Saturday, February 24, 2024

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

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2024
ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME (EST)
SUNRISE: 0628E
SUNSET:  1727E

MORNING OVERCAST GIVES WAY TO SOME AFTERNOON SUNSHINE…

We began the morning with a low overcast, which finally broke right
around noontime. Steady winds from the northwest have brought along
a colder and drier air mass, meaning our temperatures have remained
on the cooler side despite occasional afternoon sun.

Temperatures this morning began in the mid 30s, and have hovered between
the mid and upper 30s throughout the day. The dew point has fallen as the
day has progressed, from the mid 30s to the low 20s.

Winds have been steady since early this morning, with our average now
at 11mph. The prevailing direction is from the north-northwest. Our
peak gust thus far is around 29mph, taking place just after 11am.

Visibility was poorer at the first observation when there was more
moisture in the air. At that time, thin fog limited views to 30 miles.
Since then, visibility has vastly improved to 80 miles as the dryer
air moves in and the low clouds move out.

The maximum temperature so far today is 37F degrees, which is 2 degrees
below the normal high of 39F. The minimum temperature since midnight is
33F degrees, which is 12 degrees above the normal low of 21F.

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Today’s Observations:

7 A.M.
Weather: Overcast stratocumulus, few breaks in overcast distant all quadrants,
higher clouds visible all quadrants
Temperature: 34F; Dew Point: 34F; Relative Humidity: 98%
Wind: NNW @ 10G15 kts
Sea-level pressure: 998.7 mb; 29.49 in. Hg: rising unsteadily
Visibility: 30 miles, thin fog
6-hr Max temp: 36F
6-hr Min temp: 34F
24-hr Precip: 0.01 ins
24-hr Snowfall: 0.0 ins
Snow Depth: 0 ins
BHO SA 1155 E40 OVC 30 987/34/34/3410G15/949/ FEW BINOVC DSNT ALQDS
HIER CLDS VSBL ALQDS THN F ALQDS/ 8/5// 52016 70001 10036 20034

10 A.M.
Weather: Overcast stratocumulus
Temperature: 35F; Dew Point: 31F; Relative Humidity: 85%
Wind: NNW @ 8 kts
Sea-level pressure: 1001.9 mb; 29.59 in. Hg: rising, then more slowly
Visibility: 70 miles, visibility lower ENE-SSE, thin fog NE-S
3-hr Precip:  0.00 ins
3-hr Snowfall: 0.0 ins
BHO SA 1455 E20 OVC 70 019/35/31/3308/959/ VSBY LWR ENE-SSE
THN F NE-S/ 8/5// 51032

1 P.M.
Weather: Scattered stratocumulus, broken altocumulus/altostratus,
thin broken cirrus
Temperature: 36F; Dew Point: 23F; Relative Humidity: 60%
Wind: NW @ 13G19 kts
Sea-level pressure: 1002.7 mb; 29.61 in. Hg: rising, then more rapidly
Visibility: 80 miles, visibility lower ESE-S, thin fog E-S
6-hr Max temp: 37F
6-hr Min temp: 33F
6-hr Precip:  0.00 ins
6-hr Snowfall: 0.0 ins
Snow Depth: 0 ins
BHO SA 1755 50 SCT E180 BKN 250 -BKN 80 027/36/23/3213G19/961/
VSBY LWR ESE-S THN F E-S/ 8/571 53008 10037 20033

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SUMMARY FOR FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2024

TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
MAX…….41   NORMAL…..39
MIN…….33   NORMAL…..21
MEAN……37   NORMAL…..30

DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR (1991-2020) NORMAL…………+7
TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH………………….+114 [+4.8 DEGREES/DAY]

HEATING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON: JUL 2023 THRU JUN 2024)
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY……………28  DEPARTURE……..-7
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE MONTH…………..743  DEPARTURE……-114
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE SEASON…………3709  DEPARTURE……-551
TOTAL HEATING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE…….3518  DEPARTURE……+191

PEAK WIND GUST (MPH):
Note: Instruments designated #1 = Main Tower, #2 = South Tower,
F420C, Contacting, Merlin, and Richards are all Main Tower.
E=Estimated

F420C (Official)……….E25 SSW  @  12:49 A.M.
VECTOR #1 (1-Sec)……….26 SSW  @  12:49 A.M.
VECTOR #2 (1-Sec)……….27 SSW  @  12:49 A.M.
DAVIS #1……………….28 S    @  12:49 A.M.
DAVIS #2 ………………29 S    @  04:21 A.M.
RMY #1 (Instantaneous)…..27 SSW  @  12:49 A.M.
RMY #2 (Instantaneous)…..28 SSW  @  12:49 A.M.
MERLIN………………….M
RICHARDS (C5C) (Inst)……26      @  12:31 A.M.

