Thursday, May 7, 2015

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

DAILY DISCUSSION AND CLIMATE SUMMARY
THURSDAY, MAY 7, 2015
ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME

NEARLY CLOUDLESS CONDITIONS AND CONTINUED WARMTH
TO START THURSDAY, DRY CONDITIONS PERSIST

Temperatures climbed to a maximum yesterday of 74F, with
an average daily temperature of 64F, 10 degrees above normal.
Another day of unseasonable warmth has temperatures 4.5
degrees above normal, with several more days above normal
forecast into next week.

Dry conditions, including just 0.03 inches of rain in the
past week, have allowed particulates from fires, pollen
and other sources to reduce visibility. This was evident
at this morning’s 7:00 AM EST observation where a light
smoke layer along the horizon reduced visibility to 50 miles
in all directions under nearly cloudless conditions.

By this afternoon’s 1:00 PM EST observation only thin
scattered cirrus covered the sky under improving visibility.
A maximum of 83F had been reached by this time.
PRELIMINARY STATS FOR APRIL 2015

TEMPERATURE, Deg. F
Avg. Max. 55.9 [+0.2] Avg. Min. 38.4 [+0.7] Mean      47.2 [+0.5] Corrected mean: 46.7
Max. for month: 69 on 4/13
Min. for month: 26 on 4/1

HEATING DEGREE DAYS
Total heating units: 528 [-23] Total for the season: 6271 [+236] Total for last season: 6171

PRECIPITATION, Inches
Total: 3.33 [-1.22] Greatest in 24 hrs: N/A

SNOWFALL, Inches
Total: Trace [-3.0] Greatest in 24 hrs: Trace on 4/8

WIND, mph
Avg. uncorrected wind speed: 12.6
Avg. corrected wind speed: 13.0
Prevailing wind direction: NW @ 16%
Peak gust and direction: 54 NW on the 4th

SUNSHINE:
Astronomical total minutes:   12386 / 24083 or 51%
Campbell-Stokes card minutes: 11946 / 23250 or 51%

 

Today’s Observations:

7 A.M.
Weather: Clear, few cirrus distant east
Temperature: 62F; Dew Point: 36F; Wind: NW at 7 kts,
Sea-level pressure: 30.21 ins. Hg, steady, then rising
Visibility: 50 miles, light smoke layer along the horizon ESE-ENE
6-hr Max temp: 62F
6-hr Min temp: 52F
24-hr precip: none
BHO SA 1155 CLR 50 230/62/36/3107/021/ FEW CI DSNT E LGT K LYR ALNG
HRZN ESE-ENE/ 8/001 53004 10062 20052

10 A.M.
Weather: Clear, few cirrus distant W-ESE
Temperature: 77F; Dew Point: 38F; Wind: estimated WNW at 6 kts,
Wind Speed: Light
Sea-level pressure: 30.22 ins. Hg, rising slightly
Visibility: 60 miles, light distant haze,
light smoke layer along horizon NNE-E
BHO SA 1455 CLR 60 232/77/38/E2906/022/ FEW CI DSNT W-ESE LGT K LYR
ALNG HRZN NNE-E LGT DSNT HZ ALQDS WND LGT/ 8/001 50002

1 P.M.
Weather: Thin scattered cirrus
Temperature: 82F; Dew Point: 30F; Wind: SSW at 7 kts,
Sea-level pressure: 30.16 ins. Hg, rising, then falling and lower
Visibility: 70 miles, light distant haze
6-Hr Max temp: 83F
6-Hr Min temp: 62F
BHO SA 1755 250 -SCT 70 213/82/30/2007/016/ LGT DSNT HZ ALQDS/
8/001 58019
SUMMARY FOR WEDNESDAY, MAY 6, 2015

TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
MAX…..74   NORMAL…..64
MIN…..54   NORMAL…..45
MEAN….64   NORMAL…..54

DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR NORMAL………………….+10
TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH………………….+28 [+4.5 DEGREES/DAY]

HEATING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON JUL TO JUN)
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY……………1  DEPARTURE……….-10
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE MONTH…………..43  DEPARTURE……….-28
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE SEASON………..6314  DEPARTURE………+208
TOTAL HEATING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE……6228  DIFFERENCE………+86

PEAK GUST AND AVERAGE WIND SPEED (MPH)
PEAK WIND GUST FOR YESTERDAY………………24 SSW   AT   9:02 P.M.
ASOS…………………..25 SSW   AT   6:29 P.M.
DAVIS………………….23 SSW   AT   6:28 P.M. RMY 25
FASTEST MILE FOR YESTERDAY………………..19 SSW   AT   8:51 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE ASOS AVERAGE……………..20 SSW   AT   8:53 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS AVERAGE…………….19 SSW   AT   8:52 P.M.
AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION…………11.0 SSW
ASOS…………………10.7
DAVIS………………..9.7 SSW [214 degrees] * Last of several occurrences…

