Monday, February 2, 2015

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

DAILY DISCUSSION AND CLIMATE SUMMARY
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2015
ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME

SNOW DEVELOPS BEFORE SUNRISE, BLIZZARD CONDITIONS
OBSERVED LATE MORNING, 10.8 INCHES OF SNOW BY 1:00 PM EST

By this morning’s 7:00 AM EST observation 3.7 inches of additional
snow added to more than a foot and a half of snow already on the
ground, bringing the new snow depth to 18 inches on the ground. Heavy
snow began falling just prior to the 7:00 AM EST observation, continuing
though most of the morning. By the 10:00 AM EST observation, an
additional 4.6 inches had been measured, average 1.5 inches snowfall
rate during that 3 hour span.

Winds began increasing significantly by 9:30 AM EST, with a peak
gust of 44 MPH occurring at 12:22 PM EST. Temperatures have been on
the rise since snow began this morning, jumping from 14F to 21F
from 6:00 AM to 7:00 AM, and reaching a maximum of 29F before
the mercury began to drop once more. Snow measured 2.5 inches from
10:00 AM until 1:00 PM, with a liquid equivalent that increased
to 0.34 inches of water due to warmer temperatures.

While snow is still falling, already we have surpassed today’s
daily snowfall record of 5.5 ins. set back in 1916, 1934.

PRELIMINARY STATS FOR JANUARY 2015

TEMPERATURE Deg. F
Av. Max: 30.8 [-3.0] Av. Min: 15.4 [-1.7] Mean: 23.5 [-2.0] Corrected Mean: 23.1 [-2.4] Max. for month: 51 on 4th
Min. for month: -5 on 8th

HEATING DEGREE DAY UNITS
Total: 1289 [+63] Total for season: 3349 [-181]

PRECIPITATION
Total: 5.17 [+0.82] Total snowfall: 42.9 [+25.8]

Additional data to be added in coming days

Top 10 Snowiest Januarys

1) 56.3 in 1948
2) 48.2 in 2011
3) 48.0 in 1904
4) 47.6 in 1996
5) 46.0 in 1966
6) 44.8 in 2005
7) 44.5 in 1923
8) 42.9 in 2015
9) 38.3 in 1987
10) 35.6 in 1978

Today’s Observations:

7 A.M.
Weather: Heavy snow, fog, drifting snow
Temperature: 21F; Dew Point: 20F; Wind: E at 13 kts
Sea-level pressure: 29.82 ins. Hg, falling, then more slowly
Visibility: 1/4 of a mile, obscured by heavy snow and fog
6-hr max temp: 21F
6-hr min temp: 12F
24-hr precip: 0.34 in.
24 hr snowfall: 3.7 in.
Snow depth: 18 inches
BHO SA 1155 W4 X 1/4S+F 099/21/20/0813/982/
DRFTNG SNW ALQDS NEW SNW PST 24 HRS 3.7 INS/
8//// 4/018 56056 ASOS 60028 70028 MANUAL 70034 10021 20012

10 A.M.
Weather: Heavy snow, fog, blowing snow
Temperature: 27F; Dew Point: 26F; Wind: ENE at 20G29 kts
Peak Wind: 29 knots E @ 09:55 AM EST
Sea-level pressure:  29.65 ins. Hg, falling, then more quickly
Visibility: 1/4 of a mile, obscured by heavy snow and fog
3-hr precip: 0.49 in.
3-hr snowfall: 4.6 in.
BHO SA 1455 W4 X 1/4S+F 041/27/26/0720G29/965/
BLSN ALQDS NEW SNW PST 3 HRS 4.6 INS PK WND 0829/55/
8//// 58058 ASOS 60053 MANUAL 60049

1 P.M.
Weather: Moderate snow, fog, blowing snow
Temperature: 27F; Dew Point: 26F; Wind: NE at24G36 kts
Peak Wind: 38 knots NE @ 12:22 PM EST
Sea-level pressure:  29.45 ins. Hg, falling, then more slowly
Visibility: 1/4 of a mile, obscured by snow, fog and blowing snow
6-hr precip: 0.83 in.
6-hr snowfall: 7.1 in.
BHO SA 1755 W4 X 1/4SF 974/27/26/0524G36/945/
BLSN ALQDS NEW SNW PST 3 HRS 2.5 INS PK WND 0538/22/
8//// 56067 ASOS 60093 MANUAL 60083 10029 20021

SUMMARY FOR SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2015

TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
MAX…..28   NORMAL…..34
MIN……8   NORMAL…..17
MEAN….18   NORMAL…..26

DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR NORMAL………………………-8
TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH………………………-8 [-8.2 DEGREES/DAY]

HEATING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON JUL TO JUN)
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY…………..47  DEPARTURE………..+8
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE MONTH…………..47  DEPARTURE………..+8
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE SEASON………..3396  DEPARTURE………-174
TOTAL HEATING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE……3570  DIFFERENCE……..-148

