Thursday, March 18, 2021

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

THURSDAY, MARCH 18, 2021
ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME
SUNRISE: 0550E
SUNSET:  1754E

OVERCAST AND QUIET AWAITING MUCH NEEDED RAINFALL….

Today has been quiet thus far with overcast skies, light
winds, and reduced visibility. A couple of very light rain
showers briefly moved through this morning, but those were
just the appetizers to the main action scheduled to arrive
later this afternoon.

Visibility has been no more than about 10 miles today
thanks to a marked increase in moisture in the air.

The other big story of the month is the continuing dry
conditions. The monthly total stands at 0.14″, which is
2.82″ below normal. The yearly total is 8.14″ which is 3.24″
below normal to date. We are looking to put a little dent
into this deficit tonight into early tomorrow.

The high so far today is 46F, which is 2 degrees above the
normal high of 44F. The low since midnight is 34F, which
is 7 degrees above the daily normal low of 27F.


Today’s Observations:

7 A.M.
Weather: Overcast stratus
Temperature: 38F; Dew Point: 35F; Relative Humidity: 88%
Wind: SW @ 10G17 kts
Sea-level pressure: 30.03 in Hg; falling, then rising
Visibility: 8 miles, thin fog
6-hr Max temp: 38F
6-hr Min temp: 34F
24-hr Precip: 0.00 ins.
24-hr Snow: 0.0 ins.
Snow Depth: 0 ins.
BHO SA 1155 E5 OVC 8 169/38/35/2210G17/003/ THN F ALQDS/
8/6// 55010 10038 20034

10 A.M.
Weather: Broken stratus fractus, overcast altostratus
Temperature: 42F; Dew Point: 37F; Relative Humidity: 81%
Wind: W @ 7 kts
Sea-level pressure: 30.01 in Hg; falling, then more rapidly
Visibility: 10 miles, hazy
3-hr Precip: Trace
3-hr Snow: 0.0 ins.
BHO SA 1455 E9 BKN 60 OVC 10 164/42/37/2607/001/ HAZY/
8/62/ 58005 6000/

1 P.M.
Weather: Broken status, overcast nimbostratus, light rain
Temperature: 45F, Dew point: 38F; Relative Humidity: 76%
Wind: WNW @ 5 kts, wind light
Sea-level pressure: 29.96 in Hg; falling, then more rapidly
Visibility: 10 miles, hazy
6-hr Max temp: 46F
6-hr Min temp: 38F
6-hr Precip: Trace
6-hr Snow: 0.0 ins.
Snow Depth: 0 ins.
BHO SA 1755 E55 BKN 70 OVC 10R- 147/45/38/2905/996/
PCPN VRY LGT R-B35 HAZY WND LGT/ 8/62/ 58017 6000/
10046 20038


SUMMARY FOR WEDNESDAY, MARCH 17, 2021

TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
MAX…….52     NORMAL…..44
MIN…….27     NORMAL…..27
MEAN……40     NORMAL…..36

DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR (1981-2010) NORMAL……. +4
TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH………………. -3 [-0.4 DEGREES/DAY]

HEATING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON JUL TO JUN)
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY……………25  DEPARTURE…… -4
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE MONTH…………..543  DEPARTURE…… +3
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE SEASON…………4588  DEPARTURE…..-520
TOTAL HEATING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE…….4532  DEPARTURE……+56

PEAK WIND GUST (MPH):
                     420C/Official…………..28 S   @  5:42 P.M.
                     AEROVANE (south tower)…..25 S   @  5:34 P.M.
                     ASOS…………………..28 S   @  5:42 P.M.
                     DAVIS #1……………….27 S   @  5:42 P.M.
                     DAVIS #2 (south tower)…..31 S   @  5:41 P.M.
                     RMY……………………29     @  5:41 P.M.
                     VECTOR…………………29     @  5:55 P.M.
                     MERLIN…………………28    

FASTEST MILE:
CONTACTING ANEMOMETER/OFFICIAL………………18 S   @  5:37 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE ASOS AVERAGE……………….20 S   @  6:02 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS #1 AVERAGE……………18 SSW @  5:43 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS #2 AVERAGE……………21 SSW @  5:43 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RMY AVERAGE………………..19 SSW @  5:41 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE VECTOR AVERAGE……………..20     @  6:00 P.M.

AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION:
                     CONTACTING/OFFICIAL……10.8 SSW [259 total miles]                     ASOS…………………11.2    
                     DAVIS #1……………..10.8 SW  
                     DAVIS #2……………..11.5 SW
                     RMY………………….10.7 SW
                     VECTOR……………….11.2

PRECIPITATION (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST):
TOTAL PRECIPITATION 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M…….0.00  DEPARTURE….-0.18
                             ASOS………….0.00
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH………….0.14  DEPARTURE….-2.82
                             ASOS………….0.17
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR…………..8.14  DEPARTURE….-3.24
                              ASOS…………8.43

SNOWFALL (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST):
TOTAL SNOWFALL 24 HOURS ENDING 7 A.M………  0.0  DEPARTURE…. -0.5
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE MONTH……………… 0.2  DEPARTURE…. -7.9
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE SEASON……………..72.6  DEPARTURE….+18.0


PRELIMINARY CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR MARCH CALENDAR DAY DATA
DATE: MAX/MIN/MEAN/DEP/PRECIP/SNOW/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
M:    Missing data

03/01   42/24/33/+2/0.13/T/020/03        69 WNW  AERO 78 WNW  RMY 78
03/02   27/10/19/-12/T/0.1/679/100       63 WNW  AERO 71 WNW  RMY 69
03/03   45/19/32/0/0.00/0.0/375/55       30 W    AERO 30 W    RMY 34
03/04   38/22/30/-2/0.00/0.0/520/76      46 NW   AERO 51 NW   RMY 53
03/05   31/18/25/-7/0.00/0.0/549/80      39 WNW  AERO 44 NW   RMY 45
03/06   33/15/24/-8/0.00/0.0/675/98      28 WNW  AERO 29 WNW  RMY 30
03/07   35/15/25/-8/0.00/0.0/686/99      21 NW   AERO 22 NW   RMY 23
03/08   38/19/29/-4/T/T/389/56           20 NW   AERO 20 NW   RMY 21
03/09   56/30/43/+10/T/T/…/..          32 WNW  AERO 35 WNW  RMY 37
03/10   54/32/43/+10/0.00/0.0/…/..     29 SSW  AERO 29 SSW  RMY 31
03/11   71/35/53/+19/0.00/0.0/…/..     41 SSW  AERO 43 SSW  RMY 46
03/12   62/42/52/+18/0.00/0.0/…/..     52 WNW  AERO 59 WNW  RMY 57
03/13   46/27/37/+3/0.00/0.0/…/..      53 WNW  AERO 59 WNW  RMY 57
03/14   45/19/32/-3/0.01/0.1/…/..      51 WNW  AERO 58 NW   RMY 58
03/15   27/12/20/-15/0.00/0.0/…/..     48 NW   AERO 47 NW   RMY 54
03/16   37/13/25/-10/0.00/0.0/…/..     22 NNW  AERO 22 NNW  RMY 23
03/17   52/27/40/+4/0.00/0.0/…/..      28 S    AERO 25 S    RMY 29

03/18 The low since midnight is 34F, the daily normal low is 27F


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

RECORDS FOR MARCH 18
HIGH 72 IN 2012
LOW 0 IN 1885
PRECIP 5.61 INS. IN 1968 [RECORD FOR MONTH]SNOWFALL 9.3 INS. IN 1985
PEAK GUST 71e MPH WNW IN 1941

RECORDS FOR MARCH 19
HIGH 77 IN 2012
LOW -2 IN 1967
PRECIP 1.69 INS. IN 1956
SNOWFALL 17.6 INS. IN 1956
PEAK GUST 75e MPH WNW IN 1941

TODAY’S REPORT PREPARED BY: Matt Douglas