Thursday, March 15, 2018
BLUE HILL METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATORY
MILTON, MASSACHUSETTS
ELEVATION 635 FEET, 10 MILES SSW OF BOSTON, MA
DAILY DISCUSSION AND CLIMATE SUMMARY
THURSDAY, MARCH 15, 2018
ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME
SUNNY BUT BLUSTERY DAY WITH BELOW SEASONABLE
TEMPERATURES…
We continue the pattern of below seasonable
daytime temperatures and seasonable overnight
low temperatures. Our high of 36F yesterday is
8 degrees below the normal of 44F. So far today
we have had a high of 38F, which is 6 degrees
below the normal of 44F. We had a low temperature
yesterday of 24F, which is 2 degrees below normal.
We have had a low of 29F since midnight today,
this is 3 degrees above the daily normal of 26F.
Wind came from the west for most of the day but
shifted to WNW mid-afternoon. We had moderate to
strong gusts today with a peak gust so far of
38 kts (44 MPH) from the west just before 8:30
this morning.
We had excellent visibility which increased from
70-80 miles by 1:00 P.M. This was due to a drop in
humidity which frequently happens throughout the
day. Skies remained mostly sunny today with a
mixture of cumulus and cirrus clouds at each
observation.
BHO Greatest March Snowstorms, inches (1885-2018):
1) 30.3 on 3-5 Mar, 1960
2) 30.0 on 31 Mar – 1 Apr, 1997
3) 29.8 on 6-8 Mar, 2013
4) 23.0 on 5-7 Mar, 2001
23.0 on 13 Mar, 2018
6) 19.5 on 19-20 Mar, 1956
7) 17.8 on 15-16 Mar, 1967
8) 17.5 on 20-22 Mar, 1958
9) 16.9 on 11-14 Mar, 1939
10) 15.4 on 29-30 Mar, 1984
BHO Greatest Snowstorms, inches (1885-2018):
1) 38.7 on 24-28 Feb 1969
2) 30.8 on 26-28 Jan 2015
3) 30.3 on 3-5 Mar 1960
4) 30.1 on 6-7 Feb 1978
5) 30.0 on 31 Mar – 1 Apr 1997
6) 29.8 on 6-8 Mar 2013
7) 26.6 on 8-9 Feb 2013
8) 24.7 on 17-18 Feb 2003
9) 24.3 on 5-7 Dec 2003
10) 23.0 on 5-7 Mar, 2001
23.0 on 13 Mar, 2018
BHO Greatest March Calendar Day Snowfalls, inches (1885-2018):
1) 23.0 on 13 Mar, 2018
2) 18.0 on 8 Mar, 2013
3) 17.6 on 19 Mar, 1956
4) 17.3 on 4 Mar, 1960
5) 15.5 on 6 Mar, 2001
6) 15.0 on 31 Mar, 1997
7) 13.5 on 29 Mar, 1984
8) 13.0 on 5 Mar, 1891
9) 12.8 on 3 Mar, 1960
10) 12.3 on 24 Mar, 1956
BHO Greatest March Monthly Snowfall, inches (1885-2018):
1) 52.0 in 1956
2) 42.2 in 1916
3) 41.4 in 2001
4) 41.0 in 1967
5) 40.1 in 2018 (through 7 AM on the 15th)
6) 37.8 in 2013
7) 35.5 in 1993
8) 33.9 in 1960
9) 30.6 in 1958
10) 29.0 in 1890
BHO Greatest March Monthly Precipitation, inches (1885-2018):
1) 18.81 in 2010
2) 13.07 in 2001
3) 10.96 in 1968
4) 10.02 in 1983
5) 9.53 in 1953
6) 9.00 in 1984
7) 8.72 in 1993
8) 8.09 in 1956
9) 7.98 in 1994
10) 7.97 in 2018 (through 7 AM on the 15th)
Today’s Observations:
7 A.M.
Weather: Few stratocumulus distant along the horizon,
scattered cirrostratus
Temperature: 30F; Dew Point: 25F; Wind: W at 16G24 kts,
Peak wind: 28 kts (32 MPH) W at 6:07 A.M.
Sea-level pressure: 29.39 ins. Hg, falling unsteadily
Visibility: 70 miles
6-hr Max temp: 31F
6-hr Min temp: 29F
24-hr precip: 0.01 ins.
24-hr snowfall: 0.2 ins.
Snow depth: 15 ins.
BHO SA 1155 250 SCT 70 951/30/25/2716G24/939/ NEW SNW PST 24
HRS 0.2 INS. FEW SC DSNT ALNG HRZN ENE-NNW PK WND 2728/07/
8/406 4/015 53011 MANUAL 70001 ASOS 70001 10031 20029
10 A.M.
Weather: Scattered stratocumulus, scattered cirrostratus
Temperature: 34F; Dew Point: 27F; Wind: W at 18G31 kts,
Peak Wind: 34 (39 MPH) WSW at 9:41 A.M.
Sea-level pressure: 29.41 ins. Hg, rising the steady
Visibility: 70 miles
3-hr precip: 0.00 ins.
3-hr snowfall: 0.0 ins.
