Massachusetts, 2009

Heavy Snow in Massachusetts, January 18, 2009

January 18, 2009 · NWS BOX · 11 events in 11 counties and zones

A low pressure system in the Great Lakes redeveloped south of New England, spreading snow across the area.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 11 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
11

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.

A low pressure system in the Great Lakes redeveloped south of New England, spreading snow across the area.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Boston/Norton, MA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 17, 5:25 PM EST, 9 hours 35 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 17, 5:25 PM EST, 9 hours 35 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Jan 17, 4:45 PM EST, 10 hours 15 minutes before
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The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

11 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Northern Worcester

When
January 18, 3:00 AM EST to 3:00 PM EST
Where
Northern Worcester forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
42.351, -71.908 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Six and a half inches of snow fell across northern Worcester County.

Heavy Snow, Northwest Middlesex County

When
January 18, 3:00 AM EST to 6:00 PM EST
Where
Northwest Middlesex County forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
42.486, -71.392 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Six and a half inches of snow fell across northwestern Middlesex County.

Heavy Snow, Western Norfolk

When
January 18, 4:00 AM EST to 4:00 PM EST
Where
Western Norfolk forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
42.171, -71.184 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Six and a half inches of snow fell across western Norfolk County.

Heavy Snow, Eastern Norfolk

When
January 18, 4:00 AM EST to 3:00 PM EST
Where
Eastern Norfolk forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
42.171, -71.184 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Five to six inches of snow fell across eastern Norfolk County.

Heavy Snow, Northern Bristol

When
January 18, 4:00 AM EST to 7:00 PM EST
Where
Northern Bristol forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
41.757, -71.088 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Five to six inches of snow fell across northern Bristol County.

Heavy Snow, Southern Worcester

When
January 18, 4:00 AM EST to 5:00 PM EST
Where
Southern Worcester forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
42.351, -71.908 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Six and a half inches of snow fell across southern Worcester County.

Heavy Snow, Western Middlesex

When
January 18, 4:10 AM EST to 7:00 PM EST
Where
Western Middlesex forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
42.486, -71.392 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Seven and a half inches of snow fell across western Middlesex County.

Heavy Snow, Southeast Middlesex

When
January 18, 5:00 AM EST to 6:00 PM EST
Where
Southeast Middlesex forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
42.486, -71.392 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Seven and a half inches of snow fell across southeastern Middlesex County.

Heavy Snow, Western Essex

When
January 18, 5:12 AM EST to 7:00 PM EST
Where
Western Essex forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
42.639, -70.868 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Seven inches of snow fell across interior Essex County.

Heavy Snow, Suffolk

When
January 18, 6:00 AM EST to 4:00 PM EST
Where
Suffolk forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
42.264, -71.125 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Five to six inches of snow fell across Suffolk County.

Heavy Snow, Eastern Plymouth

When
January 18, 6:00 AM EST to 6:00 PM EST
Where
Eastern Plymouth forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
42.079, -70.960 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Five and a half inches of snow fell in eastern Plymouth County.

What these are

Heavy Snow
Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Massachusetts in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyWarnings in Massachusetts, January 2009

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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 150136, 150208, 150212, 150214, 150215, 150216, 150140, 150211, 150145, 150213, 150220.