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BLUE HILL METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATORY
MILTON, MASSACHUSETTS
ELEVATION 635 FEET, 10 MILES SSW OF BOSTON, MA
DAILY DISCUSSION AND CLIMATE SUMMARY
SATURDAY, APRIL 4, 2015
ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME
FIRST THUNDERSTORMS OF THE YEAR HIT THE AREA OVERNIGHT…
BRIEF DOWNPOUR BRINGS ABOUT 0.18 INCHES IN FIVE MINUTES…
WINDS INCREASING AT MID-DAY WITH GUSTS EXCEEDING 50 MPH…
MINIMUM TEMPERATURE ON FRIDAY A NEW RECORD HIGH MIN FOR DATE…
PONDS REMAIN FROZEN AND NOW AMONG THE LATEST THAWS ON RECORD…
After a warm day on Thursday, the warm temperatures continued
on Friday with a high of 56F and a low for the day of 47F.
This was a new record high minimum temperature for April 3rd,
breaking the previous record of 46F set back in 1892. A few
rain showers early Friday ended by late morning. Another
round of heavy rain showers and strong thunderstorms moved
through very early this morning with frequent lightning in
the area between 4 and 6 AM EST. The heaviest rain brought
about 0.18 inches in a five minute period on Blue Hill just
before 5 AM EST. The precipitation total for the 24-hours
ending at 7 AM EST was 0.33 inches, with most of this falling
this morning.
The wind has been increasing since early this morning, with
frequent gusts over 40 kts occurring at mid-day. The peak
gust on the 420C gust chart recorder has been 46 kts, 53 mph
from the NW at 2:11 PM EST this afternoon. The average wind
speed for the hour ending at 1 PM EST was 35 mph. The KMQE
ASOS wind sensor, which averages gusts over a shorter time
period, has recorded a peak wind to 61 mph NW at 2:11 PM.
The strong winds have brought much drier air into the region.
The dew point has dropped from the middle 40s early today
to the middle 20s at early afternoon, and once the fog lifted
from the summit, the visibility quickly climbed to 70 miles
or better.
Recent warm temperatures and rainfall have melted almost all
of the remaining snow cover on the summit. There is only a
trace of snow left as of this morning. Both local ponds
remain ice covered today (April 4), though there is a trace
of open water on Houghton’s pond along the beach on the north
shoreline. This already ties for the sixth latest thaw date
for Ponkapoag Pond, and Houghton’s will be among the ten
latest thaws in a couple of days (see lists below).
The month of March averaged 4.3 degrees colder than normal,
and also finished 2.33 inches of total liquid precipitation
drier than normal. Snowfall however, was just about normal,
with 13.3 inches falling, just 0.6 inches above the norm.
Seasonal snowfall was a new record at 150.8 inches.
A cold March along with an even colder January through
February have resulted in the coldest start to any
year since 1934, and the third coldest average minimum
temperature on record:
BHO Coldest Jan-Mar Mean Temperature, deg F (1885-2015)
1) 21.4 in 1885
2) 22.1 in 1923
3) 22.8 in 1904
4) 23.2 in 1888
5) 23.5 in 1920
23.5 in 1934
7) 23.6 in 1893
23.6 in 1912
9) 23.8 in 2015
10) 24.2 in 1916
BHO Coldest Jan-Mar Average Minimum Temperature, deg F (1885-2015)
1) 13.4 in 1885
2) 14.9 in 1923
3) 15.0 in 2015
4) 15.2 in 1888
15.2 in 1934
6) 15.3 in 1904
7) 16.6 in 1920
8) 16.7 in 1912
9) 16.8 in 1887
16.8 in 1893
BHO Greatest Seasonal Snowfall, inches (1885-2015):
1) 150.8 in 2014-2015 (through 1 PM April 4th)
2) 144.4 in 1995-1996
3) 136.0 in 1947-1948
4) 119.4 in 2004-2005
5) 113.1 in 2002-2003
6) 111.5 in 1915-1916
7) 109.6 in 1966-1967
8) 106.8 in 1955-1956
9) 103.4 in 1903-1904
10)102.5 in 1922-1923
Latest Houghton’s Pond Thaw Date, (1886-2015)
1) April 14, 1926
2) April 10, 1887
April 10, 1888
4) April 9, 1923
5) April 8, 1993
6) April 7, 1899
April 7, 1956
8) April 6, 1916
April 6, 1917
April 6, 1924
April 6, 1940
12) April 5, 1895
April 5, 1920
April 5, 1941
April 5, 1969
April 5, 1994
17) April 4, 1904
April 4, 1906
April 4, 1967
April 4, 2001
21) April 3, 1892
Latest Ponkapoag Pond Thaw Date, (1886-2015)
1) April 10, 1926
2) April 9, 1923
3) April 6, 1940
4) April 5, 1916
April 5, 1924
6) April 4, 1967
April 4, 1994
8) April 3, 1904
April 3, 1920
——————————————————-
PRELIMINARY STATS FOR MARCH 2015
TEMPERATURE, Deg. F
Avg. Max. 39.6 [-4.8]
Avg. Min. 22.8 [-3.8]
Mean 31.2 [-4.3]
Corrected mean: 31.0
Max. for month: 55 on 3/11
Min. for month: 5 on 3/6
HEATING DEGREE DAYS
Total heating units: 1035 [+119]
Total for the season: 5743 [+259]
Total for last season: 5627
PRECIPITATION, Inches
Total: 3.25 [-2.33]
Greatest in 24 hrs: N/A
SNOWFALL, Inches
Total: 13.3 [+0.6]
Greatest in 24 hrs: N/A
WIND, mph
Avg. uncorrected wind speed: 13.0
Avg. corrected wind speed: 13.4
Prevailing wind direction: NW @ 16%
Peak gust and direction: 53 NW on the 17th
SUNSHINE:
Astronomical total minutes: 11107/22218 or 50%
Campbell-Stokes card minutes: 10758/21516 or 50%
For more information about this historic winter, visit our
web site at bluehillobservatory.org.
