It’s a welcome relief to see the daylight getting longer and brighter.

January’s first 24 days were mostly gray and cold: eight cloudy, seven mostly cloudy, four partly cloudy. Three days were mostly sunny, two partly sunny. All came with a good helping of snow on the ground. Snowfall initially was light, but in the third week, it really piled up; daily snow on the ground ranged from 9-12 inches, thanks to a five-day storm from Jan. 15-19 that dumped 18.7 inches in town.

A few unfortunate vehi...