Friday, February 16, 2024

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

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2024
ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME (EST)
SUNRISE: 0640E
SUNSET:  1717E

PLENTY OF SUNSHINE AND WIND TODAY ON BLUE HILL….

Today has been sunny and very breezy. This morning we started
off with a few stratocumulus clouds along the horizon and then
we had a brief period of increasing cloudiness during the mid
morning. The wind direction changed to a NW flow which allowed
for the clouds to move offshore and the skies cleared up in time
for the final daily observation.

Temperatures have been in the low to mid 30s throughout the day
although it has felt far colder with the blustery conditions. Dew
points have been in the 20s and upper teens, and continued to drop
in the afternoon.

The wind has been active for the past few days and today is no
exception. We started with winds out of the SW during the overnight
and the last few hours of observations have seen a shift to the NW.
Our average speed so far is around 19mph. The peak gust so far for the
day is 47mph which occurred during the 10am hour.

Visibility started at about 40 miles and by the afternoon had
increased to 70 miles. The drop in dew points and relative humidity
really helped give us a beautiful view this afternoon.

The maximum temperature so far today is 35F degrees, which is 2
degrees below the normal high of 37F. The minimum temperature
since midnight is 28F degrees, which is 8 degrees below the normal
low of 20F.

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Today’s Observations:

7 A.M.
Weather: Clear, few stratocumulus along horizon, few alto cumulus
castelanius ESE-S, virga distant WSW-W and NNW-NNE
Temperature: 31F; Dew Point: 21F; Relative Humidity: 66%
Wind: W @ 17G33 kts, peak wind W 38mph at 6:50 A.M.
Sea-level pressure: 1002.4 mb; 29.60 in. Hg: rising unsteadily
Visibility: 40 miles
6-hr Max temp: 31F
6-hr Min temp: 28F
24-hr Precip: 0.03 inches
24-hr Snowfall: 0.4 inches
Snow Depth: 4 inches
BHO SA 1155 CLR 40 024/31/21/2717G33/960/ FEW SC ALNG HRZN ALQDS
FEW ACC ESE-S VIRGA DSNT WSW-W AND NNW-NNE PK WND 2733/50/ TOTAL
NEW SNW PST 24 HRS 0.4 INS/ 8/550 4/004 52001 70003 10031 20028

10 A.M.
Weather: Broken stratocumulus
Temperature: 31F; Dew Point: 19F; Relative Humidity: 59%
Wind: NW @ 16G38 kts, peak wind NW 44mph at 9:59 A.M.
Sea-level pressure: 1005.2 mb; 29.68 in. Hg: rising, then more
slowly
Visibility: 60 miles
3-hr Precip: 0.00 inches
3-hr Snowfall: 0.0 inches
BHO SA 1455 E60 BKN 60 052/31/19/3216G38/968/ PK WND 3239/58/
8/500 51028

1 P.M.
Weather: Clear, few stratocumulus all quadrants
Temperature: 34F; Dew Point: 12F; Relative Humidity: 38%
Wind: WNW @ 18G36 kts, peak wind NW 46mph at 12:17 P.M.
Sea-level pressure: 1017.8 mb; 30.06 in. Hg: rising, then falling
Visibility: 80 miles
6-hr Max temp: 35F
6-hr Min temp: 19F
6-hr Precip: 0.00 inches
6-hr Snowfall: 0.0 inches
Snow Depth: 3 inches
BHO SA 1755 CLR 70 076/34/12/3118G36/975/ FEW SC ALQDS PK WND
3140/17 8/500 4/003 52024 10035 20030

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SUMMARY FOR THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2024

TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
MAX…….38   NORMAL…..37
MIN…….18   NORMAL…..19
MEAN……28   NORMAL…..28

DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR (1991-2020) NORMAL………….0
TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH………………….+105 [+6.8 DEGREES/DAY]

HEATING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON: JUL 2023 THRU JUN 2024)
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY……………38  DEPARTURE………0
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE MONTH…………..465  DEPARTURE……-105
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE SEASON…………3431  DEPARTURE……-542
TOTAL HEATING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE…….3311  DEPARTURE……+120

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)……….E37 SW   @  09:09 P.M.
VECTOR #1 (1-Sec)……….36 SW   @  09:09 P.M.
VECTOR #2 (1-Sec)……….35 SW   @  09:09 P.M.
DAVIS #1……………….33 SW   @  09:09 P.M.
DAVIS #2 ………………33 SW   @  09:10 P.M.
RMY #1 (Instantaneous)…..37 SW   @  09:09 P.M.
RMY #2 (Instantaneous)…..36 SW   @  09:09 P.M.
MERLIN…………………38 SW
RICHARDS (C5C) (Inst)……38      @  09:09 P.M.

