Tuesday, January 9, 2024

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

TUESDAY, JANUARY 9, 2024
ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME (EST)
SUNRISE: 0713E
SUNSET:  1630E

CLOUDS ARE INCREASING AND THICKENING AHEAD OF OUR NEXT DYNAMIC
STORM SYSTEM….

Today has been the calm before the storm! Clouds have been
increasing since early this morning, but have been lowering
and thickening as we push into the early afternoon hours.

The temperature has been slow to rise today as we’re stuck
under an inversion, more than likely being made a bit stronger
by the snow cover across the region. Readings finally reached
the freezing mark by the 1pm observation, after starting the
day in the low 20s. The dew point has been steadily rising
through the day, more so once the wind became onshore. We
started the day with readings in the upper teens, and have
reached the upper 20s by early this afternoon.

Winds have been on the light side, as they’ve gradually veered
from north early this morning to southeast by early this
afternoon. The average speed for the day so far is only around
7mph. The peak gust so far is around 17mph.

Visibility has been limited due to haziness, it’s been holding
between 40-50 miles all day.

The maximum temperature so far today is 33F degrees, this is 2
degrees below the normal high of 35F. The minimum temperature
so far since midnight is 23F degrees, this is 4 degrees above
the normal low of 19F.

Both Houghton’s and Ponkapoag ponds were completely frozen for
the first time this season this morning. This ties for 3rd
latest freeze for Houghton’s pond on record going back to 1885.
The rankings are listed below, as compiled by our Chief Scientist,
Mike Iacono.

BHO Latest Houghton’s Pond First Freeze Date (1885-2024):

1)  18 January 2007
2)  10 January 2022
3)  9 January 2012
9 January 2024
5)  5 January 1974
5 January 2016
7)  4 January 2013
8)  2 January 1924
2 January 2009
10) 1 January 2015

————————————————————–

Today’s Observations:

7 A.M.
Weather: Overcast cirrus, few breaks in overcast distant NE-SE,
few stratocumulus offshore distant NE-SE
Temperature: 24F; Dew Point: 19F; Relative Humidity: 81%
Wind: N @ 5 kts, wind light
Sea-level pressure: 1031.0 mb; 30.45 in. Hg: falling, then rising
Visibility: 40 miles
6-hr Max temp: 25F
6-hr Min temp: 23F
24-hr Precip: 0.00 inches
24-hr Snowfall: 0.0 inches
Snow Depth: 10 inches
BHO SA 1155 E250 OVC 40 310/24/19/3605/045/ FEW BINOVC DSNT NE-SE
FEW SC OFFSHR DSNT NE-SE WND LGT/ 8/502 4/010 53009 10025 20023

10 A.M.
Weather: Broken altocumulus/altostratus, broken cirrostratus,
overcast cirrus, few stratocumulus offshore distant NNE-ESE
Temperature: 28F; Dew Point: 24F; Relative Humidity: 83%
Wind: E @ 6 kts, wind light
Sea-level pressure: 1029.2 mb; 30.39 in. Hg: falling, then more slowly
Visibility: 50 miles
3-hr Precip: 0.0 inches
3-hr Snowfall: 0.0 inches
BHO SA 1455 E150 BKN 180 BKN 250 OVC 50 292/28/24/0906/039/ FEW SC
OFFSHR DSNT NNE-ESE SUN DMLY VSBL WND LGT/ 8/572 56018

1 P.M.
Weather: Scattered altocumulus/altostratus, overcast cirrostratus,
few stratocumulus offshore distant NE-E
Temperature: 32F; Dew Point: 28F; Relative Humidity: 84%
Wind: SE @ 8 kts
Sea-level pressure: 1026.6 mb; 30.32 in. Hg: steady, then falling
Visibility: 40 miles
6-hr Max temp: 33F
6-hr Min temp: 24F
6-hr Precip: 0.00 inches
6-hr Snowfall: 0.0 inches
Snow Depth: 9 inches
BHO SA 1755 130 SCT 200 OVC 40 266/32/28/1408/032/ FEW SC OFFSHR DSNT
NE-E SUN DMLY VSBL/ 8/577 4/009 58026 10033 20024

