Sunday, January 18, 2026
BLUE HILL METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATORY
MILTON, MASSACHUSETTS
ELEVATION 635 FEET, 10 MILES SSW OF BOSTON, MA
SUNDAY, JANUARY 18, 2026
ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME (EST)
SUNRISE: 0709E
SUNSET: 1641E
APPROACHING WINTER STORM BRINGS SOME LIGHT SNOW THROUGH EARLY
THIS AFTERNOON….
Yesterday’s system did finally bring some light rain and snow
to the Hill in the afternoon and early evening, but it didn’t
really amount to too much with 0.02″ of liquid and a trace of
snow.
Today our next system is developing off the Carolina coast and
has so far brought an area of mainly light snow to the area.
Snow began just before 9am this morning and accumulated to 0.2″
by the 10am observation. An additional 0.1″ was measured at 1pm.
The brunt of the system is expected to arrive late this afternoon
and continue through the evening into tonight.
Temperatures haven’t had much range today as one would expect
with all the cloud cover and precipitation. The low was 28F during
the wee hours of the morning, and has so far only recovered to
33F early this afternoon. With the air being saturated, that
means the dew point is also in the low 30s.
Winds have been quite light today, first out of the south through
the morning hours, but has recently veered around to the northwest.
The average speed for the day so far is around 8mph, but there have
been a couple of periods today where it has gone calm. The peak
gust for the day occurred right around 8am this morning, with a
speed of 22mph.
Visibility has been quite limited today. We did manage around
20 miles early this morning, but once the snow commenced and the
cloud layer descended over the summit, the view has been stuck
around 1/8th of a mile.
The maximum temperature so far today is 33F degrees, which is
1 degree below the normal high of 34F. The minimum temperature
since midnight is 28F degrees, which is 10 degrees above the
normal low of 18F.
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Today’s Observations:
7 A.M.
Weather: Overcast altostratus, few breaks in overcast distant NE
Temperature: 30F; Dew Point: 28F; Relative Humidity: 93%
Wind: S @ 5 kts, wind light
Sea-level pressure: 1017.9 mb; 30.06 in. Hg: rising, then falling
Visibility: 20 miles, thin fog
6-hr Max temp: 30F
6-hr Min temp: 28F
24-hr Precip: 0.02 inches
24-hr Snowfall: Trace
Snow Depth: 0 inches
BHO SA 1155 E85 OVC 20 179/30/28/1905/006/ FEW BINOVC DSNT NE
HIER CLDS VSBL DSNT NE THN F ALQDS WND LGT TOTAL NEW SNW PST
24 HRS TRACE/ 8/02/ 55007 6000/ 70002 10030 20028
10 A.M.
Weather: Sky obscured, vertical visibility 200ft, light snow
Temperature: 32F; Dew Point: 32F; Relative Humidity: 100%
Wind: SW @ 7 kts
Sea-level pressure: 1019.6 mb; 30.11 in. Hg: rising, then more slowly
Visibility: 1/8 mile, fog
3-hr Precip: 0.01 inches
3-hr Snowfall: 0.2 inches
BHO SA 1455 X W2 1/8S-F 196/32/32/2207/011/ TOTAL NEW SNW PST
3 HRS 0.2 INS/ 8//// 51017 6001/
1 P.M.
Weather: Sky obscured, vertical visibility 200ft, very light snow
Temperature: 33F; Dew Point: 33F; Relative Humidity: 100%
Wind: W @ 2 kts, wind light
Sea-level pressure: 1017.3 mb; 30.04 in. Hg: falling, then more slowly
Visibility: 1/8 mile, fog
6-hr Max temp: 33F
6-hr Min temp: 30F
6-hr Precip: 0.02 inches
6-hr Snowfall: 0.3 inches
Snow Depth: Trace
BHO SA 1755 X W2 1/8S-F 173/33/33/2802/004/ PCPN VRY LGT
WND LGT TOTAL NEW SNW PST 6 HRS 0.3 INS/ 8//// 4/000 56023
6002/ 10033 20030
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SUMMARY FOR SATURDAY, JANUARY 17, 2026
TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
MAX…….38 NORMAL…..34
MIN…….24 NORMAL…..18
MEAN……31 NORMAL…..26
DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR (1991-2020) NORMAL…………….+5
TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH………………………+66 [+3.7 DEGREES/DAY]
HEATING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON: JUL 2025 THRU JUN 2026)
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY…………….34 DEPARTURE……..-5
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE MONTH……………578 DEPARTURE…….-67
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE SEASON………….2818 DEPARTURE…….-37
TOTAL HEATING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE……..2585 DEPARTURE……+233
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)………..39 SSW @ 02:57 P.M.
VECTOR #1 (1-Sec)……….39 SSW @ 02:57 P.M.
VECTOR #2 (1-Sec)……….37 SSW @ 02:57 P.M.
DAVIS #1……………….37 SSW @ 02:54 P.M.
DAVIS #2 ………………37 SSW @ 02:57 P.M.
RMY #1 (Instantaneous)…..40 SSW @ 02:57 P.M.
RMY #2 (Instantaneous)…..39 SSW @ 02:57 P.M.
MERLIN…………………37 SSW
RICHARDS (C5C) (Inst)……39 SSW @ 02:57 P.M.
FASTEST MILE:
CONTACTING ANEMOMETER/OFFICIAL………………26 SW @ 03:07 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE VECTOR #1 AVERAGE…………..26 SW @ 03:04 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE VECTOR #2 AVERAGE…………..26 SW @ 03:04 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS #1 AVERAGE……………26 SW @ 03:04 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS #2 AVERAGE……………26 SW @ 03:04 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RMY #1 AVERAGE……………..26 SW @ 03:04 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RMY #2 AVERAGE……………..26 SW @ 03:04 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RICHARDS (C5C) AVERAGE………24 SW @ 03:04 P.M.
AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION:
CONTACTING/OFFICIAL……..10.8 SW [259 total miles]
VECTOR #1………………11.1
VECTOR #2………………11.4
DAVIS #1……………….10.8 SSW
DAVIS #2……………….11.4 SW
RMY #1…………………10.8 SW
RMY #2…………………11.4 SSW
RICHARDS (C5C)………….10.8
PRECIPITATION (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST):
TOTAL PRECIPITATION 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M……..0.02 DEPARTURE…..-0.13
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH (JAN)……..0.98 DEPARTURE…..-1.58
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR (2026)……..0.98 DEPARTURE…..-1.58
SNOWFALL (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST):
TOTAL SNOWFALL 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M…………TRACE DEPARTURE…..-0.6
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE MONTH (JAN)…………..3.4 DEPARTURE…..-6.3
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE SEASON (2025-2026)……10.3 DEPARTURE….-14.5
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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/T/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 38/24/31/+5/0.02/T/…/.. 39 SSW VEC1 39 SSW RMY 40
1/18 The low since midnight is 28F, the daily normal low is 18F.
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JANUARY DAILY RECORDS TO DATE
NONE.
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DAILY EXTREMES
Temperature and precipitation records back to 1885, and
wind records back to 1940 (e = estimated)
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
RECORDS FOR JANUARY 19
HIGH 59F IN 1973
LOW -11F IN 1887
PRECIP 2.34 INS. IN 1936
SNOWFALL 10.5 INS. IN 1936
PEAK GUST 93e MPH WNW IN 1943
TODAY’S REPORT PREPARED BY: Matt Douglas/Lily Chen
