Monday, February 6, 2023

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

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2023
ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME (EST)
SUNRISE: 0652E
SUNSET:  1705E

BACK TO THE THEME OF WINTER 2022-23, MAINLY CLOUDY AND MILD…

Clouds have been dominating the sky today with only some
filtered sunshine at times through mainly high and mid
level clouds. Despite the lack of sunshine, temperatures
have still warmed nicely into the mid to upper 40s.

The wind started the day out of the southwest, but has
gradually veered to the north and north-northeast as we
reach the afternoon hours. Wind speeds were light this
morning, but have since freshened with the wind shift.
Gusts of 20-25mph have been frequently occurring since
late morning. A rather large ocean storm passing well off
to our east is the culprit for the clouds and increasing
wind.

Visibility hasn’t been great today. 40 miles is the most
we’ve been able to see, but has slipped to around 35 miles
early this afternoon.

Today marks the 45 year anniversary of the Blizzard of ’78!
30.7 inches of snow was recorded here at Blue Hill over
the course of the 2 day storm. 13.0″ fell on the 6th, and
another 17.1″ fell on the 7th. Also a peak gust of 84mph
was measured out of the northeast on the 6th! Today is
quite a contrast to what happened during that event.

The high so far today is 46F degrees, which is 11 degrees
above the normal maximum of 35F. The low since midnight is
35F degrees, which is 17 degrees above the normal minimum
of 18F.

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Today’s Observations:

7 A.M.
Weather: Scattered altocumulus, thin overcast cirrus
Temperature: 38F; Dew Point: 30F; Relative Humidity: 74%
Wind: WSW @ 6 kts, wind light
Sea-level pressure: 1015.8 mb; 30.00 in. Hg: rising, then more rapidly
Visibility: 40 miles, hazy
6-hr Max temp: 38F
6-hr Min temp: 35F
24-hr Precip:  0.00 ins.
24-hr Snowfall: 0.0 ins.
Snow Depth: 0 ins.
BHO SA 1155 150 SCT E250 -OVC 40 158/38/30/2506/000/ HAZY WND LGT/
8/051 53009 10038 20035

10 A.M.
Weather: Overcast cirrus, few breaks in overcast SW-NW-N,
few altocumulus ESE-S and distant W
Temperature: 41F; Dew Point: 29F; Relative Humidity: 63%
Wind: N @ 7 kts
Sea-level pressure: 1016.2 mb; 30.01 in. Hg: falling, then rising
Visibility: 40 miles, hazy
3-hr Precip:  0.00 ins.
3-hr Snowfall: 0.0 ins.
BHO SA 1455 E230 OVC 40 162/41/29/3507/001/ FEW BINOVC SW-NW-N
FEW AC ESE-S AND DSNT W HAZY/ 8/057 53004

1 P.M.
Weather: Overcast cirrostratus, few breaks in overcast SW-NNW,
few stratocumulus all quadrants, few altocumulus all quadrants
Temperature: 46F; Dew Point: 28F; Relative Humidity: 50%
Wind: NNE @ 12G21 kts
Sea-level pressure: 1015.8 mb; 30.00 in. Hg: rising, then steady
Visibility: 35 miles, hazy
6-hr Max temp: 46F
6-hr Min temp: 38F
6-hr Precip:  0.00 ins.
6-hr Snowfall: 0.0 ins.
Snow Depth: 0 ins.
BHO SA 1755 E220 OVC 35 158/46/28/0212G21/000/ FEW BINOVC DSNT
SW-NNW FEW SC ALQDS FEW AC ALQDS HAZY/ 8/557 56004 10046 20038

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SUMMARY FOR SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2023

TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
MAX…….49   NORMAL…..35
MIN…….14   NORMAL…..18
MEAN……32   NORMAL…..27

DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR (1991-2020) NORMAL………+5
TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH………………..-37 [-7.6 DEGREES/DAY]

