Sunday, December 28, 2014

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

DAILY DISCUSSION AND CLIMATE SUMMARY
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2014
ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME

SHOWERS ROLL THROUGH EARLY SUNDAY, BRINGING LIGHT
RAINFALL TO GREAT BLUE HILL

Light and fast moving showers that began before 6:00 AM EST
brought 0.02 inches of new rainfall, before largely wrapping
up by the 10:00 AM EST observation. A partial rainbow was
observed  to the NW around 10:30 AM EST as the sun
attempted to break through.

Yesterday’s clear and sunny conditions were a big departure
from an otherwise cloudy December, with an unseasonable
maximum of 50F recorded.

By today’s 1:00 PM EST observation drier air began to work
in, with visibility improving drastically from W-NNE from 35
up to 70 miles. Numerous cloud layers were still in place
with steady winds from the W, and a daytime maximum of
49F so far.

Today’s Observations:

7 A.M.
Weather: Broken altocumulus, overcast alto/nimbostratus,
showers distant SW
Temperature: 43F; Dew Point: 37F; Wind: SSW at 13 kts
Sea-level pressure: 29.86 ins. Hg, falling, then rising, but lower still
Visibility: 30 miles, obscured by showers and thin fog
6-hr max temp: 43F
6-hr min temp: 42F
24-hr precip.: Trace
BHO SA 1155 E80 BKN 100 OVC 30 111/43/37/2113/986/
SHWRS DSNT SW THN FG ALQDS/ 8/02/ 55011 MANUAL 6000/ 10043 20042

10 A.M.
Weather: Broken altocumulus, overcast alto/nimbostratus,
showers distant in all directions, altocumulus lenticularis
distant S-W, few cumulus fractus in all directions
Temperature: 44F; Dew Point: 41F; Wind: SW at 11 kts
Sea-level pressure: 29.84 ins. Hg, falling, then steady
Visibility: 30 miles, except 20 miles N, obscured by showers
and thin fog in all directions
3-hr precip: 0.02 ins.
BHO SA 1455 E65 BKN 100 OVC 30 104/44/41/2311/984/
SHWRS DSNT ALQDS VSBY N 20 MI ACSL DSNT S-W FEW CUFRA ALQDS
THN FG ALQDS/ 8/72/ 56007 ASOS 60003 MANUAL 60002

1 P.M.
Weather: Scattered stratocumulus, broken altocumulus,
thin overcast with breaks overhead of altostratus,
few cumulus fractus in all directions
Temperature: 48F; Dew Point: 42F; Wind: W at 10 kts,
Sea-level pressure: 29.78 ins. Hg, falling, then steady
Visibility: 35 miles, except 70 miles W-NNE
6-hr max temp: 49F
6-hr min temp: 43F
6-hr precip: 0.02 ins.
BHO SA 1755 30 SCT E100 BKN 140 -OVC 35 085/48/42/2810/978/
VSBY W-NNE 70 MI BIONVC OVHD FEW CUFRA ALQDS/
8/520 56019 ASOS 60003 MANUAL 60002 10049 20043

SUMMARY FOR SATURDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2014

TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
MAX…..50   NORMAL…..36
MIN…..35   NORMAL…..20
MEAN….43   NORMAL…..28

DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR NORMAL……………………+15
TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH……………………+108 [+3.8 DEGREES/DAY]

HEATING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON JUL TO JUN)
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY…………..22  DEPARTURE……….-15
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE MONTH………….767  DEPARTURE………-125
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE SEASON………..1926  DEPARTURE………-228
TOTAL HEATING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE……2137  DIFFERENCE……..-211

PEAK GUST AND AVERAGE WIND SPEED (MPH)
PEAK WIND GUST FOR YESTERDAY………………21  SSW  AT  11:48 P.M. *
ASOS…………………..22  SW   AT  11:49 P.M.
DAVIS………………….21  SSW  AT  11:46 P.M. RMY N/A
FASTEST MILE FOR YESTERDAY………………..17  SSW  AT  11:48 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE ASOS AVERAGE……………..17  SSW  AT  11:56 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS AVERAGE…………….17  SSW  AT  11:49 P.M.
AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION………….11.2 W
ASOS………………….11.7
DAVIS…………………9.8 WSW [250 degrees] * last of several occurrences…