——————————————————-
Today’s Observations:
7 A.M.
Weather: Sky obscured in dense fog, stratus drifting over summit
Temperature: 44F; Dew Point: 44F; Wind: WNW at 13G19 kts
Sea-level pressure: 29.47 ins. Hg, steady then rising,
Visibility: 1/4 mile
6-hr Max temp: 46F
6-hr Min temp: 43F
6-hr precip: 0.32 in.
24-hr precip: 0.33 in.
Snow depth: Trace
BHO SA 1155 W2 X 1/4F 978/44/44/3013G19/947/ STRA DRFTG OVR SMT/
8//// 53006 6032/ 70033 10046 20043
10 A.M.
Weather: Broken stratocumulus, broken altocumulus, broken cirrus
Temperature: 47F; Dew Point: 38F; Wind: WNW at 17G26 kts,
Wind: Peak gust 28 kts, WNW at 9:43 AM
Sea-level pressure: 29.55 ins. Hg, rising, then more slowly
Visibility: 70 miles, light distant haze
3-hr precip: Trace
BHO SA 1455 E30 BKN 100 BKN 250 BKN 70 006/47/38/2917G26/955/
LGT DSNT HZ PK WND 2928/43/ 8/571 51028 6000/
1 P.M.
Weather: Scattered cumulus and stratocumulus, few cumulus
fractus, few stratocumulus castellanus S-SW
Temperature: 45F; Dew Point: 27F; Wind: WNW at 31G42 kts
Wind: Peak gust 42 kts, WNW at 12:55 PM
Sea-level pressure: 29.64 ins. Hg, rising then more rapidly
Visibility: 75 miles
6-hr Max temp: 49F
6-hr Min temp: 43F
6-hr precip: Trace
BHO SA 1755 E45 SCT 75 037/45/27/3031G42/964/ FEW CUFRA FEW
SCCAS S-SW PK WND 3042/55/ 8/500 53031 6000/ 10049 20043
SUMMARY FOR FRIDAY, APRIL 3, 2015
TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
MAX…..56 NORMAL…..51
MIN…..47 NORMAL…..33
MEAN….52 NORMAL…..42
DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR NORMAL………………….+10
TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH…………………..+7 [+2.1 DEGREES/DAY]
HEATING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON JUL TO JUN)
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY…………..13 DEPARTURE……….-10
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE MONTH…………..64 DEPARTURE………..-7
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE SEASON………..5807 DEPARTURE………+252
TOTAL HEATING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE……5691 DIFFERENCE……..+116
PEAK GUST AND AVERAGE WIND SPEED (MPH)
PEAK WIND GUST FOR YESTERDAY………………36 SW AT 2:39 A.M.
ASOS…………………..40 SW AT 2:40 A.M.
DAVIS………………….36 SW AT 2:39 A.M. RMY N/A
FASTEST MILE FOR YESTERDAY………………..29 SSW AT 2:41 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE ASOS AVERAGE……………..28 SSW AT 2:52 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS AVERAGE…………….27 SSW AT 2:41 A.M.
AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION…………13.5 SW
ASOS…………………12.9
DAVIS………………..12.9 SSW [217 degrees]
* Last of several occurrences…
PRECIPITATION (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST)
TOTAL PRECIPITATION 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M…..0.33 DEPARTURE…..+0.16
ASOS……………0.32
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH………..0.34 DEPARTURE…..-0.17
ASOS……………0.34
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR………..14.93 DEPARTURE…..+0.55
ASOS…………….N/A ***
*** ASOS annual totals not available due to erroneous readings
SNOWFALL (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST)
TOTAL SNOWFALL 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M………..0.0 DEPARTURE…..-0.2
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE MONTH……………..0.0 DEPARTURE…..-0.6
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE SEASON…………..150.8 DEPARTURE….+90.5
PRELIMINARY CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR MARCH AND APRIL CALENDAR DAY DATA
DATA REPORTED:
DATE: MAX/MIN/MEAN/DEP/PRECIP/SNOWFALL/SUN(MIN.)/SUN(%)/ PEAK GUST/RMY 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
3/1 29/14/22/-9/…./…/000/00 25 SSW RMY 25
3/2 35/22/29/-2/…./…/480/71 44 WNW RMY 48
3/3 32/13/23/-9/…./2.8/340/50 33 S RMY N/A
3/4 41/32/37/+5/…./…/000/00 33 SW RMY 36
3/5 36/16/26/-6/0.02/0.2/000/00 28 NW RMY 29
3/6 26/5/16/-16/0.00/0.0/681/99 28 NW RMY 25
3/7 38/13/26/-7/0.00/0.0/567/82 30 WSW RMY 30
3/8 41/25/33/0/T/T/208/30 38 WNW RMY 41
3/9 45/28/37/+4/0.00/0.0/565/81 40 W RMY 39
3/10 52/32/42/+9/…./0.0/252/36 28 S RMY 27
3/11 55/38/47/+13/…./0.0/604/86 37 WNW RMY N/A
3/12 38/23/31/-3/0.00/0.0/677/96 44 N RMY 48
3/13 40/18/29/-5/0.00/0.0/581/82 23 SSW RMY 26
3/14 41/29/35/0/0.84/0.0/000/00 23 SSW RMY 23
3/15 41/24/33/-2/0.03/0.6/021/03 39 NW RMY 39
3/16 44/23/34/-1/0.00/0.0/516/72 28 NW RMY N/A
3/17 48/25/37/+1/0.17/T/173/24 53 NW RMY 63
3/18 30/19/25/-11/0.00/0.0/700/97 51 NW RMY 56
3/19 31/15/23/-13/0.00/0.0/696/96 37 NW RMY 39
3/20 32/19/26/-11/…./…/102/14 17 NNW RMY 15
3/21 41/25/33/-4/…./…/000/00 36 WNW RMY N/A
3/22 36/17/27/-10/0.00/0.0/712/97 50 W RMY 55
3/23 31/14/23/-15/0.00/0.0/700/95 36 WNW RMY 35
3/24 39/16/28/-10/0.00/0.0/636/86 20 NNW RMY N/A
3/25 48/25/37/-1/0.08/0.0/572/77 32 S RMY 31
3/26 54/35/45/+6/…./…/052/07 32 SSW RMY 32
3/27 41/36/39/+0/…./0.0/000/00 22 NNE RMY N/A
3/28 36/26/31/-8/0.44/5.0/000/00 30 NNW RMY 30
3/29 40/21/31/-9/0.00/0.0/701/93 26 NW RMY N/A
3/30 43/28/36/-4/T/T/091/12 36 SSW RMY 39
3/31 46/32/39/-2/0.00/0.0/479/63 28 W RMY 30
4/1 44/26/35/-6/0.00/0.0/…/.. 30 WNW RMY 31
4/2 59/29/44/+3/T/0.0/…/.. 39 SSW RMY 43
4/3 56/47/52/+10/0.02/0.0/…/.. 36 SW RMY N/A
4/4 low since midnight is 43F normal low is 33F
DAILY RECORDS FOR MARCH 2015
3/28- NEW RECORD DAILY SNOWFALL: 5.0 INCHES;
surpasses the previous record of 3.0 ins. in 1932
DAILY RECORDS FOR APRIL 2015
4/3 – NEW RECORD DAILY HIGH MINIMUM TEMPERATURE: 47F
surpasses the previous record of 46F in 1892
DAILY EXTREMES
Temperature and precipitation records back to 1885, and
wind records back to 1940 (e = estimated):
RECORDS FOR APRIL 4
HIGH 76 IN 2010
LOW 12 IN 1954
PRECIP 1.45 IN. IN 1987
SNOWFALL 3.7 IN. IN 1975
PEAK GUST 80 MPH WNW IN 1963
RECORDS FOR APRIL 5
HIGH 81 IN 1928
LOW 15 IN 1995
PRECIP 2.15 IN. IN 1987
SNOWFALL 4.0 IN. IN 1898
PEAK GUST 76 MPH WNW IN 1963
TODAY’S REPORT PREPARED BY: Mike Iacono