FASTEST MILE:
CONTACTING ANEMOMETER/OFFICIAL………………19 SSW  @  12:33 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE VECTOR #1 AVERAGE…………..19      @  12:33 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE VECTOR #2 AVERAGE…………..19      @  12:46 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS #1 AVERAGE……………19 S    @  12:09 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS #2 AVERAGE……………21 S    @  04:09 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RMY #1 AVERAGE……………..19 SSW  @  12:46 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RMY #2 AVERAGE……………..20 SSW  @  12:46 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RICHARDS (C5C) AVERAGE………19      @  12:46 A.M.

AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION:
CONTACTING/OFFICIAL…….6.5 S [155 total miles] VECTOR #1……………..7.2
VECTOR #2……………..7.3
DAVIS #1………………6.5 S
DAVIS #2………………6.4 S
RMY #1………………..6.9 NNE
RMY #2………………..7.3 NNE
RICHARDS (C5C)…………7.4

PRECIPITATION (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST):
TOTAL PRECIPITATION 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M……..0.01 DEPARTURE…..-0.14
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH…………..0.80 DEPARTURE…..-2.41
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR (2024)…….10.04 DEPARTURE…..+2.33

SNOWFALL (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST):
TOTAL SNOWFALL 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M…………..0.0 DEPARTURE……-0.7
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE MONTH………………..4.7 DEPARTURE…..-10.5
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE SEASON (2023-2024)……25.6 DEPARTURE…..-23.3

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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
PEAK GUST: F420C (Official)
VEC1: Vector #1 1-second gust
RMY:  R.M. Young #1 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   40/30/35/+9/0.00/0.0/012/02         25 SW  VEC1 24 SW  RMY 26
2/2   39/31/35/+9/0.03/T/000/00           23 N   VEC1 24 N   RMY 25
2/3   35/26/31/+5/0.00/0.0/338/56         26 N   VEC1 26 NNW RMY 28
2/4   39/20/30/+4/0.00/0.0/607/100        28 NNW VEC1 28 NNW RMY 27
2/5   39/22/31/+4/0.00/0.0/597/98         29 N   VEC1 29 N   RMY 30
2/6   35/26/31/+4/0.00/0.0/251/41         26 N   VEC1 26 N   RMY 26
2/7   39/26/33/+6/0.00/0.0/436/71         21 NE  VEC1 21 NE  RMY 24
2/8   44/29/37/+10/0.00/0.0/457/74        16 S   VEC1 16 S   RMY 16
2/9   47/30/39/+12/0.00/0.0/229/37        31 SSW VEC1 31 SSW RMY 31
2/10  58/35/47/+20/0.02/0.0/385/62        26 NW  VEC1 26 NW  RMY 30
2/11  45/34/40/+13/0.00/0.0/119/19        30 NW  VEC1 30 NW  RMY 31
2/12  47/29/38/+10/0.00/0.0/470/75        21 N   VEC1 20 N   RMY 20
2/13  35/25/30/+2/0.65/4.3/000/00         40 NNE VEC1 41 NNE RMY M
2/14  29/21/25/-3/0.00/0.0/562/89         53 NW  VEC1 53 NW  RMY 54
2/15  38/18/28/0/0.03/0.4/527/83          37 SW  VEC1 36 SW  RMY 37
2/16  37/26/32/+4/T/T/599/94              50 WNW VEC1 47 WNW RMY 51
2/17  33/21/27/-2/T/T/128/20              36 WNW VEC1 38 WNW RMY 38
2/18  35/17/26/-3/0.00/0.0/418/65         39 SW  VEC1 40 SW  RMY 41
2/19  36/21/29/0/0.00/0.0/639/99          29 WNW VEC1 29 WNW RMY 28
2/20  36/16/26/-3/0.00/0.0/648/100        22 N   VEC1 22 N   RMY 21
2/21  39/24/32/+3/0.00/0.0/553/85         23 ESE VEC1 23 ESE RMY 22
2/22  42/24/33/+3/…/0.0/…/..          26 SSW VEC1 26 SSW RMY 25
2/23  41/33/37/+7/…/0.0/…/..          25 SSW VEC1 26 SSW RMY 27

2/24 The low since midnight is 33F, the daily normal low is 21F

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FEBRUARY DAILY RECORDS TO DATE

NONE…

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

RECORDS FOR FEBRUARY 24
HIGH 71F IN 2017 [RECORD HIGH FOR MONTH] LOW -11F IN 1894
PRECIP 3.10 INCHES IN 1969
SNOWFALL 27.4 INCHES IN 1969 [HIGHEST CALENDAR DAY AMOUNT ON RECORD] PEAK GUST 63 MPH NE IN 1998

RECORDS FOR FEBRUARY 25
HIGH 68F IN 2017
LOW -10F IN 1894
PRECIP 2.40 INCHES IN 1981
SNOWFALL 13.6 INCHES IN 1966
PEAK GUST 76 MPH S IN 2016

TODAY’S REPORT PREPARED BY: Joshua Polen