Friday, March 1, 2024

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

FRIDAY, MARCH 1, 2024
ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME (EST)
SUNRISE: 0619E
SUNSET:  1735E

A QUIET BEGINNING TO MARCH WITH SUNSHINE AND LIGHT WIND TODAY…

HAPPY FIRST DAY OF METEOROLOGICAL SPRING!

A quiet day on Blue Hill today with bright sunshine and minimal
clouds. Temperatures started in the lower 20’s this morning and
have gradually increased to the mid 30’s. With dew points well
below 20F, the air remains dry and we have that chill in the air.

The wind has decreased quite a bit from the past couple of days.
Our average is only about 9 mph with a gust that occurred just
after midnight around 30 mph.

Visibility started off at 70 miles today and has slowly decreased
to 50 miles by our 1pm observation.

The maximum temperature so far today is 37F degrees, which is 3
degrees below the normal high of 40F. The minimum temperature since
midnight is 18F degrees, which is 5 degrees below the normal low
of 23F.

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PRELIMINARY STATS FOR FEBRUARY 2024

TEMPERATURE, Deg. F
Avg. Max. 40.9 [+3.9] Avg. Min. 25.0 [+5.5] Mean      33.0 [+4.8] 24-hour corrected mean: 32.7
Max. for month: 62F on the 27th
Min. for month: 11F on the 25th

HEATING DEGREE DAYS
Total heating units:    922 [-107] Total for the season:  3888 [-544] Total for last season: 3720

COOLING DEGREE DAYS
Total cooling units:    000 [ 000] Total for the season:   000 [ 000] Total for last season:  000

PRECIPITATION, Inches
Total: 1.32 [-2.68] Greatest in 24 hrs: 0.65 on the 13th

SNOWFALL, Inches
Total: 5.2 [-13.0] Greatest in 24 hrs: 4.3 on the 13th

WIND, mph
Avg. uncorrected wind speed: 11.5 mph
Avg. corrected wind speed:   12.0 mph
Prevailing wind direction:   South-Southwest [14%] Peak gust and direction:  62 WNW on the 28th and 29th

SUNSHINE:
Campbell-Stokes card minutes: 10548 of a possible 17796, or 59%
Astronomical total minutes: 10916 of a possible 18424, or 59%

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Today’s Observations:

7 A.M.
Weather: Clear, few altostratus distant W-NNW few altostratus
distant NNE-E, few cirrostratus E-S-WSW
Temperature: 20F; Dew Point: 6F; Relative Humidity: 54%
Wind: Calm
Sea-level pressure: 1035.0 mb; 30.56 in. Hg: increasing steadily
Visibility: 70 miles
6-hr Max temp: 31F
6-hr Min temp: 22F
24-hr Precip: Trace
24-hr Snowfall: Trace
Snow Depth: 0 inches
BHO SA 1155 CLR 70 350/20/6/0000/056/ FEW AS DSNT W-NNW
FEW AC DSNT NNE-E FEW CS E-S-WSW WND CALM/ 8/056 52025 70000
10023 20018

10 A.M.
Weather: Clear, few stratocumulus W-NNW, few altocumulus E-S-WSW,
few cirrus ESE-SW
Temperature: 29F; Dew Point: 13F; Relative Humidity: 50%
Wind: WSW @ 7 kts
Sea-level pressure: 1033.8 mb; 30.53 in. Hg: rising, then falling
Visibility: 60 miles
3-hr Precip:  0.00 inches
3-hr Snowfall: 0.0 inches
BHO SA 1455 CLR 60 338/29/13/2407/053/ FEW SC W-NNW FEW AC E-S-WSW
FEW CI ESE-SW/ 8/531 58012

1 P.M.
Weather: Clear, few stratocumulus NNW-N and SE, few altocumulus
ESE-S-SSW, few cirrus WSW-W
Temperature: 37F; Dew Point: 16F; Relative Humidity: 42%
Wind: WSW @ 8 kts
Sea-level pressure: 1032.3 mb; 30.48 in. Hg: falling unsteadily
Visibility: 50 miles
6-hr Max temp: 37F
6-hr Min temp: 20F
6-hr Precip:  0.00 inches
6-hr Snowfall: 0.0 inches
Snow Depth: 0 inches
BHO SA 1755 CLR 50 323/37/16/2408/048/ FEW SC NNW-N AND SE FEW AC
ESE-S-SSW FEW CI WSW-W/ 8/531 57015 10037 20020

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SUMMARY FOR THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 29, 2024

TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
MAX…….35   NORMAL…..40
MIN…….22   NORMAL…..23
MEAN……29   NORMAL…..31

DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR (1991-2020) NORMAL…………-2
TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH………………….+141 [+4.7 DEGREES/DAY]

HEATING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON: JUL 2023 THRU JUN 2024)
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY……………36  DEPARTURE……..-2
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE MONTH…………..922  DEPARTURE……-107
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE SEASON…………3888  DEPARTURE……-544
TOTAL HEATING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE…….3720  DEPARTURE……+168