————————————————————–

SUMMARY FOR MONDAY, JANUARY 8, 2024

TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
MAX…….32   NORMAL…..35
MIN…….21   NORMAL…..19
MEAN……27   NORMAL…..27

DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR (1991-2020) NORMAL………….0
TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH…………………..+11 [+1.2 DEGREES/DAY]

HEATING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON: JUL 2023 THRU JUN 2024)
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY……………38  DEPARTURE………0
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE MONTH…………..286  DEPARTURE…….-12
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE SEASON…………2181  DEPARTURE……-327
TOTAL HEATING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE…….2126  DEPARTURE…….+55

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)……….E28 NW   @  10:15 A.M.
VECTOR #1 (1-Sec)……….28 NW   @  10:15 A.M.
VECTOR #2 (1-Sec)……….29 NNW  @  10:22 A.M.
DAVIS #1……………….M
DAVIS #2 ………………M
RMY #1 (Instantaneous)…..31 NW   @  10:22 A.M.
RMY #2 (Instantaneous)…..32 NNW  @  10:22 A.M.
MERLIN…………………27 NW
RICHARDS (C5C) (Inst)……M

FASTEST MILE:
CONTACTING ANEMOMETER/OFFICIAL………………19 NNW  @  12:15 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE VECTOR #1 AVERAGE…………..19      @  10:17 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE VECTOR #2 AVERAGE…………..20      @  10:17 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS #1 AVERAGE……………M
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS #2 AVERAGE……………M
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RMY #1 AVERAGE……………..20 NW   @  10:17 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RMY #2 AVERAGE……………..22 NNW  @  10:17 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RICHARDS (C5C) AVERAGE………M

AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION:
CONTACTING/OFFICIAL…….9.1 NW [219 total miles] VECTOR #1……………..9.4
VECTOR #2…………….10.1
DAVIS #1……………..M
DAVIS #2……………..M
RMY #1………………..9.8 NW
RMY #2……………….10.6 NW
RICHARDS (C5C)………..M

PRECIPITATION (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST):
TOTAL PRECIPITATION 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M……..0.00 DEPARTURE…..-0.14
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH…………..1.67 DEPARTURE…..+0.46
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR (2024)……..1.67 DEPARTURE…..+0.46

SNOWFALL (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST):
TOTAL SNOWFALL 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M…………..0.0 DEPARTURE……-0.5
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE MONTH……………….13.2 DEPARTURE……+8.9
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE SEASON (2023-2024)……13.5 DEPARTURE……-5.9

————————————————————–

PRELIMINARY CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR JANUARY 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

1/1   37/25/31/+2/0.00/0.0/296/54         15 N   VEC1 14 N   RMY 15
1/2   39/19/29/+1/0.00/0.0/550/100        17 WNW VEC1 17 WNW RMY 17
1/3   42/25/34/+6/0.00/0.0/347/63         20 WNW VEC1 21 WNW RMY 21
1/4   42/21/32/+4/T/T/…/..              37 NNW VEC1 36 NNW RMY 39
1/5   32/17/25/-3/0.00/0.0/…/..         40 NW  VEC1 39 NW  RMY 39
1/6   34/24/29/+1/0.11/0.2/…/..         36 E   VEC1 36 E   RMY 36
1/7   33/21/27/0/0.84/13.0/…/..         38 ENE VEC1 37 ENE RMY 42
1/8   32/21/27/0/0.00/0.0/…/..          28 NW  VEC1 28 NW  RMY 31

1/9 The low since midnight is 23F, the daily normal low is 19F

————————————————————–

JANUARY DAILY RECORDS TO DATE

NONE.

————————————————————–

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

RECORDS FOR JANUARY 9
HIGH 62F IN 1937
LOW -9F IN 1968
PRECIP 3.00 INS. IN 1956
SNOWFALL 10.0 INS. IN 1904
PEAK GUST 101e MPH SE IN 1978 [RECORD FOR MONTH]

RECORDS FOR JANUARY 10
HIGH 58F IN 2016
LOW -7F IN 2004
PRECIP 2.74 INS. IN 1935
SNOWFALL 8.0 INS. IN 1896
PEAK GUST 73e SE IN 1977

TODAY’S REPORT PREPARED BY: Matt Douglas