Saturday, January 7, 2017

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

DAILY DISCUSSION AND CLIMATE SUMMARY
SATURDAY, JANUARY 7, 2017
ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME

2.1 INCHES OF SNOW BEFORE 1:00 P.M. EST

Light snow began to fall around 10:15 A.M. at Blue Hill and it is expected
to continue into the night. A total of 2.1 ins. was measured by the 1:00 P.M.
observation. Temperatures last night reached a low of 18F. Only a high of 22F
was reached, and the temperatures started to go back down as the snow began
to fall. It was 18F at 1:00 P.M. Pressure at 7:00 A.M. was 30.32 ins. Hg, but
it fell to 30.19 ins. Hg at 1:00 P.M. as the storm got closer to the observatory.

It appears 2016 will go down as the 2nd warmest year on record here at the
Observatory.  A list of our ten warmest years, along with preliminary
statistics for December, are below.

BLUE HILL OBSERVATORY WARMEST ANNUAL TEMPERATURE 1885-2016 (deg F)
1) 51.7 in 2012
2) 51.2 in 2016
3) 51.0 in 2010
4) 50.9 in 1999
5) 50.8 in 1998
6) 50.6 in 2006
7) 50.5 in 1953
8) 50.4 in 2011
9) 50.3 in 1990, 1991

PRELIMINARY STATS FOR DECEMBER 2016

TEMPERATURE, Deg. F
Avg. Max. 39.5 [+0.4] Avg. Min. 25.3 [+1.7] Mean      32.4 [+1.1] 24-hour corrected mean: 32.1
Max. for month: 56F on 27th
Min. for month:  1F on 16th

HEATING DEGREE DAYS
Total heating units: 1002 [-41] Total for the season: 2032 [-273] Total for last season: 1656

PRECIPITATION, Inches
Total: 2.83 [-2.06] Greatest in 24 hrs: 0.87 in. on 29th-30th

SNOWFALL, Inches
Total: 7.8 [-5.6] Greatest in 24 hrs: 4.3 in. on 17th

WIND, mph
Avg. uncorrected wind speed: 13.4
Avg. corrected wind speed: 13.7
Prevailing wind direction: W at 19%
Peak gust and direction: 51 SW on 27th

SUNSHINE:
Campbell-Stokes card minutes: 8604 mins. of possible 16470 mins. or 52%
Astronomical total minutes: 8881 mins. of possible 16991 mins. or 52%

Today’s Observations:

7 A.M.
Weather: Overcast altostratus, few altocumulus NNE-SE
Temperature: 20F; Dew Point: 10F; Wind: N at 8 kts
Sea-level pressure: 30.32 ins. Hg falling, then rising
Visibility: 40 miles
6-hr Max temp: 20F
6-hr Min temp: 18F
24-hr precip: 0.01 in.
24-hr snowfall: 0.2 ins.
BHO SA 1155 E120 OVC 40 269/20/10/3508/032/ FEW AC NNE-SE 8/03/ 4/001 53009
10020 20018

10 A.M.
Weather: Overcast altostratus, distant fog in all directions
Temperature: 22F; Dew Point: 6F; Wind: N at 8 kts
Sea-level pressure: 30.04 ins. Hg, falling, then more slowly
Visibility: 70 miles
BHO SA 1455 E90 OVC 70 262/22/6/3508/030/ DSNT FG ALQDS 8/02/ 4/001 56007

1 P.M.
Weather: Snow, fog
Temperature: 18F; Dew Point: 18F; Wind: N at 13G18 kts
Sea-level pressure: 30.19 ins. Hg, falling, then less quickly
Visibility: 1/4 mile
6-hr Max temp: 22F
6-hr Min temp: 18F
6-hr precip: 0.18 ins.
6-hr snowfall: 2.1 ins.
BHO SA 1755 W3 X 1/4SF 224/18/18/0113G18/019/ NEW SNW PST 3 HRS 2.1 INS/
8//// 4/003 56038 MANUAL 6018/ ASOS 60014 10022 20018

SUMMARY FOR FRIDAY, JANUARY 6, 2017

TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
MAX…..30   NORMAL…..34
MIN…..20   NORMAL…..18
MEAN….25   NORMAL…..26

DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR NORMAL……………………-1
TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH…………………..+40 [+6.5 DEGREES/DAY]

HEATING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON JUL TO JUN)
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY…………..40   DEPARTURE……….+2
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE MONTH………….192   DEPARTURE………-40
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE SEASON………..2224   DEPARTURE……..-312
TOTAL HEATING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE……1883   DIFFERENCE…….+341

PEAK GUST AND AVERAGE WIND SPEED (MPH)
PEAK WIND GUST FOR YESTERDAY……………….20 W   AT 2:48 A.M.
ASOS……………………21 W   AT 2:48 A.M.
DAVIS…………………..20 W   AT 2:48 A.M. RMY N/A
FASTEST MILE FOR YESTERDAY…………………12 W   AT 3:10 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE ASOS AVERAGE………………14 W   AT 3:06 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS AVERAGE……………..13 W   AT 2:59 A.M.
AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION…………..6.5 NW
ASOS…………………..6.5
DAVIS………………….5.5 WSW [295 deg.]

