Modified: 1/3/2021 11:06:44 AM
To a year of disturbing events, here’s one more to add: 2020 was the second-warmest year on record. That, at least, is the latest from the Burlington station of the National Weather Service, which reports that five of the past 10 years all now rank in the top 10 in mean average temperature.
The mean average temperature in 2020 was 49.4 degrees, 3.4 degrees above the historical mean average of 46 degrees and only half a degree below the record 49.9 degrees in 2012.
Nor might it be surprising to learn after reports of how local farmers struggled with a pronounced lack of rain this past summer that 2020 was also the second-driest since 2012, according to the NWS, which recorded 31.38 inches of precipitation at its monitoring station at Burlington International Airport, 5.44 inches below normal.
Snow blankets region, breaks records, in biggest storm in years
By John R. Ellement, Jeremy C. Fox and Matthew Berg Globe Staff and Globe Correspondent,Updated December 17, 2020, 10:32 p.m.
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A man cleared snow from a sidewalk in Charlestown.Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff
New England was hit Thursday with its biggest snowstorm in years, bringing freezing temperatures and gusty winds, breaking snowfall records in Boston and Providence, forcing the cancellation of some COVID-19 testing, and keeping thousands of children home for remote schooling.
In a region wracked by the coronavirus pandemic, officials and residents found themselves engaged in a familiar New England ritual: braving the elements and clearing the snow. Boston City Hall was closed, nonessential state employees did not have to report for work, and state courts shuttered their doors.
Boston ends parking ban â and 48-hour space-saver clock starts ticking as region cleans up
By John R. Ellement Globe Staff,Updated December 18, 2020, 7:49 a.m.
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Boston police recruits cleared away snow from neighborhoods in the city on Thursday, Dec. 17. 2020.Boston Police Department s website (Custom credit)
Bostonâs snow emergency ended at 7 a.m. Friday, schools reopened for those receiving in-person instruction, and the 48 hour clock started removing space savers from shoveled parking spaces in the wake of Thursdayâs storm.
The long-duration storm, the first of this winter season, dropped dropped 12.7 inches on Boston, breaking the one-day record set in 2013. Worcester, Providence and Hartford also set new one-day totals, the weather service said.