Thursday, January 1, 2015

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

DAILY DISCUSSION AND CLIMATE SUMMARY
THURSDAY, JANUARY 1, 2015 NEW YEAR’S DAY
ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME

CLEAR AND SEASONABLY COLD START TO NEW YEAR
WIND BACKING TO SOUTHWEST BECOMING GUSTY AT TIMES

The low temperature was 18F this morning and was just
one degree below the normal minimum.  The air mass
continues Arctic and very dry with dew points in the
single numbers.

SOME OF THE DECEMBER 2014 PRELIMINARY STATS

TEMPERATURE:  Deg. F
Av. Max. 42.0
Av. Min. 29.3
MEAN     35.7 [+4.3] Max. temp: 63 deg. Dec.  1
Min. temp: 14 deg. Dec. 31
Total heating degree day units:   908 [-142] Total heating degree day units
for the season beginning July 1: 2067 [-238]

PRECIPITATION: Ins.
Total: 7.21 [+2.32] Greatest in 24 hours;
Snowfall:  2.3 [-11.1] Seasonal: 11.0 [-5.0 ]

WIND:
Av. uncorrected wind speed: 11.8 MPH
Av.   corrected wind speed: 12.2 MPH
Prevailing wind direction: W @ 14%

Additional stats will follow in coming days….

Today’s Observations:

7 A.M.
Weather: Clear, stratocumulus/cumulus layer moderate tops
along and offshore distant NE-SSW
Temperature: 18F; Dew Point: 5F; Wind: WSW at 10 kts
Sea-level pressure: 30.06 ins. Hg, falling then rising slightly
Visibility: 35 miles, distant haze
6-hr max temp: 20F
6-hr min temp: 18F
24-hr precip.: 0.00 ins
BHO SA 1155 CLR 35 178/18/5/2510/006/ SC MDT CUFRM TOPS/CU LYR XTDNG
ALG HRZN/ALG/OFFSHR DSNT NE-SSW DSNT HZ GST 22 KTS PST HR/ 8/800
53009 10020 20018

10 A.M.
Weather: Clear, few stratocumulus distant S, few thin cirrus NW-E
Temperature: 26F; Dew Point: 5F; Wind: SW at 11 kts
Sea-level pressure: 30.07 ins. Hg, increasing, then decreasing
slightly but higher than 3 hours ago
Visibility: 50 miles, distant haze
BHO SA 1455 CLR 50 182/26/5/2311/007 FEW SC DSNT S FEW THN
CI NNW-E DSNT HZ/ 8/501 50004

1 P.M.
Weather: Scattered cirrus, thin broken cirrus, few stratocumulus
near horizon distant SE-S, patches altocumulus lenticularis
to the WNW-NW
Temperature: 29F; Dew Point: 5F; Wind: SW at 17 kts,
Wind: Gust to 24 kts past hour
Sea-level pressure: 29.99 ins. Hg, falling, then more quickly
Visibility: 60 miles, light distant haze
6-hr max temp: 30F
6-hr min temp: 18F
BHO SA 1755 250 SCT 300 –BKN 60 155/29/5/2317/999/ FEW SC HR HRZN
DSNT SE-S PTCH ACSL WNW-NW LGT DST HZ GST 24 KTS PST HR/
8/541 58027 10030 20018

SUMMARY FOR WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 31, 2014

TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
MAX…..28   NORMAL…..35
MIN…..14   NORMAL…..19
MEAN….21   NORMAL…..27

DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR NORMAL……………………..-6
TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH……………………+140 [+4.4 DEGREES/DAY]

HEATING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON JUL TO JUN)
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY…………..44  DEPARTURE………..+6
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE MONTH………….908  DEPARTURE………-141
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE SEASON………..2067  DEPARTURE………-238
TOTAL HEATING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE……2277  DIFFERENCE……..-210

PEAK GUST AND AVERAGE WIND SPEED (MPH)
PEAK WIND GUST FOR YESTERDAY………………23  W    AT   1:46 P.M. *
ASOS…………………..25  W    AT   1:46 P.M.
DAVIS………………….23  W    AT   1:16 P.M. N/A
FASTEST MILE FOR YESTERDAY………………..18  W    AT   1:47 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE ASOS AVERAGE……………..20  W    AT   1:47 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS AVERAGE…………….19  W    AT   1:47 P.M.
AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION…………..9.0 W
ASOS…………………..9.4
DAVIS………………….7.9 W [260 degrees] * last of several occurrences…

