BLUE HILL METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATORY
MILTON, MASSACHUSETTS
ELEVATION 635 FEET, 10 MILES SSW OF BOSTON, MA
 
DAILY DISCUSSION AND CLIMATE SUMMARY
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2012
ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME
 
LOWEST DAILY AVERAGE WIND SPEED IN FOUR YEARS
HIGH CLOUDINESS INCREASING AND THICKENING TODAY
 
Yesterday's average wind speed of 4.7 MPH SW was
our lowest since 4.3 MPH on September 28, 2008.
Today is another light wind day with the
average near 7 MPH NW early this afternoon.
High cloudiness is thickening today and has shut
out most of the sunshine but temperatures have
again risen into the mid-40's or well above the
normal for this time of year which is 37 degrees.
 
Today's observations:
 
7 A.M. 
Weather: Clear, cirrus mostly distant, thin fog below summit and
inversion all quadrants, heavy frost  
Temperature: 31F, Dew point: 28F, Wind: NW @ 7 kts
Sea-level pressure: 30.26 inches Hg, rising then falling slightly
Visibility: 15 miles, thin fog below summit/inversion,
except 25 miles WNW above inversion fog
6-hour min. temp: 30F
BHO SA 1155 CLR 15 248/31/28/3107/026/ CI MSTLY DSNT ALQDS  
THN FG BLO SMT/INVSN ALQDS VSBY WNW 25 ABV INVSN HVY FROST/
8/001 50008 10033 20030
 
10 A.M.
Weather: Broken dense cirrus, overcast cirrus, thin spots in the
overcast, briefly lone cumulus over city north 
Temperature: 39F, Dew Point: 30F;  Wind: NW at 3 kts 
Sea-level pressure: 30.27 inches Hg, rising then falling
Visibility: 15 miles, hazy, WNW 20 miles 
BHO SA 1455 E220 BKN 250 OVC 15 252/39/30/3203/027/ BRFLY LONE
CUFRA OVR CTY N THN SPTS IOVC DNS CI ALQDS VSBY WNW 20
HAZY ALQDS/ 8/102 50004
 
1 P.M. 
Weather: Dense cirrostratus overcast, 2 layers, sun dimly visible
Temperature: 43F, Dew Point: 31F; Wind: SW at 4 kts
Wind: Light
Sea-level pressure: 30.20 inches Hg, falling 
Visibility: 25 miles, 35 miles SW-W and 20 miles NE, hazy
6-hour max. temp: 44F
BHO SA 1755 E200 BKN 220 OVC 25 226/43/31/2304/020/ DNS CS OVC
SUN DMLY VSBY SW-W 35 NE 20 HAZY ALQDS WND LGT/ 8/007 58026
10044 20031  
 
WEATHER SUMMARY FOR WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 15
 
TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
MAX.....43    NORMAL.....37
MIN.....36    NORMAL.....19
MEAN....40    NORMAL.....28
 
DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR NORMAL.....................+12
TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH.....................+97 [+6.3 DEGREES/DAY]
 
HEATING DEGREE DAYS
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY..............25   DEPARTURE.........-12
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE MONTH.............476   DEPARTURE.........-97
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE SEASON...........3257   DEPARTURE........-852
TOTAL HEATING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE......4073   DIFFERENCE.......-816
 
PEAK GUST AND AVERAGE WIND SPEED (MPH)
PEAK WIND GUST FOR YESTERDAY.............21 SSW AT  2:16 A.M.   
                   AERO..................N/A  
                   ASOS..................22 SSW AT  2:16 A.M.  
                   DAVIS.................21 SSW AT  2:16 A.M. RMY N/A
THE FASTEST MILE FOR YESTERDAY...........16 SSW AT  2:16 A.M.   
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE ASOS AVERAGE............16 SSW AT  2:18 A.M.   
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS AVERAGE...........17 SSW AT  2:17 A.M. 
AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION........4.7 *
                   ASOS.................4.2
                   DAVIS................4.5 SW (220 deg)
* lowest daily average wind speed since 4.3 MPH in Sept. 2008
 
