Thursday, March 20, 2014

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

DAILY DISCUSSION AND CLIMATE SUMMARY
THURSDAY, MARCH 20, 2014
ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME

RAIN, DRIZZLE AND FOG DEPART AS THE 50s RETURN,
USHERING IN THE FIRST DAY OF SPRING

Clouds that were on the increase yesterday afternoon thickened
and lowered further overnight, bringing rain and drizzle during
the early morning hours totaling 0.30 inches. Thick fog remained
on the hill through the 7:00 AM observation with a reduced
visibility of 1/16 of a mile.

The fog and clouds began to lift just prior to the 10:00 AM
observation with breaks forming not long after. Temperatures
have climbed steadily since the break in the fog with a maximum
of 51F reported by the 1:00 PM observation. Winds have been on the
increase as well, with a maximum gust of 35 MPH from the WNW at
11:57 AM EST.

Today’s Observations:

7 A.M.
Weather: Fog with drizzle ending @ 6:30 AM EST
Temperature: 38F; Dew Point: 37F; Wind: NW at 7 kts,
Sea-level pressure: 29.64 ins. Hg, decreasing, then more slowly
Visibility: 1/16 of a mile, reduced by thick fog
6-hr max temp: 39F
6-hr min temp: 35F
24-hr. precip: 0.30 inches of rain and drizzle
Snow depth: trace
BHO SA 1155 W3 1/16F 036/38/37/3207/964/ LE30/ 8//// 56027
ASOS 60023 70031 MANUAL 60/// 70030 10039 20035

10 A.M.
Weather: Broken stratus with ragged edges, overcast altostratus,
with fog lifting and sun dimly visible
Temperature: 40F Dew Point: 38F; Wind: W at 11 kts,
Sea-level pressure: 29.64 ins. Hg, decreasing, then increasing
Visibility: 20 miles, obscured by lifting fog in all directions
BHO SA 1455 E04 BKN 90 OVC 20 037/40/38/2711/964/
FG LFTING SUN DMLY VSBL/ 8/61/ 53001

1 P.M.
Weather: Few cumulus NNW-NE, broken stratocumulus,
broken altocumulus
Temperature: 48F; Dew Point: 34F; Wind: W at 16G23 kts,
Peak Wind: 30 kts WNW at 11:57 AM EST
Sea-level pressure: 29.62 ins. Hg, decreasing, then increasing,
but still lower
Visibility: 50 miles, 40 miles SW-NW, thin fog distant in
all directions
6-hr max temp: 51F
6-hr min temp: 38F
BHO SA 1755 E50 BKN 100 BKN 50 032/48/34/2716G23/962/
FEW CU NNW-NE VSBY SW-NW 40 MI THN FG DSNT ALQDS PK WND 2930/1657/
8/530 55005 10051 20038

WEATHER SUMMARY FOR WEDNESDAY, MARCH 19, 2014

TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
MAX…..44    NORMAL…..45
MIN…..23    NORMAL…..27
MEAN….34    NORMAL…..36

DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR NORMAL…………………….-2
TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH……………………-70 [-3.9 DEGREES/DAY]

HEATING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON JUL TO JUN)
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY…………..31  DEPARTURE……….+2
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE MONTH………….678  DEPARTURE………+80
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE SEASON………..5269  DEPARTURE……..+103
TOTAL HEATING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE……4703  DIFFERENCE…….+566

PEAK GUST AND AVERAGE WIND SPEED (MPH)
PEAK WIND GUST FOR YESTERDAY………………24 E    AT  10:22 P.M. *
AERO…………………..23 E    AT  10:22 P.M.
ASOS…………………..24 E    AT  10:18 P.M.
DAVIS………………….22 E    AT  10:17 P.M. RMY 26
FASTEST MILE FOR YESTERDAY………………..20 E    AT  10:18 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE ASOS AVERAGE……………..20 E    AT  10:23 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS AVERAGE…………….18 E    AT   8:19 P.M.
AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION…………9.3 ESE
ASOS…………………9.3
DAVIS………………..8.4 E [103 deg.] * the last of several occurrences….

