Monday, March 16, 2020

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

DAILY DISCUSSION AND CLIMATE SUMMARY
MONDAY, MARCH 16, 2020
ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME

PLENTY OF SUNSHINE AND EXCELLENT VISIBILITY, BUT COLD TODAY….

Other than some scattered stratocumulus and varying amounts
of high thin cirrus today, there has been an abundance of
sunshine. Visibility has been 80 miles all day, an indication
of very clear air.

Despite all the sun today, temperatures have not made it past
the mid 30s. Definitely feels cold after the recent mild
conditions. An onshore flow, which occasionally gets gusty
into the 15-20mph range, just adds to the chill.

The high so far today is 35F, this is 9 degrees below the
normal high of 44F. The low since midnight is 22F, this is
4 degrees below the normal low of 26F.

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: Thin broken cirrus, few stratocumulus distant
NE-SE
Temperature: 25F; Dew Point: 10F; Relative Humidity: 53%
Wind: NNE at 5 kts
Sea-level pressure: 30.65 ins. Hg: rising unsteadily
Visibility: 80 miles
6-hr Max temp: 27F
6-hr Min temp: 22F
24-hr Precip:  0.00 ins.
24-hr Snowfall: 0.0 ins.
BHO SA 1155 E300 –BKN 80 379/25/10/0205/065/
FEW SC DSNT NE-SE/ 8/501 52016 10027 20022

10 A.M.
Weather: Scattered stratocumulus, thin scattered cirrus
Temperature: 33F; Dew Point: 16F; Relative Humidity: 49%
Wind: NE at 10G18 kts
Sea-level pressure: 30.66 ins. Hg: rising, then falling
Visibility: 80 miles
3-hr Precip:  0.00 ins.
3-hr Snowfall: 0.0 ins.
BHO SA 1455 35 SCT 250 –SCT 80 384/33/16/0510G18/066/
8/501 50005

1 P.M.
Weather: Scattered stratocumulus, thin broken cirrus
Temperature: 35F; Dew Point: 15F; Relative Humidity: 43%
Wind: ENE at 7 kts
Sea-level pressure: 30.64 ins. Hg: falling, then more rapidly
Visibility: 80 miles
6-hr Max temp: 35F
6-hr Min temp: 25F
6-hr Precip:  0.00 ins.
6-hr Snowfall: 0.0 ins.
BHO SA 1755 30 SCT E250 –BKN 80 375/35/15/0707/064/
8/501 58009 10035 20025

SUMMARY FOR SUNDAY, MARCH 15, 2020

TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
MAX…..47   NORMAL…..44
MIN…..28   NORMAL…..26
MEAN….38   NORMAL…..35

DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR NORMAL……………….+3
TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH………………+154 [+10.1 DEGREES/DAY]

HEATING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON JUL TO JUN)
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY……………27  DEPARTURE……. -3
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE MONTH…………..327  DEPARTURE……-154
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE SEASON…………4467  DEPARTURE……-582
TOTAL HEATING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE…….5003  DEPARTURE……-536

PEAK GUST AND AVERAGE WIND SPEED (MPH)
PEAK WIND GUST FOR YESTERDAY………………..28 NW  AT   2:16 A.M.
AERO…………………….28 NW  AT   2:15 A.M.
ASOS…………………….27 NW  AT   2:15 A.M.
DAVIS……………………26 NNW AT   2:14 A.M. RMY N/A
FASTEST MILE FOR YESTERDAY………………….19 NW  AT   2:19 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE ASOS AVERAGE……………….20 NW  AT   2:20 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS AVERAGE………………20 NW  AT   2:20 A.M.
AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION………….. 9.6 NNW
ASOS…………………..10.5
DAVIS…………………. 9.8 NNW [341 deg.]

PRECIPITATION (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST)
TOTAL PRECIPITATION 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M….0.00  DEPARTURE……-0.18
ASOS…………..0.00
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH……….0.37  DEPARTURE……-2.22
ASOS…………..0.46
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR………..5.03  DEPARTURE……-5.98
ASOS…………..5.37

SNOWFALL (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST)
TOTAL SNOWFALL 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M……….0.0  DEPARTURE…….-0.4
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE MONTH…………….0.8  DEPARTURE…….-6.5
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE SEASON…………..25.6  DEPARTURE……-28.7

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 The low since midnight is 22F, daily normal minimum is 26F

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

RECORDS FOR MARCH 16
HIGH 73 IN 1990
LOW 8 IN 1932
PRE 1.95 INS. IN 1900
SNOW 10.0 INS. IN 1896
WIND 79 MPH NE IN 1956

RECORDS FOR MARCH 17
HIGH 69 IN 2003
LOW 6 IN 1885
PRECIP 1.97 INS. IN 1968
SNOWFALL 6.5 INS. IN 1956
PEAK GUST 70 MPH SSW IN 1973

TODAY’S REPORT PREPARED BY: Matt Douglas