High Wind, Western Middlesex
- When
- January 17, 10:30 AM EST
- Where
- Western Middlesex forecast zone
- Measured
- 65 kt (75 mph)
- Coordinates
- 42.486, -71.392 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind in Massachusetts, January 17, 1997
The Littleton Fire Department reported winds of 55 mph with a peak gust to 75 mph. Tree limbs were blown down and there were scattered power outages.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
What happened
The episode as NWS BOX wrote it up.
The Littleton Fire Department reported winds of 55 mph with a peak gust to 75 mph. Tree limbs were blown down and there were scattered power outages. The strong west winds accompanied the arrival of an Arctic airmass.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- High Wind
- Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Cold in Pennsylvania, January 17 to 20, 1997
- Cold in Michigan, January 17 to 19, 1997
- Cold in Wisconsin, January 17, 1997
- Ice Storm in Oregon, January 17 to 19, 1997
- Cold in Iowa, January 17 to 19, 1997
- Cold in New Jersey, January 17 to 20, 1997
- Cold in New York, January 17 to 18, 1997
- Cold in Illinois, January 17 to 19, 1997
- Cold in Vermont, January 17, 1997
- Cold in New York, January 17, 1997
- Cold in Pennsylvania, January 17 to 18, 1997
- High Wind in Wyoming, January 17 to 18, 1997
More
Every storm in Massachusetts in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Massachusetts, January 1997
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5591955.