JANUARY 2025 COLDER AND DRIER THAN AVERAGE

January temperature was cooler than average with less rain and snow and much more sunshine than expected. The approximated 24-hour mean temperature for the month of 25.5 deg F was 0.4 degrees cooler than the 1891-2020 130-year average for January, and it was 1.7 degrees cooler than the 1991-2020 30-year average. The average maximum temperature of 33.1 deg F was 1.6 degrees colder than the 30-year normal, and the average minimum temperature of 18.3 deg F matched the 30-year normal. 

After a warm start to the month on the 1st, changeable temperatures occurred with only seven days reaching or surpassing 40F and only one day, the 1st, having a minimum temperature above freezing. 

The two coldest periods, from the 4th to 9th and the 20th to 25th all featured days that did not get above freezing. The warmest temperature was 47F on the 1st and 29th, and the coldest temperature was 2F on the 22nd. 

The mean water vapor pressure, which is an absolute measure of water vapor in the air, was 3.1 mb, which corresponds to a mean dew point of 17F, and this mean was below average for the month. 

The total precipitation for the month was 2.35 inches, which was 2.15 inches below the 30-year normal, with about two-thirds falling as rain and about one-third as frozen precipitation. The greatest amount in 24 hours was 0.79 inches, which fell as rain with a little freezing rain, on the 31st. 

The snowfall total for the month was 8.4 inches, which was about ten inches below the 30-year normal, and the greatest in 24 hours was 5.7 inches on the 19th-20th. The greatest snow depth reached six inches on the 20th. The mean wind speed was 14.2 mph, and the prevailing wind direction was from the west-northwest. The highest wind gust was 65 mph from the west-northwest during the passage of an Arctic front on the morning of the 28th. 

January sunshine was well above average with 179.4 hours of bright sunshine, or 63 percent of possible, which was 17 percent more than the long-term average for the month, and

January was the fourth sunniest on record.

Blue Hill Observatory January 2025 Summary: