Thursday, March 6, 2014

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

DAILY DISCUSSION AND CLIMATE SUMMARY
THURSDAY, MARCH 6, 2014
ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME

A SNOWY AND MODERATELY COLD WEDNESDAY TURNS INTO A
BITTER AND SUNNY START TO THURSDAY.

Yesterday afternoon at 12:40 PM snow flurries began which
quickly turned to a steadier light snow mixed with snow
pellets. Lasting until 4:00 PM the snow accumulated to
a modest 0.3 inches and 0.02 inches of liquid equivalent
giving us our first measurable precipitation for March
during a fairly quiet stretch of weather.

This morning the sun rose over a clear sky revealing only
a few stratocumulus clouds offshore and unseasonably chilly
temperatures. Just prior to the 7:00 AM observation a
minimum reading of 7.4F was obtained from the Hazen shelter.

By 1:00 PM skies had mostly remained the same with some
cirrostratus increasing slightly from the SE-SW and cirrus
fibratus to our S. Visibility had decreased slightly to 60
with a maximum temperature of 25F so far today and
relatively light winds.

Today’s Observations:

7 A.M.
Weather: Mostly Clear, few stratocumulus distant offshore
ENE-ESE, few cirrus fibratus distant to the ESE
Temperature: 9F; Dew Point: -5F; Wind: N at 8 kts
Sea-level pressure: 30.59 ins. Hg, increasing, then more quickly
Visibility: 70 miles, light distant haze
6-hr min temp: 7F
6-hr max temp: 15F
24-hr snow: 0.3 inches
24-hr liquid water equivalent: 0.02 inches
Snow depth: 7 inches
BHO SA 1155 CLR 70 358/9/-5/3508/059/ FEW SC DSNT OFFSHR ENE-ESE
FEW CI DSNT ESE LGT DSNT HZ ALQDS ALNG HRZN NEW SNW PST 24 HRS
0.3 IN/ 8/201 4/007 53019 ASOS 70003 MANUAL 70002 10015 20007

10 A.M.
Weather: Mostly Clear, few stratocumulus distant
offshore ENE-SSE, few cirrus fibratus SSE-SW
Temperature: 19F Dew Point: -4F; Wind: N at 5 kts,
Wind: Light and varying from WNW to ESE
Sea-level pressure: 30.63 ins. Hg, increasing, then more quickly
Visibility: 25 miles, 35 miles SE-WSW, distant haze
BHO SA 1455 CLR 70 372/19/-4/E0105/063/ FEW SC DSNT OFFSHR
ENE-SSE FEW CI SSE-SW WND 30V12 WND LGT/ 8/201 53014

1 P.M.
Weather: Mostly Clear, few stratocumulus distant offshore
ENE-ESE, few cirrostratus increasing SE-SW, few cirrus fibratus S
Temperature: 24F; Dew Point: 5F; Wind: E at 7 kts,
Wind: Varying from N-SE
Sea-level pressure: 30.60 Hg, steady, then falling
Visibility: 60 miles
6-hr max. temp: 25F
6-hr min. temp: 9F
BHO SA 1755 CLR 60 363/24/5/0807/060/ FEW SC DSNT OFFSHR ENE-ESE
FEW CS SE-SW FEW CI S WND 01V13/ 8/205 58009 10025 20009

WEATHER SUMMARY FOR WEDNESDAY, MARCH 5, 2014

TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
MAX…..27    NORMAL…..41
MIN…..16    NORMAL…..23
MEAN….22    NORMAL…..32

DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR NORMAL……………………-10
TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH……………………-42 [-8.6 DEGREES/DAY]

HEATING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON JUL TO JUN)
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY…………..43  DEPARTURE………+10
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE MONTH………….209  DEPARTURE………+42
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE SEASON………..4800  DEPARTURE………+65
TOTAL HEATING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE……4267  DIFFERENCE…….+533

PEAK GUST AND AVERAGE WIND SPEED (MPH)
PEAK WIND GUST FOR YESTERDAY………………21 NE  AT   5:48 P.M.
AERO…………………..20 N   AT  11:53 P.M. *
ASOS…………………..20 NE  AT   5:52 P.M.
DAVIS………………….19 NNE AT   5:50 P.M. RMY 17
FASTEST MILE FOR YESTERDAY………………..14 NE  AT   4:49 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE ASOS AVERAGE……………..14 NNW AT  11:58 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS AVERAGE…………….13 NNE AT   4:22 P.M.
AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION…………7.5 NE
ASOS…………………7.9
DAVIS…………………6.7 N [13 deg.] * last of several occurrences….

PRECIPITATION (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST)
TOTAL PRECIPITATION 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M….0.02  DEPARTURE………….-0.16
ASOS…………..0.03
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH……….0.02  DEPARTURE………….-0.85
ASOS…………..0.03
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR……….10.11  DEPARTURE………….+0.82
ASOS………….10.55

SNOWFALL (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST)
TOTAL SNOWFALL 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M……..  0.3  DEPARTURE…………..-0.2
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE MONTH…………….0.3  DEPARTURE…………..-2.3
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE SEASON…………..82.1  DEPARTURE………….+32.5

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:  RMY = R.M. Young wind gust recording system added 8/9/2011
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/…/..          28 SSW AERO 29 MPH SSW RMY 30
3/2  37/28/33/2/T/T/…/..                22 SW  AERO 22 MPH SW  RMY 29
3/3  28/11/20/-12/0.00/0.0/…/..         29 NNW AERO 30 MPH NNW RMY N/A
3/4  29/6/18/-14/0.00/0.0/…/..          17 SW  AERO 16 MPH SW  RMY 17
3/5  27/16/22/-10/0.02/0.3/…/..         21 NE  AERO 20 MPH N   RMY 23

3/6  morning low temp: 7F; the normal low is now 23F

DAILY RECORDS FOR FEBRUARY 2014
None so far.

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

RECORDS FOR MARCH 6
HIGH 66 IN 1894
LOW 3 IN 1948, 2007
PRECIP 1.85 INS. IN 2001
SNOWFALL 15.5 INS. IN 2001
PEAK GUST 82 MPH S IN 1959

RECORDS FOR MARCH 7
HIGH 66 IN 1946
LOW -1 IN 1890
PRECIP 2.05 INS. IN 1967
SNOWFALL 11.5 INS. IN 2013 (was 11.1 in 1967)
PEAK GUST 66 MPH NE IN 1962

TODAY’S REPORT PREPARED BY: Brian Fitzgerald