE

NONE.

————————————————————–

DAILY EXTREMES
Temperature and precipitation records back to 1885, and
wind records back to 1940 (e = estimated)

RECORDS FOR JANUARY 17
HIGH 55F IN 1973,1995
LOW -8F IN 1907,1982
PRECIP 1.43 INS. IN 1956
SNOWFALL 13.4 INS. IN 1956
PEAK GUST 65 MPH ESE IN 2022

RECORDS FOR JANUARY 18
HIGH 62F IN 1973, 1990
LOW -10F IN 1982
PRECIP 1.68 INS. IN 1915
SNOWFALL 13.0 INS. IN 1948
PEAK GUST 85 MPH SSE IN 2006

TODAY’S REPORT PREPARED BY: Amanda Joly