PRECIPITATION (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST)
TOTAL PRECIPITATION 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M….0.30  DEPARTURE………….+0.11
ASOS…………..0.31
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH……….1.00  DEPARTURE………….-2.33
ASOS…………..1.01
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR……….11.09  DEPARTURE………….-0.66
ASOS………….11.55

SNOWFALL (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST)
TOTAL SNOWFALL 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M……….0.0  DEPARTURE…………..-0.4
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE MONTH…………….2.5  DEPARTURE…………..-6.5
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE SEASON…………..84.3  DEPARTURE………….+28.3

PRELIMINARY CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR MARCH 2014 CALENDAR DAY DATA
DATA REPORTED:
DATE: MAX/MIN/MEAN/DEP/PRECIP/SNOW/SUN(MIN.)/SUN(%)/ PEAK GUST/AERO 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

3/1  34/12/23/-8/0.00/0.0/458/68          28 SSW AERO 29 MPH SSW RMY 30
3/2  37/28/33/2/T/T/014/02                22 SW  AERO 22 MPH SW  RMY 29
3/3  28/11/20/-12/0.00/0.0/000/00         29 NNW AERO 30 MPH NNW RMY N/A
3/4  29/6/18/-14/0.00/0.0/444/65          17 SW  AERO 16 MPH SW  RMY 17
3/5  27/16/22/-10/0.02/0.3/000/00         21 NE  AERO 20 MPH N   RMY 23
3/6  26/7/17/-15/0.00/0.0/689/100         23 NNW AERO 23 MPH NNW RMY N/A
3/7  35/16/26/-7/0.00/0.0/449/65          18 SE  AERO 17 MPH SE  RMY 18
3/8  52/27/40/+7/0.00/0.0/673/97          26 NW  AERO 29 MPH NNW RMY 27
3/9  40/25/33/0/0.00/0.0/669/96           28 NW  AERO 29 MPH NW  RMY 29
3/10 42/26/34/+1/0.03/0.8/196/28          21 S   AERO 22 MPH S   RMY 27
3/11 56/34/45/+11/0.00/0.0/450/64         33 W   AERO 33 MPH W   RMY 34
3/12 53/34/44/+10/0.50/T/120/17           29 NNW AERO 30 MPH NNW RMY 30
3/13 33/12/23/-11/0.14/1.4/007/01         43 NW  AERO 45 MPH NW  RMY 45
3/14 37/10/24/-11/0.00/0.0/498/70         39 SSW AERO 41 MPH SSW RMY 42
3/15 54/35/45/+10/0.01/0.0/450/63**       50 WNW AERO 58 MPH WNW RMY 54
3/16 34/21/28/-7/0.00/0.0/…/..          36 W   AERO 36 MPH WNW RMY 37
3/17 30/13/22/-14/0.00/0.0/…/..         25 N   AERO 26 MPH N   RMY 19
3/18 35/16/26/-10/0.00/0.0/…/..         18 ENE AERO 16 MPH ENE RMY 18
3/19 44/23/34/-2/…./…/…/..          24 E   AERO 23 MPH E   RMY 26

3/20 morning low temp: 33F; the normal low is now 28F

DAILY RECORDS FOR MARCH 2014
None so far.

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

RECORDS FOR MARCH 20
HIGH 79 IN 1945
LOW 4 IN 1885
PRECIP 1.39 INS. IN 1957
SNOWFALL 11.4 INS. IN 1957
PEAK GUST 63 MPH SE IN 1975

RECORDS FOR MARCH 21
HIGH 81 IN 1921
LOW 2 IN 1885
PRECIP 2.67 INS. IN 1974
SNOWFALL 10.6 INS. IN 1958
PEAK GUST 72 MPH NE IN 1958

TODAY’S REPORT PREPARED BY: Brian Fitzgerald