It is with a great deal of sadness that I must tell you that Rob Lyons, AB1NJ, died from a myocardial infarction (heart attack) about two weeks ago. He was found on his porch when neighbors failed to hear from him for several Days.
Rob was a close friend of mine, a mentor for me in ham radio, and a collaborator in building my weather website, www.capecodwx.com. He tutored me through JT65. Rob was an avid ham radio operator and ranked #1 in the world prior to his death for QSOs using JT65. Rob had an elaborate antenna field with three towers each with SteppIR antennas. For the past couple of years Rob was a avid drone operator and has a series of drone videos on YouTube giving us all a tour of northern Vermont. In earlier times Rob owned his own Cessna 150 and did a great deal of aerial photography. His website showed his keen interest in bird photography. I will miss him greatly and I’m sure many of our members have good memories of him as #4 on our roster and one of our best net controls.

A much colder than normal December here in the northern part of Acushnet and
it was a bit drier and less snowier than normal. December pretty much behaved itself until
a Christmas morning snow squall open the doors to the Artic and never closed. The bitter
cold made this December the coldest Dec. since the year 2000. The 01 deg. reading on the
morning of the 30th. was the lowest December temperature since Dec.25th. 1989 saw a
6 below zero at this station.
The Year 2017 was a bit warmer than normal and it was a little drier than normal.
Snowfall was above average. Comfortable Summer. Active tropical remnants helps moisture
after after a very dry 2016.

December 2017 Acushnet, Mass. 41deg,44min N 70deg,55min W

Ave High 38.2 deg.
Ave Low 22.1 deg.
Dec. Mean 30.2 deg. is 5.1 deg. below normal
High Temp 58 deg. on Dec. 6th.
Low Temp. 01 deg. on Dec. 30th.
Days 0 or below 0

Total Precip. 3.54″ is 1.27″ below normal
Max 24hr. Precip. 0.97″ on Dec.5-6th.
Snowfall 5.9″ is 1.2″ below normal
Max 24hr. Snowfall 2.1″ on Dec. 14th.
Total 2017 Precip. 51.33″ is 1.25″ below normal

T-Storm Days 0
High Wind Gust 46 mph on Dec. 13th.
Heating Degree Days 1089
Cooling Degree Days 0
High Barometer 30.48″ on Dec. 4th.
Low Barometer 29.23″ on Dec. 13th.

The Year 2017 Acushnet, Mass.

Ave High 61.1 deg.
Ave Low 42.6 deg.
2017 Mean 51.9 deg. is 0.7 deg. above the normal 51.2 deg.
High Temp 94 deg. May 18th.
Low Temp 01 deg. on Jan 9th. – Dec. 30th.
Days 0 or below 0 normal is 2
Days 90 or above 6 normal is 10

Total 2017 Precip. 51.33″ is 1.25″ below the normal 52.58″
Max 24hr. Precip. 2.42″ on Apr. 1st.
Snowfall 49.1″ is 11.1″ above the normal 38.0″
Max 24hr. Snowfall 14.0″ on Jan. 7th.
Monthly Snowfall Jan 21.3″ Feb 12.9″ Mar 9.0″ Apr T Dec 5.9″

T-Storm Days 13 normal is 19
High Wind Gust 49 mph on Mar. 11th.
Heating Degree Days 5507
Cooling Degree Days 686
High Barometer 30.69″ on Jan. 14th.
Low Barometer 28.86″ on Mar 14th.

Jan. warmer,wetter and snowier than norm – 19″ snow in the first 10 days
Feb. blizzard conditions Feb 9th. t-snow then warmer bit drier than norm
Mar. much colder than norm – windy-very low barometer 28.86″ – bit snowier
Apr. much wetter and warmer than normal – wettest in a decade 7.88″
May. colder and wetter than norm but high temp of year 94 on the 18th.
Jun. normal nice – a bit drier – breezy – remnants t.s. Cindy drops 0.97″
Jul. colder and drier than norm-coldest since 2009 – no heat waves
Aug. colder and drier – first 17 days only 0.56″ – swells from Hurr, Gert
Sep. warmer than norm – 11 days 80 or better – vy active tropic remnants
Oct. warmest since 1984 – potent windswept rain fells trees – power outages
Nov. cooler than norm – no snow – windy- short lived rain events
Dec. much colder than norm – end of month Artic blast-coldest since 2000