Tuesday, February 10, 2015

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

DAILY DISCUSSION AND CLIMATE SUMMARY
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2015
ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME

SEVERAL SNOW RECORDS FALL AS SUN FINALLY RETURNS

5.1 inches of new snow that fell from 1:00 PM yesterday
afternoon through 7:00 AM this morning added to make
a storm total of 27.7 inches of snow and a liquid equivalent
of 2.57 inches. This storm, which dumped snow relentlessly
from Saturday through early Tuesday morning, now becomes the
7th greatest snowstorm ever, and 3rd greatest February snowstorm
in our 130 year history. Snow depth, monthly and seasonal totals
have also moved up in the rankings, all below, courtesy of
Blue Hill Observatory Climatologist Mike Iacono.
BHO Greatest Snowstorms, inches (1885-2015):

1) 38.7 on 24-28 Feb, 1969
2) 30.8 on 26-28 Jan, 2015
3) 30.3 on 3-5 Mar, 1960
4) 30.1 on 6-7 Feb, 1978
5) 30.0 on 31 Mar – 1 Apr, 1997
6) 29.8 on 6-8 Mar, 2013
7) 27.7 on 7-10 Feb, 2015
8) 26.6 on 8-9 Feb, 2013
9) 24.7 on 17-18 Feb, 2003
10) 24.3 on 5-7 Dec, 2003
11) 23.0 on 5-7 Mar, 2001
12) 22.2 on 16-17 Feb, 1958
13) 21.0 on 9-10 Feb, 1969

BHO Greatest February Snowstorms, inches (1885-2015):

1) 38.7 on 24-28 Feb, 1969
2) 30.1 on 6-7 Feb, 1978
3) 27.7 on 7-10 Feb, 2015
4) 26.6 on 8-9 Feb, 2013
5) 24.7 on 17-18 Feb, 2003
6) 22.2 on 16-17 Feb, 1958
7) 21.0 on 9-10 Feb, 1969

BHO Snowiest February, inches (1885-2015):

1) 65.4 in 1969
2) 51.3 in 2003
3) 47.7 in 2015 (through Feb 10)
4) 45.2 in 1967
5) 40.4 in 1920
6) 39.7 in 2013
7) 37.0 in 1893

BHO Snowiest January-February, inches (1886-2015):

1) 90.6 in 2015 (through Feb 10)
2) 77.9 in 1948
3) 70.2 in 2005
4) 68.7 in 1904
5) 67.5 in 1920
6) 66.9 in 1994

BHO Greatest Snow Depth, inches (1895-2015):

1) 43 in March 1969
2) 42 in January 1948
3) 41 in February 1969
4) 39 in February 1948
5) 38 in February 1920
38 in February 2015
7) 33 in February 1978
33 in January 1996
9) 31 in February 2003
31 in February 2011
11)30 in March 1960
30 in March 1978
Today’s Observations:

7 A.M.
Weather: Overcast stratus, snow showers in the vicinity NE-SSW
Temperature: 15F; Dew Point: 12F; Wind: N at 15G23 kts
Sea-level pressure: 30.08 ins. Hg, falling, then rising
Visibility: 15 miles, except 12 miles NE-SSW, obscured by showers
6-hr max temp: 15F
6-hr min temp: 12F
24-hr precip: 1.32
24 hr snowfall: 13.1
Snow depth: 38 inches
BHO SA 1155 E6 OVC 15 186/15/12/0115G23/008/ VSBY NE-SSW 12 MI
VCNTY SHWRS NE-SSW NEW SNW PST 18 HRS 5.1 INS STORM TOTAL 27.7 INS/
8/6// 4/038 53004 ASOS 60260 MANUAL 70625 10015 20012

10 A.M.
Weather: Light snow showers, broken stratus fractus,
overcast stratus
Temperature: 18F; Dew Point: 16F; Wind: N at 13 kts
Sea-level pressure: 30.10 ins. Hg, rising then falling
Visibility: 2 miles, obscured by light snow showers
3-hr precip: Trace
3-hr snowfall: Trace
BHO SA 1455 E6 BKN 22 OVC 2S- 192/18/16/3613/010/ S-B34 PRCP VRY LGT
NEW SNW PST 3 HRS TRACE/ 8/6// 50006 MANUAL 6000/

