Wednesday, March 2, 2016

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

DAILY DISCUSSION AND CLIMATE SUMMARY
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2016
ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME

SHOWERS OVERNIGHT AND THIS MORNING,
GUSTY WINDS USHER IN COLDER AIR

Showers began early this morning near midnight, dropping
0.14 inches of rain by the 7:00 AM EST observation. Another
round of heavier showers brought an additional 0.27 inches
by the 10:00 AM EST observation. Showers came to an end by
9:24 AM EST as winds shifted from S to W, ushering in colder air.

After reaching temperatures as warm as 52F earlier this morning,
temperatures have slid to 39F today by the 1:00 PM EST observation.

With a warm end to the month of February, the average monthly
temperature of 32.2F is the 11th warmest February on record,
and when combined with the warmest December on record and a
warm month of January, this winter just barely became the warmest
on record with an average temperature of 34.9F.

BHO Warmest Februarys, deg F (1885-2016):

1) 34.9 in 1984
2) 34.3 in 2012
3) 34.0 in 1998
4) 33.9 in 1954
33.9 in 1981
6) 33.7 in 1976
7) 33.6 in 1997
33.6 in 2002
9) 33.1 in 1925
10) 32.6 in 1991
11) 32.2 in 2016
12) 31.9 in 1960
31.9 in 1999

BHO Warmest Winters, deg F (1885-2016):

1) 34.9 in 2015-2016
2) 34.8 in 2001-2002
3) 34.3 in 2011-2012
4) 32.6 in 1997-1998
5) 32.3 in 1936-1937
32.3 in 1998-1999

PRELIMINARY STATS FOR FEBRUARY 2016

TEMPERATURE, Deg. F
Avg. Max. 42.2 [+5.4] Avg. Min. 22.5 [+3.4] Mean      32.4 [+4.5] 24-hour Corrected Mean: 32.2
Max. for month:  64 on 1st
Min. for month: -14 on 14th

HEATING DEGREE DAYS
Total heating units: 928 [-109] for 28 days
Total for the season: 3670 [-789] for 28 days
Total for last season: 4708

PRECIPITATION, Inches
Total: 5.60 [+1.53] Greatest in 24 hrs:
Snowfall: 22.5 [+8.6] Greatest in 24 hrs: n/a

WIND, mph
Avg. uncorrected wind speed: 14.4
Avg. corrected wind speed: 14.7
Prevailing wind direction: WNW @ 14%
Peak gust and direction: 76 S on the 25th

SUNSHINE:
Campbell-Stokes card minutes: 9000 out of 17796 poss. or 150.0 hours or 51%
Astronomical total minutes:   9302 out of 18418 poss. or 155.0 hours or 51%

Today’s Observations:

7 A.M.
Weather: Light rain showers end 6:28 AM EST,
broken stratus fractus, overcast stratus, vicinity showers SE-NNE
Temperature: 51F; Dew Point: 48F; Wind: WNW at 19G32 kts,
Peak Wind: 34 kts S at 6:44 AM EST
Sea-level pressure: 29.43 ins. Hg, falling rapidly
Visibility: 10 miles, except 4 miles SE-NNE, vicinity showers,
thin fog in all directions
6-hr Max temp: 52F
6-hr Min temp: 37F
24-hr precip: 0.14 ins.
BHO SA 1155 E23 BKN 50 OVC 10 966/51/48/1819G32/943/ RW-E28 VSBY
SW-NW 4 MI VCSH SE-NNE THN FG ALQDS PRESFR PK WND 1834/44/ 8/6//
56041 ASOS 60015 70016 MANUAL 70014 10052 20037

