Monday, March 20, 2017

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

DAILY DISCUSSION AND CLIMATE SUMMARY
MONDAY, MARCH 20, 2017
ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME

DRY, AND WARM CONDITIONS RETURN FOR THE FIRST DAY OF SPRING

High pressure has brought mild temperatures, dry air,
and sunny skies to the region after many days of below
normal temperatures.  Temperatures rose to a max. of
48F by 1:00PM, as dew points remained in the mid-teens
throughout the day.  Skies were mostly clear in the
morning with cirrus moving in by early afternoon.  The
dry conditions also helped visibility remain at 80 miles
during each observation.  Northerly winds were gusting
30 MPH this morning but calmed after noon and became
out of the northwest.

Today’s Observations:

7 A.M.
Weather: Few altocumulus ENE-SSE
Temperature: 33F; Dew Point: 12F; Wind: N at 13G22 kts
Sea-level pressure: 30.05 ins. Hg, steady, then rising
Visibility: 80 miles
6-hr Max temp: 33F
6-hr Min temp: 29F
24-hr precip: Trace
24-hr snowfall: Trace
BHO SA 1155 CLR 80 175/33/12/3513G22/005/ FEW AC ENE-SSE
NEW SNW PST 24 HRS TRACE/ 8/030 4/004 53005 10033 20029

10 A.M.
Weather: Few distant altocumulus ENE-SSE, few cirrus SSW-WNW
Temperature: 41F; Dew Point: 13F; Wind: N at 15G26 kts,
Peak Wind: 26 kts (30 MPH) N at 9:46AM EST
Sea-level pressure: 30.05 ins. Hg, rising unsteadily
Visibility: 80 miles
BHO SA 1455 CLR 80 176/41/13/3615G26/005/ FEW DSNT AC ENE-SSE
FEW CI SSW-WNW PK WND 3626/46/ 8/031 52001

1 P.M.
Weather: Few distant altocumulus E-SE, scattered cirrus
Temperature: 47F; Dew Point: 14F; Wind: NW at 8 kts
Sea-level pressure: 29.98 ins. Hg, falling, then more quickly
Visibility: 80 miles
6-hr Max temp: 48F
6-hr Min temp: 33F
BHO SA 1755 250 SCT 80 154/47/14/3108/998/ FEW DSNT AC E-SE/
8/031 58022 10048 20033

SUMMARY FOR SUNDAY, MARCH 19, 2017

TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
MAX…..35   NORMAL…..45
MIN…..28   NORMAL…..27
MEAN….32   NORMAL…..36

DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR NORMAL…………………….-4
TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH……………………-80 [-4.4 DEGREES/DAY]

HEATING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON JUL TO JUN)
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY…………..33   DEPARTURE……….+4
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE MONTH………….678   DEPARTURE………+80
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE SEASON………..4555   DEPARTURE……..-611
TOTAL HEATING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE……4129   DIFFERENCE…….+426

PEAK GUST AND AVERAGE WIND SPEED (MPH)
PEAK WIND GUST FOR YESTERDAY……………….39  N  AT 2:54 P.M.
AERO……………………37  N  AT 2:54 P.M.
ASOS……………………40  N  AT 2:04 P.M.
DAVIS…………………..36 NE  AT 1:11 P.M. RMY 39
FASTEST MILE FOR YESTERDAY…………………29  N  AT 2:53 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE ASOS AVERAGE………………30 NNE AT 2:55 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS AVERAGE……………..28 NNE AT 2:55 P.M.
AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION………….13.3 N
ASOS………………….13.4
DAVIS…………………11.8 NNE [030 deg.]

PRECIPITATION (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST)
TOTAL PRECIPITATION 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M…Trace  DEPARTURE……-0.19
ASOS…………..0.00
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH……….2.52  DEPARTURE……-0.81
ASOS…………..2.73
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR……….11.80  DEPARTURE……+0.05
ASOS……………N/A ***
*** ASOS annual total not available due to erroneous readings

SNOWFALL (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST)
TOTAL SNOWFALL 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M……..Trace  DEPARTURE…….-0.4
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE MONTH……………10.3  DEPARTURE…….+1.3
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE SEASON…………..62.6  DEPARTURE…….+6.6

PRELIMINARY CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR MARCH CALENDAR DAY DATA
DATE: MAX/MIN/MEAN/DEP/PRECIP/SNOW/SUN(MIN.)/SUN(%)/PEAK GUST/AERO/RMY GUST
AERO: Aerovane wind recording system 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
M:    Missing data

3/1  61/46/54/+23/0.01/0.0/000/00          41 S   AERO 45 S   RMY 45
3/2  55/26/41/+10/T/T/509/75               58 W   AERO 61 W   RMY 59
3/3  36/19/28/-4/T/T/592/87                38 W   AERO 44 W   RMY N/A
3/4  20/7/14/-18/T/T/622/91                45 NW  AERO 48 NW  RMY 51
3/5  29/5/17/-15/0.00/0.0/687/100          35 WNW AERO 43 WNW*RMY N/A
3/6  40/11/26/-6/0.00/0.0/641/93           18 WNW AERO 17 NW* RMY N/A
3/7  47/29/38/+5/0.01/0.0/000/00           32 S   AERO 35 S   RMY 36
3/8  55/43/49/+16/0.05/0.0/…/..          35 W   AERO 36 W   RMY 37
3/9  49/35/42/+9/0.0/0.0/…/..            53 W   AERO 59 W   RMY 58
3/10 35/20/28/-5/0.27/2.9/…/..           35 WNW AERO 44 WNW RMY 40
3/11 20/7/14/-20/0.02/0.2/…/..           43 W   AERO 47 W   RMY 50
3/12 25/4/15/-19/0.00/0.0/…/..           32 W   AERO 40 WNW RMY N/A
3/13 33/8/21/-13/0.00/0.0/…/..           25 WNW AERO 29 WNW RMY N/A
3/14 38/23/31/-4/2.15/7.3/…/..           60 NE  AERO 62 NE  RMY 62
3/15 27/15/21/-14/0.00/0.0/…/..          36 W   AERO 37 W   RMY N/A
3/16 33/17/25/-10/0.00/0.0/…/..          36 W   AERO 37 W   RMY 38
3/17 40/22/31/-5/0.00/0.0/…/..           25 WNW AERO 24 WNW RMY 27
3/18 36/24/30/-6/0.00/0.0/…/..           26 ENE AERO 24 ENE RMY 26
3/19 35/28/32/-4/0.01/T/…/..             39 N   AERO 37 N   RMY 39

3/20 Low temp since midnight is 29F; normal low is now 28F

DAILY RECORDS FOR MARCH 2017

3/11/17: DAILY RECORD LOW MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 20F,
TIES PREVIOUS RECORD SET IN 1885

3/14/17: DAILY RECORD MAXIMUM SNOWFALL OF 7.3 INS,
BREAKS PREVIOUS RECORD OF 6.7 INS SET IN 1958

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

RECORDS FOR MARCH 20
HIGH 79 IN 1945
LOW 4 IN 1885
PRECIP 1.39 INS. IN 1957
SNOWFALL 11.4 INS. IN 1957
PEAK GUST 63 MPH SE IN 1975

RECORDS FOR MARCH 21
HIGH 81 IN 1921
LOW 2 IN 1885
PRECIP 2.67 INS. IN 1974
SNOWFALL 10.6 INS. IN 1958
PEAK GUST 72 MPH NE IN 1958

TODAY’S REPORT PREPARED BY: Cecilia Borries-Strigle