Saturday, March 23, 2024

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

SATURDAY, MARCH 23, 2024
ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME (EST)
SUNRISE: 0541E
SUNSET:  1800E

FREEZING RAIN TO RAIN AS STORM MOVES THROUGH…

We began the morning with temperatures just below freezing on
the hill, with readings in the low 30s. Due to what must have been
a warm layer aloft, our precipitation type for the early-morning hours
was freezing rain, resulting in a thin glaze on most surfaces. Thankfully,
that did not include the roadway, or the drive up here would have been
quite interesting.

Just a few minutes before the 7am observation, the temperature rose above
the freezing mark, and we have experienced plain old rain since.
This has mostly been light to moderate in intensity. By 7am we had
received 0.12″ of precipitation, and with an additional 0.30″
measured by 1pm, the total for the storm so far is 0.42″. It seems
the bulk of the precip is yet to come.

Winds have been rather light, going nearly calm at midday. Our average
so far is around 8mph, with a peak gust of just 21mph a little after 7am.

Not surprisingly, visibility has been very poor due to the rain and fog,
falling from 3 miles to just 1/16 mile by the afternoon.

The maximum temperature so far today is 44F degrees, which
is 2 degrees below the normal high of 46F. The minimum temperature
since midnight is 31F degrees, which is 2 degrees above the
normal low of 29F.

————————————————————–

Today’s Observations:

7 A.M.
Weather: Light rain and fog, overcast stratus, few lower stratus
fractus all quadrants
Temperature: 33F; Dew Point: 33F; Relative Humidity: 100%
Wind: E @ 11G16 kts
Sea-level pressure: 1021.2 mb; 30.16 in. Hg: falling, then more rapidly
Visibility: 3 miles, fog
6-hr Max temp: 33F
6-hr Min temp: 31F
24-hr Precip: 0.12 inches
24-hr Snowfall: Trace
Snow Depth: 0 inches
BHO SA 1155 E15 OVC 3R-F 212/33/33/0811G16/016/ FEW LWR STRFA ALQDS
ZR-E51 R-B51 THN GLZ MST SFCS TOTAL NEW SNW PAST 24HRS TRACE/ 8/6//
58015 70012 10033 20031

10 A.M.
Weather: Light rain and fog, sky obscured, vertical visibility 200ft
Temperature: 37F; Dew Point: 37F; Relative Humidity: 100%
Wind: ENE @ 9 kts
Sea-level pressure: 1017.9 mb; 30.06 in. Hg: falling, then more rapidly
Visibility: 1/4 mile, 1 mile SSE-SSW, fog
3-hr Precip: 0.15 inches
3-hr Snowfall: 0.0 inches
BHO SA 1455 X W2 1/4R-F 179/37/37/0709/006/ VSBY 1 SSE-SSW/ 8////
58033 6015/

1 P.M.
Weather: Light rain and fog, sky obscured, vertical visibility 200ft
Temperature: 41F; Dew Point: 41F; Relative Humidity: 100%
Wind: NNW @ 5 kts, wind light
Sea-level pressure: 1014.2 mb; 29.95 in. Hg: falling, then more rapidly
Visibility: 1/16 mile, fog
6-hr Max temp: 44F
6-hr Min temp: 33F
6-hr Precip:  0.30 inches
6-hr Snowfall: 0.0 inches
Snow Depth: 0 inches
BHO SA 1755 X W2 1/16R-F 142/41/41/3405/995/ WND LGT/ 8////
58037 6030/ 10044 20033

————————————————————–

SUMMARY FOR FRIDAY, MARCH 22, 2024

TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
MAX…….40   NORMAL…..46
MIN…….21   NORMAL…..29
MEAN……31   NORMAL…..37

DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR (1991-2020) NORMAL…………-6
TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH………………….+146 [+6.4 DEGREES/DAY]

HEATING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON: JUL 2023 THRU JUN 2024)
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY……………34  DEPARTURE……..+6
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE MONTH…………..533  DEPARTURE……-147
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE SEASON…………4421  DEPARTURE……-691
TOTAL HEATING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE…….4328  DEPARTURE…….+93

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)……….E29 WNW  @  12:14 A.M.
VECTOR #1 (1-Sec)……….29 WNW  @  12:14 A.M.
VECTOR #2 (1-Sec)……….33 W    @  12:00 A.M.
DAVIS #1……………….29 W    @  12:00 A.M.
DAVIS #2 ………………31 WNW  @  12:00 A.M.
RMY #1 (Instantaneous)…..32 WNW  @  12:14 A.M.
RMY #2 (Instantaneous)…..33 W    @  12:00 A.M.
MERLIN………………….M
RICHARDS (C5C) (Inst)……28      @  01:49 A.M.

