Seth Kellogg,Marjorie W. Rines,and Robert H. Stymeist
November opened with a weekend storm, which turned into a nor'easter bringing the first snow of the season along with strong winds and some coastal flooding. Boston's snow quickly turned into rain, but snow piled up in southeastern Massachusetts, and some flooding closed roads in Plymouth County. Most of the month saw near normal temperatures. Boston averaged 42°, with the first freeze on November 15. The first major snowstorm occurred the day before Thanksgiving and dumped up to 16 inches in parts of the state. Many areas lost power, creating havoc for those preparing Thanksgiving festivities. Snowfall totals were highest in Franklin and Worcester counties, Hawley recorded 16 inches, and Royalston had 14 inches. Boston had only 2.6 inches of snow but 1.57 inches of rain during the Thanksgiving storm.
Thick-billed Murre by Sandy Selesky
December was warmer than normal; Boston averaged 38°, three degrees above normal. The high was 64° on December 1, and the low was 18° on December 8. The big story for the month was the nor’easter that occurred on December 9, which brought record rainfall to the state. Many areas reported more than three inches of rain; Wakefield recorded the most with 3.94 inches. Strong winds caused coastal flooding and power outages.
R. Stymeist