Friday, February 27, 2015
BLUE HILL METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATORY
MILTON, MASSACHUSETTS
ELEVATION 635 FEET, 10 MILES SSW OF BOSTON, MA
DAILY DISCUSSION AND CLIMATE SUMMARY
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2015
ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME
ANOTHER BRIEF SNOW EVENT BRINGS 0.6 INCHES OF NEW
SNOW, SEASONAL TOTAL 137.5, JUST 6.9 INCHES AWAY
FROM TYING SNOWIEST SEASON ON RECORD
Yesterday’s continued cold with a maximum of 21F and
low of 15F lowered the monthly average temperature to
11.7 degrees below normal so far this month. With little
warm up in sight before the end of the month, February 2015
will likely end up in the top 10 coldest months on record
here at Blue Hill Observatory. Through the 26th, the 24-hour
corrected mean temperature for the month is 17.0 deg F.
The list of coldest months follows below:
BHO Coldest Months, deg F (1885-2014)
1) 13.5 in Feb, 1934
2) 15.5 in Jan, 1920
3) 16.3 in Jan, 1888
4) 16.4 in Feb, 1885
5) 17.1 in Feb, 1923
6) 17.2 in Jan, 1912
17.2 in Jan, 1918
17.2 in Jan, 2004
9) 17.4 in Jan, 1893
17.4 in Dec, 1989
Snow that began at 11:29 AM EST yesterday, falling
light to moderately from 11:00 AM to 12:30 PM, continued
past the 1:00 PM EST observation, totaling 0.6 inches
of new snow.
Clear, cold conditions were present this morning, with
an overnight low of 9F and few cirrus and altocumulus
lingering in the skies.
By the 1:00 PM EST observation visibility had increased to
70 miles in all directions, with thin cirrus fibratus broken
overhead and few stratocumulus distant offshore. A maximum
reading of 23F had been recorded by this time.
Snow for the season now totals 137.5 inches, placing
this season at Blue Hill firmly in second place on
the list of snowiest seasons. February 2015 is also
the snowiest February on record, as well as the
snowiest month on record. This past storm brings us even closer
to first place and continues to push our monthly record higher.
See below:
BHO Greatest Snowstorms, inches (1885-2015):
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) 27.7 on 7-10 Feb, 2015
8) 26.6 on 8-9 Feb, 2013
9) 24.7 on 17-18 Feb, 2003
10) 24.3 on 5-7 Dec, 2003
11) 23.0 on 5-7 Mar, 2001
12) 22.2 on 16-17 Feb, 1958
13) 21.6 on 14-15 Feb, 2015
14) 21.0 on 9-10 Feb, 1969
BHO Greatest February Snowstorms, inches (1885-2015):
1) 38.7 on 24-28 Feb, 1969
2) 30.1 on 6-7 Feb, 1978
3) 27.7 on 7-10 Feb, 2015
4) 26.6 on 8-9 Feb, 2013
5) 24.7 on 17-18 Feb, 2003
6) 22.2 on 16-17 Feb, 1958
7) 21.6 on 14-15 Feb, 2015
8) 21.0 on 9-10 Feb, 1969
BHO Snowiest February, inches (1885-2015):
1) 83.6 in 2015 (through Feb 26 at 1:00 PM EST)
2) 65.4 in 1969
3) 51.3 in 2003
4) 45.2 in 1967
5) 40.4 in 1920
6) 39.7 in 2013
7) 37.0 in 1893
BHO Snowiest January-February, inches (1886-2015):
1) 126.5 in 2015 (through Feb 26 at 1:00 PM EST)
2) 77.9 in 1948
3) 70.2 in 2005
4) 68.7 in 1904
5) 67.5 in 1920
6) 66.9 in 1994
BHO Greatest Snow Depth, inches (1895-2015):
1) 46 in February 2015
2) 43 in March 1969
3) 42 in January 1948
4) 41 in February 1969
5) 39 in February 1948
6) 38 in February 1920
7) 33 in February 1978
33 in January 1996
9) 31 in February 2003
31 in February 2011
11)30 in March 1960
30 in March 1978
Today’s Observations:
