Monday, December 18, 2023
BLUE HILL METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATORY
MILTON, MASSACHUSETTS
ELEVATION 635 FEET, 10 MILES SSW OF BOSTON, MA
MONDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2023
ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME (EST)
SUNRISE: 0708E
SUNSET: 1613E
VERY STORMY DAY ON BLUE HILL WITH RECORD HIGH WINDS, RECORD WARM
TEMPERATURES, AND RECORD RAINFALL….
A very dynamic storm system moving up the east coast has brought
heavy rain and strong south-southeast wind gusts to the area today.
Rainfall started yesterday afternoon, and has continued for the most
part right into this afternoon. Rainfall has been heavy at times
with over 2.50″ of rain so far since the start of the event. For the
calendar day today (through 1pm), 2.07″ of rain has fallen. This
has beaten the previous record rainfall for the date of 1.44″ set
in 1915.
The temperature reached 61F degrees during the late morning hours
this morning, this also set a new record high for the date, beating
the old record of 59F set in 1928.
Of course the big story today has been the high wind gusts. We have
had many gusts today exceeding 70mph, and even 80mph during the
morning hours. However the big gust came at 11:33am when we gusted
to 90mph officially! This obliterated the previous record peak gust
for the date of 76mph set in 1978. Today’s 90mph gust is also the
first gust to reach 90mph since 91mph was record on January 27, 1996.
The average wind speed for the day so far is around 33mph.
Visibility has no doubt been limited today due to the rain and fog.
The maximum temperature for today is 61F degrees, this is 21 degrees
above the normal high of 40F. The minimum temperature since midnight
is 55F degrees, this is 31 degrees above the normal low of 24F.
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Today’s Observations:
7 A.M.
Weather: Sky obscured, vertical visibility 200ft, light rain
Temperature: 57F; Dew Point: 57F; Relative Humidity: 100%
Wind: SSE @ 36G61 kts, peak wind SSE 76mph at 6:18 A.M.
Sea-level pressure: 994.4 mb; 29.37 in. Hg: falling rapidly
Visibility: 1.5 miles, fog
6-hr Max temp: 57F
6-hr Min temp: 55F
24-hr Precip: 1.39 inches
24-hr Snowfall: 0.0 inches
Snow Depth: 0 inches
BHO SA 1155 X W2 11/2 R-F 944/57/57/1636G61/937/ PRESFR PK WND 1566/18/
8//// 58087 6078/ 70139 10057 20055
10 A.M.
Weather: Overcast stratocumulus, light rain
Temperature: 59F; Dew Point: 59F; Relative Humidity: 100%
Wind: SSE @ 36G62 kts, peak wind SSE 71mph at 9:54 A.M.
Sea-level pressure: 988.4 mb; 29.17 in. Hg: falling rapidly
Visibility: 4 miles, fog
3-hr Precip: 0.50 inches
3-hr Snowfall: 0.0 inches
BHO SA 1455 E10 OVC 4R-F 884/59/59/1635G62/919/ PRESFR PK WND 1662/54/
8/5// 58060 6050/
1 P.M.
Weather: Broken stratus fractus, overcast nimbostratus, vert light rain,
few breaks in overcast S-SW, higher clouds visible S-SW
Temperature: 58F; Dew Point: 58F; Relative Humidity: 100%
Wind: SSE @ 26G41 kts, peak wind SSE 76mph at 11:56 A.M.
Sea-level pressure: 984.0 mb; 29.06 in. Hg: falling rapidly
Visibility: 10 miles, thin fog
6-hr Max temp: 61F
6-hr Min temp: 57F
6-hr Precip: 1.15 inches
6-hr Snowfall: 0.0 inches
Snow Depth: 0 inches
BHO SA 1755 E10 BKN 20 OVC 10R- 840/58/58/1626G41/906/ FEW BINOVC S-SW
HIER CLDS VSBL S-SW THN F ALQDS SUN DMLY VSBL PCPN VRY LGT PRESFR
PK WND 1866/56/ 8/72/ 58044 6115/ 10061 20057
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SUMMARY FOR SUNDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2023
TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
MAX…….55 NORMAL…..40
MIN…….37 NORMAL…..25
MEAN……46 NORMAL…..32
DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR (1991-2020) NORMAL……….+14
TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH………………….+81 [+4.6 DEGREES/DAY]
HEATING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON: JUL 2023 THRU JUN 2024)
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY……………19 DEPARTURE…….-14
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE MONTH…………..438 DEPARTURE…….-81
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE SEASON…………1525 DEPARTURE……-198
TOTAL HEATING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE…….1454 DEPARTURE…….+71
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)……….E40 SSE @ 10:38 P.M.
