Massachusetts, 2023

Strong Wind in Massachusetts, January 15, 2023

January 15, 2023 · NWS BOX · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

With low pressure off the coast, there was a strong NNE low-level jet over southeastern Massachusetts. Winds gusted to 45 to 55 mph during the early morning hours, which caused some scattered wind damage in southeast 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
$8,000
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.

With low pressure off the coast, there was a strong NNE low-level jet over southeastern Massachusetts. Winds gusted to 45 to 55 mph during the early morning hours, which caused some scattered wind damage in southeast Massachusetts.

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 14, 6:34 PM EST, 8 hours 18 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 14, 6:34 PM EST, 8 hours 18 minutes 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 14, 4:08 PM EST, 10 hours 44 minutes 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

2 strong wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Strong Wind, Eastern Plymouth

When
January 15, 2:52 AM EST to 8:27 AM EST
Where
Eastern Plymouth forecast zone
Measured
43 kt (49 mph) estimated gust
Property damage
$2,000
Reported by
Law Enforcement
Coordinates
42.079, -70.960 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winds gusted to around 50 mph. At the Hull Yacht Club, a Weatherflow station recorded a gust to 48 mph at 827 AM EST. In Duxbury at 252 AM EST, a tree was down on wires on Tobey Garden Street. In Cohasset at 646 AM EST, a tree was down on Norman Todd Road at Beechwood Street. In Scituate at 855 AM EST, trees were down on Rachels Way. All downed tree reports were per law enforcement, but relayed by amateur radio.

Strong Wind, Barnstable

When
January 15, 6:05 AM EST to 10:21 AM EST
Where
Barnstable forecast zone
Measured
47 kt (54 mph) measured gust
Property damage
$6,000
Reported by
Law Enforcement
Coordinates
41.684, -70.274 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winds gusted to between 45 and 55 mph. In Hyannis, the ASOS at KYHA Airport recorded a gust to 49 mph at 605 AM EST. In Dennis, a CWOP station recorded a gust to 54 mph at 629 AM EST. In Brewster at 855 AM EST, trees were down near Jonathan's Way and Main Street, causing some roof damage. In Dennis at 1021 AM EST, a tree was down on Beach Street at New Boston Road. All downed tree reports were per law enforcement, but relayed by amateur radio.

What these are

Strong Wind
Non-thunderstorm winds below high wind criteria that nonetheless caused damage or casualties.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Massachusetts in 2023Every state in 2023This day in weather historyWarnings in Massachusetts, January 2023

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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 1068846, 1068845.