PRECIPITATION (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST)
TOTAL PRECIPITATION 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M….0.00  DEPARTURE…..-0.14
ASOS…………..0.00
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH……….7.21  DEPARTURE…..+2.32
ASOS…………..7.44
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR……….54.97  DEPARTURE…..+1.55
ASOS………….55.63

SNOWFALL (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST)
TOTAL SNOWFALL 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M……….0.0  DEPARTURE……-0.6
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE MONTH…………….2.3  DEPARTURE…..-11.1
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE SEASON…………..11.0  DEPARTURE……-5.0

PRELIMINARY CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR DECEMBER-JANUARY 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

12/1  63/37/50/+13/0.01/0.0/391/70             28 WNW RMY 31
12/2  37/30/34/-2/0.10/T/000/00                26 E   RMY 29
12/3  49/34/42/+6/0.31/0.0/000/00              40 W   RMY 43
12/4  41/27/34/-1/0.00/0.0/505/91              29 WNW RMY N/A
12/5  42/23/33/-2/0.12/0.0/382/69              21 E   RMY 22
12/6  43/36/40/+5/0.99/0.0/000/00              25 NNW RMY N/A
12/7  36/18/27/-7/0.15/0.0/193/35              31 N   RMY 34
12/8  25/16/21/-13/0.01/0.1/000/00             24 N   RMY N/A
12/9  48/25/37/+3/3.23/0.0/000/00              48 ENE RMY 52
12/10 47/35/41/+8/0.43/0.0/000/00              35 NNE RMY 37
12/11 35/29/32/-1/0.05/0.5/000/00              27 SW  RMY 27
12/12 36/26/31/-2/0.00/0.0/230/42              23 WNW RMY 25
12/13 40/27/34/+2/0.00/0.0/191/35              28 NW  RMY 28
12/14 43/28/36/+4/0.00/0.0/377/69              20 NW  RMY 20
12/15 41/28/35/+3/0.00/0.0/536/98              17 NW  RMY 17
12/16 42/33/38/+7/T/T/011/02                   17 E   RMY N/A
12/17 45/37/41/+10/0.43/0.0/000/00             27 W   RMY N/A
12/18 41/32/37/+6/0.02/T/213/39                35 WNW RMY 38
12/19 34/25/30/0/0.00/0.0/000/00               26 NW  RMY 29
12/20 32/24/28/-2/…./…/164/30              21 NNE RMY 23
12/21 31/29/30/+0/…./…/000/00              20 NNE RMY 22
12/22 42/29/36/+7/…./0.0/…/..              23 E   RMY N/A
12/23 44/39/42/+13/…./0.0/000/00             28 ENE RMY 30
12/24 61/40/51/+22/…./0.0/000/00             32 SSW RMY 41
12/25 61/41/51/+23/…./0.0/…/..             37 W   RMY 43
12/26 47/35/41/+13/0.00/0.0/…/..             24 WSW RMY 28
12/27 50/35/43/+15/0.00/0.0/…/..             21 SSW RMY N/A
12/28 49/35/42/+14/0.02/0.0/…/..             31 W   RMY 36
12/29 41/26/34/+7/0.00/0.0/…/..              23 WNW RMY 23
12/30 27/16/22/-5/0.00/0.0/…/..              22 NW  RMY N/A
12/31 28/14/21/-6/0.00/0.0/…/..              23 W   RMY N/A

1/1   morning low temp: 18F since midnight; normal low is now 19F

DAILY RECORDS FOR DECEMBER 2014:

-DAILY PRECIPITATION RECORD FOR DECEMBER 9 2014
Old record of 1.51 inches set in 1952,
replaced with new record of 3.23 inches.

-DAILY TEMPERATURE RECORD FOR DECEMBER 24 2014
Old record of 58F set in 1996,
replaced with new record of 61F.

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

RECORDS FOR JANUARY 1
HIGH 58F IN 1966
LOW -6F IN 1918
PRECIP 1.45 INS. IN 1982
SNOWFALL 7.2 INS. IN 1938
PEAK GUST 90e MPH S IN 1945

RECORDS FOR JANUARY 2
HIGH 62F IN 1890
LOW -7F IN 1899,1918
PRECIP 2.10 INS. IN 1987
SNOWFALL 9.0 INS. IN 1904
PEAK GUST 85e MPH S IN 1942

TODAY’S REPORT PREPARED BY: Robert Skilling