Thursday, December 26, 2024

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

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2024
ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME (EST)
SUNRISE: 0712E
SUNSET:  1618E

OVERCAST SKY THIS MORNING GRADUALLY CLEARING OUT EARLY THIS AFTERNOON….

Clouds have been the theme today up until around the 1pm observation.
A clearing line that we observed most of the morning off in the
distance, has been very slowly approaching the local area, and has
finally made it! As such, mainly sunny skies should take over for the
balance of the afternoon.

Temperatures are warming up nicely as well with readings reaching the
mid 30s early this afternoon. This is the first time we’ve been above
the freezing mark since last Thursday evening!

The wind has quite light today, even going calm at times. The average
speed for the day so far is only around 7mph. The peak gust for the day
so far is 15mph, which occurred at 2:36am this morning.

Visibility has improved markedly today compared to the past few days.
The view started at around 50 miles early this morning, but has reached
upward of 80 miles by the mid morning hours, but has slipped back to
around 70 miles early this afternoon.

The maximum temperature for today is 37F degrees, which is 1 degree
below the normal high of 38F. The minimum temperature since midnight
is 23F degrees, which is 1 degree above the normal low of 22F.

————————————————————–

Today’s Observations:

7 A.M.
Weather: Overcast stratocumulus, few lower stratocumulus distant NNE-SE,
virga distant NE-SSE
Temperature: 24F; Dew Point: 20F; Relative Humidity: 83%
Wind: NNW @ 5 kts, wind light
Sea-level pressure: 1031.9 mb; 30.47 in. Hg: rising, then more rapidly
Visibility: 50 miles
6-hr Max temp: 25F
6-hr Min temp: 23F
24-hr Precip:  0.00 inches
24-hr Snowfall: 0.0 inches
Snow Depth: 6 inches
BHO SA 1155 E27 OVC 50 319/24/20/3305/047/ FEW LWR SC DSNT NNE-SE
VIRGA DSNT NE-SSE WND LGT/ 8/5// 4/006 53015 10025 20023

10 A.M.
Weather: Overcast stratocumulus, breaks in overcast distant S-W-NNE,
few lower stratocumulus distant NE-SE, virga distant NE-SE
Temperature: 29F; Dew Point: 22F; Relative Humidity: 76%
Wind: NNW @ 2 kts, wind light
Sea-level pressure: 1032.7 mb; 30.50 in. Hg: rising, then steady
Visibility: 80 miles
3-hr Precip:  0.00 inches
3-hr Snowfall: 0.0 inches
BHO SA 1455 E27 OVC 80 327/29/22/3402/050/ BINOVC DSNT S-W-NNE
FEW LWR SC DSNT NE-SE VIRGA DSNT NE-SE WND LGT/ 8/5// 51008

1 P.M.
Weather: Scattered stratocumulus, few lower stratocumulus distant NE-SE,
virga distant NE-SE
Temperature: 36F; Dew Point: 26F; Relative Humidity: 65%
Wind: SSW @ 2 kts, wind light
Sea-level pressure: 1030.2 mb; 30.42 in. Hg: falling, then more slowly
Visibility: 70 miles
6-hr Max temp: 37F
6-hr Min temp: 24F
6-hr Precip:  0.00 inches
6-hr Snowfall: 0.0 inches
Snow Depth: 6 inches
BHO SA 1755 27 SCT 70 302/36/26/2002/042/ FEW LWR SC DSNT NE-SE
VIRGA DSNT NE-SE WSHFT 40 WND LGT/ 8/500 4/006 56025 10037 20024

————————————————————–

SUMMARY FOR WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2024

TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
MAX…….31  NORMAL…..38
MIN…….20  NORMAL…..22
MEAN……26  NORMAL…..30

DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR (1991-2020) NORMAL………….-4
TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH……………………-52 [-2.3 DEGREES/DAY]

HEATING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON: JUL 2024 THRU JUN 2025)
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY……………39  DEPARTURE……..+4
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE MONTH…………..843  DEPARTURE…….+51
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE SEASON…………1786  DEPARTURE……-209
TOTAL HEATING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE…….1747  DEPARTURE…….+39

PEAK WIND GUST (MPH):
Note: Instruments designated #1 = Main Tower, #2 = South Tower,
F420C, Contacting, Merlin, and Richards are all on Main Tower.
E=Estimated

F420C (Official)………..18 NNW  @   08:30 A.M.
VECTOR #1 (1-Sec)……….19 NNW  @   08:23 A.M.
VECTOR #2 (1-Sec)……….20 N    @   05:32 A.M.
DAVIS #1……………….18 NNW  @   02:13 A.M.
DAVIS #2 ………………17 N    @   08:17 A.M.
RMY #1 (Instantaneous)…..21 N    @   01:34 A.M.
RMY #2 (Instantaneous)…..19 NNW  @   08:17 A.M.
MERLIN…………………17 N
RICHARDS (C5C) (Inst)…..OTS

