Tuesday, December 24, 2024

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

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2024
ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME (EST)
SUNRISE: 0712E
SUNSET:  1617E

A LITTLE LIGHT SNOW THIS MORNING, OTHERWISE CLOUDY AND COLD TODAY….

As a weak system pushed through the region this morning, some light
snow fell helping to set the mood on this Christmas Eve. 0.2″ of
accumulation was measured which melted to 0.02″ of liquid. Just
enough to add a good dusting to the existing snowpack, which is
still at a stout 6-7 inches today.

Although the snow has come to an end, skies remain overcast. As such,
the temperature hasn’t risen out of the 20s to this point today.
The high so far is in the upper 20s, which is still almost 10 degrees
below normal for the date.

The wind was gusty for a time this morning out of the southwest, but
it has since shifted to the west and west-northwest while decreasing
in speed following the band of snow that moved through. The average
speed for the day so far is around 12mph, however for the past hour
or so, it’s only been around 6-7mph. The peak gust for the day so far
is 29mph, which occurred at 8:37am this morning.

Visibility has been limited today due to thin fog and periods of
light snow. The maximum view today was around 30 miles early this
morning. It dropped to under 1 mile for a time during the snow band,
but has only recovered to around 20-25 miles early this afternoon.

The maximum temperature for today is 29F degrees, which is 9 degrees
below the normal high of 38F. The minimum temperature since midnight
is 19F degrees, which is 4 degrees below the normal low of 23F.
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Today’s Observations:

7 A.M.
Weather: Scattered stratocumulus, overcast altostratus, few breaks in
overcast distant SE-SSW, virga distant WSW-N
Temperature: 26F; Dew Point: 22F; Relative Humidity: 86%
Wind: SW @ 12 kts
Sea-level pressure: 1025.1 mb; 30.27 in. Hg: falling unsteadily
Visibility: 30 miles
6-hr Max temp: 26F
6-hr Min temp: 20F
24-hr Precip:  0.00 inches
24-hr Snowfall: 0.0 inches
Snow Depth: 7 inches
BHO SA 1155 30 SCT E100 OVC 30 251/26/22/2312/027/ FEW BINOVC DSNT
SE-SSW VIRGA DSNT WSW-N/ 8/52/ 4/007 57026 10026 20020

10 A.M.
Weather: Scattered stratus fractus, overcast nimbostratus, light snow
Temperature: 27F; Dew Point: 27F; Relative Humidity: 100%
Wind: WSW @ 12G18 kts
Sea-level pressure: 1024.0 mb; 30.24 in. Hg: falling unsteadily
Visibility: 2 miles, fog
3-hr Precip:  0.02 inches
3-hr Snowfall: 0.2 inches
BHO SA 1455 17 SCT E29 OVC 2S-F 240/27/27/2512G18/024/ TOTAL NEW SNW
PST 3 HRS 0.2 INS/ 8/72/ 57011 6002/

1 P.M.
Weather: Scattered altostratus, overcast altocumulus, few breaks in
overcast distant NW-NE, few stratus fractus all quadrants
Temperature: 29F; Dew Point: 26F; Relative Humidity: 86%
Wind: WNW @ 6 kts, wind light
Sea-level pressure: 1021.6 mb; 30.17 in. Hg: falling, then more rapidly
Visibility: 25 miles, thin fog
6-hr Max temp: 29F
6-hr Min temp: 26F
6-hr Precip:  0.02 inches
6-hr Snowfall: 0.2 inches
Snow Depth: 7 inches
BHO SA 1755 65 SCT E90 OVC 25 216/29/26/2906/017/ FEW BINOVC DSNT
NW-NE FEW STFRA ALQDS THN F ALQDS WND LGT TOTAL NEW SNW PST
6 HRS 0.2 INS/ 8/67/ 4/007 58024 6002/ 10029 20026

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SUMMARY FOR MONDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2024

TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
MAX…….26  NORMAL…..38
MIN……..4  NORMAL…..23
MEAN……15  NORMAL…..31

DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR (1991-2020) NORMAL…………-16
TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH……………………-43 [-2.1 DEGREES/DAY]

HEATING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON: JUL 2024 THRU JUN 2025)
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY……………50  DEPARTURE…….+16
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE MONTH…………..764  DEPARTURE…….+42
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE SEASON…………1707  DEPARTURE……-219
TOTAL HEATING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE…….1705  DEPARTURE……..+2

PEAK WIND GUST (MPH):
Note: Instruments designated #1 = Main Tower, #2 = South Tower,
F420C, Contacting, Merlin, and Richards are all on Main Tower.
E=Estimated

F420C (Official)………..21 S    @   06:47 P.M.
VECTOR #1 (1-Sec)……….21 SSW  @   10:43 P.M.
VECTOR #2 (1-Sec)……….21 NNW  @   01:58 A.M.
DAVIS #1……………….21 S    @   06:47 P.M.
DAVIS #2 ………………22 S    @   02:46 P.M.
RMY #1 (Instantaneous)…..20 NNW  @   02:10 A.M.
RMY #2 (Instantaneous)…..20 S    @   06:59 P.M.
MERLIN………………….M
RICHARDS (C5C) (Inst)…..OTS