7 A.M.
Weather: Clear, few altocumulus distant offshore NNE-SE,
few cirrus in all directions
Temperature: 11F; Dew Point: -1F; Wind: NNW at 11 kts
Sea-level pressure: 30.27 ins. Hg, rising, then more slowly
Visibility: 40 miles, light distant haze
6-hr max temp: 14F
6-hr min temp: 9F
24-hr precip: 0.04
24-hr snowfall: 0.6
Snow depth: 38 inches
BHO SA 1155 CLR 40 252/11/-1/3311/027/ FEW AC DSNT OFFSHR NNE-SE
FEW CI ALQDS LGT DSNT HZ ALQDS NEW SNW PST 24 HRS 0.6 INS/
8/021 4/038 51025 ASOS 70006 MANUAL 70004 10014 20009
10 A.M.
Weather: Clear, few stratocumulus distant offshore ENE-E
Temperature: 18F; Dew Point: 1F; Wind: NW at 7 kts
Sea-level pressure: 30.34 ins. Hg, rising, then steady
Visibility: 60 miles, light distant haze
BHO SA 1455 CLR 60 275/18/1/3107/034/
FEW SC DSNT OFFSHR ENE-E LGT DSNT HZ ALQDS/ 8/500 51023
1 P.M.
Weather: Broken cirrus, few stratocumulus distant offshore NE-ESE
Temperature: 22F; Dew Point: 4F; Wind: WNW at 7 kts
Sea-level pressure: 30.34 ins. Hg, steady, then falling
Visibility: 70 miles
6-hr max temp: 23F
6-hr min temp: 10F
BHO SA 1755 E250 BKN 70 273/22/4/3007/034/
FEW SC DSNT OFFSHR NE-ESE/ 8/501 58002 10023 20010
SUMMARY FOR THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2015
TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
MAX…..21 NORMAL…..39
MIN…..15 NORMAL…..21
MEAN….18 NORMAL…..30
DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR NORMAL………………………-12
TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH……………………..-298 [-11.7 DEGREES/DAY]
HEATING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON JUL TO JUN)
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY…………..47 DEPARTURE……….+12
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE MONTH…………1265 DEPARTURE………+297
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE SEASON………..4613 DEPARTURE………+114
TOTAL HEATING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE……4492 DIFFERENCE……..+121
PEAK GUST AND AVERAGE WIND SPEED (MPH)
PEAK WIND GUST FOR YESTERDAY………………25 NE AT 3:08 P.M.
ASOS…………………..24 NE AT 3:08 P.M.
DAVIS………………….22 NE AT 3:08 P.M. RMY 24
FASTEST MILE FOR YESTERDAY………………..15 NNE AT 3:15 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE ASOS AVERAGE……………..15 NNE AT 3:15 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS AVERAGE…………….15 NNE AT 3:14 P.M.
AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION…………8.4 N
ASOS…………………8.4
DAVIS………………..7.4 N [351 degrees]
* last of several occurrences…
PRECIPITATION (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST)
TOTAL PRECIPITATION 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M….0.04 DEPARTURE…..-0.12
ASOS…………..0.06
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH……….6.17 DEPARTURE…..+2.43
ASOS……………N/A ***
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR……….11.34 DEPARTURE…..+3.38
ASOS……………N/A ***
*** ASOS February and annual totals not available due to erroneous readings
on February 9-10th and 14-15th
SNOWFALL (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST)
TOTAL SNOWFALL 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M……….0.6 DEPARTURE……+0.2
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE MONTH……………83.6 DEPARTURE…..+70.7
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE SEASON………….137.5 DEPARTURE…..+91.5
PRELIMINARY CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR FEBRUARY 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
2/1 28/8/18/-8/0.00/0.0/582/97 29 WNW RMY N/A
2/2 29/8/19/-7/1.53/16.5/000/00 44 NE RMY 46
2/3 21/0/11/-15/0.00/0.0/593/98 31 NW RMY N/A
2/4 36/14/25/-1/0.00/0.0/164/27 31 S RMY 33
2/5 34/4/19/-7/0.15/3.5/000/00 38 NW RMY 39
2/6 19/-2/9/-17/0.00/0.0/392/64 28 NW RMY 27
2/7 25/14/20/-7/…./…/000/00 25 WSW RMY N/A
2/8 29/11/20/-7/…./…/000/00 30 NNE RMY 29
2/9 19/12/16/-11/…./…/000/00 29 N RMY 28
2/10 28/12/20/-7/…./…/081/13 29 N RMY 29
2/11 24/15/20/-7/0.03/1.4/000/00 30 N RMY 29
2/12 28/14/21/-6/0.02/0.6/000/00 31 NW RMY N/A
2/13 20/2/11/-17/0.00/0.0/630/100 35 NW RMY 35
2/14 26/1/14/-14/…./…/241/38 24 NW RMY N/A
2/15 18/-6/6/-22/…./…/000/00 53 NW RMY 59
2/16 17/-8/5/-23/0.00/0.0/606/95 43 NW RMY N/A
2/17 21/5/13/-15/0.12/2.0/064/10 18 NW RMY 16
2/18 28/15/22/-7/…./…/039/06 17 W RMY N/A
2/19 26/6/16/-13/0.02/0.3/116/18 40 W RMY 43
2/20 15/0/8/-21/0.00/0.0/630/97 38 W RMY 40
2/21 32/3/18/-11/…./…/462/71 39 SSW RMY 42
2/22 39/27/33/+4/…./…/327/50 25 WSW RMY N/A
2/23 28/1/15/-15/0.00/0.0/…/.. 38 WNW RMY 44
2/24 18/-6/6/-24/…./…/…/.. 26 S RMY 27
2/25 32/11/22/-8/…./…/…/.. 35 W RMY 36
2/26 21/15/18/-12/0.04/0.6/…/.. 25 NE RMY 24
2/27 morning low temp: 9F since midnight, normal low is now 22
DAILY RECORDS FOR FEBRUARY 2015
– NEW DAILY RECORD SNOWFALL FOR 2 FEBRUARY 2015
SNOWFALL 16.5 INS. surpasses previous record:
5.5 ins. in 1916, 1934
DAILY EXTREMES
Temperature and precipitation records back to 1885, and
wind records back to 1940 (e = estimated):
RECORDS FOR FEBRUARY 27
HIGH 61F IN 1976
LOW -8F IN 1900
PRECIP 1.43 INCHES IN 2013
SNOWFALL 6.0 INCHES IN 1922
PEAK GUST 67 MPH W IN 1985
RECORDS FOR FEBRUARY 28
HIGH 62F IN 1976
LOW -2F IN 1907,1934
PRECIP 1.79 INCHES IN 1958
SNOWFALL 8.5 INCHES IN 2005
PEAK GUST 88e MPH SSW IN 1943
TODAY’S REPORT PREPARED BY: Brian Fitzgerald
