Reggie Smith (MBA ’20) tells us what to expect this month.
Oh, December. That great festive month. December on the East Coast means that Winter is here and that it’s officially here for the next three months (unofficially, the “cold season” in Boston lasts for one month or nine months depending on whether you ask a Canadian or a Floridian, respectively). Bitter cold Arctic air will now regularly cascade in from the north and the west and turn our campus into a frozen tundra. We’ll shuttle in and out of class wrapped in hats and gloves as wind-chills press below zero at times. The Charles River may show signs of ice.
As depressing as the cold may sound, I have more: snow! Now we have the distinct privilege of experiencing snow and threats of snow almost on a weekly basis. This is the part of the season I love, and I am predicting at least one major snow/blizzard in Boston this winter season.
November was a wild ride. We started the first day of the month hitting 72 degrees, and then 13 days later, the high temperature was only 33 degrees. Overall, we’ll end up a couple of degrees below normal, with slightly below normal precipitation. December will continue the temperature roller coaster ride.
To be fair, it won’t be complete doom and gloom. Often times, it will be in the 40s. It will still rain instead of snow, and sometimes our snow will turn to rain and get washed away. In fact, we could get a significant shot of warmth (temps in the 50s) during the middle of the month before turning colder for the end of the month. Even 60 degrees isn’t out of the question. After all, we don’t live in the Arctic, we only get moments of the Arctic. So for those who hate the cold, remember, a warmer day is always just around the corner. And for those who enjoy the snow and the cold: Cheers, this is our time!
P.S. Here’s a conversion table.
| Fahrenheit | Celsius |
| 20 | -6.7 |
| 32 | 0 |
| 40 | 4.4 |
| 50 | 10 |
Reggie Smith (MBA ’20) grew up in Philadelphia and has studied the weather for over 17 years. He was the Meteorologist for the Spirit News serving over 100,000 people in the city. Prior to HBS he worked at Johnson Controls (JCI), where he developed large energy conservation and solar projects. Most recently, he led the development engineering for an energy storage start-up business within JCI. He spent the summer of 2019 at Marathon Capital and Eventide Asset Management doing investment banking in clean energy and investing in clean energy-related companies, respectively. Reggie graduated summa cum laude with a B.S./M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Drexel University.