FASTEST MILE:
CONTACTING ANEMOMETER/OFFICIAL………………17 NNW  @   02:07 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE VECTOR #1 AVERAGE…………..16      @   02:11 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE VECTOR #2 AVERAGE…………..16      @   01:51 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS #1 AVERAGE……………16 NNW  @   02:11 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS #2 AVERAGE……………17 S    @   02:58 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RMY #1 AVERAGE……………..17 NNW  @   02:12 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RMY #2 AVERAGE……………..17 NNW  @   02:14 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RICHARDS (C5C) AVERAGE……..OTS

AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION:
CONTACTING/OFFICIAL………9.5 N [228 total miles] VECTOR #1………………10.3
VECTOR #2………………10.6
DAVIS #1……………….10.0 W
DAVIS #2……………….10.4 WNW
RMY #1…………………10.2 W
RMY #2…………………10.7 W
RICHARDS (C5C)…………..OTS

PRECIPITATION (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST):
TOTAL PRECIPITATION 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M……..0.00 DEPARTURE…..-0.17
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH…………..6.66 DEPARTURE…..+2.57
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR (2024)…….54.13 DEPARTURE…..+1.57

SNOWFALL (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST):
TOTAL SNOWFALL 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M…………..0.0 DEPARTURE……-0.5
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE MONTH……………….12.4 DEPARTURE……+3.9
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE SEASON (2024-2025)……12.4 DEPARTURE……+1.4

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PRELIMINARY CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR DECEMBER CALENDAR DAY DATA
DATE: MAX/MIN/MEAN/DEP/PRECIP/SNOW/SUN(MIN)/SUN(%)/PEAK GUST/VEC1/RMY GUST
PEAK GUST: F420C (Official)
VEC1: Vector #1 1-second gust
RMY:  R.M. Young #1 wind gust recording system (Instantaneous)
TSTM: Thunderstorm day (thunder heard some time during day)
….: Data not yet available, records not finalized
M:    Missing data

12/1   37/23/30/-7/0.00/0.0/452/81        21 WSW VEC1 21 WSW RMY 21
12/2   38/22/30/-7/0.00/0.0/551/99        18 W   VEC1 18 W   RMY 18
12/3   36/20/28/-8/0.00/0.0/411/74        21 NW  VEC1 21 WNW RMY 21
12/4   39/22/31/-5/0.13/T/394/71          30 S   VEC1 31 S   RMY 33
12/5   37/31/34/-2/0.40/3.0/072/13        43 WNW VEC1 43 WNW RMY 47
12/6   31/23/27/-8/0.00/0.0/514/93        39 NW  VEC1 39 W   RMY 42
12/7   37/22/30/-5/T/T/408/74             25 S   VEC1 25 S   RMY 26
12/8   47/28/38/+3/0.02/T/198/36          37 SSW VEC1 37 SSW RMY 40
12/9   47/34/41/+7/0.41/0.0/187/34        28 ENE VEC1 28 E   RMY 29
12/10  42/31/37/+3/0.15/0.0/000/00        31 NE  VEC1 32 NE  RMY 34
12/11  62/36/49/+15/3.38/0.0/000/00       65 SSW VEC1 67 SSW RMY 70 TSTM
12/12  53/25/39/+5/0.05/0.0/460/84        51 WNW VEC1 49 WNW RMY 51
12/13  31/19/25/-8/0.00/0.0/514/94        30 WNW VEC1 30 W   RMY 30
12/14  33/17/25/-8/0.00/0.0/546/100       20 NW  VEC1 19 NNW RMY 20
12/15  34/17/26/-7/0.00/0.0/377/69        17 N   VEC1 17 N   RMY 16
12/16  45/29/37/+5/T/0.0/005/01           35 SSE VEC1 35 SSE RMY 35
12/17  59/41/50/+18/0.25/0.0/360/66       48 SSW VEC1 50 SSW RMY 50
12/18  50/36/43/+11/0.57/0.0/507/93       21 S   VEC1 21 S   RMY 21
12/19  44/30/37/+5/0.13/0.0/…/..        31 NW  VEC1 31 NW  RMY 32
12/20  32/24/28/-3/1.17/9.4/000/00        28 NNE VEC1 29 N   RMY 29
12/21  26/12/19/-12/0.00/0.0/…/..       38 NW  VEC1 38 NW  RMY 41
12/22  17/6/12/-19/0.00/0.0/…/..        33 NW  VEC1 33 NW  RMY 35
12/23  26/4/15/-16/0.00/0.0/…/..        21 S   VEC1 21 SSW RMY 20

12/24 The low since midnight is 19F, the daily normal low is 23F.

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DECEMBER DAILY RECORDS TO DATE

12/11 NEW PRECIPITATION RECORD OF 3.38″; OLD RECORD 2.36″ IN 1992

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

RECORDS FOR DECEMBER 24
HIGH 67 IN 2015
LOW -6 IN 1943
PRECIP 2.21 INS. IN 1994
SNOWFALL 12.3 INS. IN 1961
PEAK GUST 79e MPH SE IN 1941

RECORDS FOR DECEMBER 25
HIGH 64 IN 2015
LOW -11 IN 1980
PRECIP 2.15 INS. IN 2020
SNOWFALL 8.5 INS. IN 2002
PEAK GUST 80 MPH NW IN 1971

TODAY’S REPORT PREPARED BY: Matt Douglas