Thursday, January 8, 2026
BLUE HILL METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATORY
MILTON, MASSACHUSETTS
ELEVATION 635 FEET, 10 MILES SSW OF BOSTON, MA
THURSDAY, JANUARY 8, 2026
ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME (EST)
SUNRISE: 0713E
SUNSET: 1629E
SUNSHINE RETURNS ALONG WITH MUCH MILDER TEMPERATURES AS A JANUARY
THAW ARRIVES….
Yesterday’s icy mess is but a distant memory today as plenty of
sunshine has been the theme. Along with our friend Mr. Sol, much
more pleasant temperatures (for January standards) is also
visiting the region as our much anticipated January thaw arrives.
Temperatures have warmed into the mid 40s by early this afternoon
after starting the day around 30F. Today will solidly be above
normal. Dew point values have risen into the mid 30s, a sign that
there is no arctic air near the region.
Adding to the comfort of the day is the lack of any strong wind.
A generally west-northwesterly breeze has been averaging at around
11mph for the day so far. The peak gust for the day so far
is 26mph, which occurred just before 4:15am this morning.
Visibility is greatly improved over yesterday, with the view
rising from around 30 miles early this morning to around 50 miles
by early this afternoon.
The maximum temperature so far today is 44F degrees, which is
9 degrees above the normal high of 35F. The minimum temperature
since midnight is 30F degrees, which is 11 degrees above the
normal low of 19F.
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Today’s Observations:
7 A.M.
Weather: Clear, few stratocumulus distant E-ESE, few altocumulus
all quadrants, few cirrus distant ESE-SE
Temperature: 31F; Dew Point: 30F; Relative Humidity: 95%
Wind: WNW @ 8 kts
Sea-level pressure: 1018.9 mb; 30.09 in. Hg: rising, then more rapidly
Visibility: 30 miles, thin fog
6-hr Max temp: 32F
6-hr Min temp: 30F
24-hr Precip: 0.12 inches
24-hr Snowfall: 0.1 inches
Snow Depth: 1 inch
BHO SA 1155 CLR 30 189/31/30/2908/009/ FEW SC DSNT E-ESE
FEW AC ALQDS FEW CI DSNT ESE-SE THN F ALQDS TOTAL NEW SNW PST
24 HRS 0.1 INS/ 8/551 4/001 53031 70012 10032 20030
10 A.M.
Weather: Clear, few stratocumulus distant WNW-NW, few altocumulus
distant WNW-N and distant NE-SE-WSW, few cirrus distant W-NNW
Temperature: 37F; Dew Point: 32F; Relative Humidity: 80%
Wind: NW @ 6 kts, wind light
Sea-level pressure: 1020.9 mb; 30.15 in. Hg: rising, then more slowly
Visibility: 50 miles
3-hr Precip: 0.00 inches
3-hr Snowfall: 0.0 inches
BHO SA 1455 CLR 50 209/37/32/3106/015/ FEW SC DSNT WNW-NW
FEW AC DSNT WNW-N AND DSNT NE-SE-WSW FEW CI DSNT W-NNW WND LGT/
8/551 51020
1 P.M.
Weather: Broken cirrus, few stratocumulus distant W-NW-NNE
Temperature: 44F; Dew Point: 35F; Relative Humidity: 70%
Wind: WNW @ 7G13 kts
Sea-level pressure: 1021.7 mb; 30.17 in. Hg: rising, then more slowly
Visibility: 50 miles
6-hr Max temp: 44F
6-hr Min temp: 31F
6-hr Precip: 0.00 inches
6-hr Snowfall: 0.0 inches
Snow Depth: 1 inch
BHO SA 1755 E250 BKN 50 217/44/35/2907G13/017/ FEW SC DSNT W-NW-NNE/
8/501 4/001 51008 10044 20031
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SUMMARY FOR WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 7, 2026
TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
MAX…….36 NORMAL…..35
MIN…….30 NORMAL…..19
MEAN……33 NORMAL…..27
DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR (1991-2020) NORMAL…………….+6
TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH………………………-31 [-4.6 DEGREES/DAY]
HEATING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON: JUL 2025 THRU JUN 2026)
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY…………….32 DEPARTURE……..-6
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE MONTH……………290 DEPARTURE…….+30
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE SEASON………….2530 DEPARTURE…….+60
TOTAL HEATING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE……..2189 DEPARTURE……+341
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)………..23 NW @ 09:20 P.M.
VECTOR #1 (1-Sec)……….21 ENE @ 04:16 A.M.
VECTOR #2 (1-Sec)……….23 W @ 11:12 P.M.
DAVIS #1……………….23 W @ 11:04 P.M.
DAVIS #2 ………………23 WNW @ 11:12 P.M.
RMY #1 (Instantaneous)…..24 WNW @ 09:01 P.M.
RMY #2 (Instantaneous)…..23 W @ 11:12 P.M.
MERLIN………………….M
RICHARDS (C5C) (Inst)……20 NW @ 09:20 P.M.
FASTEST MILE:
CONTACTING ANEMOMETER/OFFICIAL………………17 WNW @ 11:09 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE VECTOR #1 AVERAGE…………..15 WNW @ 11:13 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE VECTOR #2 AVERAGE…………..16 E @ 12:56 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS #1 AVERAGE……………16 ENE @ 12:02 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS #2 AVERAGE……………16 WNW @ 11:34 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RMY #1 AVERAGE……………..16 WNW @ 09:01 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RMY #2 AVERAGE……………..16 W @ 11:34 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RICHARDS (C5C) AVERAGE………15 E @ 12:55 A.M.
AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION:
CONTACTING/OFFICIAL……..10.2 WNW [244 total miles]
VECTOR #1……………….9.5
VECTOR #2…………………M
DAVIS #1………………..9.5 N
DAVIS #2………………..9.6 NNE
RMY #1………………….9.3 NNW
RMY #2………………….9.9 NNW
RICHARDS (C5C)…………….M
PRECIPITATION (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST):
TOTAL PRECIPITATION 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M……..0.12 DEPARTURE…..-0.03
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH (JAN)……..0.48 DEPARTURE…..-0.59
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR (2026)……..0.48 DEPARTURE…..-0.59
SNOWFALL (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST):
TOTAL SNOWFALL 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M…………..0.1 DEPARTURE…..-0.5
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE MONTH (JAN)…………..3.4 DEPARTURE…..-0.4
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE SEASON (2025-2026)……10.3 DEPARTURE…..-8.6
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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 The low since midnight is 30F, the daily normal low is 19F.
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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 8
HIGH 65F IN 2008
LOW -8F IN 1968
PRECIP 1.70 INS. IN 1958, 1979
SNOWFALL 12.5 INS. IN 1996
PEAK GUST 77 MPH NNW IN 1958
RECORDS FOR JANUARY 9
HIGH 62F IN 1937
LOW -9F IN 1968
PRECIP 3.00 INS. IN 1956
SNOWFALL 10.0 INS. IN 1904
PEAK GUST 101e MPH SE IN 1978 [RECORD FOR MONTH]
TODAY’S REPORT PREPARED BY: Matt Douglas
