Wednesday, March 18, 2020

BLUE HILL METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATORY
MILTON, MASSACHUSETTS
ELEVATION 635 FEET, 10 MILES SSW OF BOSTON, MA

DAILY DISCUSSION AND CLIMATE SUMMARY
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2020
ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME

A CHILLY START, WITH ABUNDANT SUNSHINE AND
GREAT VISIBILITY….

We observed fair weather with very little in the way
of clouds until after the 1 P.M. observation. Skies
are now mostly covered with a translucent layer of
cirrostratus. Visibility was 80 miles for most of the
day, slightly decreasing with the increase in cloud
cover. Conditions were dry, reaching 20% humidity by
3 P.M. Wind was light, shifting from WNW to SE as the
day went on.

The high so far today is 50F, this is 6 degrees above the
normal high of 44F. The low since midnight is 31F, this is
4 degrees above the normal low of 27F.

PRELIMINARY STATS FOR FEBRUARY 2020

TEMPERATURE, Deg. F
Avg. Max. 40.7 [+3.9] Avg. Min. 25.9 [+6.7] Mean      33.3 [+5.4] 24-hour corrected mean: 33.0
Max. for month: 60F on the 24th
Min. for month: 4F on the 15th

HEATING DEGREE DAYS
Total heating units:    911 [-164] Total for the season:  4140 [-345] Total for last season: 4485

PRECIPITATION, Inches
Total: 3.20 [-0.87] Greatest in 24 hrs: 0.74 on the 26th-27th

SNOWFALL, Inches
Total: 0.6 [-13.3] Greatest in 24 hrs: 0.5 ins. on the 13th

WIND, mph
Avg. uncorrected wind speed: 11.5 mph
Avg. corrected wind speed:   12.0 mph
Prevailing wind direction:   W [24%] Peak gust and direction:     71 WSW on the 7th

SUNSHINE:
Campbell-Stokes card minutes: 7596 minutes of possible 17796 or 43%
Astronomical total minutes: 7853 minutes of possible 18422 or 43%

Today’s Observations:

7 A.M.
Weather: Few cirrostratus
Temperature: 32F; Dew Point: 22F; Relative Humidity: 65%
Wind: WNW at 7 kts
Sea-level pressure: 30.42 ins. Hg: rising steadily
Visibility: 80 miles
6-hr Max temp: 37F
6-hr Min temp: 31F
24-hr Precip:  0.03 ins.
24-hr Snowfall: 0.1 ins.
BHO SA 1155 CLR 80 300/32/22/3007/042/ FEW CS ALQDS NEW SNOW
PAST 24 HOURS 0.1 INS/ 8/500 51033 10037 20031

10 A.M.
Weather: Few cirrostratus
Temperature: 44F; Dew Point: 20F; Relative Humidity: 39%
Wind: W at 4 kts, light and variable
Sea-level pressure: 30.50 ins. Hg: rising steadily
Visibility: 80 miles
3-hr Precip:  0.00 ins.
3-hr Snowfall: 0.0 ins.
BHO SA 1455 CLR 80 327/44/20/2804/050/ FEW CS ALQDS WND L/V/
8/500 53027

1 P.M.
Weather: Few cirrostratus
Temperature: 50F; Dew Point: 18F; Relative Humidity: 27%
Wind: SW at 4 kts, light and variable
Sea-level pressure: 30.47 ins. Hg: falling, then more slowly
Visibility: 80 miles
6-hr Max temp: 50F
6-hr Min temp: 32F
6-hr Precip:  0.00 ins.
6-hr Snowfall: 0.0 ins.
BHO SA 1755 CLR 80 318/50/18/2304/047/ FEW CS ALQDS WND L/V/
8/500 58009 10050 20032

SUMMARY FOR TUESDAY, MARCH 17, 2020

TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
MAX…..43   NORMAL…..44
MIN…..28   NORMAL…..27
MEAN….36   NORMAL…..36

DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR NORMAL……………….0
TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH………………+148 [+8.5 DEGREES/DAY]

