Saturday, April 1, 2017
BLUE HILL METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATORY
MILTON, MASSACHUSETTS
ELEVATION 635 FEET, 10 MILES SSW OF BOSTON, MA
DAILY DISCUSSION AND CLIMATE SUMMARY
SATURDAY, APRIL 1, 2017
ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME
WINTER STORM CONTINUES ON 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF
APRIL FOOL’S BLIZZARD, MARCH 2017 ENDS COOLER
THAN WINTER 2016-2017
Today marks the 20th anniversary of the April Fool’s
Blizzard of 1997 which left Blue Hill Observatory with
30 inches of snow, half falling on March 31 and half
falling on April 1. Blizzard conditions began on the
evening of March 31 and continued through the early
morning of April 1.
Precip. from the current winter storm measured 1.90 in.
at 7:00AM EST this morning with 1.1 in. of frozen precip.
in the form of sleet and snow. A mixture of light rain
and snow turned to light rain and sleet before 8:00AM
EST and then turned to light snow as temperatures fell
throughout the morning. A total of 2.3 in. of snow and
1.10 in. of liquid precip. were measured at 1:00PM EST.
March 2017’s average temperature measured 31.6F which was
colder than each of the last three winter months. March has
been colder than February of the same year three times in
the past, and colder than all three preceding winter months
only once before in 1936-1937.
PRELIMINARY STATS FOR MARCH 2017
TEMPERATURE, Deg. F
Avg. Max. 39.8 [-4.5]
Avg. Min. 23.4 [-3.2]
Mean 31.6 [-3.9]
24-hour corrected mean: 31.6
Max. for month: 61F on 1st
Min. for month: 4F on 12th
HEATING DEGREE DAYS
Total heating units: 1025 [+109]
Total for the season: 4902 [-582]
Total for last season: 4419
PRECIPITATION, Inches
Total: 4.91 [-0.67]
Greatest in 24 hrs: 2.15 on the 14th
SNOWFALL, Inches
Total: 11.4 [-1.3]
Greatest in 24 hrs: 7.3 in. on 14th
WIND, mph
Avg. uncorrected wind speed: 14.3
Avg. corrected wind speed: 14.6
Prevailing wind direction: W at 18%
Peak gust and direction: 60 NE on 14th
SUNSHINE:
Campbell-Stokes card minutes: 11,490 minutes of possible 21,516 or 53%
Astronomical total minutes: 11,899 minutes of possible 22,264 or 53%
BHO Lowest Mar-Feb 24-hour Mean Temperature Difference, deg F (1885-2017):
1) -5.4 in 1984
2) -3.1 in 1960
3) -2.2 in 2017
4) -0.3 in 1937
5) +0.8 in 1890
+0.8 in 1997
7) +0.9 in 1939
8) +1.2 in 1954
Today’s Observations:
7 A.M.
Weather: Mixed rain and snow, sky obscurement due to fog
Temperature: 35F; Dew Point: 35F; Wind: ENE at 17G33 kts,
Peak Wind: 33 kts (38 MPH) ENE at 6:51AM EST
Sea-level pressure: 29.76 ins. Hg, falling then steady
Visibility: 2 miles
6-hr Max temp: 35F
6-hr Min temp: 33F
24-hr precip: 1.90 in.
24-hr snowfall: 1.1 in.
BHO SA 1155 W3 X 2S-R-F 077/35/35/0617G33/976/ PK WND 0633/51
NEW SNW PST 24 HRS 1.1 INS/ 8//// 4/001 56010 MANUAL 70190
ASOS 70192 10035 20033
10 A.M.
Weather: Light snow, sky obscurement due to fog
Temperature: 33F; Dew Point: 33F; Wind: NE at 20G31 kts,
Peak Wind: 31 kts (36 MPH) NNE at 9:44AM EST
Sea-level pressure: 29.80 ins. Hg, rising, then more slowly
Visibility: 1/4 mile
3-hr precip: 0.63 in.
3-hr snowfall: 0.5 in.
BHO SA 1455 W3 X 1/4S-F 090/33/33/0420G31/980/ PK WND 0331/44
NEW SNW PST 3 HRS 0.5 INS/ 8//// 51013 MANUAL 6063/ ASOS 60061
1 P.M.
Weather: Light snow, sky obscurement due to fog
Temperature: 32F; Dew Point: 32F; Wind: N at 19G32 kts,
Peak Wind: 32 kts (37 MPH) N at 12:48PM EST
Sea-level pressure: 29.89 ins. Hg, falling then rising
Visibility: 1/4 mile
6-hr Max temp: 35F
6-hr Min temp: 32F
6-hr precip: 1.10 in.
6-hr snowfall: 2.3 ins.
