Tuesday, February 20, 2024

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

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2024
ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME (EST)
SUNRISE: 0634E
SUNSET:  1722E

BRILLIANT SUNSHINE, LIGHT WIND, BUT STILL COOLER THAN NORMAL
TEMPERATURES….

Despite the fact that the temperature is a bit below normal for
today’s date, the bright sunshine (and higher sun angle) along with
light wind is making for a very pleasant day overall.

We started the day with the temperature in the mid teens and the
dew point in the single digits. With the abundance of sunshine, the
temperature has risen into the low to mid 30s, however the dew
point remains on the low side with readings just reaching the low
teens by the 1pm observation.

As mentioned, the wind has been light out of generally a northerly
direction, although it has gone more variable early this afternoon.
The average speed for the day so far is around 7mph. The peak gust
thus far is around 22mph, occurring just after 4am.

Visibility has been spectacular all day with the view of around
70-80 miles.

The maximum temperature so far today is 34F degrees, which is 4
degrees below the normal high of 38F. The minimum temperature
since midnight is 16F degrees, which is 4 degrees below the normal
low of 20F.

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Today’s Observations:

7 A.M.
Weather: Clear, few stratocumulus offshore distant ENE-ESE, few
cirrus all quadrants
Temperature: 17F; Dew Point: 4F; Relative Humidity: 58%
Wind: N @ 7 kts
Sea-level pressure: 1031.5 mb; 30.46 in. Hg: rising, then more rapidly
Visibility: 80 miles
6-hr Max temp: 20F
6-hr Min temp: 16F
24-hr Precip: 0.00 ins
24-hr Snowfall: 0.0 ins
Snow Depth: 2 inches
BHO SA 1155 CLR 80 315/17/4/3607/046/ FEW SC OFFSHR DSNT ENE-ESE
FEW CI ALQDS/ 8/501 4/002 53026 10020 20016

10 A.M.
Weather: Clear, few stratocumulus offshore distant ESE-SSE, few
cirrus distant SE-SSE and distant WNW
Temperature: 27F; Dew Point: 4F; Relative Humidity: 38%
Wind: N @ 4 kts, wind light
Sea-level pressure: 1033.1 mb; 30.51 in. Hg: rising, then more slowly
Visibility: 80 miles
3-hr Precip:  0.00 ins
3-hr Snowfall: 0.0 ins
BHO SA 1455 CLR 80 331/27/4/0104/051/ FEW SC OFFSHR DSNT ESE-SSE
FEW CI DSNT SE-SSE AND DSNT WNW WND LGT/ 8/501 51016

1 P.M.
Weather: Clear, few stratocumulus distant NW-N and offshore distant
ENE-ESE, few cirrus distant ESE-SE-SW
Temperature: 33F; Dew Point: 11F; Relative Humidity: 40%
Wind: WNW @ 5 kts, wind light
Sea-level pressure: 1032.2 mb; 30.48 in. Hg: falling, then more rapidly
Visibility: 70 miles
6-hr Max temp: 34F
6-hr Min temp: 17F
6-hr Precip:  0.00 ins
6-hr Snowfall: 0.0 ins
Snow Depth: 2 inches
BHO SA 1755 CLR 70 322/33/11/2905/048/ FEW SC DSNT NW-N AND OFFSHR
DSNT ENE-ESE FEW CI ESE-SE-SW WND LGT/ 8/501 4/002 58009 10034 20017

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SUMMARY FOR MONDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2024

TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
MAX…….36   NORMAL…..38
MIN…….21   NORMAL…..20
MEAN……29   NORMAL…..29

DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR (1991-2020) NORMAL………….0
TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH………………….+104 [+5.3 DEGREES/DAY]

HEATING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON: JUL 2023 THRU JUN 2024)
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY……………36  DEPARTURE………0
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE MONTH…………..611  DEPARTURE……-104
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE SEASON…………3577  DEPARTURE……-541
TOTAL HEATING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE…….3409  DEPARTURE……+168

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

F420C (Official)……….E29 WNW  @  09:01 A.M.
VECTOR #1 (1-Sec)……….29 WNW  @  09:01 A.M.
VECTOR #2 (1-Sec)……….31 WNW  @  09:00 A.M.
DAVIS #1……………….30 W    @  09:01 A.M.
DAVIS #2 ………………30 W    @  09:01 A.M.
RMY #1 (Instantaneous)…..28 WNW  @  09:31 A.M.
RMY #2 (Instantaneous)…..31 WNW  @  09:01 A.M.
MERLIN…………………27 W
RICHARDS (C5C) (Inst)……30      @  09:00 A.M.

