Tuesday, December 3, 2013

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

DAILY DISCUSSION AND CLIMATE SUMMARY
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2013
ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME

THE SUN FINALLY MAKES AN APPEARANCE!
WRAPPING UP METEOROLOGICAL FALL AND NOVEMBER 2013

The sun has not made an appearance since Saturday (Nov 30) due to extensive
clouds and fog that has been plaguing the area. Fog reduced visibility to
near zero this morning. The fog began dissipating right around the 10 a.m.
observation. The sun finally made its first appearance in more than 2 days
late this morning. With the sunshine temperatures are moderating, rising
into the mid 40s this afternoon.

Winds continue to be rather light, only averaging 4.4 mph yesterday, and
averaging close to 8 mph today.

November, overall, ended up being a cool and relatively dry month compared
to the 30-year normals. Statistics can be found below.

Meteorological autumn came to a close at the end of November. The mean
temperature for the September through November period was 51.7F, which was
slightly warmer (+0.7F) than the 120-year mean, and slightly cooler (-0.2F)
than the 30-year mean. It has been a while since since there has been a
whole season below the 30-year normal. It appears as though winter
2010-2011 was the last time a season finished below the 30-year normal.
The autumn precipitation of 8.59 inches was the 20th driest on record.

For the Jan 1 through Nov 30 period, the mean temperature is tied for 13th
warmest on record. This year cannot make it into the top ten warmest
unless December has better than record warmth. The average wind speed for
the Jan 1 through Nov 30 period of 12.2 is tied for second slowest.

NOVEMBER 2013 PRELIMINARY STATISTICS:
(departures relative to 1981-2010 average)

TEMPERATURE:
Average Max Temp: 48.4F [-1.6F] Average Min Temp: 31.2F [-2.3F] Mean Temp: 39.8F [-1.9F] 24-hr. Corr. Mean Temp: 39.7F [-2.4F] Max Temp: 68F on 1st
Min Temp: 14F on 25th

Total heating degree day units (month): 747 [+49] *NCDC method
Total heating degree day units (season): 1,224 [-37] *start July 1 (NCDC)

PRECIPITATION:
Total precipitation: 3.59 inches [-1.17 inch] Greatest 24-hr precipitation: 2.31 inches on 26th and 27th
Total snowfall: 0.2 inch [-2.1 inches]

WIND:
Avg wind speed: 13.6 MPH
Avg corrected wind speed: 13.9 MPH
Prevailing wind direction: WNW [18%] Peak gust: 63 MPH SSE on 27th
Peak fastest mile: 49 MPH SSE on 7th

SUNSHINE:
Total astronomical minutes: 10,313 of possible 17,650 or 58%
Total Campbell Stokes card minutes; 9,966 of possible 17,010 or 59%
* Long term November average is 47%

BHO Highest November Sea Level Pressure on Record, inches (1885-1895, 1942-present)
1. 30.86 in 1887
2. 30.82 in 1891
3. 30.80 in 1996
4. 30.79 in 2013
5. 30.75 in 1888
30.75 in 1993
7. 30.73 in 1986

BHO Greatest November Sunshine, hours (1885-2013)
1) 182.3 in 1939 (64%)
2) 181.5 in 1917 (64%)
181.5 in 1976 (64%)
4) 173.9 in 1905 (61%)
5) 171.3 in 1964 (60%)
6) 170.8 in 1941 (60%)
7) 169.6 in 2011 (60%)
8) 169.4 in 1975 (60%)
9) 166.5 in 1994 (59%)
10) 166.1 in 2013 (59%)
11) 161.4 in 1965 (57%)

BHO Greatest Sep-Nov Sunshine, hours (1885-2013)
1) 623.3 in 2001 (63%)
2) 610.7 in 1941 (62%)
3) 605.1 in 1973 (62%)
4) 599.4 in 1966 (61%)
5) 594.5 in 1952 (60%)
6) 592.4 in 1916 (60%)
7) 590.0 in 1978 (60%)
8) 587.8 in 2013 (60%)
9) 587.6 in 1967 (60%)

Today’s Observations:

7 A.M.
Weather: Sky obscured by dense fog, condensation on all surfaces
Temperature: 33F; Dew Point: 33F; Wind: NW at 9 kts.
Sea-level pressure: 29.91 ins. Hg, rising then falling
Visibility: 1/16 mile, dense fog
6-hr min temp: 33F
24-hr precip: Trace
BHO SA 1155 W2 X 1/16F 128/33/33/3209/991/ CONDENSATION ALL SFCS/ 8////
58001 10034 20033