10 A.M.
Weather: Moderate rain showers end 9:24 AM EST,
broken altocumulus, broken altostratus,
few stratus fractus distant E-W, few stratocumulus SW-N,
showers distant W-SE
Temperature: 47F; Dew Point: 45F; Wind: SSW at 14 kts
Peak Wind: 26 kts WSW at 8:55 AM EST
Sea-level pressure: 29.46 ins. Hg, rising, then falling but
higher still
Visibility: 30 miles. thin fog, showers distant
3-hr precip: 0.27 ins.
BHO SA 1455 E120 BKN 200 BKN 30 976/47/45/2114/946/
RWE24 SHWRS DSNT W-SE STFRA E-W FEW SC SW-N THN FG ALQDS
PK WND 2426/1355/ 8/770 50010 ASOS 60027 MANUAL 60027

1 P.M.
Weather: Scattered altocumulus, broken altostratus,
few stratocumulus/cumulus in all directions
Temperature: 39F; Dew Point: 27F; Wind: WNW at 14G25 kts
Peak Wind: 34 kts WNW at 12:07 AM EST
Sea-level pressure: 29.54 ins. Hg, rising, then more slowly
Visibility: 70 miles
6-hr Max temp: 51F
6-hr Min temp: 39F
6-hr precip: 0.27 ins.
BHO SA 1755 60 SCT E200 BKN 70 003/39/27/2914G25/954/
FEW SC/CU ALQDS PK WND 2934/07/ 8/570 51027 ASOS 60027
MANUAL 60027 10051 20039

SUMMARY FOR TUESDAY, MARCH 1, 2016

TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
MAX…..45   NORMAL…..40
MIN…..30   NORMAL…..22
MEAN….38   NORMAL…..31

DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR NORMAL…………………….+7
TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH…………………….+7 [+6.8 DEGREES/DAY]

HEATING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON JUL TO JUN)
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY…………..27   DEPARTURE……….-7
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE MONTH…………..27   DEPARTURE………-28
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE SEASON………..3710   DEPARTURE……..-892
TOTAL HEATING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE……4751   DIFFERENCE……-1041

PEAK GUST AND AVERAGE WIND SPEED (MPH)
PEAK WIND GUST FOR YESTERDAY……………….54 W   AT  2:47 A.M.
ASOS……………………57 W   AT  2:53 A.M.
DAVIS…………………..51 W   AT  2:49 A.M. RMY 53
FASTEST MILE FOR YESTERDAY…………………42 W   AT  2:53 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE ASOS AVERAGE………………39 W   AT  2:53 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS AVERAGE……………..34 WNW AT  2:51 A.M.
AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION……………13.2 W
ASOS……………………12.8
DAVIS…………………..11.4 SW [233 Deg.]

PRECIPITATION (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST)
TOTAL PRECIPITATION 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M….0.14  DEPARTURE……-0.04
ASOS…………..0.16
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH……….0.14  DEPARTURE……-0.04
ASOS…………..0.16
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR………..9.51 DEPARTURE…….+0.78
ASOS………….10.12

SNOWFALL (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST)
TOTAL SNOWFALL 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M……….0.0  DEPARTURE…….-0.5
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE MONTH……………22.5  DEPARTURE…….-0.5
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE SEASON…………..38.1  DEPARTURE…….-9.9

PRELIMINARY CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR FEBRUARY CALENDAR DAY DATA
DATE: MAX/MIN/MEAN/DEP/PRECIP/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