FASTEST MILE:
CONTACTING ANEMOMETER/OFFICIAL………………23 WNW  @  09:02 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE VECTOR #1 AVERAGE…………..22      @  09:02 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE VECTOR #2 AVERAGE…………..24      @  09:02 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS #1 AVERAGE……………24 W    @  09:02 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS #2 AVERAGE……………24 WNW  @  09:02 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RMY #1 AVERAGE……………..21 WNW  @  09:02 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RMY #2 AVERAGE……………..24 WNW  @  09:02 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RICHARDS (C5C) AVERAGE………22      @  09:02 A.M.

AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION:
CONTACTING/OFFICIAL…..11.3 NW [270 total miles] VECTOR #1……………11.0
VECTOR #2……………12.1
DAVIS #1…………….11.5 W
DAVIS #2…………….11.4 WNW
RMY #1………………10.8 WNW
RMY #2………………11.8 W
RICHARDS (C5C)……….11.5

PRECIPITATION (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST):
TOTAL PRECIPITATION 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M……..0.00 DEPARTURE…..-0.15
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH…………..0.73 DEPARTURE…..-1.88
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR (2024)……..9.97 DEPARTURE…..+2.86

SNOWFALL (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST):
TOTAL SNOWFALL 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M…………..0.0 DEPARTURE……-0.6
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE MONTH………………..4.7 DEPARTURE……-7.8
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE SEASON (2023-2024)……25.6 DEPARTURE…..-20.6

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PRELIMINARY CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR FEBRUARY 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

2/1   40/30/35/+9/0.00/0.0/012/02         25 SW  VEC1 24 SW  RMY 26
2/2   39/31/35/+9/0.03/T/000/00           23 N   VEC1 24 N   RMY 25
2/3   35/26/31/+5/0.00/0.0/338/56         26 N   VEC1 26 NNW RMY 28
2/4   39/20/30/+4/0.00/0.0/607/100        28 NNW VEC1 28 NNW RMY 27
2/5   39/22/31/+4/0.00/0.0/597/98         29 N   VEC1 29 N   RMY 30
2/6   35/26/31/+4/0.00/0.0/251/41         26 N   VEC1 26 N   RMY 26
2/7   39/26/33/+6/0.00/0.0/436/71         21 NE  VEC1 21 NE  RMY 24
2/8   44/29/37/+10/0.00/0.0/457/74        16 S   VEC1 16 S   RMY 16
2/9   47/30/39/+12/0.00/0.0/229/37        31 SSW VEC1 31 SSW RMY 31
2/10  58/35/47/+20/0.02/0.0/385/62        26 NW  VEC1 26 NW  RMY 30
2/11  45/34/40/+13/0.00/0.0/119/19        30 NW  VEC1 30 NW  RMY 31
2/12  47/29/38/+10/0.00/0.0/470/75        21 N   VEC1 20 N   RMY 20
2/13  35/25/30/+2/0.65/4.3/000/00         40 NNE VEC1 41 NNE RMY M
2/14  29/21/25/-3/0.00/0.0/562/89         53 NW  VEC1 53 NW  RMY 54
2/15  38/18/28/0/0.03/0.4/…/..          37 SW  VEC1 36 SW  RMY 37
2/16  37/26/32/+4/T/T/…/..              50 WNW VEC1 47 WNW RMY 51
2/17  33/21/27/-2/T/T/…/..              36 WNW VEC1 38 WNW RMY 38
2/18  35/17/26/-3/0.00/0.0/…/..         39 SW  VEC1 40 SW  RMY 41
2/19  36/21/29/+/0.00/0.0/…/..          29 WNW VEC1 29 WNW RMY 28

2/20 The low since midnight is 16F, the daily normal low is 20F

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FEBRUARY DAILY RECORDS TO DATE

NONE…

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

RECORDS FOR FEBRUARY 20
HIGH 68F IN 2018
LOW -4F IN 1966
PRECIP 1.90 INCHES IN 1934
SNOWFALL 15.0 INCHES IN 1921,1934
PEAK GUST 78 MPH NW IN 1972

RECORDS FOR FEBRUARY 21
HIGH 70F IN 2018
LOW -6F IN 1950
PRECIP 2.42 INCHES IN 1898
SNOWFALL 9.0 INCHES IN 1929
PEAK GUST 72 MPH WNW IN 1967

TODAY’S REPORT PREPARED BY: Matt Douglas