BHO SA 1455 35 SCT 250 SCT 70 961/34/27/2618G31/941/
PK WND 2634/41/ 8/106 51010
1 P.M.
Weather: Scattered stratocumulus, scattered cirrostratus
Temperature: 38F; Dew Point: 26F; Wind: WNW at 14G24 kts,
Peak Wind: 29 kts (33 MPH) WSW at 12:04 P.M.
Sea-level pressure: 29.38 ins. Hg, falling, then more rapidly
Visibility: 80 miles
6-hr Max temp: 38F
6-hr Min temp: 30F
6-hr precip: 0.00 ins.
6-hr snowfall: 0.0 ins.
Snow depth: 13 ins.
BHO SA 1755 40 SCT 250 SCT 80 948/38/26/2914G24/938/
PK WND 2929/04/ 8/106 4/013 58013 10038 20030
SUMMARY FOR WEDNESDAY, MARCH 14, 2018
TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
MAX…..36 NORMAL…..44
MIN…..24 NORMAL…..26
MEAN….30 NORMAL…..35
DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR NORMAL……………………….-5
TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH………………………+21 [+1.3 DEGREES/DAY]
HEATING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON JUL TO JUN)
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY………….35 DEPARTURE……….+5
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE MONTH…………430 DEPARTURE………-21
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE SEASON……….4552 DEPARTURE……..-467
TOTAL HEATING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE…..4369 DIFFERENCE…….+183
PEAK GUST AND AVERAGE WIND SPEED (MPH)
PEAK WIND GUST FOR YESTERDAY……………….38 WSW AT 1:59 P.M.
AERO……………………38 WSW AT 1:58 P.M.
ASOS……………………40 SSW AT 2:00 P.M.
DAVIS…………………..39 M AT 1:59 P.M ** RMY 41
FASTEST MILE FOR YESTERDAY…………………26 WSW AT 1:59 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE ASOS AVERAGE………………26 SW AT 2:00 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS AVERAGE……………..25 M AT 2:00 P.M.**
AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION………….16.2 WSW
ASOS………………….15.4
DAVIS…………………14.3 **
** Davis direction malfunctioning
PRECIPITATION (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST)
TOTAL PRECIPITATION 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M….0.01 DEPARTURE……-0.16
ASOS…………..0.01
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH……….7.97 DEPARTURE……+5.74
ASOS…………..8.56
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR……….18.08 DEPARTURE……+7.43
ASOS………….19.41
SNOWFALL (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST)
TOTAL SNOWFALL 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M……….0.2 DEPARTURE……..-0.2
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE MONTH……………40.1 DEPARTURE…….+33.2
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE SEASON…………..84.8 DEPARTURE…….+30.8
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
3/01 61/37/49/+18/0.00/0.0/…/.. 39 ENE AERO 37 ENE RMY N/A
3/02 40/32/36/+5/3.47/0.7/000/00 73 NNE AERO 70 NNE RMY N/A
3/03 40/32/26/+4/T/T/…/.. 52 NNE AERO 50 NNE RMY 49
3/04 39//34/37/+5/T/T/…/.. 36 NNE AERO 32 NNE RMY 32
3/05 40/29/35/+3/…/1.2/…/.. 40 NE AERO 39 NE RMY 40
3/06 34/29/32/0/0.00/0.0/…/.. 20 N AERO 16 N RMY N/A
3/07 35/31/33/0/…./…/000/00 52 ENE AERO 53 ENE RMY 50
3/08 34/28/31/-2/…./…/…/.. 44 NNE AERO 47 NNE RMY N/A
3/09 36/24/30/-3/T/T/…/.. 28 W AERO 26 W RMY N/A
3/10 37/28/33/0/0.00/0.0/…/.. 38 WNW AERO 38 WNW RMY 41
3/11 42/26/34/0/0.00/0.0/…/.. 28 NW AERO 26 NW RMY 29
3/12 39/26/33/-1/T/T/…/.. 36 ENE AERO 33 ENE RMY N/A
3/13 35/26/31/-3/…./23.0/…/.. 60 N AERO 60 N RMY 64
3/14 36/24/30/-5/…./…./…/.. 38 WSW AERO 38 WSW RMY 41
3/15 Low temp since midnight is 29F; normal low is now 26F
DAILY RECORDS FOR MARCH 2018
3/02/18: NEW DAILY RECORD MAXIMUM PRECIPITATION OF 3.47 INS.
PREVIOUS RECORD WAS 2.15 INS. SET IN 1983
3/13/18: NEW DAILY RECORD MAXIMUM SNOWFALL OF 23.0 INS.
PREVIOUS RECORD WAS 10.0 INS. SET IN 1993
DAILY EXTREMES
Temperature and precipitation records back to 1885, and
wind records back to 1940 (e = estimated):
RECORDS FOR MARCH 15
HIGH 80 IN 1990
LOW 6 IN 1993
PRE 2.86 INS. IN 2010
SNOW 12.0 INS. 1967
WIND 73e MPH ESE IN 1940
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
TODAY’S REPORT PREPARED BY: Kaitlin Ann Geagan
