Monday, March 30, 2015

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

DAILY DISCUSSION AND CLIMATE SUMMARY
MONDAY, MARCH 30, 2015
ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME

PLENTIFUL SUNSHINE SUNDAY TURNS TO
CLOUDS AND SNOW SHOWERS MONDAY

Plentiful sunshine, along with above-freezing temperatures
helped to reduce the snow pack on Great Blue Hill once again
to below one foot. A depth of 11 inches was measured at this
morning’s 7:00 AM EST observation, with patches of bare
ground and deeper drifts present across the summit.

There was brief sunshine around sun rise this morning, which
quickly became obscured following a thick layer of altocumulus
entering the region. Snow began to fall very lightly at approximately
7:45 AM EST, lasting until 8:42 AM EST, amounting to just a
trace of snow and melt.

Snow started up once more at 11:04 AM EST, and continued through
the 1:00 PM EST observation, though was falling very light and
intermittently. Temperatures have struggled to climb out of
the 30s, with a maximum reading of 37F recorded during the
afternoon observation.

For more information about this historic winter, visit our
web site at bluehill.org.

BHO Greatest Seasonal Snowfall, inches (1885-2015):

1) 150.8 in 2014-2015 (through 1 PM March 30th)
2) 144.4 in 1995-1996
3) 136.0 in 1947-1948
4) 119.4 in 2004-2005
5) 113.1 in 2002-2003
6) 111.5 in 1915-1916
7) 109.6 in 1966-1967
8) 106.8 in 1955-1956
9) 103.4 in 1903-1904
10)102.5 in 1922-1923
Today’s Observations:

7 A.M.
Weather: Overcast altostratus
Temperature: 33F; Dew Point: 21F; Wind: S at 19G26 kts
Peak Wind: 26 kts S @ 6:52 AM EST
Sea-level pressure: 29.90 ins. Hg, falling, then more quickly
Visibility: 30 miles
6-hr Max temp: 33F
6-hr Min temp: 28F
24-hr precip: none
24-hr snowfall: none
Snow depth: 11 inches
BHO SA 1155 E100 OVC 30 126/33/21/1919G26/990/
PK WND 1926/52/ 8/02/ 4/011 58025 10033 20028

10 A.M.
Weather: Overcast altostratus, few stratocumulus in
all directions, showers distant NE and SW
Temperature: 36F; Dew Point: 28F; Wind: S at 17G23 kts
Peak Wind: 28 kts S @ 9:10 AM EST
Sea-level pressure: 29.83 ins. Hg, falling, then more quickly
Visibility: 20 miles, obscured by distant showers
3-hr precip: Trace
3-hr snowfall: Trace
BHO SA 1455 E40 OVC 20 102/36/28/1917G23/983/
FEW SC ALQDS SHWRS DSNT NE AND SW NEW SNW PST 3 HRS TRACE
PK WND 1828/10/ 8/52/ 58024 ASOS 60001 MANUAL 6000/

1 P.M.
Weather: Very light and intermittent snow, overcast altostratus,
few stratus fractus distant SE-NNE
Temperature: 37F; Dew Point: 31F; Wind: S at 16G23 kts
Sea-level pressure: 29.75 ins. Hg, decreasing, then more quickly
Visibility: 20 miles, light snow
6-hr Max temp: 37F
6-hr Min temp: 32F
6-hr precip: Trace
6-hr snowfall: Trace
BHO SA 1755 E60 OVC 20S- 073/37/31/1916G23/975/ FEW STFRA DSNT
SE-NNE PRCP VRY LGT AND INTMT NEW SNW PST 6 HRS TRACE/ 8/72/
58029 ASOS 60001 MANUAL 6000/ 10037 20032

SUMMARY FOR SUNDAY, MARCH 29, 2015

TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
MAX…..40   NORMAL…..49
MIN…..21   NORMAL…..31
MEAN….31   NORMAL…..40

DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR NORMAL………………………..-9
TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH………………………-114 [-4.1 DEGREES/DAY]

HEATING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON JUL TO JUN)
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY…………..34  DEPARTURE………..+9
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE MONTH………….982  DEPARTURE………+115
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE SEASON………..5690  DEPARTURE………+256
TOTAL HEATING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE……5435  DIFFERENCE……..+121

