Tuesday, January 20, 2026
BLUE HILL METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATORY
MILTON, MASSACHUSETTS
ELEVATION 635 FEET, 10 MILES SSW OF BOSTON, MA
TUESDAY, JANUARY 20, 2026
ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME (EST)
SUNRISE: 0708E
SUNSET: 1643E
ANOTHER ARCTIC AIR MASS MOVES INTO THE REGION; SUNNY, BUT VERY COLD….
An arctic air mass moved in overnight following the passage of
yesterday’s winter storm. A few snow showers moved through the
area last evening and during the wee hours which heralded the
arrival of the arctic front. Strong cold air advection then
took over bringing much colder and drier air into the region.
Sunshine has dominated the sky today with a few clouds passing
by of different varieties. With the lingering snow cover on the
ground and trees, today once again features a very pretty scene.
Temperatures are below normal for today. Reading dropped to the
mid teens early this morning, and have recovered to the low to
mid 20s by early this afternoon. But thanks to the wind, wind
chills are making it feel more like the single digits! Dew point
values are in the single digits, indicating we are within a dry
arctic air mass.
The wind has been on the busy side today, generally out of a
westerly direction. The average speed for the day so far is around
13mph, however the trend over the last couple of hours has been
for more frequent gusts over 25mph. The peak gust for the day
so far is 33mph, which occurred just before 12:20pm.
Visibility has been gradually improving, from around 30 miles
early this morning to around 50 miles by early this afternoon.
The maximum temperature so far today is 23F degrees, which is
11 degrees below the normal high of 34F. The minimum temperature
since midnight is 14F degrees, which is 4 degrees below the normal
low of 18F.
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Today’s Observations:
7 A.M.
Weather: Clear, few stratocumulus offshore distant NE-SE-S,
few altocumulus distant ESE-S
Temperature: 14F; Dew Point: 8F; Relative Humidity: 76%
Wind: W @ 10G16 kts
Sea-level pressure: 1019.7 mb; 30.11 in. Hg: rising, then more slowly
Visibility: 30 miles, hazy
6-hr Max temp: 22F
6-hr Min temp: 14F
24-hr Precip: 0.02 inches
24-hr Snowfall: 0.5 inches
Snow Depth: 5 inches
BHO SA 1155 CLR 30 197/14/8/2810G16/011/ FEW SC OFFSHR DSNT NE-SE-S
FEW AC DSNT ESE-S HAZY TOTAL NEW SNW PST 24 HRS 0.5 INS/ 8/550 4/005
51019 70002 10022 20014
10 A.M.
Weather: Thin scattered cirrus, few stratocumulus distant W-N and
offshore distant NE-SE-S
Temperature: 20F; Dew Point: 9F; Relative Humidity: 63%
Wind: WNW @ 12G21 kts
Sea-level pressure: 1021.3 mb; 30.16 in. Hg: rising, then more rapidly
Visibility: 40 miles, hazy
3-hr Precip: 0.00 inches
3-hr Snowfall: 0.0 inches
BHO SA 1455 250 -SCT 40 213/20/9/2912G21/016/ FEW SC DSNT W-N
AND OFFSHR DSNT NE-SE-S HAZY/ 8/501 53016
1 P.M.
Weather: Scattered stratocumulus
Temperature: 21F; Dew Point: 8F; Relative Humidity: 56%
Wind: WNW @ 14G26 kts, peak wind W 33mph at 12:18 P.M.
Sea-level pressure: 1020.7 mb; 30.14 in. Hg: falling, then rising
Visibility: 50 miles
6-hr Max temp: 23F
6-hr Min temp: 14F
6-hr Precip: 0.00 inches
6-hr Snowfall: 0.0 inches
Snow Depth: 5 inches
BHO SA 1755 40 SCT 50 207/21/8/2914G26/014/ VIRGA DSNT WSW-N-NNE
PK WND 2729/18/ 8/500 4/005 55006 10023 20014
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SUMMARY FOR MONDAY, JANUARY 19, 2026
TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
MAX…….34 NORMAL…..34
MIN…….22 NORMAL…..18
MEAN……28 NORMAL…..26
DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR (1991-2020) NORMAL…………….+2
TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH………………………+73 [+3.6 DEGREES/DAY]
HEATING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON: JUL 2025 THRU JUN 2026)
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY…………….37 DEPARTURE……..-2
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE MONTH……………649 DEPARTURE…….-74
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE SEASON………….2889 DEPARTURE…….-44
TOTAL HEATING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE……..2644 DEPARTURE……+245
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)………..35 WSW @ 05:39 P.M.
VECTOR #1 (1-Sec)……….33 WSW @ 05:36 P.M.
VECTOR #2 (1-Sec)……….34 WSW @ 05:49 P.M.
DAVIS #1……………….33 WSW @ 05:36 P.M.
DAVIS #2 ………………32 WSW @ 05:34 P.M.
RMY #1 (Instantaneous)…..38 WSW @ 05:39 P.M.
RMY #2 (Instantaneous)…..34 WSW @ 05:38 P.M.
MERLIN…………………34 W
RICHARDS (C5C) (Inst)……34 WSW @ 05:39 P.M.
FASTEST MILE:
CONTACTING ANEMOMETER/OFFICIAL………………24 WSW @ 05:51 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE VECTOR #1 AVERAGE…………..22 WSW @ 05:40 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE VECTOR #2 AVERAGE…………..24 WSW @ 05:49 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS #1 AVERAGE……………24 WSW @ 05:41 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS #2 AVERAGE……………25 W @ 05:49 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RMY #1 AVERAGE……………..22 WSW @ 05:40 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RMY #2 AVERAGE……………..24 WSW @ 05:49 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RICHARDS (C5C) AVERAGE………22 WSW @ 05:40 P.M.
AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION:
CONTACTING/OFFICIAL……..10.6 SW [254 total miles]
VECTOR #1………………10.9
VECTOR #2………………11.3
DAVIS #1……………….10.3 WSW
DAVIS #2……………….10.8 W
RMY #1…………………10.9 W
RMY #2…………………11.3 W
RICHARDS (C5C)………….10.4
PRECIPITATION (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST):
TOTAL PRECIPITATION 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M……..0.02 DEPARTURE…..-0.12
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH (JAN)……..1.53 DEPARTURE…..-1.31
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR (2026)……..1.53 DEPARTURE…..-1.31
SNOWFALL (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST):
TOTAL SNOWFALL 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M…………..0.5 DEPARTURE…..-0.1
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE MONTH (JAN)………….10.0 DEPARTURE…..-0.9
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE SEASON (2025-2026)……16.9 DEPARTURE…..-9.1
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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 33/28/31/+5/0.44/4.4/…/.. 22 S VEC1 22 S RMY 21
1/19 34/22/28/+2/0.11/2.2/…/.. 35 WSW VEC1 33 WSW RMY 38
1/20 The low since midnight is 14F, 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 20
HIGH 59F IN 1951
LOW -9F IN 1901
PRECIP 1.95 INS. IN 1978
SNOWFALL 19.0 INS. IN 1978
PEAK GUST 76e MPH NE IN 1978
RECORDS FOR JANUARY 21
HIGH 65F IN 1906
LOW -4F IN 1888
PRECIP 2.49 INS. IN 1979
SNOWFALL 9.0 INS. IN 2014
PEAK GUST 78e MPH SE IN 1979
TODAY’S REPORT PREPARED BY: Matt Douglas
