Tuesday, January 17, 2017

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

DAILY DISCUSSION AND CLIMATE SUMMARY
TUESDAY, JANUARY 17, 2017
ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME

CLOUDS INCREASE AHEAD OF WINTER STORM

This morning began with mostly sunny skies, low dew points,
and NW winds.  Visibility improved to 70 miles by early
afternoon, although hazy conditions persisted.  Winds had
shifted ENE by the 1:00PM observation, and dew points had
risen 10F ahead of the approaching winter storm.

A small fire approximately 3 miles south of the observatory
was noted at the 10:00AM observation, with smoke drifting
north.

Today’s Observations:

7 A.M.
Weather: Scattered cirrus
Temperature: 32F; Dew Point: 15F; Wind: NW at 11 kts
Sea-level pressure: 30.20 ins. Hg, rising, then steady
Visibility: 40 miles, distant fog in all directions
6-hr Max temp: 32F
6-hr Min temp: 29F
24-hr precip: 0.00 in.
24-hr snowfall: 0.0 in.
BHO SA 1155 250 SCT 40 228/32/15/3211/020/ DSNT FG ALQDS/
8/001 51004 10032 20029

10 A.M.
Weather: Scattered altocumulus, scattered cirrus,
small fire 3 miles S, thin smoke drifting N
Temperature: 37F; Dew Point: 17F; Wind: N at 6 kts,
Wind Speed: Light
Sea-level pressure: 30.25 ins. Hg, rising, then steady
Visibility: 70 miles, distant haze in all directions
BHO SA 1455 160 SCT 250 SCT 70 244/37/17/3506/025/ SML FIRE 3 MI S
THN K DRFTNG N DSNT HZ ALQDS WND LGT/ 8/031 51016

1 P.M.
Weather: Few cumulus NW-E, scattered altocumulus, broken cirrus
Temperature: 39F; Dew Point: 27F; Wind: ENE at 9 kts
Sea-level pressure: 30.20 ins. Hg, falling, then more quickly
Visibility: 70 miles, distant haze in all directions
6-hr Max temp: 40F
6-hr Min temp: 32F
BHO SA 1755 160 SCT E250 BKN 70 226/39/27/0709/020/ FEW CU NW-E
DSNT HZ ALQDS/ 8/131 58018 10040 20032

SUMMARY FOR MONDAY, JANUARY 16, 2017

TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
MAX…..40   NORMAL…..33
MIN…..22   NORMAL…..17
MEAN….31   NORMAL…..25

DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR NORMAL……………………+6
TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH…………………..+76 [+4.6 DEGREES/DAY]

HEATING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON JUL TO JUN)
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY…………..34   DEPARTURE……….-6
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE MONTH………….553   DEPARTURE………-74
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE SEASON………..2585   DEPARTURE……..-347
TOTAL HEATING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE……2201   DIFFERENCE…….+384

PEAK GUST AND AVERAGE WIND SPEED (MPH)
PEAK WIND GUST FOR YESTERDAY……………….28 SW  AT 12:02 P.M.
ASOS……………………25 SW  AT 12:03 P.M.
DAVIS…………………..26 WSW AT 12:02 P.M.  RMY 27
FASTEST MILE FOR YESTERDAY…………………19 SW  AT  8:16 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE ASOS AVERAGE………………20 SW  AT  8:18 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS AVERAGE……………..19 W   AT 11:37 A.M.
AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION………….10.8 SW
ASOS………………….11.2
DAVIS………………….9.7 W [260 deg.]

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……….2.60  DEPARTURE……+0.32
ASOS…………..2.86
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR………..2.60  DEPARTURE……+0.32
ASOS…………..2.86

SNOWFALL (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST)
TOTAL SNOWFALL 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M……….0.0  DEPARTURE…….-0.5
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE MONTH……………11.2  DEPARTURE…….+2.2
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE SEASON…………..19.0  DEPARTURE…….-6.0

PRELIMINARY CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR JANUARY CALENDAR DAY DATA
DATE: MAX/MIN/MEAN/DEP/PRECIP/SNOW/SUN(MIN.)/SUN(%)/PEAK GUST/AERO/RMY GUST
AERO: Aerovane wind recording system 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
M:    Missing data

1/1   41/29/35/+8/0.09/0.0/533/97           35 W   AERO 36 W   RMY 34
1/2   38/29/34/+7/0.00/0.0/011/02           21 E   AERO 20 E   RMY N/A
1/3   42/37/40/+14/1.14/0.0/000/00          39 ENE AERO 41 ENE RMY 34
1/4   44/30/37/+11/0.11/T/000/00            41 WNW AERO 46 WNW RMY 45
1/5   30/23/27/+1/0.00/0.0/343/62           37 W   AERO 39 W   RMY 38
1/6   30/20/25/-1/0.05/1.7/072/13           20 W   AERO 20 W   RMY N/A
1/7   22/14/18/-8/0.74/9.5/000/00           32 NNW AERO 39 NNW RMY 38
1/8   20/06/13/-13/0.01/T/512/92            26 NNW AERO 29 NNW RMY N/A
1/9   17/4/11/-15/0.00/0.0/335/60           23 SSW AERO 23 SSW RMY 25
1/10  41/14/28/+3/0.18/0.0/…/..           35 SE  AERO 37 SE  RMY N/A
1/11  53/40/47/+22/0.13/0.0/…/..          51 SSW AERO 48 SSW RMY 57
1/12  59/42/51/+26/0.15/0.0/…/..          37 SSW AERO 40 S   RMY 40
1/13  55/23/39/+14/0.00/0.0/…/..          39 WNW AERO 43 WNW RMY 42
1/14  30/14/22/-3/0.00/0.0/…/..           20 SSW AERO 20 SSW RMY 22
1/15  35/23/29/+4/0.00/0.0/…/..           28 NW  AERO 28 NW  RMY 28
1/16  40/22/31/+6/0.00/0.0/…/..           28 SW  AERO 25 SW  RMY 27

1/17 Low temp since midnight is 29F; normal low is now 17F

DAILY RECORDS FOR JANUARY 2017

1/12/17: NEW DAILY RECORD HIGH MAXIMUM TEMP. OF 59F,
PREVIOUS RECORD WAS 57F SET 1913 AND TIED IN 1975
1/12/17: NEW DAILY RECORD HIGH MINIMUM TEMP. OF 42F,
PREVIOUS RECORD WAS 40F SET 2006

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

RECORDS FOR JANUARY 17
HIGH 55F IN 1973,1995
LOW -8F IN 1907,1982
PRECIP 1.43 INS. IN 1956
SNOWFALL 13.4 INS. IN 1956
PEAK GUST 62 MPH S IN 1994

RECORDS FOR JANUARY 18
HIGH 62F IN 1973,1990
LOW -10F IN 1982
PRECIP 1.68 INS. IN 1915
SNOWFALL 13.0 INS. IN 1948
PEAK GUST 85 MPH SSE IN 2006

TODAY’S REPORT PREPARED BY: Cecilia Borries-Strigle