Tuesday, April 2, 2024

BLUE HILL METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATORY MILTON, MASSACHUSETTS ELEVATION 635 FEET, 10 MILES SSW OF BOSTON, MA TUESDAY, APRIL 2, 2024 ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME (EST) SUNRISE: 0524E SUNSET:  1812E CLOUDY AND COOLER TODAY WITH A CHILLY BREEZE OFF THE OCEAN… Clouds are once again dominating the sky today, although we did briefly get a little dim sunshine this morning, which was a nice bonus. Otherwise we await the start of our next rainstorm, which promises to persist for the rest of the week. It appears we’ll continue in April right where we left off in March, on the wet side! Temperatures are cooler than they’ve been the last few days with readings only reaching the mid to upper 40s (as opposed to the mid-upper 50s). This is actually a bit below normal for day time temperatures at this time of year. Winds have been freshening a bit from the northeast and east- northeast. The average speed so far for the day is around 9mph. Gusts have been increasing in frequency and speed as the day progresses as well. The peak gust so far is around 25mph. Visibility started the day quite limited with low clouds and fog shrouding the summit very early this morning, but once they lifted, the view increased markedly, reaching as high as 60 miles for a time late this morning, before easing back a bit early this afternoon. The maximum temperature so far today is 47F degrees, which is 3 degrees below the normal high of 50F. The minimum temperature since midnight is 38F degrees, which is 5 degrees above the normal low of 33F. ————————————————————– PRELIMINARY STATS FOR MARCH 2024 TEMPERATURE, Deg. F Avg. Max. 47.9 [+3.8] Avg. Min. 33.0 [+6.1] Mean      40.5 [+5.0] 24-hour corrected mean: 39.7 Max. for month: 59F on the 17th and 31st Min. for month: 18F on the 1st HEATING DEGREE DAYS Total heating units:    753 [-162] Total for the season:  4641 [-706] Total for last season: 4532 COOLING DEGREE DAYS Total cooling units:    000 [ 000] Total for the season:   000 [ 000] Total for last season:  000 PRECIPITATION, Inches Total: 9.49 [+3.97] Greatest in 24 hrs: 2.49 on the 23rd SNOWFALL, Inches Total: Trace [-15.0] Greatest in 24 hrs: Trace on the 11th, 20th, 21st, 22nd, 23rd, 29th WIND, mph Avg. uncorrected wind speed: 12.5 mph Avg. corrected wind speed:   12.9 mph Prevailing wind direction:   West-Northwest [22%] Peak gust and direction:  53 NW on the 11th and WNW on the 21st SUNSHINE: Campbell-Stokes card minutes: 9612 of a possible 21516, or 45% Astronomical total minutes: 9966 of a possible 22290, or 45% ————————————————————– Today’s Observations: 7 A.M. Weather: Scattered stratus fractus, broken stratocumulus, broken altocumulus, overcast cirrostratus, sun dimly visible Temperature: 40F; Dew Point: 38F; Relative Humidity: 91% Wind: NE @ 9G17 kts Sea-level pressure: 1017.7 mb; 30.05 in. Hg: rising, then more slowly Visibility: 30 miles, thin fog 6-hr Max temp: 41F 6-hr Min temp: 38F 24-hr Precip:  0.00 inches 24-hr Snowfall: 0.0 inches Snow Depth: 0 inches BHO SA 1155 10 SCT E14 BKN 100 BKN 200 OVC 30 177/40/38/0409G17/005/ THN F ALQDS SUN DMLY VSBL/ 8/657 51017 10041 20038 10 A.M. Weather: Scattered stratocumulus, overcast altocumulus/altostratus Temperature: 43F; Dew Point: 35F; Relative Humidity: 74% Wind: NE @ 10G16 kts Sea-level pressure: 1019.1 mb; 30.09 in. Hg: rising, then more rapidly Visibility: 60 miles 3-hr Precip:  0.00 inches 3-hr Snowfall: 0.0 inches BHO SA 1455 15 SCT E120 OVC 60 191/43/35/0410G16/009/ 8/57/ 53014 1 P.M. Weather: Scattered altocumulus, overcast