Thursday, April 4, 2024

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

THURSDAY, APRIL 4, 2024
ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME (EST)
SUNRISE: 0521E
SUNSET:  1814E

STORMY CONDITIONS CONTINUE WITH RAIN, SLEET, SNOW, AND GUSTY WINDS…

The second part of a long duration event arrived yesterday
morning and continues to impact the region today. A mix of rain,
sleet, and at times snow, has been the theme since yesterday.
Temperatures did get cold enough overnight for the sleet and snow
to actually accumulate here on the summit. 0.7″ of frozen
precipitation was measured at 7am this morning. This means that
April has now had more frozen precipitation that we did in all
of March.

The liquid precipitation amount for the 24 hours ending at 7am
this morning was a hefty 1.84″. An additional 0.42″ has fallen
between 7am and 1pm, bringing the event total to 2.26″.

Temperatures are once again below normal today with readings only
making it to the mid 30s so far. The normal high for this time of
year is 51F!

Winds increased steadily overnight peaking during the early through
mid morning hours of today. Frequent gusts of 50-60+mph were the
theme most of the morning. The peak gust during this period was
63mph which occurred at 5:51am. The average speed for the day so far
is around 26mph. The wind is decreasing however as we move through
the early afternoon hours, but gusts are still frequently reaching
30mph.

Visibility has of course been limited today with the precipitation
and fog. The maximum visibility at any point today was 1 mile, but
it’s generally been 1/2 mile or less most of the time.

The maximum temperature so far today is 36F degrees, which is 15
degrees below the normal high of 51F. The minimum temperature since
midnight is 32F degrees, which is 1 degree below the normal low of
33F.

————————————————————–

Today’s Observations:

7 A.M.
Weather: Sky obscured, vertical visibility 300ft, light snow
Temperature: 33F; Dew Point: 33F; Relative Humidity: 100%
Wind: ENE @ 35G52 kts, peak wind ENE 62 mph at 6:39 A.M.
Sea-level pressure: 991.5 mb; 29.28 in. Hg: falling rapidly
Visibility: 1 mile, fog
6-hr Max temp: 35F
6-hr Min temp: 32F
24-hr Precip:  1.84 inches
24-hr Snowfall: 0.7 inches
Snow Depth: 1 inch
BHO SA 1155 X W3 1S-F 915/33/33/0735G52/928/ PRESFR PK WND 0754/39/
TOTAL NEW SNW PST 24 HRS 0.7 INS/ 8//// 4/001 58056 6053/ 70184 10035
20032

10 A.M.
Weather: Sky obscured, vertical visibility 200ft, light rain and sleet
Temperature: 34F; Dew Point: 34F; Relative Humidity: 100%
Wind: ENE @ 27G49 kts, peak wind ENE 56 mph at 9:50 A.M.
Sea-level pressure: 990.5 mb; 29.25 in. Hg: rising, then falling
Visibility: 1/2 mile, fog
3-hr Precip:  0.26 inches
3-hr Snowfall: Trace
BHO SA 1455 X W2 1/2R-IP-F 905/34/34/0627G49/925/ PK WND 0649/50/
TOTAL NEW SNW PST 3 HRS TRACE/ 8//// 58010 6026/

1 P.M.
Weather: Sky obscured, vertical visibility 200ft, light rain
Temperature: 35F; Dew Point: 35F; Relative Humidity: 100%
Wind: N @ 17G31 kts, peak wind NNE 39 mph at 12:31 P.M.
Sea-level pressure: 989.3 mb; 29.21 in. Hg: falling, then more slowly
Visibility: 1/4 mile, fog
6-hr Max temp: 36F
6-hr Min temp: 33F
6-hr Precip:  0.42 inches
6-hr Snowfall: Trace
Snow Depth: Trace
BHO SA 1755 X W2 1/4R-F 893/35/35/0117G31/921/ PK WND 0234/31/
TOTAL NEW SNW PST 6 HRS TRACE/ 8//// 4/000 56012 6042/ 10036 20033

