Sunday, March 30, 2014

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

DAILY DISCUSSION AND CLIMATE SUMMARY
SUNDAY, MARCH 30, 2014
ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME

SIGNIFICANT RAINSTORM BRINGS OVER TWO AND A HALF INCHES OF RAINFALL
BETWEEN YESTERDAY AND TODAY SO FAR

Light rain began shortly after 1:00 P.M. yesterday, and it increased in
intensity during the late afternoon and into the night, becoming heaviest
during the early morning hours of today.  By 7:00 A.M. this morning, 2.41
inches of rain had fallen.  Rain began to taper off as the morning went on,
but it has yet to fully subside with light rain and drizzle falling into
the afternoon.  An additional 0.26 inches of rain fell between 7:00 A.M.
and 1:00 P.M., bringing the storm total so far to an impressive 2.67 inches,
with more rain possible later today and tonight.  It appears unlikely that
any daily rainfall records will be broken, since this event has been split
over two days.  Today’s rainfall record is 2.92 inches, set in the historic
March of 2010, a month which saw 18.81 inches of rainfall.  Thankfully, this
has been a much drier March, so major flooding is less of a concern with this
storm.  We remain over an inch and a half below average for monthly
precipitation.

Temperatures have run well below average this afternoon.  A maximum of 43
degrees was recorded between 6:00 and 7:00 this morning, but the temperature
has slowly fallen into the upper 30s by afternoon, making for a very raw,
chilly day when combined with the light rain.  This month will finish well
below average in terms of temperature, with the current departure standing
at -4.1 degrees per day.  Wind has not been a big issue today, coming in
from the north and northeast at only about 15mph with gusts up to 30mph.
Visibility has been well under a mile all day with rain and fog obscuring
the sky.  No sunshine has been observed today.

Today’s Observations:

7 A.M.
Weather: Sky obscured with moderate rain and fog
Temperature: 41F; Dew Point: 41F; Wind: NE at 15 kts
Sea-level pressure: 29.68 ins. Hg, falling
Visibility: 1/8 of a mile, rain and fog
6-hr max temp: 43F
6-hr min temp: 37F
6-hr precip (ASOS): 1.46 inches
24-hr precip: 2.41 inches
BHO SA 1155 W3 X 1/8RF 052/41/41/0515/968/ 8//// 57013 ASOS 60146 70239
MANUAL 70241 10043 20037

10 A.M.
Weather: Sky obscured with light rain
Temperature: 41F; Dew Point: 41F; Wind: N at 12 kts,
Sea-level pressure: 29.65 ins. Hg, falling then falling more slowly
Visibility: 1/16 of a mile, light rain and fog
3-hr precip: 0.19 inches
BHO SA 1455 W2 X 1/16R-F 040/41/41/3612/965/ 8//// 56012 ASOS 60020
MANUAL 60019

1 P.M.
Weather: Sky obscured with drizzle and fog
Temperature: 38F; Dew Point: 38F; Wind: N at 16G24 kts,
Wind: Direction variable NNW-ENE,
Wind: Peak wind of 26 kts N at 12:33 P.M.
Sea-level pressure: 29.63 ins. Hg, falling slightly
Visibility: 1/8 miles, drizzle and fog
6-hr max temp: 41F
6-hr min temp: 38F
6-hr precip: 0.26 inches
BHO SA 1755 W3 X 1/8LF 033/38/38/0116G24/963/ WND 33V06 PK WND 0126/33
8//// 56007 ASOS 60027 MANUAL 60026 10041 20038

WEATHER SUMMARY FOR SATURDAY, MARCH 29, 2014

TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
MAX…..53    NORMAL…..49
MIN…..37    NORMAL…..31
MEAN….45    NORMAL…..40

DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR NORMAL…………………….+5
TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH…………………..-112 [-4.1 DEGREES/DAY]

HEATING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON JUL TO JUN)
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY…………..20  DEPARTURE……….-5
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE MONTH………….978  DEPARTURE……..+111
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE SEASON………..5569  DEPARTURE……..+135
TOTAL HEATING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE……4984  DIFFERENCE…….+585

PEAK GUST AND AVERAGE WIND SPEED (MPH)
PEAK WIND GUST FOR YESTERDAY………………39  ENE  AT 11:51 P.M.
AERO…………………..40  ENE  AT 11:56 P.M. *
ASOS…………………..38  ENE  AT 11:11 P.M.
DAVIS………………….35  ENE  AT 11:11 P.M.  RMY 38
FASTEST MILE FOR YESTERDAY………………..27  ENE  AT 11:51 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE ASOS AVERAGE……………..26  NE   AT 11:57 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS AVERAGE…………….N/A
AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION………… 13.6 ENE
ASOS………………….14.2
DAVIS…………………11.7 NE  [049 deg.] * Last of several occurrences…