cirrostratus, few stratocumulus all quadrants, sun dimly visible Temperature: 45F; Dew Point: 36F; Relative Humidity: 58% Wind: ENE @ 12G17 kts Sea-level pressure: 1016.9 mb; 30.03 in. Hg: falling, then more rapidly Visibility: 50 miles, hazy 6-hr Max temp: 47F 6-hr Min temp: 40F 6-hr Precip:  0.00 inches 6-hr Snowfall: 0.0 inches Snow Depth: 0 inches BHO SA 1755 120 SCT E200 OVC 50 169/45/36/0712G17/003/ FEW SC ALQDS SUN DMLY VSBL HAZY/ 8/557 58022 10047 20040 ————————————————————– SUMMARY FOR MONDAY, APRIL 1, 2024 TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F) MAX…….56   NORMAL…..50 MIN…….40   NORMAL…..33 MEAN……48   NORMAL…..41 DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR (1991-2020) NORMAL…………+7 TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH……………………+7 [+6.8 DEGREES/DAY] HEATING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON: JUL 2023 THRU JUN 2024) TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY……………17  DEPARTURE……..-7 TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE MONTH……………17  DEPARTURE……..-7 TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE SEASON…………4658  DEPARTURE……-713 TOTAL HEATING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE…….4547  DEPARTURE……+111 PEAK WIND GUST (MPH): Note: Instruments designated #1 = Main Tower, #2 = South Tower, F420C, Contacting, Merlin, and Richards are all Main Tower. E=Estimated F420C (Official)……….E20 SSE  @  08:55 A.M. VECTOR #1 (1-Sec)……….20 SSE  @  08:55 A.M. VECTOR #2 (1-Sec)……….20 SE   @  10:03 A.M. DAVIS #1……………….18 SE   @  08:55 A.M. DAVIS #2 ………………18 SE   @  08:44 A.M. RMY #1 (Instantaneous)…..19 SSE  @  08:54 A.M. RMY #2 (Instantaneous)…..20 SE   @  10:03 A.M. MERLIN………………….M RICHARDS (C5C) (Inst)……19      @  08:55 A.M. FASTEST MILE: CONTACTING ANEMOMETER/OFFICIAL………………12 SSE  @  09:27 A.M. MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE VECTOR #1 AVERAGE…………..14      @  10:06 A.M. MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE VECTOR #2 AVERAGE…………..15      @  09:14 A.M. MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS #1 AVERAGE……………13 SSE  @  10:05 A.M. MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS #2 AVERAGE……………15 SE   @  09:15 A.M. MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RMY #1 AVERAGE……………..13 SSE  @  10:06 A.M. MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RMY #2 AVERAGE……………..15 SE   @  09:14 A.M. MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RICHARDS (C5C) AVERAGE………13      @  10:06 A.M. AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION: CONTACTING/OFFICIAL…….6.4 SSE [154 total miles] VECTOR #1……………..7.0 VECTOR #2……………..7.2 DAVIS #1………………6.7 SSE DAVIS #2………………6.2 SSE RMY #1………………..6.9 SSE RMY #2………………..7.2 SSE RICHARDS (C5C)…………7.4 PRECIPITATION (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST): TOTAL PRECIPITATION 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M……..0.00 DEPARTURE…..-0.16 TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH…………..0.00 DEPARTURE…..-0.16 TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR (2024)…….20.05 DEPARTURE…..+5.87 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……-0.2 TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE SEASON (2023-2024)……26.1 DEPARTURE…..