Tuesday, March 3, 2020

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

DAILY DISCUSSION AND CLIMATE SUMMARY
TUESDAY, MARCH 3, 2020
ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME

RECORD WARMTH ATOP GREAT BLUE HILL TODAY….

It doesn’t get much better than this in early March in
southern New England. Temperatures have soared into the
low-mid 60s today with an abundance of sunshine and a light
southerly breeze.

The low temperature since midnight is 45 degrees, if
this holds through midnight, this will be a new record
high minimum for the date. The previous record is 41
degrees in 1921.

The high so far today has reached 64 degrees, this ties
the record high for the date, previously set in 1991.

Visibility has been limited most of the day, only averaging
30-40 miles this morning, but has increased to 60 miles early
this afternoon.

The high so far today is 64F degrees, this is 23 degrees
above the normal high of 41F. The low since midnight is 45F,
22 degrees above the normal low of 23F.

Last month is tied for the 2nd Lowest February snowfall,
and winter 2019-2020 was the fifth warmest on record:

BHO Lowest February Snowfall, inches (1885-2020):

1) 0.4 in 1937
2) 0.6 in 1984
0.6 in 2020
4) 1.0 in 1925
1.0 in 1998
6) 1.5 in 1941
7) 1.8 in 1912
1.8 in 1954

BHO Warmest Winter (Dec-Feb) Mean Temperature, deg F (1886-2020):

1) 34.9 in 2015-2016
2) 34.8 in 2001-2002
3) 34.3 in 2011-2012
4) 32.9 in 2016-2017
5) 32.7 in 2019-2020
6) 32.6 in 1997-1998
7) 32.3 in 1936-1937
32.3 in 1998-1999

Today’s Observations:

7 A.M.
Weather: Scattered altocumulus, broken cirrus
Temperature: 46F; Dew Point: 40F; Relative Humidity: 79%
Wind: SW at 7 kts
Sea-level pressure: 29.76 ins. Hg: rising, then more rapidly
Visibility: 30 miles, hazy
6-hr Max temp: 48F
6-hr Min temp: 46F
24-hr Precip: Trace
24-hr Snowfall: 0.0 ins.
BHO SA 1155 120 SCT E180 BKN 250 –BKN 30 079/46/40/2207/976/
HAZY/ 8/071 53007 70000 10048 20046

10 A.M.
Weather: Thin broken cirrus, few small cumulus W-N
Temperature: 55F; Dew Point: 39F; Relative Humidity: 54%
Wind: WSW at 3 kts
Sea-level pressure: 29.78 ins. Hg: rising, then falling
Visibility: 40 miles
3-hr Precip:  0.00 ins.
3-hr Snowfall: 0.0 ins.
BHO SA 1455 E250 –BKN 40 084/55/39/2503/978/ FEW SML CU W-N
HAZY WND L/V/ 8/101 50005

1 P.M.
Weather: Thin broken cirrus, few small cumulus all quadrants
Temperature: 63F; Dew Point: 39F; Relative Humidity: 41%
Wind: S at 9G18 kts
Sea-level pressure: 29.70 ins. Hg: falling, then more rapidly
Visibility: 60 miles
6-hr Max temp: 63F
6-hr Min temp: 45F
6-hr Precip:  0.00 ins.
6-hr Snowfall: 0.0 ins.
BHO SA 1755 E250 –BKN 60 058/63/39/1809G18/970/ FEW SML CU ALQDS/
8/101 58026 10063 20045

SUMMARY FOR MONDAY, MARCH 2, 2020

TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
MAX…..52   NORMAL…..40
MIN…..24   NORMAL…..22
MEAN….38   NORMAL…..31

DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR NORMAL……………….+7
TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH………………. 0 [-0.2 DEGREES/DAY]

HEATING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON JUL TO JUN)
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY……………27  DEPARTURE……..-7
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE MONTH……………68  DEPARTURE……..+1
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE SEASON…………4208  DEPARTURE……-427
TOTAL HEATING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE…….4558  DEPARTURE……-350

PEAK GUST AND AVERAGE WIND SPEED (MPH)
PEAK WIND GUST FOR YESTERDAY………………..40 S   AT  6:55 P.M.
AERO…………………….39 S   AT  3:26 P.M.
ASOS…………………….41 S   AT  6:55 P.M.
DAVIS……………………44 SSW AT  6:50 P.M. RMY 41
FASTEST MILE FOR YESTERDAY………………….31 S   AT  1:59 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE ASOS AVERAGE……………….30 S   AT  1:47 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS AVERAGE………………29 S   AT  1:05 P.M.
AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION…………..15.5 S
ASOS…………………..14.7
DAVIS………………….14.8 S [185 deg.]