1 P.M.
Weather: Thin overcast of altocumulus/stratus, few
stratus distant offshore NE-SSE
Temperature: 25F; Dew Point: 23F; Wind: N at 9 kts
Sea-level pressure: 30.08 ins. falling, then more quickly
Visibility: 30 miles
6-hr max temp: 25F
6-hr min temp: 14F
6 Hr precip: Trace
6 Hr snowfall: Trace
BHO SA 1755 E43 -OVC 30 185/25/23/0109/008/ FEW ST DSNT OFFSHR
NE-SSE NEW SNW PST 3 HRS TRACE/ 8/61/ 58007 ASOS 60001 MANUAL 6000/
10025 20014
SUMMARY FOR MONDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2015

TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
MAX…..19   NORMAL…..36
MIN…..12   NORMAL…..18
MEAN….16   NORMAL…..27

DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR NORMAL………………………-11
TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH………………………-80 [-9.1 DEGREES/DAY]

HEATING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON JUL TO JUN)
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY…………..49  DEPARTURE……….+11
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE MONTH………….428  DEPARTURE……….+79
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE SEASON………..3776  DEPARTURE………-104
TOTAL HEATING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE……3854  DIFFERENCE………-78

PEAK GUST AND AVERAGE WIND SPEED (MPH)
PEAK WIND GUST FOR YESTERDAY………………29 N      AT  6:58 A.M.*
ASOS…………………..30 N      AT  1:30 A.M.
DAVIS………………….27 N      AT  3:11 A.M. RMY 28
FASTEST MILE FOR YESTERDAY………………..21 N      AT  6:58 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE ASOS AVERAGE……………..22 N      AT 10:15 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS AVERAGE…………….20 N      AT  3:12 A.M.
AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION…………15.9 N
ASOS…………………16.3
DAVIS………………..14.1 N [004 degrees] * last of several occurrences…

PRECIPITATION (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST)
TOTAL PRECIPITATION 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M….1.32  DEPARTURE…..+1.19
ASOS…………..6.24***
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH……….4.25  DEPARTURE…..+3.04
ASOS…………..9.21***
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR………..9.42  DEPARTURE…..+3.99
ASOS………….14.67***

***ERRONEOUS ASOS PRECIP GAUGE DATA DUE TO DRIFTING SNOW***

SNOWFALL (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST)
TOTAL SNOWFALL 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M………13.1  DEPARTURE…..+12.6
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE MONTH……………47.7  DEPARTURE…..+43.3
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE SEASON………….101.6  DEPARTURE…..+64.1

PRELIMINARY CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR JANUARY 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
2/1  28/8/18/-8/0.00/0.0/…/..               29 WNW RMY N/A
2/2  29/8/19/-7/1.53/16.5/000/00              44 NE  RMY 46
2/3  21/0/11/-15/0.00/0.0/…/..              31 NW  RMY N/A
2/4  36/14/25/-1/0.00/0.0/…/..              31 S   RMY 33
2/5  34/4/19/-7/0.15/3.5/…/..               38 NW  RMY 39
2/6  19/-2/9/-17/0.00/0.0/…/..              28 NW  RMY 27
2/7  25/14/20/-7/…./…/…/..              25 WSW RMY N/A
2/8  29/11/20/-7/…./…/000/00              30 NNE RMY 29
2/9  19/12/16/-11/…./…/000/00             29 N   RMY 28

2/10 morning low temp: 12F since midnight, normal low is now 18

DAILY RECORDS FOR FEBRUARY 2015

-NEW DAILY RECORD SNOWFALL FOR 2 FEBRUARY 2015
SNOWFALL 16.5 INS. surpasses previous record:
5.5 ins. in 1916, 1934

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

RECORDS FOR FEBRUARY 10
HIGH 56F IN 1909
LOW -8F IN 1899
PRECIP 1.34 INS. IN 1909
SNOWFALL 12.1 INS. IN 1926
PEAK GUST 64 MPH W IN 2001

RECORDS FOR FEBRUARY 11
HIGH 60F IN 1981
LOW -10F IN 1899
PRECIP 1.07 INCHES IN 1955
SNOWFALL 9.6 INCHES IN 1933
PEAK GUST 95 MPH S IN 1981

TODAY’S REPORT PREPARED BY: Brian Fitzgerald