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)……….E62 WNW  @  12:21 A.M.
VECTOR #1 (1-Sec)……….60 WNW  @  12:21 A.M.
VECTOR #2 (1-Sec)……….60 WNW  @  02:35 A.M.
DAVIS #1……………….61 W    @  12:21 A.M.
DAVIS #2 ………………56 WNW  @  12:17 A.M.
RMY #1 (Instantaneous)…..65 WNW  @  01:19 A.M.
RMY #2 (Instantaneous)…..62 WNW  @  12:20 A.M.
MERLIN…………………45 W
RICHARDS (C5C) (Inst)……64      @  12:21 A.M.

FASTEST MILE:
CONTACTING ANEMOMETER/OFFICIAL………………42 WNW  @  02:36 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE VECTOR #1 AVERAGE…………..39      @  02:36 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE VECTOR #2 AVERAGE…………..44      @  02:36 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS #1 AVERAGE……………42 WNW  @  02:36 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS #2 AVERAGE……………44 NW   @  02:36 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RMY #1 AVERAGE……………..57 WNW  @  12:21 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RMY #2 AVERAGE……………..43 WNW  @  02:36 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RICHARDS (C5C) AVERAGE………40      @  02:36 A.M.

AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION:
CONTACTING/OFFICIAL……22.6 WNW [542 total miles] VECTOR #1…………….21.0
VECTOR #2…………….23.4
DAVIS #1……………..22.4 WNW
DAVIS #2……………..23.2 WNW
RMY #1……………….20.0 WNW
RMY #2……………….22.7 WNW
RICHARDS (C5C)………..21.3

PRECIPITATION (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST):
TOTAL PRECIPITATION 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M…….TRACE DEPARTURE……0.00
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH…………..1.32 DEPARTURE…..-2.68
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR (2024)…….10.55 DEPARTURE…..+2.06

SNOWFALL (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST):
TOTAL SNOWFALL 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M…………TRACE DEPARTURE…….0.0
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE MONTH………………..5.2 DEPARTURE…..-13.0
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE SEASON (2023-2024)……26.1 DEPARTURE…..-25.8

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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  38/18/28/0/0.03/0.4/527/83          37 SW  VEC1 36 SW  RMY 37
2/16  37/26/32/+4/T/T/599/94              50 WNW VEC1 47 WNW RMY 51
2/17  33/21/27/-2/T/T/128/20              36 WNW VEC1 38 WNW RMY 38
2/18  35/17/26/-3/0.00/0.0/418/65         39 SW  VEC1 40 SW  RMY 41
2/19  36/21/29/0/0.00/0.0/639/99          29 WNW VEC1 29 WNW RMY 28
2/20  36/16/26/-3/0.00/0.0/648/100        22 N   VEC1 22 N   RMY 21
2/21  39/24/32/+3/0.00/0.0/553/85         23 ESE VEC1 23 ESE RMY 22
2/22  42/24/33/+3/T/0.0/589/90            26 SSW VEC1 26 SSW RMY 25
2/23  41/33/37/+7/0.07/0.0/000/00         25 SSW VEC1 26 SSW RMY 27
2/24  37/17/27/-3/0.00/0.0/217/33         28 NW  VEC1 29 NNW RMY 29
2/25  37/11/24/-6/0.00/0.0/649/98         26 SSW VEC1 26 NW  RMY 27
2/26  54/26/40/+9/0.00/0.0/439/66         31 SE  VEC1 32 SW  RMY 33
2/27  62/29/46/+15/0.13/0.0/434/65        42 S   VEC1 42 S   RMY 42
2/28  54/35/45/+14/0.33/T/000/00          62 WNW VEC1 61 WNW RMY 64
2/29  35/22/29/-2/T/T/613/91              62 WNW VEC1 60 WNW RMY 65

3/1 The low since midnight is 18F, the daily normal low is 23F

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FEBRUARY DAILY RECORDS TO DATE

2/27 MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 62F SETS A NEW DAILY RECORD,
BEATING THE OLD RECORD OF 61F SET IN 1976

2/29 RECORD PEAK WIND GUST OF 62 MPH WNW
BEATING THE OLD RECORD OF 60 MPH SET IN 1968

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

RECORDS FOR MARCH 1
HIGH 62 IN 1972
LOW -3 IN 1886
PRECIP 1.65 INS. IN 1900
SNOWFALL 9.4 INS. IN 1949
PEAK GUST 78 WSW IN 1966

RECORDS FOR MARCH 2
HIGH 63 IN 2004
LOW -3 IN 1886
PRE 3.47 INS. IN 2018
SNOW 8.2 INS. IN 2009
WIND 75 MPH NW IN 1966

TODAY’S REPORT PREPARED BY: Amanda Joly