Thursday, October 10, 2013

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

DAILY DISCUSSION AND CLIMATE SUMMARY
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2013
ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME

SEASONABLE MORNING;
OVERCAST CONDITIONS WITH HAZEY SUNSHINE;
OCTOBER CONTINUES TO BE WARM AND DRY

This morning was a cool but seasonable morning with a morning low of 46F.
The sun has been out, but dimmed by cirrus clouds and altostratus. This
has created a relatively slow temperature rise. We have been struggling
to reach into the low 60s. Overall, this day should finish as a seasonable
day temperature-wise. Yesterday was actually the first average day in
October. We are averaging 5.9 degrees above normal.

However, even with the warm temperatures there are plenty of signs of fall
here at the summit. This morning the foliage has seem to brighten up. The
maple is given out bright colors along the pond. Also visible this morning
was steam fog on the local ponds that made for some nice fall pictures.

In terms of precipitation we are running below normal. The reason is we
have been dominated by high pressure. Yesterday’s ASOS pressure reached
30.48 ins. Hg, with a average of 30.10 ins. Hg throughout the month,
indicative of our weather being controlled by high pressure. This gives me
reasons to believe any chances of seeing significant rain at the summit
over the next couple of days is low. There is a coastal low to the south
of us, which is responsible for the high cloudiness, but visible dry
layers above the stratocumulus clouds indicate that dry air is holding on
tight. I would only expect a light shower.

Today’s Observations:

7 A.M.
Weather: Broken altocumulus, overcast cirrus, breaks in overcast/thin
spots W-N-ENE, few stratocumulus NE ovr harbor, thin fog all quardants,
steam fog over pond dissipated past hour SE-SSE
Temperature: 49F; Dew Point: 47F; Wind: NNE at 6 kts.
Sea-level pressure: 30.33 ins. Hg, increasing then increasing more slowly
Visibility: 20 miles
6-hr min temp: 46F
BHO SA 1155 E150 BKN 250 OVC 20 270/49/47/0306/033/ BINOVC/THN SPTS
W-N-ENE FEW SC NE OVR HARBOR THN F ALQDS STEAM FG DSSPTD OVR POND SE-SSE
PST HR/ 8/571 51002 10050 20046

10 A.M.
Weather: Scattered altocumulus, broken altocumulus, broken cirrostratus,
overcast cirrus, few stratocumulus/cumulus all quadrants, breaks in
overcast/thin spots, distant haze
Temperature: 56F; Dew Point: 51F; Wind: NE at 8 kts.
Sea-level pressure: 30.32 ins. Hg, increasing then decreasing
Visibility: 40 miles, except 45 miles WNW, distant haze
BHO SA 1455 130 SCT E150 BKN 200 BKN 250 OVC 40 267/56/51/0508/032/ FEW
SC/CU ALQDS BINOVC/THN SPTS IOVC VSBY WNW 45 DSNT HZ/ 8/871 58003

1 P.M.
Weather: Scattered stratocumulus, broken stratocumulus, overcast
cirrostratus, stratocumulus layer increasing, dense cirrus all quadrants,
ovecast partly thin overhead
Temperature: 59F; Dew Point: 52F; Wind: NE at 9 kts,
Wind: Direction variable NNE-E
Sea-level pressure: 30.27 ins. Hg, decreasing, then decreasing more slowy
Visibility: 50 miles
6-hr max temp: 61F
BHO SA 1755 20 SCT E130 BKN 200 OVC 50 252/59/52/0509/027/ SC LYR INCRSNG
DNS CI ALQDS OVC PTLY THN OVHD WND 02V08/ 8/572 56015 10061 20049

WEATHER SUMMARY FOR WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2013

TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
MAX…..59 NORMAL…..63
MIN…..49 NORMAL…..45
MEAN….54 NORMAL…..54

DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR NORMAL…………………..0
TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH…………………+55 [+5.9 DEGREES/DAY]

COOLING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON JAN TO DEC)
TOTAL COOLING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY…………..0 DEPARTURE……….0
TOTAL COOLING UNITS FOR THE MONTH…………..5 DEPARTURE………+2
TOTAL COOLING UNITS FOR THE SEASON………..701 DEPARTURE…….+101
TOTAL COOLING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE……766 DIFFERENCE…….-65

HEATING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON JUL TO JUN)
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY………….11 DEPARTURE……….0
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE MONTH………….35 DEPARTURE……..-54
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE SEASON………..181 DEPARTURE……..-50
TOTAL HEATING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE……166 DIFFERENCE…….+16

PEAK GUST AND AVERAGE WIND SPEED (MPH)
PEAK WIND GUST FOR YESTERDAY………………25 ENE AT 7:44 A.M.
AERO…………………..24 ENE AT 8:02 A.M.
ASOS…………………..25 E AT 8:40 A.M.
DAVIS………………….25 ENE AT 7:43 A.M. RMY 25
FASTEST MILE FOR YESTERDAY………………..17 ENE AT 8:21 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE ASOS AVERAGE……………..17 E AT 8:41 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS AVERAGE…………….16 ENE AT 7:45 A.M.
AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION…………11.1 ENE
ASOS…………………10.6
DAVIS…………………9.9 NE [058 degrees]

PRECIPITATION (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST)
TOTAL PRECIPITATION 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M….0.00 DEPARTURE………….-0.14
ASOS…………..0.00
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH……….0.90 DEPARTURE………….-0.43
ASOS…………..0.89
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR……….42.82 DEPARTURE………….+2.41
ASOS…………..N/A*
*ASOS malfunctioned during storm on 2/8-9, leading to erroneous totals

PRELIMINARY CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR OCTOBER 2013 CALENDAR DAY DATA
DATA REPORTED:
DATE: MAX/MIN/MEAN/DEP/PRECIP/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

10/1 75/50/63/+6/0.00/676/96 16 WNW AERO 16 MPH WNW RMY 18
10/2 78/56/67/+10/0.00/666/95 29 W AERO 30 MPH W RMY 29
10/3 77/56/67/+11/0.00/628/90 20 WNW AERO 20 MPH WNW RMY N/A
10/4 67/56/62/+6/0.26/028/04 18 NW AERO 20 MPH NW RMY N/A
10/5 67/56/62/+6/0.01/125/18 14 ENE AERO 12 MPH ENE RMY N/A
10/6 58/53/56/+1/0.56/000/00 20 NE AERO 20 MPH NE RMY N/A
10/7 75/57/66/+11/0.07/213/31 48 S AERO 55 MPH S RMY 55
10/8 65/50/58/+4/0.00/581/85 25 NW AERO 27 MPH NW RMY 28
10/9 59/49/54/0/0.00/545/80 25 ENE AERO 24 MPH ENE RMY 25

10/10 the morning low temp: 46F; the normal low is now 45F

DAILY RECORDS FOR OCTOBER 2013
None so far.

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

RECORDS FOR OCTOBER 10
HIGH 85F IN 1949
LOW 27F IN 1929
PRECIP 2.02 INCHES IN 1998
SNOWFALL 6.8 INCHES IN 1979 (RECORD FOR MONTH)
PEAK GUST 59 MPH WNW IN 1958

RECORDS FOR OCTOBER 11
HIGH 80F IN 1919,1949
LOW 28F IN 1993
PRECIP 0.96 INCHES IN 1903
SNOWFALL (NONE)
PEAK GUST 66e MPH WNW IN 1941

TODAY’S REPORT PREPARED BY: Robert Skilling and Kevin Pecora