Wednesday, April 1, 2015
BLUE HILL METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATORY
MILTON, MASSACHUSETTS
ELEVATION 635 FEET, 10 MILES SSW OF BOSTON, MA
DAILY DISCUSSION AND CLIMATE SUMMARY
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 1, 2015
ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME
SUNSHINE AND CLEAR SKIES TO RING IN APRIL,
MARCH ENDS COLDER AND DRIER THAN NORMAL
Showers stay to our south last evening, keeping conditions
dry for the end of March. Clearing skies overnight allowed
temperatures to drop to a minimum of 26F, some 6 degrees
below today’s daily normal low.
Mostly clear skies and good visibility have prevailed today,
with temperatures rising to 42F by the 1:00 PM EST observation.
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.
Two significant records were broken during the month of
March, including most notably, the snowiest season on
record here at Blue Hill Observatory in 130 years. As of
today, here is the most up to date list of the snowfall
for this season:
BHO Greatest Seasonal Snowfall, inches (1885-2015):
1) 150.8 in 2014-2015 (through 1 PM March 31st)
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
The second record broken during March came on the 28th
when 5.0 inches of snow fell, setting a new daily record
snowfall, last set in 1932 with 3.0 inches of snow.
——————————————————-
PRELIMINARY STATS FOR MARCH 2015
TEMPERATURE, Deg. F
Avg. Max. 39.5 [-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; 1037 [+121]
Total for the season: 5745 [+261]
Total for last season: 5627
PRECIPITATION, Inches
Total: 3.25 [-2.33]
SNOWFALL, Inches
Total: 13.3 [+0.6]
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: N/A
Campbell-Stokes card minutes: N/A
For more information about this historic winter, visit our
web site at bluehill.org.
——————————————————-
Today’s Observations:
7 A.M.
Weather: Scattered cirrus
Temperature: 30F; Dew Point: 12F; Wind: N at 9 kts
Sea-level pressure: 29.96 ins. Hg, rising, then more slowly
Visibility: 70 miles
6-hr Max temp: 34F
6-hr Min temp: 26F
24-hr precip: none
24-hr snowfall: none
Snow depth: 8 inches
BHO SA 1155 250 SCT 70 145/30/12/3509/996/ 8/001 4/008 51033
10034 20026
10 A.M.
Weather: Clear, few cirrus in all directions
Temperature: 37F; Dew Point: 9F; Wind: NW at 12G21 kts
Sea-level pressure: 29.98 ins. Hg, rising, then falling
Visibility: 70 miles
BHO SA 1455 CLR 70 154/37/9/3212G21/998/ FEW CI ALQDS/ 8/001 50009
1 P.M.
Weather: Scattered dense cirrus
Temperature: 42F; Dew Point: 9F; Wind: NW at 13G21 kts
Sea-level pressure: 29.99 ins. Hg, rising steadily
Visibility: 70 miles
6-hr Max temp: 42F
6-hr Min temp: 30F
BHO SA 1755 250 SCT 70 157/42/9/3213G21/999/ 8/002 52003 10042 20030
SUMMARY FOR TUESDAY, MARCH 31, 2015
TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
MAX…..46 NORMAL…..49
MIN…..32 NORMAL…..32
MEAN….39 NORMAL…..41
DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR NORMAL………………………..-2
TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH………………………-120 [-4.1 DEGREES/DAY]
HEATING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON JUL TO JUN)
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY…………..26 DEPARTURE………..+2
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE MONTH…………1037 DEPARTURE………+121
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE SEASON………..5745 DEPARTURE………+261
TOTAL HEATING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE……5484 DIFFERENCE……..+118
PEAK GUST AND AVERAGE WIND SPEED (MPH)
PEAK WIND GUST FOR YESTERDAY………………28 W AT 10:03 A.M.*
ASOS…………………..29 W AT 10:00 A.M.
DAVIS………………….29 WNW AT 8:50 A.M. RMY 30
FASTEST MILE FOR YESTERDAY………………..23 W AT 10:01 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE ASOS AVERAGE……………..23 W AT 10:01 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS AVERAGE…………….21 W AT 10:01 A.M.
AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION…………..12.4 W
ASOS…………………..12.7
DAVIS………………….11.1 W [269 degrees]
* Last of several occurrences…
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……….3.25 DEPARTURE…..-2.33
ASOS…………..N/A
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR……….14.57 DEPARTURE…..+0.72
ASOS…………..N/A ***
*** ASOS monthly and 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…..-0.3
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE MONTH…………….13.3 DEPARTURE…..+0.6
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE SEASON…………..150.8 DEPARTURE….+91.1
PRELIMINARY CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR MARCH 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/…./…/000/00 17 NNW RMY 15
3/21 41/25/33/-4/…./…/…/.. 36 WNW RMY N/A
3/22 36/17/27/-10/0.00/0.0/…/.. 50 W RMY 55
3/23 31/14/23/-15/0.00/0.0/…/.. 36 WNW RMY 35
3/24 39/16/28/-10/0.00/0.0/…/.. 20 NNW RMY N/A
3/25 48/25/37/-1/0.08/0.0/…/.. 32 S RMY 31
3/26 54/35/45/+6/…./…/…/.. 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/…/.. 26 NW RMY N/A
3/30 43/28/36/-4/T/T/…/.. 36 SSW RMY 39
3/31 46/32/39/-2/0.00/0.0/…/.. 28 W RMY 30
4/1 low since midnight is 26F normal low is 32F
DAILY RECORDS FOR MARCH 2015
-3/28 5.0 INCHES OF SNOW FELL. SURPASSED OLD RECORD OF 3.0 INCHES SET
BACK IN 1932.
DAILY EXTREMES
Temperature and precipitation records back to 1885, and
wind records back to 1940 (e = estimated):
RECORDS FOR APRIL 1
HIGH 74 IN 1967
LOW 6 IN 1923 [RECORD FOR MONTH]
PRECIP 3.47 IN. IN 2004 [RECORD FOR MONTH]
SNOWFALL 15.0 IN. IN 1997 [RECORD FOR MONTH]
PEAK GUST 75 MPH SSW IN 1962
RECORDS FOR APRIL 2
HIGH 77 IN 1967
LOW 14 IN 1919
PRECIP 1.83 IN. IN 1970
SNOWFALL 13.0 IN. IN 1887
PEAK GUST 76 MPH SSW IN 1970
TODAY’S REPORT PREPARED BY: Brian Fitzgerald