————————————————————–

SUMMARY FOR WEDNESDAY, APRIL 3, 2024

TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
MAX…….41   NORMAL…..51
MIN…….34   NORMAL…..33
MEAN……38   NORMAL…..42

DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR (1991-2020) NORMAL…………-4
TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH……………………+3 [+0.8 DEGREES/DAY]

HEATING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON: JUL 2023 THRU JUN 2024)
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY……………27  DEPARTURE……..+4
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE MONTH……………68  DEPARTURE……..-3
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE SEASON…………4709  DEPARTURE……-709
TOTAL HEATING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE…….4597  DEPARTURE……+112

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)……….E53 E    @  09:56 P.M.
VECTOR #1 (1-Sec)……….53 E    @  09:55 P.M.
VECTOR #2 (1-Sec)……….52 E    @  09:55 P.M.
DAVIS #1……………….51 E    @  09:56 P.M.
DAVIS #2 ………………52 E    @  09:56 P.M.
RMY #1 (Instantaneous)…..53 E    @  06:51 P.M.
RMY #2 (Instantaneous)…..53 E    @  09:55 P.M.
MERLIN………………….M
RICHARDS (C5C) (Inst)……50      @  09:55 P.M.

FASTEST MILE:
CONTACTING ANEMOMETER/OFFICIAL………………34 ENE  @  11:45 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE VECTOR #1 AVERAGE…………..31      @  08:54 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE VECTOR #2 AVERAGE…………..36      @  10:13 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS #1 AVERAGE……………37 E    @  08:55 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS #2 AVERAGE……………36 E    @  10:13 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RMY #1 AVERAGE……………..34 E    @  10:13 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RMY #2 AVERAGE……………..36 ENE  @  10:13 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RICHARDS (C5C) AVERAGE………33      @  08:54 P.M.

AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION:
CONTACTING/OFFICIAL……19.5 E [468 total miles] VECTOR #1…………….17.1
VECTOR #2…………….18.8
DAVIS #1……………..19.9 E
DAVIS #2……………..19.2 E
RMY #1……………….18.2 E
RMY #2……………….18.5 ENE
RICHARDS (C5C)………..18.5

PRECIPITATION (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST):
TOTAL PRECIPITATION 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M……..1.84 DEPARTURE…..+1.67
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH…………..1.91 DEPARTURE…..+1.41
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR (2024)…….21.96 DEPARTURE…..+7.44

SNOWFALL (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST):
TOTAL SNOWFALL 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M…………..0.7 DEPARTURE……+0.5
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE MONTH………………..0.7 DEPARTURE……+0.1
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE SEASON (2023-2024)……26.8 DEPARTURE…..-40.7

————————————————————–

PRELIMINARY CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR APRIL 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)

4/1   56/40/48/+7/0.00/0.0/153/20         20 SSE VEC1 20 SSE RMY 19
4/2   47/35/41/0/0.07/0.0/115/15          25 E   VEC1 25 E   RMY 25
4/3   41/34/38/-4/1.10/T/000/00           53 E   VEC1 53 E   RMY 53

4/4 The low since midnight is 32F, the daily normal low is 33F.

————————————————————–

APRIL DAILY RECORDS TO DATE

NONE…

————————————————————–

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

RECORDS FOR APRIL 4
HIGH 76 IN 2010
LOW 12 IN 1954
PRECIP 1.45 IN. IN 1987
SNOWFALL 7.3 IN. IN 2016
PEAK GUST 80 MPH WNW IN 1963

RECORDS FOR APRIL 5
HIGH 81 IN 1928
LOW 15 IN 1995
PRECIP 2.15 IN. IN 1987
SNOWFALL 4.0 IN. IN 1898
PEAK GUST 76 MPH WNW IN 1963

TODAY’S REPORT PREPARED BY: Matt Douglas