Friday, February 13, 2015

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

DAILY DISCUSSION AND CLIMATE SUMMARY
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2015
ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME

CLIPPER SYSTEM BRINGS SCANT 0.6 INCHES,
FRIGID TEMPS AND WIND CHILLS FOLLOW

Light snow fell sporadically yesterday, bringing
0.6 inches of snow, bringing February’s snow
total of up to 49.7 inches, and 92.6 inches
since January 1.

Today’s maximum today, likely already recorded at
midnight this morning, was 20F, as temperatures
slid downward to 3F just after the 7:00 AM EST observation.
Winds have been gusty from the NW as well, with wind
chills in the negative teens.

By the 1:00 PM EST observation clear skies continued
to prevail with only a few stratocumulus distant
offshore to the E. A maximum of just 13F was recorded
at this time.

Below are the list of recent records recently broken
by this season’s historic snowfall. More information
can be found on our website BlueHill.org:
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) 21.0 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) 21.0 on 9-10 Feb, 1969

BHO Snowiest February, inches (1885-2015):

1) 65.4 in 1969
2) 51.3 in 2003
3) 49.7 in 2015 (through Feb 12 at 1:00 PM EST)
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) 92.6 in 2015 (through Feb 12 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) 43 in March 1969
2) 42 in January 1948
3) 41 in February 1969
4) 39 in February 1948
5) 38 in February 1920
38 in February 2015
6) 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 stratocumulus distant offshore NE-SE
Temperature: 5F; Dew Point: -5F; Wind: WNW at 16G24 kts
Sea-level pressure: 29.89 ins. Hg, rising steadily
Visibility: 60 miles, except 70 miles SW-NW, light distant haze
6-hr max temp: 17F
6-hr min temp: 4F
24-hr precip: 0.02 inches
24 hr snowfall: 0.6 inches
Snow depth: 35 inches
BHO SA 1155 CLR 70 123/5/-5/3016G24/989/ VSBY SW-NW 60 MI FEW SC
DSNT OFFSHR NE-SE LGT DSNT HZ SW-NW NEW SNW PST 24 HRS 0.6 INS/
8/500 4/035 52038 ASOS 70003 MANUAL 70002 10017 20004

10 A.M.
Weather: Clear, few stratocumulus distant offshore ENE-SE
Temperature: 6F; Dew Point: -5F; Wind: WNW at 17G25 kts
Peak Wind: 27 knots WNW @ 9:30 AM EST
Sea-level pressure: 29.95 ins. Hg, increasing, then more slowly
Visibility: 60 miles
BHO SA 1455 CLR 60 141/6/-5/3017G25/995/ FEW SC DSNT OFFSHR
ENE-SE PK WND 2927/30/ 8/500 51018

1 P.M.
Weather: Clear, few stratocumulus distant offshore ENE-SE
Temperature: 13F; Dew Point: -4F; Wind: WNW at 14G23 kts
Peak Wind: 28 knots WNW @ 12:41 PM EST
Sea-level pressure: 29.96 ins. rising, then more quickly
Visibility: 70 miles
6-hr max temp: 13F
6-hr min temp: 3F
6 Hr precip: none
6 Hr Snowfall: none
BHO SA 1755 CLR 70 144/13/-4/3014G23/996/ FEW SC DSNT OFFSHR
ENE-SE PK WND 2928/41/ 8/500 53003 10013 20003
SUMMARY FOR THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2015

TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
MAX…..28   NORMAL…..36
MIN…..14   NORMAL…..19
MEAN….21   NORMAL…..27

DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR NORMAL……………………….-6
TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH……………………..-100 [-8.5 DEGREES/DAY]

HEATING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON JUL TO JUN)
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY…………..44  DEPARTURE………..+6
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE MONTH………….562  DEPARTURE………+100
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE SEASON………..3910  DEPARTURE……….-83
TOTAL HEATING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE……3998  DIFFERENCE………-88

PEAK GUST AND AVERAGE WIND SPEED (MPH)
PEAK WIND GUST FOR YESTERDAY………………31 NW     AT 12:57 P.M.
ASOS…………………..35 NW     AT 12:58 P.M.
DAVIS………………….29 NW     AT 12:57 P.M. RMY N/A
FASTEST MILE FOR YESTERDAY………………..26 NW     AT 12:59 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE ASOS AVERAGE……………..24 NW     AT 12:58 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS AVERAGE…………….23 NW     AT 12:58 P.M.
AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION…………7.6 NW
ASOS…………………7.6
DAVIS………………..6.8 W [274 degrees] * last of several occurrences…

PRECIPITATION (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST)
TOTAL PRECIPITATION 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M….0.02  DEPARTURE…..-0.12
ASOS…………..0.03
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH……….4.30  DEPARTURE…..+2.67
ASOS……………N/A ***
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR………..9.47  DEPARTURE…..+3.62
ASOS……………N/A ***
*** ASOS February and annual totals not available due to erroneous readings
on February 9-10th.

SNOWFALL (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST)
TOTAL SNOWFALL 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M……….0.6  DEPARTURE……+0.1
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE MONTH……………49.7  DEPARTURE…..+43.8
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE SEASON………….103.6  DEPARTURE…..+64.6

PRELIMINARY CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR 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
2/1  28/8/18/-8/0.00/0.0/…/..               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/…/..              31 NW  RMY N/A
2/4  36/14/25/-1/0.00/0.0/…/..              31 S   RMY 33
2/5  34/4/19/-7/0.15/3.5/…/..               38 NW  RMY 39
2/6  19/-2/9/-17/0.00/0.0/…/..              28 NW  RMY 27
2/7  25/14/20/-7/…./…/…/..              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/…./…/…/..              29 N   RMY 29
2/11 24/15/20/-7/0.03/1.4/…/..              30 N   RMY 29
2/12 28/14/21/-6/0.02/0.6/…/..              31 NW  RMY N/A

2/13 morning low temp: 4F since midnight, normal low is now 19

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 13
HIGH 64F IN 1951
LOW -10F IN 1967
PRECIP 2.80 INCHES IN 2008
SNOWFALL 13.5 INCHES IN 1894
PEAK GUST 60 MPH SE IN 1972

RECORDS FOR FEBRUARY 14
HIGH 56F IN 1949
LOW -8F IN 1979
PRECIP 2.09 INCHES IN 2007
SNOWFALL 11.0 INCHES IN 1914
PEAK GUST 83 MPH SSW IN 2000

TODAY’S REPORT PREPARED BY: Brian Fitzgerald