PRECIPITATION (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST)
TOTAL PRECIPITATION 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M…TRACE  DEPARTURE……-0.17
ASOS…………..0.00
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH………TRACE  DEPARTURE……-0.35
ASOS…………..0.00
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR………..4.66  DEPARTURE……-4.11
ASOS…………..4.91

SNOWFALL (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST)
TOTAL SNOWFALL 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M……….0.0  DEPARTURE…….-0.5
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE MONTH…………..TRACE  DEPARTURE…….-1.0
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE SEASON…………..24.8  DEPARTURE……-23.2

PRELIMINARY CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR FEBRUARY 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

02/01  38/30/34/+8/0.01/T/000/00         14 WSW AERO 14 WSW RMY N/A
02/02  40/30/35/+9/0.00/0.0/078/13        18 W   AERO 18 WNW RMY 18
02/03  44/27/36/+10/0.00/0.0/260/43       28 W   AERO 28 W   RMY 28
02/04  44/33/39/+13/0.00/0.0/055/09       19 E   AERO 16 E   RMY 18
02/05  41/30/36/+10/0.00/0.0/000/00       20 NNW AERO 19 NNW RMY N/A
02/06  31/30/34/+8/0.00/0.0/000/00        29 E   AERO 28 E   RMY 27
02/07  53/25/39/+12/…./0.1/000/00       71 WSW AERO 71 SSW RMY 73
02/08  33/20/27/0/T/T/616/100              46 W   AERO 44 W   RMY 44
02/09  33/15/24/-3/T/T/303/49             30 SSE AERO 29 SSE RMY N/A
02/10  42/33/38/+11/…./0.0/000/00       39 SSW AERO 39 SSW RMY 39
02/11  40/36/38/+11/…./0.0/000/00       24 W   AERO 23 W   RMY N/A
02/12  41/30/36/+9/0.00/0.0/314/50        37 W   AERO 36 W   RMY N/A
02/13  35/31/34/+6/.00/0.0/000/00         29 SSW AERO 29 SSW RMY N/A
02/14  33/8/21/-7/0.00/0.0/506/80         32 WNW AERO 32 NW  RMY 34
02/15  27/4/16/-12/0.00/0.0/508/80        31 SSW AERO 31 SSW RMY N/A
02/16  40/23/32/+4/0.00/0.0/006/01        38 SW  AERO 38 SW  RMY N/A
02/17  44/28/36/+8/0.00/0.0/582/91        25 WNW AERO 24 WNW RMY 24
02/18  37/27/32/+3/0.31/T/…./..          26 SE  AERO 26 SE  RMY N/A
02/19  42/25/34/+5/0.00/0.0/…./..        45 W   AERO 46 W   RMY 44
02/20  31/18/25/-4/0.00/0.0/…./..        32 W   AERO 32 W   RMY N/A
02/21  30/11/21/-8/0.00/0.0/…./..        24 NNW AERO 21 N   RMY N/A
02/22  44/23/34/+5/0.00/0.0/…./..        26 W   AERO 24 W   RMY 27
02/23  53/30/42/+12/0.00/0.0/…./..       21 SW  AERO 22 WSW RMY 23
02/24  60/32/46/+16/0.00/0.0/…./..       29 S   AERO 29 SSW RMY 31
02/25  53/40/47/+17/…./0.0/…./..       17 NE  AERO 18 ENE RMY 17
02/26  45/39/42/+12/…/0.0/…./..        23 ENE AERO 24 E   RMY N/A
02/27  49/27/38/+7/0.00/0.0/…./..        51 W   AERO 53 W   RMY 52
02/28  36/25/31/0/0.00/0.0/…./…        38 SW  AERO 38 SW  RMY 36
02/29  35/19/27/-4/0.00/0.0/…./..         32 W   AERO 32 W   RMY 34

PRELIMINARY CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR MARCH 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

03/01  33/15/24/-7/0.00/0.0/…./..        28 WNW AERO 28 WNW RMY 27
03/02  52/24/38/+7/T/T/…./..             40 S   AERO 39 S   RMY 41

03/03 The low since midnight is 45F, daily normal minimum is 23F

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

RECORDS FOR MARCH 3
HIGH 64 IN 1991
LOW -1 IN 1950
PRECIP 2.36 INS. IN 1972
SNOWFALL 12.8 INS. IN 1960
PEAK GUST 78e MPH E IN 1942

RECORDS FOR MARCH 4
HIGH 69 IN 1974
LOW -5 IN 1950
PRECIP 1.80 IN 1960
SNOWFALL 17.3 IN 1960
PEAK GUST 81e MPH SSW IN 1971

TODAY’S REPORT PREPARED BY: Matt Douglas and Ann Murphy