HEATING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON JUL TO JUN)
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY……………29  DEPARTURE………0
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE MONTH…………..392  DEPARTURE……-148
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE SEASON…………4532  DEPARTURE……-576
TOTAL HEATING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE…….5059  DEPARTURE……-527

PEAK GUST AND AVERAGE WIND SPEED (MPH)
PEAK WIND GUST FOR YESTERDAY………………..29 W   AT   9:11 P.M.
AERO…………………….30 W   AT   9:33 P.M.
ASOS…………………….28 W   AT   9:10 P.M.
DAVIS……………………30 W   AT   9:10 P.M. RMY 29
FASTEST MILE FOR YESTERDAY………………….22 W   AT   9:04 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE ASOS AVERAGE……………….21 W   AT   9:10 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS AVERAGE………………22 W   AT   9:04 P.M.
AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION…………..10.5 W
ASOS…………………..10.0
DAVIS………………….10.8 S   [190 deg.]

PRECIPITATION (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST)
TOTAL PRECIPITATION 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M….0.03  DEPARTURE……-0.15
ASOS…………..0.05
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH……….0.43  DEPARTURE……-2.52
ASOS…………..0.53
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR………..5.09  DEPARTURE……-6.28
ASOS…………..5.44

SNOWFALL (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST)
TOTAL SNOWFALL 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M……….0.1  DEPARTURE…….-0.3
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE MONTH…………….1.2  DEPARTURE…….-6.9
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE SEASON…………..26.0  DEPARTURE……-29.1

PRELIMINARY CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR FEBRUARY CALENDAR DAY DATA
DATE: MAX/MIN/MEAN/DEP/PRECIP/SNOW/SUN(MIN.)/SUN(%)/PEAK GUST/AERO/RMY GUST
AERO: Aerovane wind recording system gust
RMY:  R.M. Young wind gust recording system
TSTM: Thunderstorm day (thunder heard some time during day)
….: Data not yet available, records not finalized
M:    Missing data

02/01  38/30/34/+8/0.01/T/000/00           14 WSW AERO 14 WSW RMY N/A
02/02  40/30/35/+9/0.00/0.0/078/13         18 W   AERO 18 WNW RMY 18
02/03  44/27/36/+10/0.00/0.0/260/43        28 W   AERO 28 W   RMY 28
02/04  44/33/39/+13/T/0.0/055/09           19 E   AERO 16 E   RMY 18
02/05  41/30/36/+10/0.08/T/000/00          20 NNW AERO 19 NNW RMY N/A
02/06  31/30/34/+8/0.56/0.1/000/00         29 E   AERO 28 E   RMY 27
02/07  53/25/39/+12/0.29/0.0/000/00        71 WSW AERO 71 SSW RMY 73
02/08  33/20/27/0/T/T/616/100              46 W   AERO 44 W   RMY 44
02/09  33/15/24/-3/T/T/303/49              30 SSE AERO 29 SSE RMY N/A
02/10  42/33/38/+11/0.16/T/000/00          39 SSW AERO 39 SSW RMY 39
02/11  40/36/38/+11/0.21/0.0/000/00        24 W   AERO 23 W   RMY N/A
02/12  41/30/36/+9/0.00/0.0/314/50         37 W   AERO 36 W   RMY N/A
02/13  35/31/34/+6/0.58/0.5/000/00         29 SSW AERO 29 SSW RMY N/A
02/14  33/8/21/-7/0.00/0.0/506/80          32 WNW AERO 32 NW  RMY 34
02/15  27/4/16/-12/0.00/0.0/508/80         31 SSW AERO 31 SSW RMY N/A
02/16  40/23/32/+4/0.00/0.0/006/01         38 SW  AERO 38 SW  RMY N/A
02/17  44/28/36/+8/0.00/0.0/582/91         25 WNW AERO 24 WNW RMY 24
02/18  37/27/32/+3/0.31/T/000/00           26 SE  AERO 26 SE  RMY N/A
02/19  42/25/34/+5/0.00/0.0/530/82         45 W   AERO 46 W   RMY 44
02/20  31/18/25/-4/0.00/0.0/389/60         32 W   AERO 32 W   RMY N/A
02/21  30/11/21/-8/0.00/0.0/651/100        24 NNW AERO 21 N   RMY N/A
02/22  44/23/34/+5/0.00/0.0/647/99         26 W   AERO 24 W   RMY 27
02/23  53/30/42/+12/0.00/0.0/636/97        21 SW  AERO 22 WSW RMY 23
02/24  60/32/46/+16/0.00/0.0/606/92        29 S   AERO 29 SSW RMY 31
02/25  53/40/47/+17/0.19/0.0/033/05        17 NE  AERO 18 ENE RMY 17
02/26  45/39/42/+12/0.08/0.0/007/01        23 ENE AERO 24 E   RMY N/A
02/27  49/27/38/+7/0.73/0.0/274/41         51 W   AERO 53 W   RMY 52
02/28  36/25/31/0/0.00/0.0/596/89          38 SW  AERO 38 SW  RMY 36
02/29  35/19/27/-4/0.00/0.0/256/38         32 W   AERO 32 W   RMY 34