FASTEST MILE:
CONTACTING ANEMOMETER/OFFICIAL………………25 SW   @  09:13 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE VECTOR #1 AVERAGE…………..25      @  09:10 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE VECTOR #2 AVERAGE…………..26      @  09:57 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS #1 AVERAGE……………26 SW   @  09:35 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS #2 AVERAGE……………26 SW   @  09:12 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RMY #1 AVERAGE……………..25 SW   @  09:35 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RMY #2 AVERAGE……………..26 SW   @  09:57 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RICHARDS (C5C) AVERAGE………24      @  09:35 P.M.

AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION:
CONTACTING/OFFICIAL……11.8 NW [282 total miles] VECTOR #1…………….11.6
VECTOR #2…………….12.6
DAVIS #1……………..11.8 W
DAVIS #2……………..12.2 WNW
RMY #1……………….11.4 W
RMY #2……………….12.3 W
RICHARDS (C5C)………..11.8

PRECIPITATION (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST):
TOTAL PRECIPITATION 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M……..0.03 DEPARTURE…..-0.11
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH…………..0.73 DEPARTURE…..-1.29
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR (2024)……..9.97 DEPARTURE…..+3.45

SNOWFALL (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST):
TOTAL SNOWFALL 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M…………..0.4 DEPARTURE……-0.2
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE MONTH………………..4.7 DEPARTURE……-5.2
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE SEASON (2023-2024)……25.6 DEPARTURE…..-18.0

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PRELIMINARY CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR FEBRUARY 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

2/1   40/30/35/+9/0.00/0.0/012/02         25 SW  VEC1 24 SW  RMY 26
2/2   39/31/35/+9/0.03/T/000/00           23 N   VEC1 24 N   RMY 25
2/3   35/26/31/+5/0.00/0.0/338/56         26 N   VEC1 26 NNW RMY 28
2/4   39/20/30/+4/0.00/0.0/607/100        28 NNW VEC1 28 NNW RMY 27
2/5   39/22/31/+4/0.00/0.0/597/98         29 N   VEC1 29 N   RMY 30
2/6   35/26/31/+4/0.00/0.0/251/41         26 N   VEC1 26 N   RMY 26
2/7   39/26/33/+6/0.00/0.0/436/71         21 NE  VEC1 21 NE  RMY 24
2/8   44/29/37/+10/0.00/0.0/457/74        16 S   VEC1 16 S   RMY 16
2/9   47/30/39/+12/0.00/0.0/229/37        31 SSW VEC1 31 SSW RMY 31
2/10  58/35/47/+20/0.02/0.0/385/62        26 NW  VEC1 26 NW  RMY 30
2/11  45/34/40/+13/0.00/0.0/119/19        30 NW  VEC1 30 NW  RMY 31
2/12  47/29/38/+10/0.00/0.0/470/75        21 N   VEC1 20 N   RMY 20
2/13  35/25/30/+2/0.65/4.3/000/00         40 NNE VEC1 41 NNE RMY M
2/14  29/21/25/-3/0.00/0.0/562/89         53 NW  VEC1 53 NW  RMY 54
2/15  38/18/28/0/0.03/0.4/…/..          37 SW  VEC1 36 SW  RMY 37

2/16 The low since midnight is 28F, the daily normal low is 20F

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FEBRUARY DAILY RECORDS TO DATE

NONE…

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

RECORDS FOR FEBRUARY 16
HIGH 62F IN 1954
LOW -16F IN 1943
PRECIP 1.91 INCHES IN 1958
SNOWFALL 18.6 INCHES IN 1958
PEAK GUST 78 MPH W IN 1967

RECORDS FOR FEBRUARY 17
HIGH 61F IN 1981
LOW -16F IN 1896
PRECIP 1.86 INCHES IN 2003
SNOWFALL 20.0 INCHES IN 2003
PEAK GUST 72 MPH NW IN 1968

TODAY’S REPORT PREPARED BY: Amanda Joly