PRECIPITATION (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST)
TOTAL PRECIPITATION 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M…TRACE  DEPARTURE…..-0.14
ASOS…………..0.00
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH……….7.19  DEPARTURE…..+2.87
ASOS…………..7.41
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR……….54.95  DEPARTURE…..+2.10
ASOS………….55.60

SNOWFALL (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST)
TOTAL SNOWFALL 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M……….0.0  DEPARTURE……-0.5
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE MONTH…………….2.3  DEPARTURE……-8.9
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE SEASON…………..11.0  DEPARTURE……-2.8

PRELIMINARY CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR DECEMBER 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

12/1  63/37/50/+13/0.01/0.0/391/70             28 WNW RMY 31
12/2  37/30/34/-2/0.10/T/000/00                26 E   RMY 29
12/3  49/34/42/+6/0.31/0.0/000/00              40 W   RMY 43
12/4  41/27/34/-1/0.00/0.0/505/91              29 WNW RMY N/A
12/5  42/23/33/-2/0.12/0.0/382/69              21 E   RMY 22
12/6  43/36/40/+5/0.99/0.0/000/00              25 NNW RMY N/A
12/7  36/18/27/-7/0.15/0.0/193/35              31 N   RMY 34
12/8  25/16/21/-13/0.01/0.1/000/00             24 N   RMY N/A
12/9  48/25/37/+3/3.23/0.0/000/00              48 ENE RMY 52
12/10 47/35/41/+8/0.43/0.0/000/00              35 NNE RMY 37
12/11 35/29/32/-1/0.05/0.5/000/00              27 SW  RMY 27
12/12 36/26/31/-2/0.00/0.0/230/42              23 WNW RMY 25
12/13 40/27/34/+2/0.00/0.0/191/35              28 NW  RMY 28
12/14 43/28/36/+4/0.00/0.0/377/69              20 NW  RMY 20
12/15 41/28/35/+3/0.00/0.0/536/98              17 NW  RMY 17
12/16 42/33/38/+7/T/T/011/02                   17 E   RMY N/A
12/17 45/37/41/+10/0.43/0.0/000/00             27 W   RMY N/A
12/18 41/32/37/+6/0.02/T/213/39                35 WNW RMY 38
12/19 34/25/30/0/0.00/0.0/000/00               26 NW  RMY 29
12/20 32/24/28/-2/…./…/164/30              21 NNE RMY 23
12/21 31/29/30/+0/…./…/000/00              20 NNE RMY 22
12/22 42/29/36/+7/…./0.0/…/..              23 E   RMY N/A
12/23 44/39/42/+13/…./0.0/000/00             28 ENE RMY 30
12/24 61/40/51/+22/…./0.0/000/00             32 SSW RMY 41
12/25 61/41/51/+23/…./0.0/…/..             37 W   RMY 43
12/26 47/35/41/+13/0.00/0.0/…/..             24 WSW RMY 28
12/27 50/35/43/+15/0.00/0.0/…/..             21 SSW RMY N/A

12/28 morning low temp: 41F since midnight; normal low is now 20F

DAILY RECORDS FOR DECEMBER 2014:

-DAILY PRECIPITATION RECORD FOR DECEMBER 9 2014
Old record of 1.51 inches set in 1952,
replaced with new record of 3.23 inches.

-DAILY TEMPERATURE RECORD FOR DECEMBER 24 2014
Old record of 58F set in 1996,
replaced with new record of 61F.

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

RECORDS FOR DECEMBER 28
HIGH 60 IN 1982
LOW -2 IN 1933
PRECIP 2.16 INS. IN 1967
SNOWFALL 9.5 INS. IN 1967
PEAK GUST 89 MPH SSE IN 1983

RECORDS FOR DECEMBER 29
HIGH 72 IN 1984
LOW -19 IN 1933 (RECORD FOR DECEMBER)
PRECIP 1.91 INS. IN 1945
SNOWFALL 18.4 INS. IN 1945
PEAK GUST 95 MPH S IN 1966 (RECORD FOR DECEMBER)

TODAY’S REPORT PREPARED BY: Brian Fitzgerald