PRECIPITATION (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST)
TOTAL PRECIPITATION 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M….2.41  DEPARTURE………….+2.23
ASOS…………..2.39
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH……….3.47  DEPARTURE………….-1.76
ASOS…………..3.47
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR……….13.56  DEPARTURE………….-0.09
ASOS………….14.01

SNOWFALL (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST)
TOTAL SNOWFALL 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M……….0.0  DEPARTURE…………..-0.3
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE MONTH…………….2.6  DEPARTURE…………..-9.6
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE SEASON…………..84.4  DEPARTURE………….+25.2

PRELIMINARY CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR MARCH 2014 CALENDAR DAY DATA
DATA REPORTED:
DATE: MAX/MIN/MEAN/DEP/PRECIP/SNOW/SUN(MIN.)/SUN(%)/ PEAK GUST/AERO 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

3/1  34/12/23/-8/0.00/0.0/458/68          28 SSW AERO 29 MPH SSW RMY 30
3/2  37/28/33/2/T/T/014/02                22 SW  AERO 22 MPH SW  RMY 29
3/3  28/11/20/-12/0.00/0.0/000/00         29 NNW AERO 30 MPH NNW RMY N/A
3/4  29/6/18/-14/0.00/0.0/444/65          17 SW  AERO 16 MPH SW  RMY 17
3/5  27/16/22/-10/0.02/0.3/000/00         21 NE  AERO 20 MPH N   RMY 23
3/6  26/7/17/-15/0.00/0.0/689/100         23 NNW AERO 23 MPH NNW RMY N/A
3/7  35/16/26/-7/0.00/0.0/449/65          18 SE  AERO 17 MPH SE  RMY 18
3/8  52/27/40/+7/0.00/0.0/673/97          26 NW  AERO 29 MPH NNW RMY 27
3/9  40/25/33/0/0.00/0.0/669/96           28 NW  AERO 29 MPH NW  RMY 29
3/10 42/26/34/+1/0.03/0.8/196/28          21 S   AERO 22 MPH S   RMY 27
3/11 56/34/45/+11/0.00/0.0/450/64         33 W   AERO 33 MPH W   RMY 34
3/12 53/34/44/+10/0.50/T/120/17           29 NNW AERO 30 MPH NNW RMY 30
3/13 33/12/23/-11/0.14/1.4/007/01         43 NW  AERO 45 MPH NW  RMY 45
3/14 37/10/24/-11/0.00/0.0/498/70         39 SSW AERO 41 MPH SSW RMY 42
3/15 54/35/45/+10/0.01/0.0/450/63         50 WNW AERO 58 MPH WNW RMY 54
3/16 34/21/28/-7/0.00/0.0/509/71          36 W   AERO 36 MPH WNW RMY 37
3/17 30/13/22/-14/0.00/0.0/562/78         25 N   AERO 26 MPH N   RMY 19
3/18 35/16/26/-10/0.00/0.0/701/97         18 ENE AERO 16 MPH ENE RMY 18
3/19 44/23/34/-2/T/0.0/428/59             24 E   AERO 23 MPH E   RMY 26
3/20 51/35/43/+6/0.30/0.0/190/26          36 W   AERO 37 MPH W   RMY 39
3/21 42/29/36/-1/0.00/0.0/242/33          40 W   AERO 41 MPH W   RMY 42
3/22 55/26/41/+4/T/0.0/404/55             52 WNW AERO 52 MPH WNW RMY 53
3/23 43/20/32/-6/0.00/0.0/052/07          32 NNW AERO 32 MPH NNW RMY N/A
3/24 32/13/23/-15/0.00/0.0/725/98         37 N   AERO 36 MPH N   RMY 36
3/25 38/17/28/-10/0.00/0.0/550/74         25 SSW AERO 22 MPH SSW RMY N/A
3/26 32/20/26/-13/T/0.1/…/..            54 NW  AERO 56 MPH NW  RMY 55
3/27 45/17/31/-8/0.00/0.0/…/..          35 NW  AERO 33 MPH NW  RMY 31
3/28 57/33/45/+6/0.06/0.0/…/..          45 SW  AERO 43 MPH SW  RMY 47
3/29 53/37/45/+5/…./0.0/…/..          39 ENE AERO 40 MPH ENE RMY 38

3/30 morning low temp: 37F; the normal low is now 31F

DAILY RECORDS FOR MARCH 2014
None so far.

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

RECORDS FOR MARCH 30
HIGH 83 IN 1977
LOW 10 IN 1887
PRECIP 2.92 INS. IN 2010
SNOWFALL 3.9 INS. IN 1957
PEAK GUST 60 MPH NW IN 1999

RECORDS FOR MARCH 31
HIGH 89 IN 1998  [RECORD HIGH FOR MONTH] LOW 16 IN 1923
PRECIP 2.89 IN 1987
SNOWFALL 15.0 IN 1997
PEAK GUST 81 MPH SSE IN 1987

TODAY’S REPORT PREPARED BY: Jonathan O’Brien