Wednesday, January 21, 2026

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

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2026
ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME (EST)
SUNRISE: 0707E
SUNSET:  1644E

INCREASING CLOUDS TODAY AS THE LEADING EDGE OF A WARMER AIR MASS
APPROACHES….

We are still within an arctic air mass today with well below
normal temperatures continuing. We started the day with clear
skies and plenty of sunshine, but clouds have been steadily
moving in with increasing coverage and thickness since the
late morning hours.

Temperatures started the day in the single digits, and have
recovered to the mid 20s this afternoon. However the wind has
been increasing, so wind chill values are still down around
10F. The dew point has been hanging in the single digits all
day, even going as low as 0F early this morning.

The wind has been on the increase since the late morning hours
out of the southwest. The average speed for the day so far is
around 10mph, however it’s been closer to 14mph over the last
hour with frequent gusts reaching upwards to around 25mph. The
peak gust for the day so far is 26mph, which occurred just
before 2pm.

Visibility has been decent, but somewhat limited today. The
view has been between 40-50 miles through the day so far.

The maximum temperature so far today is 25F degrees, which is
9 degrees below the normal high of 34F. The minimum temperature
since midnight is 7F degrees, which is 10 degrees below the
normal low of 17F.

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Today’s Observations:

7 A.M.
Weather: Clear, few stratocumulus offshore distant NE-SE-SSW,
few cirrus all quadrants
Temperature: 7F; Dew Point: 0F; Relative Humidity: 71%
Wind: WSW @ 8 kts
Sea-level pressure: 1033.2 mb; 30.51 in. Hg: rising, then more slowly
Visibility: 40 miles
6-hr Max temp: 10F
6-hr Min temp:  7F
24-hr Precip: 0.00 inches
24-hr Snowfall: 0.0 inches
Snow Depth: 5 inches
BHO SA 1155 CLR 40 332/7/0/2508/051/ FEW SC OFFSHR DSNT NE-SE-SSW
FEW CI ALQDS/ 8/501 4/005 51011 10010 20007

10 A.M.
Weather: Thin scattered cirrus, few stratocumulus distant ESE-S
Temperature: 17F; Dew Point: 5F; Relative Humidity: 58%
Wind: SW @ 5 kts, wind light
Sea-level pressure: 1033.8 mb; 30.53 in. Hg: rising, then steady
Visibility: 50 miles
3-hr Precip: 0.00 inches
3-hr Snowfall: 0.0 inches
BHO SA 1455 250 -SCT 50 338/17/5/2305/053/ FEW SC OFFSHR DSNT
ESE-S WND LGT/ 8/501 51006

1 P.M.
Weather: Overcast cirrus, few altocumulus distant WNW-NNW
Temperature: 24F; Dew Point: 5F; Relative Humidity: 44%
Wind: SW @ 10G18 kts
Sea-level pressure: 1030.5 mb; 30.43 in. Hg: falling, then more slowly
Visibility: 50 miles
6-hr Max temp: 25F
6-hr Min temp:  7F
6-hr Precip: 0.00 inches
6-hr Snowfall: 0.0 inches
Snow Depth: 5 inches
BHO SA 1755 250 OVC 50 305/24/5/2210G18/043/ FEW AC DSNT WNW-NNW/
8/052 4/005 56033 10025 20007

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SUMMARY FOR TUESDAY, JANUARY 20, 2026

TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
MAX…….24   NORMAL…..34
MIN…….11   NORMAL…..18
MEAN……18   NORMAL…..26

DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR (1991-2020) NORMAL…………….-8
TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH………………………+65 [+3.1 DEGREES/DAY]

HEATING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON: JUL 2025 THRU JUN 2026)
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY…………….47  DEPARTURE……..+8
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE MONTH……………696  DEPARTURE…….-66
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE SEASON………….2936  DEPARTURE…….-36
TOTAL HEATING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE……..2691  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)………..33 W    @   12:18 P.M.
VECTOR #1 (1-Sec)……….33 W    @   12:18 P.M.
VECTOR #2 (1-Sec)……….34 W    @   02:53 P.M.
DAVIS #1……………….35 W    @   12:18 P.M.
DAVIS #2 ………………32 W    @   01:43 P.M.
RMY #1 (Instantaneous)…..34 W    @   12:18 P.M.
RMY #2 (Instantaneous)…..35 W    @   01:34 P.M.
MERLIN…………………32 W
RICHARDS (C5C) (Inst)……34 W    @   12:18 P.M.

FASTEST MILE:
CONTACTING ANEMOMETER/OFFICIAL………………24 WNW  @   01:46 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE VECTOR #1 AVERAGE…………..24 W    @   01:44 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE VECTOR #2 AVERAGE…………..24 WNW  @   03:58 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS #1 AVERAGE……………26 W    @   01:44 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS #2 AVERAGE……………24 WNW  @   01:45 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RMY #1 AVERAGE……………..22 W    @   01:44 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RMY #2 AVERAGE……………..24 WNW  @   05:58 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RICHARDS (C5C) AVERAGE………24 W    @   01:44 P.M.

AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION:
CONTACTING/OFFICIAL……..13.5 W [324 total miles] VECTOR #1………………13.3
VECTOR #2………………14.2
DAVIS #1……………….14.1 W
DAVIS #2……………….14.1 WNW
RMY #1…………………12.6 W
RMY #2…………………13.8 W
RICHARDS (C5C)………….13.3

PRECIPITATION (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST):
TOTAL PRECIPITATION 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M……..0.00 DEPARTURE…..-0.13
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH (JAN)……..1.53 DEPARTURE…..-1.44
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR (2026)……..1.53 DEPARTURE…..-1.44

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)………….10.0 DEPARTURE…..-1.5
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE SEASON (2025-2026)……16.9 DEPARTURE…..-9.7

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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 24/11/18/-8/0.00/0.0/…/..         33 W   VEC1 33 W   RMY 34

1/21 The low since midnight is 7F, the daily normal low is 17F.

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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 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

RECORDS FOR JANUARY 22
HIGH 59F IN 1916
LOW -8F IN 1888,1976
PRECIP 1.24 INS. IN 1891,1987
SNOWFALL 10.0 INS. IN 2005
PEAK GUST 67 MPH W IN 1976

TODAY’S REPORT PREPARED BY: Matt Douglas