HEATING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON: JUL 2022 THRU JUN 2023)
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY……………33  DEPARTURE……..-6
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE MONTH…………..231  DEPARTURE…….+38
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE SEASON…………3054  DEPARTURE……-543
TOTAL HEATING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE…….3312  DEPARTURE……-258

PEAK WIND GUST (MPH):
420C (Official)…………38 SW  @ 12:55 P.M.
VECTOR #2 (1-Sec)……….40     @  1:38 P.M.
DAVIS #1……………….38 WSW @ 12:56 P.M.
DAVIS #2 ………………40 WSW @ 12:55 P.M.
RMY #2 (Instantaneous)…..43 SW  @ 12:55 P.M.
MERLIN…………………39 WSW
VECTOR #1……OUT OF SERVICE D/T RENOVATIONS
RMY #1………OUT OF SERVICE D/T RENOVATIONS

FASTEST MILE:
CONTACTING ANEMOMETER/OFFICIAL………………32 SW  @ 12:56 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE VECTOR #2 AVERAGE…………..33     @ 12:56 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS #1 AVERAGE……………33 SW  @ 12:57 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS #2 AVERAGE……………33 SW  @ 12:56 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RMY #2 AVERAGE……………..33 NW  @ 12:56 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE VECTOR #1 AVERAGE…OUT OF SERVICE D/T RENOVATIONS
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RMY #1 AVERAGE……OUT OF SERVICE D/T RENOVATIONS

AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION:
CONTACTING/OFFICIAL……17.0 SW [408 total miles] VECTOR #2…………….17.4
DAVIS #1……………..N/A
DAVIS #2……………..17.2 SW
RMY #2……………….17.6 SW
RMY #1……….OUT OF SERVICE D/T RENOVATIONS
VECTOR #1…….OUT OF SERVICE D/T RENOVATIONS
PRECIPITATION (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST):
TOTAL PRECIPITATION 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M……..0.00 DEPARTURE…..-0.13
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH………….TRACE DEPARTURE…..-0.68
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR……………6.79 DEPARTURE…..+1.61

SNOWFALL (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST):
TOTAL SNOWFALL 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M…………..0.0 DEPARTURE……-0.8
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE MONTH………………TRACE DEPARTURE……-3.5
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE SEASON (2022-2023)……14.9 DEPARTURE…..-22.3

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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
VEC1: Vector #1 1-second gust
RMY:  R.M. Young 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   30/18/24/-2/T/T/…/..              17 NW   VEC1 N/A    RMY 20
2/2   38/19/29/+3/0.00/0.0/…/..         25 SW   VEC1 N/A    RMY 29
2/3   28/-11/9/-17/T/T/…/..             56 WNW  VEC1 N/A    RMY 64
2/4   14/-14/0/-26/0.00/0.0/…/..        45 NW   VEC1 N/A    RMY 51
2/5   49/14/32/+5/0.00/0.0/…/..         38 SW   VEC1 N/A    RMY 43

2/6 The low since midnight is 35F, the daily normal low is 18F

DAILY RECORDS

02/03/2023: NEW RECORD MINIMUM TEMPERATURE OF -11F,
THIS BEATS THE OLD RECORD OF -7F SET IN 1955

02/04/2023: NEW RECORD MINIMUM TEMPERATURE OF -14F,
THIS BEATS THE OLD RECORD OF -4F SET IN 1886 AND 1908

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

RECORDS FOR FEBRUARY 6
HIGH 54F IN 1909
LOW -10F IN 1895
PRECIP 1.88 INS. IN 1896
SNOWFALL 13.0 INS. IN 1978 [BLIZZARD OF 1978] PEAK GUST 84e MPH NE IN 1978

RECORDS FOR FEBRUARY 7
HIGH 53F IN 2020
LOW -8F IN 1910
PRECIP 2.12 INS. IN 1983
SNOWFALL 17.1 INS. IN 1978 [BLIZZARD OF 1978] PEAK GUST 87e MPH SSE IN 1951

TODAY’S REPORT PREPARED BY: Matt Douglas