PEAK GUST AND AVERAGE WIND SPEED (MPH)
PEAK WIND GUST FOR YESTERDAY………………29 WNW    AT 12:38 A.M.*
ASOS…………………..30 W      AT 12:38 A.M.
DAVIS………………….29 WNW    AT 12:37 A.M. RMY N/A
FASTEST MILE FOR YESTERDAY………………..23 WNW    AT 12:37 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE ASOS AVERAGE……………..23 WNW    AT 12:38 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS AVERAGE…………….20 WNW    AT 12:38 A.M.
AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION…………12.1 WNW
ASOS…………………12.1
DVIS…………………10.5 WNW [288 degrees] * last of several occurrences…

PRECIPITATION (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST)
TOTAL PRECIPITATION 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M….0.34  DEPARTURE…..+0.21
ASOS…………..0.28
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH……….0.34  DEPARTURE…..+0.21
ASOS…………..0.28
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR………..5.51  DEPARTURE…..+1.16
ASOS…………..5.74

SNOWFALL (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST)
TOTAL SNOWFALL 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M……….3.7  DEPARTURE……+3.2
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE MONTH…………….3.7  DEPARTURE……+3.2
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE SEASON…………..57.6  DEPARTURE…..+24.0

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

1/1  31/18/25/-2/0.00/0.0/544/99              29 SSW RMY 30
1/2  37/26/32/+5/0.00/0.0/314/57              35 WSW RMY 38
1/3  34/21/28/+2/0.67/2.5/017/03              25 SE  RMY 26
1/4  51/33/42/+16/0.48/0.0/000/00             30 SSW RMY N/A
1/5  46/13/30/+4/0.00/0.0/542/98              48 W   RMY 54
1/6  15/10/13/-13/0.02/0.4/000/00             29 W   RMY N/A
1/7  22/01/12/-14/0.01/0.3/383/69             43 WNW RMY 47
1/8  16/-5/6/-20/0.00/0.0/539/97              39 WNW RMY N/A
1/9  27/16/22/-4/0.08/0.9/201/36              35 WSW RMY 38
1/10 22/11/17/-8/0.00/0.0/541/97              26 WNW RMY 27
1/11 31/9/20/-5/45/0.00/0.0/123/22            26 SSW RMY N/A
1/12 36/31/34/+9/0.23/T/000/00                29 NNW RMY N/A
1/13 33/11/22/-3/0.00/0.0/524/93              30 NNW RMY 29
1/14 22/11/17/-8/T/T/000/00                   18 NNW RMY 16
1/15 27/20/24/-1/0.09/0.8/000/00              20 WSW RMY 22
1/16 35/12/24/-1/T/T/341/60                   46 WSW RMY 50
1/17 21/5/13/-12/0.00/0.0/558/98              30 WNW RMY N/A
1/18 50/19/35/+10/0.16/0.0/000/00             47 SE  RMY 52
1/19 44/28/36/+11/T/0.0/304/53                33 W   RMY 36
1/20 36/23/30/+5/0.00/0.0/495/86              28 W   RMY 28
1/21 30/17/24/-1/0.00/0.0/358/62              21 WNW RMY N/A
1/22 36/25/31/+6/T/T/…/..                   20 WNW RMY 20
1/23 36/18/27/+2/0.00/0.0/…/..              25 SSW RMY 26
1/24 32/27/30/+5/0.84/5.0/000/00              24 SSW RMY N/A
1/25 34/17/26/+1/0.00/0.0/…/..              31 W   RMY 33
1/26 26/9/18/-7/0.50/5.6/…/..               45 N   RMY N/A
1/27 17/10/14/-11/1.94/25.2/000/00            51 N   RMY 52
1/28 22/8/15/-10/T/T/…/..                   30 NW  RMY N/A
1/29 33/11/22/-3/0.00/0.0/…/..              18 NW  RMY N/A
1/30 32/15/24/-2/…/…/000/00               45 NW  RMY 49
1/31 21/7/15/-11/0.00/0.0/…/../             52 NW  RMY 57

2/1  28/8/18/-8/0.00/0.0/…/../              29 WNW RMY N/A

2/2 morning low temp: 12F since midnight, normal low is now 17

DAILY RECORDS FOR JANUARY 2015

-NEW DAILY RECORD SNOWFALL FOR 27 JANUARY 2015
SNOWFALL 25.2 INS. IN 2015 [NEW RECORD FOR THE MONTH] Surpasses previous record of 11.7 inches in 2011 for
the date, and surpasses previous record for the month of
19.0 inches on 20 January, 1978

DAILY RECORDS FOR FEBRUARY 2015

-NONE SO FAR

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

RECORDS FOR FEBRUARY 2
HIGH 55F IN 1951, 1973
LOW -12F IN 1961
PRECIP 1.91 INS. IN 1999
SNOWFALL 5.5 INS. IN 1916, 1934
PEAK GUST 92 MPH SW IN 1970

RECORDS FOR FEBRUARY 3
HIGH 58F IN 1991
LOW -7F IN 1955
PRECIP 2.14 INS. IN 1970
SNOWFALL 7.0 INS. IN 1913
PEAK GUST 102 MPH S IN 1970 [RECORD FOR MONTH]

TODAY’S REPORT PREPARED BY: Brian Fitzgerald