Extreme Cold in Massachusetts, January 23 to 24, 2011

Name: Extreme Cold in Massachusetts, January 23 to 24, 2011
Start: 2011-01-23T18:00
End: 2011-01-24T09:00
Location: Massachusetts

January 23 to 24, 2011 · NWS ALY · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

Bitterly cold air settled into the region as Canadian high pressure built in. Temperatures plummeted to 10 to 20 degrees below zero across the Berkshires.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 2 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: 2

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 ALY wrote it up.

Bitterly cold air settled into the region as Canadian high pressure built in. Temperatures plummeted to 10 to 20 degrees below zero across the Berkshires. Brisk westerly winds diminished during the evening becoming light and variable to calm after midnight. The winds resulted in wind chill readings of 20 to 30 degrees below zero. Some schools were closed or had delayed starts across the Berkshires due to the extreme cold.

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 Albany, NY wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 23, 5:56 PM EST, 4 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 23, 5:56 PM EST, 4 minutes before

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Hazardous weather outlook, Jan 23, 4:34 PM EST, 1 hour 26 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

2 extreme cold/wind chill. Local standard time, as filed.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Northern Berkshire

When: January 23, 6:00 PM EST to January 24, 9:00 AM EST
Where: Northern Berkshire forecast zone
Reported by: COOP Observer
Coordinates: 42.371, -73.206 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Southern Berkshire

When: January 23, 6:00 PM EST to January 24, 9:00 AM EST
Where: Southern Berkshire forecast zone
Reported by: Broadcast Media
Coordinates: 42.371, -73.206 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill: Temperatures or wind chills at or below the local warning criteria, or cold that caused deaths.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Massachusetts in 2011 Every state in 2011 This day in weather history Warnings in Massachusetts, January 2011

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: 279475, 279476.