FASTEST MILE:
CONTACTING ANEMOMETER/OFFICIAL………………19 WNW  @  12:09 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE VECTOR #1 AVERAGE…………..20      @  12:01 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE VECTOR #2 AVERAGE…………..23      @  12:01 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS #1 AVERAGE……………21 W    @  12:01 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS #2 AVERAGE……………23 WNW  @  12:01 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RMY #1 AVERAGE……………..19 WNW  @  12:01 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RMY #2 AVERAGE……………..22 W    @  12:01 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RICHARDS (C5C) AVERAGE………20      @  12:01 A.M.

AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION:
CONTACTING/OFFICIAL…….8.3 WNW [199 total miles] VECTOR #1……………..8.6
VECTOR #2……………..9.2
DAVIS #1………………8.6 W
DAVIS #2………………8.4 WNW
RMY #1………………..8.1 W
RMY #2………………..9.0 W
RICHARDS (C5C)…………9.0

PRECIPITATION (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST):
TOTAL PRECIPITATION 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M……..0.12 DEPARTURE…..-0.07
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH…………..4.62 DEPARTURE…..+0.70
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR (2024)…….15.18 DEPARTURE…..+2.76

SNOWFALL (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST):
TOTAL SNOWFALL 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M…………TRACE DEPARTURE……-0.5
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE MONTH………………TRACE DEPARTURE…..-12.2
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE SEASON (2023-2024)……26.1 DEPARTURE…..-38.0

————————————————————–

PRELIMINARY CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR MARCH 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
DAILY EXTREMES
Temperature and precipitation records back to 1885, and
wind records back to 1940 (e = estimated)

3/1   41/18/30/-1/0.00/0.0/649/96         30 NW  VEC1 30 WNW RMY 33
3/2   50/32/41/+9/1.16/0.0/000/00         44 SSE VEC1 46 SE  RMY 42
3/3   55/42/49/+17/0.24/0.0/130/19        32 SSE VEC1 33 SSE RMY 32
3/4   49/36/43/+11/0.01/0.0/116/17        24 ENE VEC1 22 ENE RMY 23
3/5   42/36/39/+7/0.14/0.0/000/00         21 E   VEC1 21 E   RMY 21
3/6   51/39/45/+12/0.44/0.0/000/00        28 NE  VEC1 28 NE  RMY 29
3/7   42/37/40/+7/1.06/0.0/000/00         44 NNE VEC1 44 NNE RMY 42
3/8   45/32/39/+6/0.00/0.0/682/98         35 NNE VEC1 36 NNE RMY 38
3/9   40/32/36/+3/0.21/0.0/000/00         32 E   VEC1 32 E   RMY 31
3/10  51/36/44/+10/1.07/0.0/245/35        45 WNW VEC1 46 SE  RMY 45
3/11  43/30/37/+3/T/T/515/73              53 NW  VEC1 54 NW  RMY 58
3/12  54/33/44/+10/0.00/0.0/680/96        43 NW  VEC1 41 NW  RMY 45
3/13  54/33/44/+10/0.00/0.0/667/94        26 SSE VEC1 25 NNW RMY 25
3/14  58/36/47/+12/0.00/0.0/627/88        23 ENE VEC1 22 NE  RMY 21
3/15  44/37/41/+6/0.02/0.0/000/00         24 N   VEC1 23 NNW RMY 25
3/16  58/36/47/+12/0.00/0.0/510/71        29 S   VEC1 26 S   RMY 26
3/17  59/40/50/+14/0.04/0.0/390/54        38 NW  VEC1 38 NW  RMY 40
3/18  49/33/41/+5/0.00/0.0/558/77         38 W   VEC1 37 W   RMY 38
3/19  46/30/38/+2/0.00/0.0/575/79         44 NW  VEC1 43 NW  RMY 46
3/20  51/29/40/+3/0.11/T/190/26           50 WNW VEC1 50 WNW RMY 51
3/21  38/24/31/-6/T/T/…/..              53 WNW VEC1 53 WNW RMY 52
3/22  40/21/31/-6/…/../…/..           29 WNW VEC1 29 WNW RMY 32

3/23 The low since midnight is 31F, the daily normal low is 29F.

————————————————————–

MARCH DAILY RECORDS TO DATE

NONE…

————————————————————–

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

RECORDS FOR MARCH 23
HIGH 78 IN 1938
LOW 3 IN 1934
PRE 2.52 INS. IN 2010
SNOW 3.0 INS. IN 1977
WIND 78e MPH W IN 1940

RECORDS FOR MARCH 24
HIGH 70 IN 1920
LOW 6 IN 1906
PRECIP 1.51 INS. IN 1956
SNOWFALL 12.3 INS. IN 1956
PEAK GUST 71 MPH W IN 1968

TODAY’S REPORT PREPARED BY: Joshua Polen