Wednesday, December 4, 2024

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

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2024
ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME (EST)
SUNRISE: 0657E
SUNSET:  1612E

SUNSHINE WITH INCREASING HIGH CLOUDS, STILL ON THE COLD SIDE….

Today hasn’t been a terrible day at all despite the continued
cold air mass in place. Plenty of sunshine has been the theme so
far, however, increasing cirrus clouds are rapidly approaching
from the south and west as we push through the early afternoon.
These clouds are ahead of our next system which promises to bring
rain to the area tomorrow. It’ll likely be cold enough at the onset
and tail end that we may get our first flakes season here at Blue
Hill this evening, and again tomorrow evening. Stay tuned!

Temperatures continue on the chilly side with readings reaching the
mid to upper 30s early this afternoon. This morning was the 5th one
in a row to start the day in the low to mid 20s. The dew point is
dropping rather significantly early this morning, from the low 20s
this morning to the mid teens early this afternoon. As such, the air
is very dry out there this afternoon!

The wind has mainly been on the light side today. It has gradually
backed from the west to the southwest as the day has progressed.
The average speed for the day is only around 8mph. The peak gust
so far today is 17mph which occurred around 5am this morning.

Visibility has been excellent all day, generally holding in the
70-80 miles range.

The maximum temperature for today is 39F degrees, which is 5 degrees
below the normal high of 44F. The minimum temperature since midnight
is 22F degrees, which is 6 degrees below the normal low of 28F.

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Today’s Observations:

7 A.M.
Weather: Clear, few stratocumulus/cumulus distant NNE-SE-SSW,
few cirrus distant S-WSW
Temperature: 23F; Dew Point: 19F; Relative Humidity: 84%
Wind: WNW @ 8 kts
Sea-level pressure: 1023.8 mb; 30.23 in. Hg: rising unsteadily
Visibility: 70 miles
6-hr Max temp: 27F
6-hr Min temp: 22F
24-hr Precip:  0.00 inches
24-hr Snowfall: 0.0 inches
Snow Depth: 0 inches
BHO SA 1155 CLR 70 238/23/19/3008/023/ FEW SC/CU DSNT NNE-SE-SSW
FEW CI DSNT S-WSW/ 8/801 52007 10027 20022

10 A.M.
Weather: Clear, few stratocumulus/cumulus distant NNE-E-S,
few cirrus all quadrants
Temperature: 32F; Dew Point: 21F; Relative Humidity: 64%
Wind: W @ 4 kts, wind light and variable
Sea-level pressure: 1024.0 mb; 30.24 in. Hg: rising, then falling
Visibility: 80 miles
3-hr Precip:  0.00 inches
3-hr Snowfall: 0.0 inches
BHO SA 1455 CLR 80 240/32/21/2604/024/ FEW SC/CU DSNT NNE-E-S
FEW CI ALQDS WND L/V/ 8/801 50002

1 P.M.
Weather: Thin scattered cirrus, few stratocumulus distant NE-ESE
and distant S-SW, few altocumulus distant NW-NNW
Temperature: 39F; Dew Point: 15F; Relative Humidity: 38%
Wind: SW @ 6 kts, wind light
Sea-level pressure: 1021.1 mb; 30.15 in. Hg: falling, then more rapidly
Visibility: 70 miles
6-hr Max temp: 39F
6-hr Min temp: 23F
6-hr Precip:  0.00 inches
6-hr Snowfall: 0.0 inches
Snow Depth: 0 inches
BHO SA 1755 250 -SCT 70 211/39/15/2206/015/ FEW SC DSNT NE-ESE
AND DSNT S-SW FEW AC DSNT NW-NNW WND LGT/ 8/551 58029 10039 20023

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SUMMARY FOR TUESDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2024

TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
MAX…….36  NORMAL…..44
MIN…….20  NORMAL…..29
MEAN……28  NORMAL…..36

DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR (1991-2020) NORMAL…………..-8
TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH…………………….-22 [-7.5 DEGREES/DAY]

HEATING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON: JUL 2024 THRU JUN 2025)
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY……………37  DEPARTURE……..+8
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE MONTH…………..107  DEPARTURE…….+22
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE SEASON…………1050  DEPARTURE……-239
TOTAL HEATING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE…….1148  DEPARTURE…….-98

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

F420C (Official)………..21 NW   @   10:54 A.M.
VECTOR #1 (1-Sec)……….21 WNW  @   10:37 A.M.
VECTOR #2 (1-Sec)……….21 NW   @   10:54 A.M.
DAVIS #1……………….20 NW   @   10:54 A.M.
DAVIS #2 ………………20 NW   @   11:46 A.M.
RMY #1 (Instantaneous)…..21 NW   @   10:54 A.M.
RMY #2 (Instantaneous)…..20 WNW  @   11:46 A.M.
MERLIN…………………20 NW
RICHARDS (C5C) (Inst)…..OTS

FASTEST MILE:
CONTACTING ANEMOMETER/OFFICIAL………………15 NW   @   12:20 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE VECTOR #1 AVERAGE…………..14      @   12:18 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE VECTOR #2 AVERAGE…………..16      @   10:40 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS #1 AVERAGE……………15 WNW  @   11:59 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS #2 AVERAGE……………15 WNW  @   10:41 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RMY #1 AVERAGE……………..14 WNW  @   11:59 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RMY #2 AVERAGE……………..15 WNW  @   10:40 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RICHARDS (C5C) AVERAGE……..OTS

AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION:
CONTACTING/OFFICIAL………8.0 NW [192 total miles] VECTOR #1……………….8.3
VECTOR #2……………….8.8
DAVIS #1………………..8.6 WNW
DAVIS #2………………..8.7 NW
RMY #1………………….8.2 WNW
RMY #2………………….8.7 WNW
RICHARDS (C5C)…………..OTS

PRECIPITATION (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST):
TOTAL PRECIPITATION 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M……..0.00 DEPARTURE…..-0.17
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH…………..0.00 DEPARTURE…..-0.52
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR (2024)…….47.47 DEPARTURE…..-1.52

SNOWFALL (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST):
TOTAL SNOWFALL 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M…………..0.0 DEPARTURE……-0.3
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE MONTH………………..0.0 DEPARTURE……-0.7
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE SEASON (2024-2025)…….0.0 DEPARTURE……-3.2

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PRELIMINARY CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR DECEMBER 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

12/1   37/23/30/-7/0.00/0.0/…/..        21 WSW VEC1 21 WSW RMY 21
12/2   38/22/30/-7/0.00/0.0/…/..        18 W   VEC1 18 W   RMY 18
12/3   36/20/28/-8/0.00/0.0/…/..        21 NW  VEC1 21 WNW RMY 21

12/4 The low since midnight is 22F, the daily normal low is 28F.

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DECEMBER 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 DECEMBER 4
HIGH 67 IN 1998
LOW -4 IN 1940
PRECIP 1.87 INS. IN 1968
SNOWFALL 6.0 INS. IN 1907
PEAK GUST 73 MPH WNW IN 1980

RECORDS FOR DECEMBER 5
HIGH 65 IN 2001
LOW -1 IN 1926
PRECIP 2.86 INS. IN 1993
SNOWFALL 7.0 INS. IN 1893, 1895, 1926, 1981
PEAK GUST 67 MPH WNW IN 1961, S IN 1973

TODAY’S REPORT PREPARED BY: Matt Douglas