PEAK GUST AND AVERAGE WIND SPEED (MPH)
PEAK WIND GUST FOR YESTERDAY………………26  NW  AT    1:07 A.M.*
ASOS…………………..27  NW  AT    1:06 A.M.
DAVIS………………….23  NW  AT       N/A    RMY N/A
FASTEST MILE FOR YESTERDAY………………..18  NW  AT    1:13 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE ASOS AVERAGE……………..20  NW  AT    1:13 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS AVERAGE……………. N/A
AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION…………..9.0 NNW
ASOS…………………..9.7
DAVIS………………….8.1 WNW [298 degrees] * Last of several occurrences…

PRECIPITATION (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST)
TOTAL PRECIPITATION 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M….0.00   DEPARTURE…..-0.18
ASOS…………..0.00
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH……….3.25   DEPARTURE…..-1.81
ASOS…………..N/A
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR……….14.57   DEPARTURE…..+1.24
ASOS…………..N/A ***
*** ASOS monthly and annual totals not available due to erroneous readings

SNOWFALL (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST)
TOTAL SNOWFALL 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M………..0.0  DEPARTURE…..-0.3
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE MONTH…………….13.3  DEPARTURE…..+1.1
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE SEASON…………..150.8  DEPARTURE….+91.6

PRELIMINARY CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR MARCH 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

3/1  29/14/22/-9/…./…/000/00              25 SSW RMY 25
3/2  35/22/29/-2/…./…/480/71              44 WNW RMY 48
3/3  32/13/23/-9/…./2.8/340/50              33 S   RMY N/A
3/4  41/32/37/+5/…./…/000/00              33 SW  RMY 36
3/5  36/16/26/-6/0.02/0.2/000/00              28 NW  RMY 29
3/6  26/5/16/-16/0.00/0.0/681/99              28 NW  RMY 25
3/7  38/13/26/-7/0.00/0.0/567/82              30 WSW RMY 30
3/8  41/25/33/0/T/T/208/30                    38 WNW RMY 41
3/9  45/28/37/+4/0.00/0.0/565/81              40 W   RMY 39
3/10 52/32/42/+9/…./0.0/252/36              28 S   RMY 27
3/11 55/38/47/+13/…./0.0/604/86             37 WNW RMY N/A
3/12 38/23/31/-3/0.00/0.0/677/96              44 N   RMY 48
3/13 40/18/29/-5/0.00/0.0/581/82              23 SSW RMY 26
3/14 41/29/35/0/0.84/0.0/000/00               23 SSW RMY 23
3/15 41/24/33/-2/0.03/0.6/021/03              39 NW  RMY 39
3/16 44/23/34/-1/0.00/0.0/516/72              28 NW  RMY N/A
3/17 48/25/37/+1/0.17/T/173/24                53 NW  RMY 63
3/18 30/19/25/-11/0.00/0.0/700/97             51 NW  RMY 56
3/19 31/15/23/-13/0.00/0.0/696/96             37 NW  RMY 39
3/20 32/19/26/-11/…./…/000/00             17 NNW RMY 15
3/21 41/25/33/-4/…./…/…/..              36 WNW RMY N/A
3/22 36/17/27/-10/0.00/0.0/…/..             50 W   RMY 55
3/23 31/14/23/-15/0.00/0.0/…/..             36 WNW RMY 35
3/24 39/16/28/-10/0.00/0.0/…/..             20 NNW RMY N/A
3/25 48/25/37/-1/0.08/0.0/…/..              32 S   RMY 31
3/26 54/35/45/+6/…./…/…/..              32 SSW RMY 32
3/27 41/36/39/+0/…./0.0/000/00              22 NNE RMY N/A
3/28 36/26/31/-8/0.44/5.0/000/00              30 NNW RMY 30
3/29 40/21/31/-9/0.00/0.0/…/..              26 NW  RMY N/A

3/30 low since midnight is 28F normal low is 31F

DAILY RECORDS FOR MARCH 2015

3/28 5.0 INCHES OF SNOW FELL. SURPASSED OLD RECORD OF 3.0 INCHES SET
BACK IN 1932.

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

RECORDS FOR MARCH 30
HIGH 83 IN 1977
LOW 10 IN 1887
PRECIP 2.92 INS. IN 2010
SNOWFALL 3.9 INS. IN 1957
PEAK GUST 60 MPH NW IN 1999

RECORDS FOR MARCH 31
HIGH 89 IN 1998  [RECORD HIGH FOR MONTH] LOW 16 IN 1923
PRECIP 2.89 IN 1987
SNOWFALL 15.0 IN 1997
PEAK GUST 81 MPH SSE IN 1987

TODAY’S REPORT PREPARED BY: Brian Fitzgerald