2/1   64/40/52/+26/0.00/0.0/305/51          36 WNW AERO 37 W   RMY 34
2/2   48/31/40/+14/0.00/0.0/602/100         23 NW  AERO 23 WNW RMY N/A
2/3   55/34/45/+19/0.80/0.0/000/00          55 SSE AERO 58 SSE RMY 53
2/4   55/39/47/+21/…./0.0/000/00          37 W   AERO 36 W   RMY 35
2/5   39/19/29/+3/…./12.5/000/00          37 NNW AERO 39 NNW RMY 35
2/6   35/17/26/0/0.00/0.0/532/87            25 SSW AERO 24 SSW RMY 23
2/7   43/26/35/+8/0.00/0.0/577/94           35 ENE AERO 35 ENE RMY N/A
2/8   36/16/26/-1/…./…/000/00           53 NE  AERO 55 NE  RMY 53
2/9   26/17/22/-5/…./…/000/00           21 N   AERO 22 N   RMY N/A
2/10  33/21/27/+0/0.01/0.0/006/01           23 W   AERO 23 W   RMY 21
2/11  26/7/17/-10/T/T/131/21                39 W   AERO 47 W   RMY 42
2/12  23/4/13/-14/0.00/0.0/433/69           31 WNW AERO 38 WNW RMY 21
2/13  21/-7/7/-21/0.00/0.0/459/73           41 W   AERO 46 WNW RMY 43
2/14  10/-14/-2/-30/0.00/0.0/632/100        33 WNW AERO 46 WNW RMY N/A
2/15  32/-2/15/-13/…./1.2/178/28          24 E   AERO 28 E   RMY N/A
2/16  55/32/44/+16/…./0.0/006/01          65 SSE AERO 69 SSE RMY 64
2/17  43/30/37/+9/0.00/0.0/576/90           33 W   AERO 35 W   RMY N/A
2/18  32/20/26/+3/0.00/0.0/637/99           25 NNW AERO 29 NW  RMY 25
2/19  39/16/28/-1/0.01/T/452/70             24 SSW AERO 26 SSW RMY N/A
2/20  58/31/45/+16/…./…/363/56          44 SSW AERO 44 SSW RMY 41
2/21  53/39/46/+17/0.00/0.0/475/73          39 WNW AERO 43 WNW RMY 39
2/22  45/29/37/+8/0.00/0.0/608/93           18 NW  AERO 20 NW  RMY 17
2/23  37/25/31/+1/…./T/000/00             26 E   AERO 26 E   RMY N/A
2/24  60/33/47/+17/…./0.0/000/00          60 S   AERO 66 S   RMY N/A
2/25  63/37/50/+15/…./0.0/218/33          76 S   AERO 84 S   RMY N/A
2/26  38/22/30/0/…./0.0/665/100           42 WNW AERO 44 WNW RMY 41
2/27  38/16/27/-4/0.00/0.0/654/98           31 SSW AERO 31 SSW RMY 33
2/28  56/34/45/+14/0.00/0.0/335/50          32 S   AERO 37 SSW RMY N/A
2/29  63/41/52/+21/T/0.0/458/68             39 W   AERO 41 W   RMY N/A

3/1   45/30/38/+7/0.00/0.0/…/..           54 W   AERO 60 W   RMY 53

3/2 morning low temp. since midnight 37F; normal now 22F

DAILY RECORDS FOR FEBRUARY 2016

2/14/16: **NEW DAILY RECORD LOW MINIMUM TEMPERATURE OF -14F,
SURPASSING PREVIOUS RECORD OF -8F SET IN 1979**

2/14/16: **TIED DAILY RECORD LOW MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 10F,
MATCHING PREVIOUS RECORD OF 10F SET IN 1979**

2/25/16: **NEW DAILY RECORD PEAK WIND GUST OF 76 MPH S,
SURPASSING PREVIOUS RECORD OF 75 MPH S IN 1965**

2/29/16: **NEW DAILY RECORD MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 63F,
BREAKS PREVIOUS RECORD OF 56F SET BACK IN 1976**

2/29/17: **DAILY RECORD HIGH MINIMUM OF 41F TIES RECORD
SET IN 1896**

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

RECORDS FOR MARCH 2
HIGH 63 IN 2004
LOW -3 IN 1886
PRE 2.15 INS. IN 1983
SNOW 8.2 INS. IN 2009
WIND 75 MPH NW IN 1966

RECORDS FOR MARCH 3
HIGH 64 IN 1991
LOW -1 IN 1950
PRECIP 2.36 INS. IN 1972
SNOWFALL 12.8 INS. IN 1960
PEAK GUST 78e MPH E IN 1942

TODAY’S REPORT PREPARED BY: Brian Fitzgerald