Extreme Cold and Cold in Massachusetts, January 6 to 7, 2018

Name: Extreme Cold and Cold in Massachusetts, January 6 to 7, 2018
Start: 2018-01-06T01:30
End: 2018-01-07T07:30
Location: Massachusetts

January 6 to 7, 2018 · NWS BOX · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

Strong west winds trailed the January 4 winter storm. These winds drew bitterly cold arctic air over Massachusetts.

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 BOX wrote it up.

Strong west winds trailed the January 4 winter storm. These winds drew bitterly cold arctic air over Massachusetts. The combination of strong wind and low temperatures created a dangerous wind chill, with readings reaching 25 degrees below zero or colder in a couple of locations during the early mornings of January 6 and 7.

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 5, 10:29 PM EST, 3 hours 1 minute earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 5, 10:29 PM EST, 3 hours 1 minute before

<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

Hazardous weather outlook, Jan 5, 3:30 PM EST, 10 hours before

<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 extreme cold/wind chill, 1 cold/wind chill. Local standard time, as filed.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Southern Worcester

When: January 6, 1:30 AM EST to January 7, 7:30 AM EST
Where: Southern Worcester forecast zone
Reported by: ASOS
Coordinates: 42.351, -71.908 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

On January 6, wind chills were at 25 below zero or lower from 130 AM to 730 AM EST at Worcester Regional Airport. The lowest value was 32 below zero at 400 AM EST. On January 7, wind chills were at 25 below zero or lower from 530 AM to 730 AM EST at Worcester Regional Airport. The lowest value was 27 below zero at 600 AM EST.

Cold/Wind Chill, Suffolk

When: January 6, 1:30 AM EST to 7:30 AM EST
Where: Suffolk forecast zone
Reported by: ASOS
Coordinates: 42.264, -71.125 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

On January 6, wind chills were at 25 below zero or lower from 130 AM to 730 AM EST at Logan International Airport in Boston. The lowest value was 28 below zero at 500 AM and 6 AM EST.

What these are

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

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Massachusetts in 2018 Every state in 2018 This day in weather history Warnings in Massachusetts, January 2018

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: 733326, 733328.