Tuesday, January 27, 2015

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

DAILY DISCUSSION AND CLIMATE SUMMARY
TUESDAY, JANUARY 27, 2015
ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME

HISTORIC JANUARY BLIZZARD BRINGS HEAVY SNOW,
BLOWING SNOW AND WINDS GUSTING TO 51 MPH,
SNOW 25.5 INCHES BY 1:00 PM EST OBSERVATION TODAY

Snow began in earnest last night following an evening
measurement at 7:00 PM EST observation. By the 1:00 PM
EST observation today a storm total of 25.5 inches of
snow had been measured with a liquid equivalent of
2.26 inches of liquid. Here is how it has broken down
between measurements:

Jan. 26 2015
7:00 AM to 10:00 AM: Trace
10:00 AM to 1:00 PM: 0.1 snow, 0.01 liquid
1:00 PM to 7:00 PM: 0.9 snow, 0.09 liquid
7:00 PM to 12:00 AM: 4.6 snow, 0.40 liquid

Jan. 27 2015
12:00 AM to 7:00 AM: 9.9 snow, 1.08 liquid
7:00 AM to 10:00 AM: 3.7 snow, 0.39 liquid
10:00 AM to 1:00 PM: 6.3 snow, 0.29 liquid

The next measurement will be taken at 7:00 PM EST
this evening, at which time a special report will be issued,
getting closer to an official storm total.

Conditions today have largely been characterized by
gusty NNW-N winds routinely gusting above 30, 40, and
at 05:47 AM EST 51 MPH. Visibility has varied from 1/2
to as low as 1/8 of a mile obscured by blowing snow, heavy
snow and fog. Drifts on the summit have begun to exceed
three feet in some spots. The door to our hatch has
been difficult to open along with some northeasterly
facing doorways as snow continues to drift.

Here at BHO, we have cracked open the record books for
the potential comparison to some of the biggest snow
storms observed here. Here are the top ten snowstorms
measured here on Great Blue Hill:

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

Stay tuned tomorrow for special reports and updates, along
with storm totals so far during the daily discussion.

Today’s Observations:

7 A.M.
Weather: Heavy snow, blowing snow, fog
Temperature: 12F; Dew Point: 10F; Wind: N at 24G36 kts
Peak Wind: 38 knots, N @ 06:40 AM EST
Sea-level pressure: 29.54 ins. Hg, falling, then more slowly
Visibility: 1/4 of a mile, obscured by heavy snow, blowing
snow and fog
6-hr max temp: 15F
6-hr min temp: 12F
24-hr precip: 1.58 in.
24 hr snowfall: 15.5 ins.
Total snow on ground: 12 inches
BHO SA 1155 W3 X 1/4S+F 004/12/10/3624G36/954/ BLSN ALQDS NEW SNW
PST 24HR 15.5 IN PK WND 3538/40/ 8//// 4/012 56014 ASOS 60101
70160 MANUAL 70158 10015 20012

10 A.M.
Weather: Moderate snow, fog and blowing snow
Temperature: 13F; Dew Point: 10F; Wind: N at 22G39 kts
Peak Wind: 39 knots, N @ 09:52 AM EST
Sea-level pressure: 29.48 ins. Hg, falling, then more quickly
Visibility: 1/2 of a mile, obscured by moderate snow, blowing
snow, fog
3-hr precip: 3.7
3-hr snowfall 0.39
BHO SA 1455 W4 X 1/2SF 983/13/10/3622G39/948/ BLSN ALQDS NEW SNW
PST 3 HRS 3.7 IN PK WND 3639/52/ 8//// 58021 ASOS 60053 MANUAL 60039

1 P.M.
Weather: Heavy snow, fog and blowing snow
Temperature: 13F; Dew Point: 11F; Wind: NNW at 20G34 kts,
Peak Wind: 34 knots, N @ 12:51 PM EST
Sea-level pressure: 29.45 ins. Hg, falling, then falling more quickly
Visibility: 1/4 of a mile, obscured by heavy snow, blowing
snow and fog
6-hr max. temp: 14F
6-hr min. temp: 12F
6-hr precip: 0.68 ins
6-hr snowfall: 10.0 ins
BHO SA 1755 W4 X 1/4S+F 974/13/11/3420G34/945/ BLSN ALQDS NEW SNW
PST 3 HRS 6.3 IN NEW SNW PST 6 HRS 10.0 IN PK WND 3534/51/ 8////
58009 ASOS 60084 MANUAL 60068 10014 20012

SUMMARY FOR MONDAY, JANUARY 26, 2015

TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
MAX…..26   NORMAL…..34
MIN……9   NORMAL…..17
MEAN….18   NORMAL…..25

DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR NORMAL……………………..-7
TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH…………………….-23 [-1.1 DEGREES/DAY]

HEATING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON JUL TO JUN)
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY…………..47  DEPARTURE………..-1
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE MONTH…………1052  DEPARTURE……….+24
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE SEASON………..3112  DEPARTURE………-221
TOTAL HEATING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE……3304  DIFFERENCE……..-192

PEAK GUST AND AVERAGE WIND SPEED (MPH)
PEAK WIND GUST FOR YESTERDAY………………45 N     AT 10:36 P.M.*
ASOS…………………..48 NNE   AT 10:26 P.M.
DAVIS………………….45 N     AT 10:26 P.M. RMY N/A
FASTEST MILE FOR YESTERDAY………………..30 N     AT 10:27 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE ASOS AVERAGE……………..30 NE    AT 10:49 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS AVERAGE…………….29 NNE   AT  9:52 P.M.
AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION…………14.6 N
ASOS…………………14.7
DAVIS………………..12.7 NNE [029 degrees] * last of several occurrences…

PRECIPITATION (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST)
TOTAL PRECIPITATION 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M….1.58  DEPARTURE…..+1.44
ASOS…………..1.60
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH……….4.18  DEPARTURE…..+0.50
ASOS…………..4.27
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR………..4.18  DEPARTURE…..+0.50
ASOS…………..4.27

SNOWFALL (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST)
TOTAL SNOWFALL 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M………15.5  DEPARTURE…..+15.0
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE MONTH……………25.4  DEPARTURE…..+11.0
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE SEASON…………..36.4  DEPARTURE……+6.0

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

1/1  31/18/25/-2/0.00/0.0/544/99              29 SSW RMY 30
1/2  37/26/32/+5/0.00/0.0/314/57              35 WSW RMY 38
1/3  34/21/28/+2/0.67/2.5/017/03              25 SE  RMY 26
1/4  51/33/42/+16/0.48/0.0/000/00             30 SSW RMY N/A
1/5  46/13/30/+4/0.00/0.0/542/98              48 W   RMY 54
1/6  15/10/13/-13/0.02/0.4/000/00             29 W   RMY N/A
1/7  22/01/12/-14/0.01/0.3/394/71             43 WNW RMY 47
1/8  16/-5/6/-20/0.00/0.0/539/97              39 WNW RMY N/A
1/9  27/16/22/-4/0.08/0.9/201/36              35 WSW RMY 38
1/10 22/11/17/-8/0.00/0.0/541/97              26 WNW RMY 27
1/11 31/9/20/-5/45/0.00/0.0/123/22            26 SSW RMY N/A
1/12 36/31/34/+9/0.23/T/000/00                29 NNW RMY N/A
1/13 33/11/22/-3/0.00/0.0/524/93              30 NNW RMY 29
1/14 22/11/17/-8/T/T/000/00                   18 NNW RMY 16
1/15 27/20/24/-1/0.09/0.8/000/00              20 WSW RMY 22
1/16 35/12/24/-1/T/T/341/60                   46 WSW RMY 50
1/17 21/5/13/-12/0.00/0.0/558/98              30 WNW RMY N/A
1/18 50/19/35/+10/0.16/0.0/000/00             47 SE  RMY 52
1/19 44/28/36/+11/T/0.0/304/53                33 W   RMY 36
1/20 36/23/30/+5/0.00/0.0/495/86              28 W   RMY 28
1/21 30/17/24/-1/0.00.0.0./358/62             21 WNW RMY N/A
1/22 36/25/31/+6/T/T/…/..                   20 WNW RMY 20
1/23 36/18/27/+2/0.00/0.0/…/..              25 SSW RMY 26
1/24 32/27/30/+5/0.84/5.0/000/00              24 SSW RMY N/A
1/25 34/17/26/+1/0.00/0.0/…/..              31 W   RMY 33
1/26 26/9/18/-7/0.50/5.6/…/..               45 N   RMY N/A

1/27 morning low temp: 12F since midnight; normal low is now 17F

DAILY RECORDS FOR JANUARY 2015
None so far.

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

RECORDS FOR JANUARY 27
HIGH 63F IN 1974
LOW -12F IN 1924
PRECIP 1.59 INS. IN 1996
SNOWFALL 11.7 INS. IN 2011
PEAK GUST 91 MPH SSE IN 1996

RECORDS FOR JANUARY 28
HIGH 59F IN 1916
LOW -9F IN 1888, 1924
PRECIP 2.18 INS. IN 1897
SNOWFALL 15.0 INS. IN 1897
PEAK GUST 78e MPH SSE IN 1977

TODAY’S REPORT PREPARED BY: Brian Fitzgerald