Thursday, February 18, 2016

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

DAILY DISCUSSION AND CLIMATE SUMMARY
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2016
ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME

CLEAR AND COOLER CONDITIONS PREVAIL WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY

Following a roller coaster start to the week, temperatures and
conditions began to moderate under an area of high pressure moving
into the region. Temperatures had remained warmer than normal,
with temperatures dipping down to 25F this morning, some 5 degrees
warmer than today’s normal daily low.

A cold front that moved through overnight brought in drier, slightly
cooler air. Skies were mostly clear this morning, and by today’s
1:00 PM EST observation skies were almost completely clear of clouds
with a visibility of 75 miles in all directions.

Today’s Observations:

7 A.M.
Weather: Clear, few stratocumulus distant offshore NE-SE,
few stratocumulus lenticularis distant NW-S, few altocumulus
distant W-NNW
Temperature: 25F; Dew Point: 14F; Wind: NW at 11G20 kts,
Sea-level pressure: 30.27 ins. Hg, rising, then more slowly
Visibility: 80 miles
6-hr Max temp: 29F
6-hr Min temp: 25F
24-hr precip: 0.00 ins.
24-hr snowfall: 0.0 ins.
Snow depth: Trace
BHO SA 1155 CLR 80 250/25/14/3111G20/027/ FEW SC DSNT OFFSHR NE-SE
FEW SCSL DSNT NW-S FEW AC DSNT W-NNW/ 8/830 51028 10029 20025

10 A.M.
Weather: Clear, few cumulus distant NW, few cirrus distant NE
Temperature: 29F; Dew Point: 14F; Wind: NW at 14G22 kts
Sea-level pressure: 30.32 ins. Hg, rising, then more quickly
Visibility: 80 miles
BHO SA 1455 CLR 80 266/29/14/3214G22/032/ FEW CU DSNT NW FEW CI
DSNT NE/ 8/101 53016

1 P.M.
Weather: Clear, few stratocumulus distant N-E,
few cirrus distant S
Temperature: 31F; Dew Point: 11F; Wind: NW at 13G20 kts,
Sea-level pressure: 30.30 ins. Hg, rising, then falling and lower
Visibility: 75 miles
6-hr Max temp: 32F
6-hr Min temp: 25F
6-hr precip: 0.00 ins.
BHO SA 1755 CLR 75 261/31/11/3213G20/030/ FEW SC DSNT N-E FEW CI
DSNT S/ 8/501 50005 10032 20025

SUMMARY FOR WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2016

TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
MAX…..43   NORMAL…..37
MIN…..30   NORMAL…..19
MEAN….37   NORMAL…..28

DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR NORMAL…………………….+9
TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH……………………+22 [+1.3 DEGREES/DAY]

HEATING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON JUL TO JUN)
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY…………..28   DEPARTURE……….-9
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE MONTH………….625   DEPARTURE………-23
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE SEASON………..3367   DEPARTURE……..-811
TOTAL HEATING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE……4186   DIFFERENCE…….-819

PEAK GUST AND AVERAGE WIND SPEED (MPH)
PEAK WIND GUST FOR YESTERDAY……………….33 W   AT 12:03 A.M.
ASOS……………………34 W   AT 12:00 A.M.
DAVIS…………………..30 N   AT 12:48 A.M. RMY N/A
FASTEST MILE FOR YESTERDAY…………………26 W   AT 12:02 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE ASOS AVERAGE………………25 W   AT 12:03 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS AVERAGE……………..23 W   AT 12:02 A.M.
AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION…………..11.9 WNW
ASOS…………………..12.0
DAVIS………………….10.3 WNW [300 Deg.]

PRECIPITATION (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST)
TOTAL PRECIPITATION 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M….0.00  DEPARTURE……-0.15
ASOS…………..0.00
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH……….4.08  DEPARTURE……+1.72
ASOS…………..4.31
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR………..7.85  DEPARTURE……+1.14
ASOS…………..8.25

SNOWFALL (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST)
TOTAL SNOWFALL 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M……….0.0  DEPARTURE…….-0.5
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE MONTH……………22.5  DEPARTURE……+14.1
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE SEASON…………..38.1  DEPARTURE…….-3.4

PRELIMINARY CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR FEBRUARY CALENDAR DAY DATA
DATE: MAX/MIN/MEAN/DEP/PRECIP/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

2/1   64/40/52/+26/0.00/0.0/…/..          36 WNW AERO 37 W   RMY 34
2/2   48/31/40/+14/0.00/0.0/…/..          23 NW  AERO 23 WNW RMY N/A
2/3   55/34/45/+19/0.80/0.0/000/00          55 SSE AERO 58 SSE RMY 53
2/4   55/39/47/+21/…./0.0/000/00          37 W   AERO 36 W   RMY 35
2/5   39/19/29/+3/…./12.5/000/00          37 NNW AERO 39 NNW RMY 35
2/6   35/17/26/0/0.00/0.0/…/..            25 SSW AERO 24 SSW RMY 23
2/7   43/26/35/+8/0.00/0.0/…/..           35 ENE AERO 35 ENE RMY N/A
2/8   36/16/26/-1/…./…/000/00           53 NE  AERO 55 NE  RMY 53
2/9   26/17/22/-5/…./…/000/00           21 N   AERO 22 N   RMY N/A
2/10  33/21/27/+0/0.01/0.0/…/..           23 W   AERO 23 W   RMY 21
2/11  26/7/17/-10/T/T/…/..                39 W   AERO 47 W   RMY 42
2/12  23/4/13/-14/0.00/0.0/…/..           31 WNW AERO 38 WNW RMY 21
2/13  21/-7/7/-21/0.00/0.0/…/..           41 W   AERO 46 WNW RMY 43
2/14  10/-14/-2/-30/0.00/0.0/…/..         33 WNW AERO 46 WNW RMY N/A
2/15  32/-2/15/-13/…./1.2/…/..          24 E   AERO 28 E   RMY N/A
2/16  55/32/44/+16/…./0.0/…/..          65 SSE AERO 69 SSE RMY 64
2/17  43/30/37/+9/0.00/0.0/…/..           33 W   AERO 35 W   RMY N/A

2/18  morning low temp. since midnight 25F; normal now 20F

DAILY RECORDS FOR FEBRUARY 2016

2/14/16: **NEW DAILY RECORD LOW MINIMUM TEMPERATURE OF -14F,
SURPASSING PREVIOUS RECORD OF -8F SET IN 1979**
2/14/16: **TIED DAILY RECORD LOW MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 10F,
MATCHING PREVIOUS RECORD OF 10F SET IN 1979**

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

RECORDS FOR FEBRUARY 18
HIGH 65F IN 1981
LOW -10F IN 1958
PRECIP 1.97 INCHES IN 1887
SNOWFALL 9.2 INCHES IN 1952
PEAK GUST 70 MPH S IN 2008

RECORDS FOR FEBRUARY 19
HIGH 66F IN 1981
LOW -5F IN 1923
PRECIP 2.73 INCHES IN 1972
SNOWFALL 12.0 INCHES IN 1893
PEAK GUST 76 MPH ENE IN 1972

TODAY’S REPORT PREPARED BY: Brian Fitzgerald