BHO SA 1755 W3 X 1/4S-F 088/32/32/3619G32/989/ PK WND 3632/48
NEW SNW PST 6 HRS 2.3 INS/ 8//// 4/003 56002 MANUAL 6110/
ASOS 60108 10035 20032
SUMMARY FOR FRIDAY, MARCH 31, 2017
TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
MAX…..37 NORMAL…..49
MIN…..32 NORMAL…..32
MEAN….35 NORMAL…..41
DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR NORMAL…………………….-6
TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH…………………..-110 [-3.7 DEGREES/DAY]
HEATING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON JUL TO JUN)
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY…………..30 DEPARTURE……….+6
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE MONTH…………1025 DEPARTURE……..+109
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE SEASON………..4902 DEPARTURE……..-582
TOTAL HEATING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE……4419 DIFFERENCE…….+483
PEAK GUST AND AVERAGE WIND SPEED (MPH)
PEAK WIND GUST FOR YESTERDAY……………….25 E AT 11:47 P.M.
AERO……………………30 E AT 10:15 P.M.
ASOS……………………35 E AT 10:14 P.M.
DAVIS…………………..18 E AT 4:58 P.M. RMY N/A
FASTEST MILE FOR YESTERDAY…………………17 E AT 9:46 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE ASOS AVERAGE………………23 E AT 11:28 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS AVERAGE……………..13 E AT 2:42 P.M.
AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION…………..9.1 E
ASOS………………….10.2
DAVIS………………….4.5 ESE [115 deg.]
PRECIPITATION (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST)
TOTAL PRECIPITATION 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M….1.90 DEPARTURE……+0.81
ASOS…………..1.92
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH……….4.91 DEPARTURE……-0.67
ASOS…………..5.17
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR……….15.10 DEPARTURE……+1.10
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……….1.1 DEPARTURE…….+0.7
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE MONTH……………11.3 DEPARTURE…….-1.4
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE SEASON…………..63.7 DEPARTURE…….+4.0
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/+16/0.05/0.0/320/46 35 W AERO 36 W RMY 37
3/9 49/35/42/+9/0.0/0.0/684/98 53 W AERO 59 W RMY 58
3/10 35/20/28/-5/0.27/2.9/000/00 35 WNW AERO 44 WNW RMY 40
3/11 20/7/14/-20/0.02/0.2/612/87 43 W AERO 47 W RMY 50
3/12 25/4/15/-19/0.00/0.0/679/96 32 W AERO 40 WNW RMY N/A
3/13 33/8/21/-13/0.00/0.0/667/94 25 WNW AERO 29 WNW RMY N/A
3/14 38/23/31/-4/2.15/7.3/000/00 60 NE AERO 62 NE RMY 62
3/15 27/15/21/-14/0.00/0.0/536/75 36 W AERO 37 W RMY N/A
3/16 33/17/25/-10/0.00/0.0/696/97 36 W AERO 37 W RMY 38
3/17 40/22/31/-5/0.00/0.0/577/80 25 WNW AERO 24 WNW RMY 27
3/18 36/24/30/-6/0.00/0.0/557/77 26 ENE AERO 24 ENE RMY 26
3/19 35/28/32/-4/0.01/T/153/21 39 N AERO 37 N RMY 39
3/20 49/29/39/+2/0.00/0.0/686/94 31 N AERO 35 N RMY 36
3/21 52/34/43/+6/0.00/0.0/418/57 28 W AERO 26 W RMY N/A
3/22 38/15/27/-10/T/T/603/82 46 NW AERO 50 NW RMY 51
3/23 36/13/25/-13/0.00/0.0/716/97 36 WNW AERO 35 WNW RMY 38
3/24 44/25/35/-3/0.02/T/000/00 37 S AERO 38 S RMY 39
3/25 44/31/38/0/0.07/…/000/00 22 NE AERO 20 NE RMY 21
3/26 42/29/36/-3/0.00/0.0/232/31 25 ENE AERO 23 ENE RMY 25
3/27 43/33/38/-1/0.51/0.0/000/00 22 E AERO 18 E RMY N/A
3/28 40/33/37/-2/…./0.0/000/00 16 N AERO 15 N RMY N/A TSTM
3/29 46/33/40/0/…./0.0/053/07 37 NW AERO 36 NW RMY 37 TSTM
3/30 50/30/40/0/0.00/0.0/659/87 23 NW AERO 21 NW RMY N/A
3/31 37/32/35/-6/0.99/1.0/000/00 25 E AERO 30 E RMY N/A
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
PRELIMINARY CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR APRIL 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
4/1 Low temp since midnight is 33F; normal low is now 32F
DAILY EXTREMES
Temperature and precipitation records back to 1885, and
wind records back to 1940 (e = estimated):
RECORDS FOR APRIL 1
HIGH 74 IN 1967
LOW 6 IN 1923 [RECORD FOR MONTH]
PRECIP 3.47 IN. IN 2004 [RECORD FOR MONTH]
SNOWFALL 15.0 IN. IN 1997 [RECORD FOR MONTH]
PEAK GUST 75 MPH SSW IN 1962
RECORDS FOR APRIL 1
HIGH 74 IN 1967
LOW 6 IN 1923 [RECORD FOR MONTH]
PRECIP 3.47 IN. IN 2004 [RECORD FOR MONTH]
SNOWFALL 15.0 IN. IN 1997 [RECORD FOR MONTH]
PEAK GUST 75 MPH SSW IN 1962
TODAY’S REPORT PREPARED BY: Cecilia Borries-Strigle / Mike Iacono