PRECIPITATION (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST)
TOTAL PRECIPITATION 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M….0.01  DEPARTURE……-0.13
ASOS…………..0.01
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH……….1.35  DEPARTURE……+0.63
ASOS…………..1.41
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR………..1.35  DEPARTURE……+0.63
ASOS…………..1.41

SNOWFALL (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST)
TOTAL SNOWFALL 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M……….0.2  DEPARTURE…….-0.3
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE MONTH…………….0.2  DEPARTURE…….-2.6
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE SEASON……………8.0  DEPARTURE……-10.8

PRELIMINARY CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR DECEMBER-JANUARY 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

12/1  55/39/47/+10/0.20/0.0/385/69          36 W   AERO 37 W   RMY 36
12/2  48/34/41/+5/0.00/0.0/535/96           32 W   AERO 32 W   RMY N/A
13/3  44/31/38/+2/0.00/0.0/445/80           37 WNW AERO 39 WNW RMY 40
12/4  39/27/33/-2/0.00/0.0/355/64           25 NW  AERO 25 NW  RMY N/A
12/5  36/27/32/-3/0.13/0.4/000/00           26 W   AERO 25 W   RMY 29
12/6  42/30/36/+1/0.00/0.0/392/71           22 W   AERO 21 W   RMY N/A
12/7  39/34/37/+3/0.10/0.0/000/00           21 E   AERO 21 E   RMY N/A
12/8  40/29/35/+1/0.00/0.0/033/06           30 W   AERO 31 W   RMY 33
12/9  35/21/28/-6/0.00/0.0/549/100          35 W   AERO 36 WNW RMY 34
12/10 27/17/22/-11/0.00/0.0/544/99          26 WNW AERO 27 WNW RMY 29
12/11 33/16/25/-8/0.06/0.4/411/75           17 SSW AERO 15 SW  RMY N/A
12/12 41/27/34/+1/0.35/0.9/038/07           29 ESE AERO 29 SE  RMY 30
12/13 41/30/36/+4/0.00/0.0/427/78           25 WSW AERO 25 W   RMY 27
12/14 40/26/33/+1/0.00/0.0/530/97           30 WNW AERO 31 WNW RMY N/A
12/15 29/13/21/-11/T/T/420/77               50 W   AERO 62 W   RMY 56
12/16 18/01/10/-21/0.00/0.0/485/89          39 WNW AERO 51 WNW RMY N/A
12/17 36/18/27/-4/0.60/4.3/000/00           25 SSW AERO 28 SSW RMY N/A
12/18 55/30/43/+12/0.05/0.0/000/00          47 WSW AERO 53 S   RMY 53
12/19 30/17/24/-6/0.00/0.0/273/50           26 WNW*AERO 28 NW  RMY 26
12/20 32/13/23/-7/0.00/0.0/359/66           28 SSE AERO 29 SSW RMY N/A
12/21 40/25/33/+3/0.00/0.0/354/65           28 SSE AERO 28 SSW RMY 30
12/22 38/29/34/+5/T/T/033/06                28 SSE AERO 29 S   RMY 30
12/23 44/29/37/+8/0.00/0.0/512/94           25 WNW AERO 25 WNW RMY N/A
12/24 41/34/38/+9/0.39/0.0/033/06           30 SSW AERO 31 SSW RMY 30
12/25 43/25/34/+6/0.00/0.0/545/100          35 NW  AERO 37 NW  RMY 36
12/26 46/20/33/+5/0.02/0.0/425/78           39 S   AERO 40 S   RMY N/A
12/27 56/35/46/+18/T/0.0/169/31             51 SW  AERO 55 SW  RMY N/A
12/28 40/29/35/+7/0.00/0.0/207/38           31 W   AERO 32 W   RMY 26
12/29 40/28/34/+7/0.87/1.8/000/00           38 NW  AERO 44 NW  RMY 42 TSTM
12/30 37/26/32/+5/T/T/323/59                46 W   AERO 55 WSW RMY 50
12/31 43/23/32/+5/0.06/0.0/099/18           46 SSW AERO 51 SSW RMY 50

1/1   41/29/35/+8/0.09/0.0/…/..           35 W   AERO 36 W   RMY 34
1/2   38/29/34/+7/…./0.0/…/..           21 E   AERO 20 E   RMY N/A
1/3   42/37/40/+14/…./0.0/000/00          39 ENE AERO 41 ENE RMY 34
1/4   44/30/37/+11/…./T/…/..            41 WNW AERO 46 WNW RMY 45
1/5   30/23/27/+1/0.00/0.0/…/..           37 W   AERO 39 W   RMY 38
1/6   30/20/25/-1/0.05/1.7/…/..           20 W   AERO 20 W   RMY N/A

1/7 Low temp since midnight is 23F; normal low is now 18F

DAILY RECORDS FOR DECEMBER 2016
None.

DAILY RECORDS FOR JANUARY 2017
None so far.

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

RECORDS FOR JANUARY 7
HIGH 60F IN 1930
LOW -7F IN 1896
PRECIP 1.97 INS. IN 1977
SNOWFALL 16.0 INS. IN 1977
PEAK GUST 74 MPH NW IN 1968

RECORDS FOR JANUARY 8
HIGH 65F IN 2008
LOW -8F IN 1968
PRECIP 1.70 INS. IN 1958,1979
SNOWFALL 12.5 INS. IN 1996
PEAK GUST 77 MPH NNW IN 1958

TODAY’S REPORT PREPARED BY: Lizzy Suzedell