VECTOR #1 (1-Sec)……….41 SSE @ 10:21 P.M.
VECTOR #2 (1-Sec)……….39 SSE @ 10:07 P.M.
DAVIS #1……………….39 SSE @ 10:23 P.M.
DAVIS #2 ………………39 S @ 09:41 P.M.
RMY #1 (Instantaneous)…..41 SSE @ 10:38 P.M.
RMY #2 (Instantaneous)…..42 SSE @ 10:23 P.M.
MERLIN…………………M
RICHARDS (C5C) (Inst)……40 @ 10:38 P.M.
FASTEST MILE:
CONTACTING ANEMOMETER/OFFICIAL………………26 SE @ 11:30 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE VECTOR #1 AVERAGE…………..27 @ 10:24 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE VECTOR #2 AVERAGE…………..28 @ 11:49 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS #1 AVERAGE……………27 SSE @ 10:24 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS #2 AVERAGE……………27 SSE @ 11:34 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RMY #1 AVERAGE……………..26 SSE @ 10:24 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RMY #2 AVERAGE……………..28 SSE @ 11:49 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RICHARDS (C5C) AVERAGE………27 @ 10:24 P.M.
AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION:
CONTACTING/OFFICIAL…….12.6 ESE [253 total miles]
VECTOR #1……………..12.4
VECTOR #2……………..13.1
DAVIS #1………………12.6 SE
DAVIS #2………………12.8 SE
RMY #1………………..12.2 ESE
RMY #2………………..13.0 SE
RICHARDS (C5C)…………12.9
PRECIPITATION (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST):
TOTAL PRECIPITATION 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M……..1.39 DEPARTURE…..+1.21
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH…………..4.89 DEPARTURE…..+1.85
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR…………..56.26 DEPARTURE…..+4.75
SNOWFALL (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST):
TOTAL SNOWFALL 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M…………..0.0 DEPARTURE……-0.4
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE MONTH………………..0.3 DEPARTURE……-5.4
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE SEASON (2023-2024)…….0.3 DEPARTURE……-7.9
————————————————————–
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 51/38/45/+8/0.04/0.0/213/38 29 SW VEC1 28 SW RMY 29
12/2 48/43/46/+9/T/0.0/000/00 18 SSW VEC1 19 SSW RMY 19
12/3 44/41/43/+7/0.76/0.0/000/00 31 ENE VEC1 32 ENE RMY 33
12/4 49/37/43/+7/0.07/0.0/155/28 23 W VEC1 22 W RMY 23
12/5 38/28/33/-3/0.00/0.0/144/26 23 NNW VEC1 24 NW RMY 24
12/6 34/22/28/-7/0.01/0.3/100/18 21 N VEC1 21 N RMY 20
12/7 28/17/56/-12/0.00/0.0/121/22 18 NNW VEC1 18 NW RMY 19
12/8 42/24/33/-2/0.00/0.0/530/96 20 S VEC1 18 S RMY 18
12/9 52/33/43/+9/0.00/0.0/264/48 24 S VEC1 24 S RMY 24
12/10 60/43/52/+18/0.66/0.0/033/06 55 SSW VEC1 54 SSW RMY 53
12/11 61/33/47/+13/1.96/0.0/038/07 69 SSW VEC1 69 SSW RMY 71
12/12 42/29/36/+2/0.00/0.0/543/99 33 WNW VEC1 32 WNW RMY 34
12/13 43/28/36/+3/0.00/0.0/470/86 36 WNW VEC1 34 WNW RMY 36
12/14 34/22/28/-5/0.00/0.0/…/.. 31 SW VEC1 31 SW RMY 32
12/15 53/30/42/+9/0.00/0.0/…/.. 31 WNW VEC1 30 WNW RMY 28
12/16 50/36/43/+11/0.00/0.0/…/.. 21 ESE VEC1 22 ESE RMY 22
12/17 55/37/46/+14/0.47/0.0/…/.. 40 SSE VEC1 41 SSE RMY 41
12/18 The low since midnight is 55F, the daily normal low is 24F
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DECEMBER 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 DECEMBER 18
HIGH 59 IN 1928
LOW -11 IN 1919
PRECIP 1.44 INS. IN 1915
SNOWFALL 7.0 INS. IN 1904
PEAK GUST 76e W IN 1978
RECORDS FOR DECEMBER 19
HIGH 59 IN 1899
LOW -1 IN 1919
PRECIP 2.06 INS. IN 1986
SNOWFALL 14.1 INS. IN 1945
PEAK GUST 68 NE IN 1986
TODAY’S REPORT PREPARED BY: Matt Douglas