10 A.M.
Weather: Sky obscured by dense fog, stratus drifting over summit, sun/blue
sky occasionally visible, fog dissipating, visibility increasing
Temperature: 35F; Dew Point: 35F; Wind: NW at 5 kts.
Sea-level pressure: 29.91 ins. Hg, rising then falling
Visibility: 1/2 mile, increasing, variable 1/4 to 1 mile, NW-E 1/4 mile,
SSE 1 mile, S-NNW 1/2 mile
BHO SA 1455 W3 X 1/2VF 130/35/35/3205/991/ STRA DRFTNG OVR SMT SUN/BLUE
SKY OCNLY VSBL FG DSSPTNG VSBY INCRSNG VSBY 1/4V1 NW-E 1/4 SSE 1 S-NNW 1/2/
8//// 50002

1 P.M.
Weather: Scattered cirrostratus, broken thin cirrus, few altocumulus
lenticularis distant NE-ESE and distant W-WNW, cirrostratus distant SSW-NW
invading the sky, cirrus all quadrants, parahelion, hazy, thin smoke layer
distant W-N-SE
Temperature: 43F; Dew Point: 36F; Wind: NW at 7 kts,
Wind: Direction variable W-NNW
Sea-level pressure: 29.87 ins. Hg, falling
Visibility: 25 miles, hazy
6-hr max. temp: 44F
BHO SA 1755 200 SCT 250 –BKN 25 114/43/36/3107/987/ FEW ACSL DSNT NE-ESE
AND DSNT W-WNW CS DSNT SSW-NW INVADING CI ALQDS PARAHELION HAZY THN K LYR
DSNT W-N-SE WND 28V34/ 8/044 57016 10044 20033

WEATHER SUMMARY FOR MONDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2013

TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
MAX…..38 NORMAL…..44
MIN…..34 NORMAL…..28
MEAN….36 NORMAL…..36

DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR NORMAL…………………..0
TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH………………….+1 [+0.3 DEGREE/DAY]

HEATING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON JUL TO JUN)
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY…………..29 DEPARTURE……….0
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE MONTH…………..56 DEPARTURE………-2
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE SEASON………..1280 DEPARTURE……..-39
TOTAL HEATING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE……1208 DIFFERENCE…….+72

PEAK GUST AND AVERAGE WIND SPEED (MPH)
PEAK WIND GUST FOR YESTERDAY………………15 NW AT 2:11 A.M. *
AERO…………………..15 NW AT 3:06 A.M. *
ASOS…………………..15 NNW AT 2:11 A.M.
DAVIS………………….13 N AT 12:51 A.M. RMY N/A
FASTEST MILE FOR YESTERDAY………………..11 NW AT 2:14 A.M. *
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE ASOS AVERAGE……………..12 NNW AT 3:18 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS AVERAGE…………….10 N AT 12:52 A.M.
AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION………….4.4 NW
ASOS………………….4.6
DAVIS…………………3.8 NW [326 degrees] * last of several occurrences

PRECIPITATION (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST)
TOTAL PRECIPITATION 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M…Trace DEPARTURE………….-0.16
ASOS…………..0.00
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH……….0.28 DEPARTURE………….-0.04
ASOS…………..0.28
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR……….46.88 DEPARTURE………….-1.97
ASOS…………..N/A**
** ASOS malfunctioned during storm on 2/8-9, leading to erroneous totals

SNOWFALL (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST)
TOTAL SNOWFALL 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M…….0.0 DEPARTURE………….-0.3
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE MONTH………..Trace DEPARTURE………….-0.5
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE SEASON…………0.2 DEPARTURE………….-2.9

PRELIMINARY CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR NOVEMBER & DECENBER 2013 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