PRELIMINARY CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR MARCH CALENDAR DAY DATA
DATE: MAX/MIN/MEAN/DEP/PRECIP/SNOW/SUN(MIN.)/SUN(%)/PEAK GUST/AERO/RMY GUST
AERO: Aerovane wind recording system gust
RMY:  R.M. Young wind gust recording system
TSTM: Thunderstorm day (thunder heard some time during day)
….: Data not yet available, records not finalized
M:    Missing data

03/01  33/15/24/-7/0.00/0.0/…/..         28 WNW AERO 28 WNW RMY 27
03/02  52/24/38/+7/T/T/…/..              40 S   AERO 39 S   RMY 41
03/03  64/45/55/+23/…./0.0/…/..        30 S   AERO 30 S   RMY N/A
03/04  50/38/44/+12/…./0.0/…/..        56 W   AERO 56 W   RMY 58
03/05  51/32/42/+10/0.00/0.0/…/..        31 W   AERO 31 NW  RMY 32
03/06  47/30/39/+7/…./…/…/..         46 NE  AERO 45 NE  RMY 46
03/07  43/26/35/+2/…./…/…/..         42 N   AERO 43 N   RMY 44
03/08  53/26/40/+7/0.00/0.0/…/..         31 W   AERO 30 W   RMY 28
03/09  72/40/56/+23/0.00/0.0/…/..        32 SW  AERO 32 SW  RMY 31
03/10  68/49/59/+26/0.00/0.0/…/..        48 WSW AERO 46 WSW RMY 49
03/11  56/37/47/+13/0.00/0.0/…/..        31 WNW AERO M  M   RMY 21
03/12  46/31/39/+5/…./0.0/…/..         21 SE  AERO 18 SE  RMY N/A
03/13  59/38/49/+15/…./0.0/…/..        46 WNW AERO 44 WNW RMY 46
03/14  51/35/43/+8/0.00/0.0/…/..         37 W   AERO 36 W   RMY 35
03/15  47/28/38/+3/0.00/0.0/…/..         28 NW  AERO 28 NW  RMY N/A
03/16  36/22/29/-6/0.00/0.0/…/..         21 NE  AERO 21 ESE RMY 21
03/17  43/28/36/0/…./0.4/…/..          29 W   AERO 30 W   RMY 29

03/18 The low since midnight is 31F, daily normal minimum is 27F

DAILY EXTREMES
Temperature and precipitation records back to 1885, and
wind records back to 1940 (e = estimated):

RECORDS FOR MARCH 18
HIGH 72 IN 2012
LOW 0 IN 1885
PRECIP 5.61 INS. IN 1968 [RECORD FOR MONTH] SNOWFALL 9.3 INS. IN 1985
PEAK GUST 71e MPH WNW IN 1941

RECORDS FOR MARCH 19
HIGH 77 IN 2012
LOW -2 IN 1967
PRECIP 1.69 INS. IN 1956
SNOWFALL 17.6 INS. IN 1956 [RECORD FOR MONTH] PEAK GUST 75e MPH WNW IN 1941

TODAY’S REPORT PREPARED BY: Benjamin Turner