FASTEST MILE:
CONTACTING ANEMOMETER/OFFICIAL………………12 NNW  @   02:40 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE VECTOR #1 AVERAGE…………..13      @   02:30 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE VECTOR #2 AVERAGE…………..13      @   02:32 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS #1 AVERAGE……………13 N    @   02:30 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS #2 AVERAGE……………13 N    @   02:32 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RMY #1 AVERAGE……………..13 N    @   02:14 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RMY #2 AVERAGE……………..13 NNW  @   02:32 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RICHARDS (C5C) AVERAGE……..OTS

AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION:
CONTACTING/OFFICIAL………8.0 N [191 total miles] VECTOR #1……………….8.5
VECTOR #2……………….8.7
DAVIS #1………………..8.3 N
DAVIS #2………………..8.3 N
RMY #1………………….8.3 N
RMY #2………………….8.6 NNW
RICHARDS (C5C)…………..OTS

PRECIPITATION (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST):
TOTAL PRECIPITATION 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M……..0.00 DEPARTURE…..-0.17
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH…………..6.68 DEPARTURE…..+2.25
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR (2024)…….54.15 DEPARTURE…..+1.25

SNOWFALL (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST):
TOTAL SNOWFALL 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M…………..0.0 DEPARTURE……-0.5
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE MONTH……………….12.6 DEPARTURE……+3.1
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE SEASON (2024-2025)……12.6 DEPARTURE……+0.6

————————————————————–

PRELIMINARY CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR DECEMBER 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

12/1   37/23/30/-7/0.00/0.0/452/81        21 WSW VEC1 21 WSW RMY 21
12/2   38/22/30/-7/0.00/0.0/551/99        18 W   VEC1 18 W   RMY 18
12/3   36/20/28/-8/0.00/0.0/411/74        21 NW  VEC1 21 WNW RMY 21
12/4   39/22/31/-5/0.13/T/394/71          30 S   VEC1 31 S   RMY 33
12/5   37/31/34/-2/0.40/3.0/072/13        43 WNW VEC1 43 WNW RMY 47
12/6   31/23/27/-8/0.00/0.0/514/93        39 NW  VEC1 39 W   RMY 42
12/7   37/22/30/-5/T/T/408/74             25 S   VEC1 25 S   RMY 26
12/8   47/28/38/+3/0.02/T/198/36          37 SSW VEC1 37 SSW RMY 40
12/9   47/34/41/+7/0.41/0.0/187/34        28 ENE VEC1 28 E   RMY 29
12/10  42/31/37/+3/0.15/0.0/000/00        31 NE  VEC1 32 NE  RMY 34
12/11  62/36/49/+15/3.38/0.0/000/00       65 SSW VEC1 67 SSW RMY 70 TSTM
12/12  53/25/39/+5/0.05/0.0/460/84        51 WNW VEC1 49 WNW RMY 51
12/13  31/19/25/-8/0.00/0.0/514/94        30 WNW VEC1 30 W   RMY 30
12/14  33/17/25/-8/0.00/0.0/546/100       20 NW  VEC1 19 NNW RMY 20
12/15  34/17/26/-7/0.00/0.0/377/69        17 N   VEC1 17 N   RMY 16
12/16  45/29/37/+5/T/0.0/005/01           35 SSE VEC1 35 SSE RMY 35
12/17  59/41/50/+18/0.25/0.0/360/66       48 SSW VEC1 50 SSW RMY 50
12/18  50/36/43/+11/0.57/0.0/507/93       21 S   VEC1 21 S   RMY 21
12/19  44/30/37/+5/0.13/0.0/425/78        31 NW  VEC1 31 NW  RMY 32
12/20  32/24/28/-3/1.17/9.4/000/00        28 NNE VEC1 29 N   RMY 29
12/21  26/12/19/-12/0.00/0.0/262/48       38 NW  VEC1 38 NW  RMY 41
12/22  17/6/12/-19/0.00/0.0/544/100       33 NW  VEC1 33 NW  RMY 35
12/23  26/4/15/-16/0.00/0.0/420/77        21 S   VEC1 21 SSW RMY 20
12/24  31/19/25/-5/0.02/0.2/082/15        29 WSW VEC1 29 WSW RMY 30
12/25  31/20/26/-4/0.00/0.0/540/99        18 NNW VEC1 19 NNW RMY 21

12/26 The low since midnight is 23F, the daily normal low is 22F.

————————————————————–

DECEMBER DAILY RECORDS TO DATE

12/11 NEW PRECIPITATION RECORD OF 3.38″; OLD RECORD 2.36″ IN 1992

————————————————————–

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

RECORDS FOR DECEMBER 26
HIGH 58 IN 1973,1982
LOW -12 IN 1980
PRECIP 3.64 INS. IN 1969
SNOWFALL 17.5 INS. IN 1909
PEAK GUST 84 MPH SSE IN 1957

RECORDS FOR DECEMBER 27
HIGH 57 IN 1895,1949
LOW -4 IN 1903
PRECIP 2.43 INS. IN 1969
SNOWFALL 11.2 INS. IN 1947
PEAK GUST 73 S IN 2011

TODAY’S REPORT PREPARED BY: Matt Douglas