PRECIPITATION (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST)
TOTAL PRECIPITATION 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M…..0.00  DEPARTURE…..-0.12
ASOS……………0.00
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH………..0.03  DEPARTURE…..-0.71
ASOS……………0.03
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR………..17.95  DEPARTURE…..-1.21
ASOS…………….N/A ***
*** ASOS annual totals not available due to erroneous readings

SNOWFALL (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST)
TOTAL SNOWFALL 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M………..0.0  DEPARTURE……0.0
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE MONTH……………..0.0  DEPARTURE……0.0
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE SEASON…………..150.8  DEPARTURE….+88.1
PRELIMINARY CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR APRIL CALENDAR DAY DATA
DATA REPORTED:
DATE: MAX/MIN/MEAN/DEP/PRECIP/SNOWFALL/SUN(MIN.)/SUN(%)/ PEAK GUST/RMY 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

4/1  44/26/35/-6/0.00/0.0/748/98              30 WNW RMY 31
4/2  59/29/44/+3/T/0.0/375/49                 39 SSW RMY 43
4/3  56/47/52/+10/0.02/0.0/000/00             36 SW  RMY N/A
4/4  49/32/41/-1/0.32/0.0/501/65              54 NW  RMY 64  TSTM
4/5  47/30/39/-4/T/0.0/464/60                 40 W   RMY 45
4/6  48/33/41/-2/0/00/0.0/544/70              18 NE  RMY N/A
4/7  39/34/37/-6/0.13/0.0/000/00              21 NE  RMY N/A
4/8  41/32/37/-7/0.51/T/000/00                30 ENE RMY 32
4/9  35/32/34/-10/0.38/0.0/000/00             31 ENE RMY 32
4/10 53/35/44/-1/0.07/0.0/000/00              31 SW  RMY N/A
4/11 56/38/46/+1/0.00/0.0/744/94              39 WNW RMY 48
4/12 68/35/52/+7/0.00/0.0/762/96              23 WNW RMY 23
4/13 69/47/58/+12/0.00/0.0/764/96             35 SSW RMY N/A
4/14 65/51/58/+12/0.05/0.0/072/09             37 SSW RMY N/A
4/15 67/45/56/+9/0.00/0.0/786/98              32 NW  RMY 33
4/16 64/42/53/+6/0.00/0.0/765/95              31 S   RMY 21
4/17 64/45/55/+8/0.05/0.0/065/08              31 SSW RMY 32
4/18 64/43/54/+6/0.00/0.0/770/95              31 N   RMY 36
4/19 55/39/47/-1/0.00/0.0/724/89              25 NNW RMY N/A
4/20 55/38/47/-2/…./0.0/000/00              36 SE  RMY 40
4/21 67/51/59/+10/…./0.0/417/51             30 SSE RMY N/A TSTM
4/22 67/45/56/+7/0.03/0.0/632/77              44 SSW RMY 52
4/23 49/34/42/-8/0.00/0/0/362/44              32 W   RMY N/A
4/24 50/32/41/-9/0.00/0.0/562/68              32 NW  RMY 36
4/25 56/30/43/-7/0.00/0.0/638/77              26 NW  RMY 29
4/26 54/39/47/-4/0.00/0.0/258/31              17 NW  RMY N/A
4/27 56/42/49/-2/…./0.0/125/15              30 NW  RMY N/A
4/28 63/39/51/-1/…./0.0/527/63              32 NW  RMY 35
4/29 58/46/52/+0/T/0.0/461/55                 24 ENE RMY 22
4/30 60/42/51/-1/0.00/0.0/320/38              21 NE  RMY N/A

PRELIMINARY CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR MAY CALENDAR DAY DATA
DATA REPORTED:
DATE: MAX/MIN/MEAN/DEP/PRECIP/SNOWFALL/SUN(MIN.)/SUN(%)/ PEAK GUST/RMY 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

5/1 52/37/45/-8/0.00/0.0/…/..               21 NE  RMY 20
5/2 63/35/49/-4/0.00/0.0/…/..               20 S   RMY 20
5/3 74/44/59/+6/0.00/0.0/…/..               22 S   RMY 22
5/4 83/47/65/+11/0.00/0.0/…/..              39 SSW RMY 45
5/5 77/56/67/+13/0.03/0.0/…/..              29 SW  RMY N/A
5/6 74/54/64/+10/0.00/0.0/…/..              24 SSW RMY 25

5/7 Low since midnight is 52F; normal low now 45F

DAILY RECORDS FOR MAY 2015

NONE SO FAR

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

RECORDS FOR MAY 7
HIGH 93F IN 1930
LOW 33F IN 1970
PRECIP 1.19 INCHES IN 2005
SNOWFALL TRACE IN 1967
PEAK GUST 66e MPH WNW IN 1940

RECORDS FOR MAY 8
HIGH 89F IN 2000
LOW 29F IN 1956
PRECIP 1.48 INCHES IN 1886
SNOWFALL TRACE IN 1898, 1947
PEAK GUST 68e MPH NNW IN 1943

TODAY’S REPORT PREPARED BY: Brian Fitzgerald