-41.0 ————————————————————– PRELIMINARY CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR MARCH CALENDAR DAY DATA DATE: MAX/MIN/MEAN/DEP/PRECIP/SNOW/SUN(MIN)/SUN(%)/PEAK GUST/VEC1/RMY GUST PEAK GUST: F420C (Official) VEC1: Vector #1 1-second gust RMY:  R.M. Young #1 wind gust recording system (Instantaneous) TSTM: Thunderstorm day (thunder heard some time during day) ….: Data not yet available, records not finalized M:    Missing data DAILY EXTREMES Temperature and precipitation records back to 1885, and wind records back to 1940 (e = estimated) 3/1   41/18/30/-1/0.00/0.0/649/96         30 NW  VEC1 30 WNW RMY 33 3/2   50/32/41/+9/1.16/0.0/000/00         44 SSE VEC1 46 SE  RMY 42 3/3   55/42/49/+17/0.24/0.0/130/19        32 SSE VEC1 33 SSE RMY 32 3/4   49/36/43/+11/0.01/0.0/116/17        24 ENE VEC1 22 ENE RMY 23 3/5   42/36/39/+7/0.14/0.0/000/00         21 E   VEC1 21 E   RMY 21 3/6   51/39/45/+12/0.44/0.0/000/00        28 NE  VEC1 28 NE  RMY 29 3/7   42/37/40/+7/1.06/0.0/000/00         44 NNE VEC1 44 NNE RMY 42 3/8   45/32/39/+6/0.00/0.0/682/98         35 NNE VEC1 36 NNE RMY 38 3/9   40/32/36/+3/0.21/0.0/000/00         32 E   VEC1 32 E   RMY 31 3/10  51/36/44/+10/1.07/0.0/245/35        45 WNW VEC1 46 SE  RMY 45 3/11  43/30/37/+3/T/T/515/73              53 NW  VEC1 54 NW  RMY 58 3/12  54/33/44/+10/0.00/0.0/680/96        43 NW  VEC1 41 NW  RMY 45 3/13  54/33/44/+10/0.00/0.0/667/94        26 SSE VEC1 25 NNW RMY 25 3/14  58/36/47/+12/0.00/0.0/627/88        23 ENE VEC1 22 NE  RMY 21 3/15  44/37/41/+6/0.02/0.0/000/00         24 N   VEC1 23 NNW RMY 25 3/16  58/36/47/+12/0.00/0.0/510/71        29 S   VEC1 26 S   RMY 26 3/17  59/40/50/+14/0.04/0.0/390/54        38 NW  VEC1 38 NW  RMY 40 3/18  49/33/41/+5/0.00/0.0/558/77         38 W   VEC1 37 W   RMY 38 3/19  46/30/38/+2/0.00/0.0/575/79         44 NW  VEC1 43 NW  RMY 46 3/20  51/29/40/+3/0.11/T/190/26           50 WNW VEC1 50 WNW RMY 51 3/21  38/24/31/-6/T/T/704/96              53 WNW VEC1 53 WNW RMY 52 3/22  40/21/31/-6/T/T/427/58              29 WNW VEC1 29 WNW RMY 32 3/23  44/30/37/-1/2.49/T/000/00           48 NNW VEC1 47 NNW RMY 51 3/24  41/23/32/-6/0.00/0.0/460/62         38 NNW VEC1 39 NNW RMY 42 3/25  39/31/25/-3/0.00/0.0/343/46         41 ENE VEC1 41 NE  RMY 40 3/26  36/32/34/-5/0.15/0.0/000/00         38 NE  VEC1 38 NE  RMY 39 3/27  53/36/45/+6/0.10/0.0/038/05         23 NE  VEC1 24 NE  RMY 23 3/28  49/42/46/+7/1.72/0.0/000/00         23 NNW VEC1 23 NNW RMY 22 3/29  50/34/42/+2/0.53/T/136/18           48 NW  VEC1 48 NW  RMY 52 3/30  55/34/45/+5/0.00/0.0/729/96         45 NW  VEC1 44 NW  RMY 47 3/31  59/39/49/+8/0.00/0.0/595/78         31 WNW VEC1 31 WNW RMY 32 ————————————————————– MARCH DAILY RECORDS TO DATE NONE… ————————————————————– PRELIMINARY CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR APRIL CALENDAR DAY DATA DATE: MAX/MIN/MEAN/DEP/PRECIP/SNOW/SUN(MIN)/SUN(%)/PEAK GUST/VEC1/RMY GUST PEAK GUST: F420C (Official) VEC1: Vector #1 1-second gust RMY:  R.M. Young #1 wind gust recording system (Instantaneous) TSTM: Thunderstorm day (thunder heard some time during day) ….: Data not yet available, records not finalized M:    Missing data DAILY EXTREMES Temperature and precipitation records back to 1885, and wind records back to 1940 (e = estimated) 4/1   56/40/48/+7/0.00/0.0/…/..         20 SSE VEC1 20 SSE RMY 19 4/2 The low since midnight is 38F, the daily normal low is 33F. ————————————————————– APRIL DAILY RECORDS TO DATE NONE… ————————————————————– DAILY EXTREMES Temperature and precipitation records back to 1885, and wind records back to 1940 (e = estimated) RECORDS FOR APRIL 2 HIGH 77 IN 1967 LOW 14 IN 1919 PRECIP 1.83 IN. IN 1970 SNOWFALL 6.5 IN. IN 1924 PEAK GUST 76 MPH SSW IN 1970 RECORDS FOR APRIL 3 HIGH 76 IN 1892 LOW 16 IN 1894 PRECIP 2.18 IN. IN 1990 SNOWFALL 8.0 IN. IN 1915 PEAK GUST 83e MPH NW IN 1977 [RECORD FOR MONTH] TODAY’S REPORT PREPARED BY: Matt Douglas