Friday, July 18, 2014

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

DAILY DISCUSSION AND CLIMATE SUMMARY
FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2014
ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME

PLEASANT WEATHER TODAY WITH PARTLY CLOUDY SKIES

It was a cool start here at the summit this morning, with the low
temperature falling to 60F.  At nearby Norwood Airport the low fell to a
chilly 54F.  We’ve rebounded into the upper 70s, just a little below
average for this time of year.  While there has been plenty of sunshine
today, there have been some high level cirrus clouds present for most of
the day, as well as cumulus clouds that have developed through the late
morning and into the afternoon.  Winds have been light and variable for
most of the day.  Visibility has been good, in the 70-75 mile range all
day, which is higher than anything observed this past week.  A trace of
rainfall was recorded yesterday from some unexpected showers that developed
around 8-9PM last night.

The recent stretch of unsettled weather resulted in a total of 1.55 inches
of rain here at the summit.  Included among this stretch was 0.97 inches
of rain that fell on the 16th, which was good enough to establish a new
daily record for precipitation for this date.  The previous record was
0.89 inches in 1919.  This is our second daily precipitation record for
July, with the other coming when 2.48 inches of rain fell on the 4th.
July is now running 1.31 inches above normal for precipitation.

Today’s Observations:

7 A.M.
Weather: Scattered cirrus (two levels), few altocumulus NNE-SE, thin smoke
layer along horizon SW-NNW
Temperature: 65F; Dew Point: 58F; Wind: N at 6 kts
Sea-level pressure: 30.20 ins. Hg, rising
Visibility: 75 miles, light distant haze
6-hr max temp: 65F
6-hr min temp: 60F
24-hr precip: Trace
BHO SA 1155 220 SCT 250 BKN 75 227/65/58/3606/020/ FEW AC NNE-SE
THN K LYR ALG HRZN SW-NNW LGT DSNT HZ/ 8/031 52018 MANUAL 7000/
10065 20060

10 A.M.
Weather: Thin scattered cirrus, few cumulus and cumulus fractus all
quadrants, few moderate cumulus distant WNW
Temperature: 74F; Dew Point: 55F; Wind: W at 2 kts,
Wind: Light and variable
Sea-level pressure: 30.22 ins. Hg, rising then steady
Visibility: 70 miles, light distant haze
BHO SA 1455 250 -SCT 70 233/74/55/E2702/022/ FEW CU AND CUFRA ALQDS
FEW MDT CU DSNT WNW LGT DSNT HZ WND LGT AND VRB/ 8/201 51006

1 P.M.
Weather: Scattered cumulus, few cirrus S-WSW
Temperature: 78F; Dew Point: 55F; Wind: WNW at 3 kts,
Wind: Light and variable
Sea-level pressure: 30.20 ins. Hg, steady then falling slightly
Visibility: 70 miles, light distant haze
6-hr max temp: 79F
6-hr min temp: 65F
BHO SA 1755 60 SCT 70 228/78/55/E3003/020/ FEW CI S-WSW LGT DSNT HZ
WND LGT AND VRB/ 8/201 58005 10079 20065

WEATHER SUMMARY FOR THURSDAY, JULY 17, 2014

TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
MAX…..79    NORMAL…..81
MIN…..62    NORMAL…..63
MEAN….71    NORMAL…..72

DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR NORMAL…………………….-1
TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH……………………+38 [+2.0 DEGREES/DAY]

COOLING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON JAN TO DEC)
TOTAL COOLING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY…………..6   DEPARTURE……….-1
TOTAL COOLING UNITS FOR THE MONTH…………148   DEPARTURE………+34
TOTAL COOLING UNITS FOR THE SEASON………..257   DEPARTURE………+14
TOTAL COOLING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE……354   DIFFERENCE……..-97

PEAK GUST AND AVERAGE WIND SPEED (MPH)
PEAK WIND GUST FOR YESTERDAY………………15 WSW AT 8:14 P.M. *
ASOS…………………..17 NNW AT 4:49 A.M.
DAVIS………………….16 W   AT 5:00 P.M. RMY 17
FASTEST MILE FOR YESTERDAY………………..13 WSW AT 8:14 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE ASOS AVERAGE……………..14 NW  AT 4:50 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS AVERAGE…………….12 WSW AT 8:14 P.M.
AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION………….7.9 NW
ASOS………………….8.2
DAVIS…………………7.0 WNW [291 deg] * Last of several occurrences…

PRECIPITATION (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST)
TOTAL PRECIPITATION 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M…Trace  DEPARTURE……….-0.14
ASOS…………..0.00
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH……….4.35  DEPARTURE……….+1.31
ASOS…………..4.32
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR……….28.90  DEPARTURE……….-1.11
ASOS………….28.83

PRELIMINARY CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR JULY 2014 CALENDAR DAY DATA
DATA REPORTED:
DATE: MAX/MIN/MEAN/DEP/PRECIP/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

7/1  85/66/76/+6/0.00/695/76              31 SSW RMY 36
7/2  89/69/79/+9/T/639/70                 33 SSW RMY 38
7/3  91/68/80/+9/0.05/611/67              29 W   RMY 30  TSTM
7/4  72/61/67/-4/2.48/027/03              28 N   RMY N/A TSTM
7/5  77/55/66/-5/0.27/738/81              36 NW  RMY N/A
7/6  83/61/72/+1/0.00/892/98              29 SW  RMY 33
7/7  85/65/75/+4/T/563/62                 33 SW  RMY 38  TSTM [NO RAIN] 7/8  89/70/80/+8/0.00/763/84              31 SW  RMY 38
7/9  86/70/78/+6/0.00/779/86              28 SSW RMY N/A
7/10 80/65/73/+1/0.00/597/66              16 NW  RMY N/A
7/11 76/62/69/-3/0.00/732/81              22 NE  RMY N/A
7/12 85/60/73/+1/0.00/849/94              21 S   RMY 25
7/13 82/64/73/+1/…./676/75              31 S   RMY 35
7/14 83/69/76/+4/…./207/23              25 S   RMY 27
7/15 82/70/76/+4/…./135/15              26 S   RMY 29 TSTM
7/16 73/65/69/-3/0.97/000/00              27 SSW RMY 32 TSTM
7/17 79/62/71/-1/T/…/..                 15 WSW RMY 17

7/18 morning low of 60F; the normal low is now 63F

DAILY RECORDS FOR JULY 2014

7/4- NEW DAILY RECORD RAINFALL OF 2.48 ins;
surpasses previous record of 1.78 ins. in 1950
7/16- NEW DAILY RECORD RAINFALL OF 0.97 ins;
surpasses previous record of 0.89 ins. in 1919

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

RECORDS FOR JULY 18
HIGH 96F IN 1991, 1999
LOW 54F IN 1892, 1956, 1971
PRECIP 1.65 INS IN 2000
WIND 43e MPH SW IN 1949

RECORDS FOR JULY 19
HIGH 96F IN 1977, 1991
LOW 50F IN 1890
PRECIP 1.10 INS IN 1951
WIND 63 MPH SSW IN 1982

TODAY’S REPORT PREPARED BY: Jonathan O’Brien