Thursday, February 8, 2024

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

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2024
ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME (EST)
SUNRISE: 0650E
SUNSET:  1707E

MOSTLY SUNNY AND MILDER TODAY WITH A LIGHT WIND….

Other than a few brief periods of some mid level clouds drifting
by this morning, the sky has featured a decent amount of sunshine
today, especially this afternoon. It really is a nice day for a
walk outside (especially for early February).

Temperatures have reached the mid 40s early this afternoon. With
a very light wind and a higher sun angle, it feels rather
pleasant out there. The dew point is still holding in the 20s
though, so the air is quite dry.

There hasn’t been much wind today, especially this morning when
it was largely calm. The average speed so far for the day is only
around 3-4mph. The peak gust (HA!) is only around 13mph to this
point in the day.

Visibility started the day limited to only around 40 miles due
to haziness (pollution) trapped under an inversion. But it has
improved to around 60 miles early this afternoon.

The maximum temperature so far today is 44F degrees, which is
8 degrees above the normal high of 36F. The minimum temperature
so far since midnight is 29F degrees, which is 11 degrees above
the normal low of 18F.

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Today’s Observations:

7 A.M.
Weather: Scattered altocumulus, few stratocumulus distant NE-SE
Temperature: 30F; Dew Point: 23F; Relative Humidity: 74%
Wind: Calm
Sea-level pressure: 1027.0 mb; 30.33 in. Hg: rising, then more rapidly
Visibility: 40 miles, hazy
6-hr Max temp: 30F
6-hr Min temp: 29F
24-hr Precip: 0.00 inches
24-hr Snowfall: 0.0 inches
Snow Depth: 0 inches
BHO SA 1155 65 SCT 40 270/30/23/0000/033/ FEW SC DSNT NE-SE HAZY
WND CALM/ 8/550 53005 10030 20029

10 A.M.
Weather: Broken altocumulus, few stratocumulus distant NE-SE
Temperature: 36F; Dew Point: 27F; Relative Humidity: 69%
Wind: Calm
Sea-level pressure: 1027.7 mb; 30.35 in. Hg: rising, then more slowly
Visibility: 40 miles, hazy
3-hr Precip: 0.00 inches
3-hr Snowfall: 0.0 inches
BHO SA 1455 E60 BKN 40 277/36/27/0000/035/ FEW SC DSNT NE-SE HAZY
WND CALM/ 8/550 51007

1 P.M.
Weather: Clear, few stratocumulus distant E-ESE, few altocumulus
distant NE, few cirrus distant SSW-W
Temperature: 42F; Dew Point: 22F; Relative Humidity: 44%
Wind: ENE @ 5 kts, wind light
Sea-level pressure: 1025.9 mb; 30.29 in. Hg: falling, then more rapidly
Visibility: 60 miles
6-hr Max temp: 43F
6-hr Min temp: 30F
6-hr Precip: 0.00 inches
6-hr Snowfall: 0.0 inches
Snow Depth: 0 inches
BHO SA 1755 CLR 60 259/42/22/0605/029/ FEW SC DSNT E-ESE FEW AC DSNT
NE FEW CI DSNT SSW-W WND LGT/ 8/551 58018 10043 20030

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SUMMARY FOR WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2024

TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
MAX…….39   NORMAL…..36
MIN…….26   NORMAL…..18
MEAN……33   NORMAL…..27

DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR (1991-2020) NORMAL………….+6
TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH……………………+41 [+5.7 DEGREES/DAY]

HEATING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON: JUL 2023 THRU JUN 2024)
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY……………32  DEPARTURE……..-6
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE MONTH…………..229  DEPARTURE…….-41
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE SEASON…………3195  DEPARTURE……-478
TOTAL HEATING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE…….3118  DEPARTURE…….+77

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)……….E21 NE   @  10:32 A.M.
VECTOR #1 (1-Sec)……….21 NE   @  09:34 A.M.
VECTOR #2 (1-Sec)……….22 NE   @  10:32 A.M.
DAVIS #1……………….20 ENE  @  10:32 A.M.
DAVIS #2 ………………21 ENE  @  10:32 A.M.
RMY #1 (Instantaneous)…..24 NE   @  10:32 A.M.
RMY #2 (Instantaneous)…..23 NE   @  10:32 A.M.
MERLIN…………………22 NE
RICHARDS (C5C) (Inst)……21      @  10:32 A.M.

FASTEST MILE:
CONTACTING ANEMOMETER/OFFICIAL………………12 NE   @  09:40 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE VECTOR #1 AVERAGE…………..14      @  10:19 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE VECTOR #2 AVERAGE…………..14      @  09:36 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS #1 AVERAGE……………14 NNE  @  10:19 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS #2 AVERAGE……………14 NE   @  09:36 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RMY #1 AVERAGE……………..13 NE   @  09:36 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RMY #2 AVERAGE……………..14 NE   @  09:36 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RICHARDS (C5C) AVERAGE………14      @  09:36 A.M.

AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION:
CONTACTING/OFFICIAL…….7.4 N [177 total miles] VECTOR #1……………..7.7
VECTOR #2……………..8.0
DAVIS #1………………7.8 NE
DAVIS #2………………7.7 NE
RMY #1………………..7.6 NE
RMY #2………………..7.9 NE
RICHARDS (C5C)…………8.2

PRECIPITATION (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST):
TOTAL PRECIPITATION 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M……..0.00 DEPARTURE…..-0.14
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH…………..0.03 DEPARTURE…..-0.93
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR (2024)……..9.27 DEPARTURE…..+3.81

SNOWFALL (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST):
TOTAL SNOWFALL 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M…………..0.0 DEPARTURE……-0.7
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE MONTH………………TRACE DEPARTURE……-4.8
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE SEASON (2023-2024)……20.9 DEPARTURE…..-17.6

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PRELIMINARY CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR FEBRUARY 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

2/1   40/30/35/+9/0.00/0.0/012/02         25 SW  VEC1 24 SW  RMY 26
2/2   39/31/35/+9/0.03/T/000/00           23 N   VEC1 24 N   RMY 25
2/3   35/26/31/+5/0.00/0.0/338/56         26 N   VEC1 26 NNW RMY 28
2/4   39/20/30/+4/0.00/0.0/607/100        28 NNW VEC1 28 NNW RMY 27
2/5   39/22/31/+4/0.00/0.0/597/98         29 N   VEC1 29 N   RMY 30
2/6   35/26/31/+4/0.00/0.0/251/41         26 N   VEC1 26 N   RMY 26
2/7   39/26/33/+6/0.00/0.0/436/71         21 NE  VEC1 21 NE  RMY 24

2/8 The low since midnight is 29F, the daily normal low is 18F

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FEBRUARY DAILY RECORDS TO DATE

NONE…

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

RECORDS FOR FEBRUARY 8
HIGH 59F IN 1933
LOW -9F IN 1934
PRECIP 1.86 INS. IN 2013
SNOWFALL 16.1 INS. IN 2013
PEAK GUST 63e MPH NE IN 1945, NE IN 2013

RECORDS FOR FEBRUARY 9
HIGH 58F IN 1990
LOW -21F IN 1934 [LOWEST TEMPERATURE ON RECORD] PRECIP 2.12 INS. IN 1969
SNOWFALL 16.9 INS. IN 2017
PEAK GUST 89 MPH NE IN 1969

TODAY’S REPORT PREPARED BY: Matt Douglas