11/1 68/56/62/+16/0.10/0.0/012/02 60 SSW AERO N/A N/A RMY 66
11/2 65/49/57/+11/0.00/0.0/296/48 22 WSW AERO N/A N/A RMY 23
11/3 49/30/40/-6/0.06/T/135/22 23 N AERO N/A N/A RMY N/A
11/4 42/27/35/-10/0.00/0.0/588/96 24 NNE AERO N/A N/A RMY 25
11/5 50/29/40/-5/0.00/0.0/487/80 16 SSW AERO N/A N/A RMY 17
11/6 59/40/50/+5/0.00/0.0/419/69 30 SSW AERO 31 MPH SSW RMY 33
11/7 65/37/51/+6/0.31/0.0/079/13 33 SW AERO 37 MPH SW RMY 37
11/8 48/31/40/-4/T/T/0.0/421/70 37 WNW AERO 37 MPH WNW RMY 39
11/9 44/29/37/-7/0.00/0.0/366/61 25 WNW AERO 25 MPH WNW RMY 29
11/10 52/40/46/+2/0.08/0.0/108/18 31 WNW AERO 33 MPH WNW RMY N/A
11/11 51/36/44/+1/0.00/0.0/500/84 36 WNW AERO 37 MPH WNW RMY 37
11/12 48/24/36/-7/0.11/0.2/000/00 42 SW AERO 43 MPH SW RMY 43
11/13 35/21/28/-15/0.00/0.0/591/100 29 NW AERO 30 MPH NW RMY 30
11/14 49/26/38/-4/0.00/0.0/536/91 25 SW AERO 25 MPH SW RMY 28
11/15 59/38/49/+7/0.00/0.0/393/67 24 S AERO 25 MPH S RMY 26
11/16 59/40/50/+8/0.00/0.0/363/62 20 WSW AERO 20 MPH WSW RMY N/A
11/17 59/42/51/+10/0.07/0.0/000/00 23 SSE AERO 25 MPH SSE RMY N/A
11/18 65/46/56/+15/0.28/0.0/400/69 40 SSW AERO 40 MPH S RMY N/A
11/19 46/28/37/-4/0.00/0.0/428/74 46 WNW AERO 46 MPH WNW RMY 46
11/20 40/25/33/-7/0.00/0.0/565/98 23 NW AERO 22 MPH NW RMY 22
11/21 46/26/36/-4/0.00/0.0/460/80 16 SW AERO 16 MPH SW RMY N/A
11/22 46/39/43/+3/0.22/0.0/000/00 17 WSW AERO 18 MPH SW RMY 19
11/23 46/27/37/-2/0.00/0.0/451/79 40 WNW AERO 44 MPH WNW RMY 48
11/24 27/17/22/-17/0.00/0.0/552/97 53 NW AERO 59 MPH NW RMY 57
11/25 32/14/23/-16/0.00/0.0/568/100 29 W AERO 29 MPH WNW RMY N/A
11/26 42/29/36/-2/0.13/T/000/00 25 SW AERO 27 MPH SW RMY 28
11/27 61/34/48/+10/2.23/0.0/000/00 63 SSE AERO 68 MPH SSE RMY 67
11/28 35/21/28/-10/0.00/0.0/557/99 43 W AERO 46 MPH W RMY 45
11/29 33/19/26/-11/0.00/0.0/527/94 23 NNW AERO 23 MPH NNW RMY 24
11/30 32/15/24/-13/0.00/0.0/510/91 18 SE AERO 19 MPH SE RMY N/A

12/1 45/30/38/+1/0.28/T/000/00 22 SSE AERO 23 MPH SSE RMY 23
12/2 38/34/36/0/T/0.0/000/00 15 NW AERO 15 MPH NW RMY N/A

12/3 morning low temp: 33F; the normal low is now 28F

DAILY RECORDS FOR NOVEMBER 2013
11/27 – NEW RECORD MAXIMUM DAILY PRECIPITATION OF 2.23 INCHES;
surpasses the previous record of 1.92 inches in 1898

DAILY RECORDS FOR DECEMBER 2013
None so far.

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

RECORDS FOR DECEMBER 3
HIGH 67 IN 2009
LOW -1 IN 1890
PRECIP 2.10 INS. IN 1986
SNOWFALL 6.0 INS. IN 1963
PEAK GUST 73e MPH W IN 1942

RECORDS FOR DECEMBER 4
HIGH 67 IN 1998
LOW -4 IN 1940
PRECIP 1.87 INS. IN 1968
SNOWFALL 6.0 INS. IN 1907
PEAK GUST 73 MPH WNW IN 1980

TODAY’S REPORT PREPARED BY: Sean Fankhauser / Mike Iacono