PRECIPITATION (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST)
TOTAL PRECIPITATION 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M....0.00  DEPARTURE..........-0.15
                         ASOS..............0.00
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH..........0.15  DEPARTURE..........-1.92
                         ASOS..............0.14
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR...........3.34  DEPARTURE..........-3.08
                        ASOS...............3.38
     
SNOWFALL (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST)
TOTAL SNOWFALL 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M..........0.0  DEPARTURE..........-0.6
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE MONTH................0.6  DEPARTURE..........-8.9
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE SEASON..............17.1  DEPARTURE.........-21.8
 
PRELIMINARY CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR FEBRUARY 2012 CALENDAR DAY DATA
DATA REPORTED:
DATE: MAX/MIN/MEAN/DEP/PRECIP/SNOW/SUN(MIN.)/SUN(%)/ PEAK GUST/AERO GUST
AERO: Aerovane wind recording system gust when significant
RMY:  RMY = R.M. Young wind gust recording system added 8/9/2011
TSTM: Thunderstorm day (thunder heard some time during day)
....: Data not yet available, records not finalized
 
2/1  58/31/45/+19/T/0.0/174/29      39 WNW AERO 40 MPH WNW RMY 41
2/2  40/28/34/+8/T/0.0/000/00       25 WNW AERO 25 MPH WNW RMY N/A
2/3  37/22/30/+4/0.00/0.0/574/95    28 NW  AERO 28 MPH NW  RMY 29
2/4  43/24/34/+8/0.00/0.0/498/82    28 WNW AERO 31 MPH WNW RMY 30
2/5  34/18/26/0/0.00/0.0/597/98     18 W   AERO 17 MPH W   RMY N/A
2/6  49/24/37/+11/0.00/0.0/599/98   33 WSW AERO 32 MPH WSW RMY 34
2/7  43/27/35/+8/0.00/0.0/596/97    24 NNW AERO 28 MPH NNW RMY 24
2/8  37/17/27/0/0.00/0.0/388/63     22 N   AERO 21 MPH N   RMY 24
2/9  45/26/36/+9/0.00/0.0/607/98    21 NW  AERO 21 MPH W   RMY 21
2/10 49/30/40/+13/0.02/0.0/467/75   32 SSW AERO 35 MPH SSW RMY 34
2/11 36/27/32/+5/0.13/0.6/012/02    33 NW  AERO 33 MPH NW  RMY N/A
2/12 28/13/21/-6/0.00/0.0/621/99    46 WNW AERO 48 MPH WNW RMY 50
2/13 40/12/26/-2/0.00/0.0/535/85    43 W   AERO 42 MPH W   RMY 44 
2/14 43/29/36/+8/0.00/0.0/082/13    23 SSW AERO N/A        RMY 23
2/15 43/36/40/+12/T/0.0/.../..      21 SSW AERO 22 MPH SSW RMY N/A  
 
2/16 our morning low temp: 30F; the normal low is now 19F
 
DAILY RECORDS FOR FEBRUARY 2012
None so far.
 
DAILY EXTREMES
Temperature and precipitation records back to 1885, and
wind records back to 1940 (e = estimated):
 
RECORDS FOR FEBRUARY 16
HIGH 62F IN 1954
LOW -16F IN 1943
PRECIP 1.91 INCHES IN 1958
SNOWFALL 18.6 INCHES IN 1958
PEAK GUST 78 MPH W IN 1967
 
RECORDS FOR FEBRUARY 17
HIGH 61F IN 1981
LOW -16F IN 1896
PRECIP 1.86 INCHES IN 2003
SNOWFALL 20.0 INCHES IN 2003
PEAK GUST 72 MPH NW IN 1968
 
TODAY'S REPORT PREPARED BY: Robert Skilling/Patrick Peters