Wednesday, December 6, 2023

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

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2023
ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME (EST)
SUNRISE: 0659E
SUNSET:  1612E

FIRST MEASURABLE SNOWFALL OF THE SEASON TODAY ON BLUE HILL…

Light snow began falling just before 5:30am this morning and lasted
until the late morning hours before finally tapering off. Snowfall
amounted to 0.3″ total, which melted down to 0.01″ of liquid.

There is a correction to the report issued early this morning, the
number of days between measurable snowfall should be 266 days, not
265. As such, this is solely in 6th place on the rank list. Please
see the updated list below.

Some partial sunshine is being observed early this afternoon,
however temperatures are quite cold with readings just getting to
the freezing mark around the 1pm observation. For reference, the
normal high for today’s date is 43F.

The wind has been on the light side once again today with an
average speed of around 8mph. The highest gust so far today is
around 17mph, occurring before the 1pm observation.

Visibility was limited to an average of 7 miles early this morning
due to the snow, but has been gradually improving into early this
afternoon. By 1pm the view was up to a stellar 70 miles!

The maximum temperature so far today is 32F degrees, this is 11
degrees below the normal high of 43F. The minimum temperature since
midnight is 26F degrees, which is 2 degrees below the normal low
of 28F.

As mentioned above, we are in 6th place for the longest period
without measurable snow. Here is the corrected list of ranks as
compiled by our Chief Scientist, Mike Iacono.

BHO Longest Periods Without Measurable Snowfall (1886-2023):

1) 304 days, 15 March 1999 – 13 January 2000
2) 287 days, 17 March – 29 December, 1941
3) 276 days, 28 March – 29 December, 2015
4) 270 days, 6 March – 1 December, 1902
5) 269 days, 22 March – 16 December, 1973
6) 266 days, 15 March – 6 December, 2023
7) 265 days, 12 March – 2 December, 1983
8) 264 days, 13 March – 2 December, 1966
9) 262 days, 12 March – 29 November, 1948
262 days, 14 April 1953 – 1 January 1954

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Today’s Observations:

7 A.M.
Weather: Broken stratocumulus, overcast nimbostratus, light snow
Temperature: 27F; Dew Point: 26F; Relative Humidity: 96%
Wind: N @ 7 kts
Sea-level pressure: 1016.2 mb; 30.01 in. Hg: falling, then rising
Visibility: 7 miles, thin fog
6-hr Max temp: 28F
6-hr Min temp: 26F
24-hr Precip:  Trace
24-hr Snowfall: 0.1 inches
Snow Depth: Trace
BHO SA 1155 E30 BKN 50 OVC 7S- 162/27/26/3607/001/ THN F ALQDS
TOTAL NEW SNW PST 24 HRS 0.1 INS/ 8/52/ 4/000 53007 6000/ 70000
10028 20026

10 A.M.
Weather: Overcast stratocumulus, very light snow
Temperature: 29F; Dew Point: 27F; Relative Humidity: 91%
Wind: N @ 5 kts, wind light
Sea-level pressure: 1015.9 mb; 30.00 in. Hg: falling, then steady
Visibility: 20 miles, thin fog
3-hr Precip:  0.01 inches
3-hr Snowfall: 0.2 inches
BHO SA 1455 E20 OVC 20S- 159/29/27/3605/000/ THN F ALQDS PCPN VRY LGT
WND LGT TOTAL NEW SNW PST 3 HRS 0.2 INS/ 8/5// 56003 6001/

1 P.M.
Weather: Broken stratocumulus, broken cirrus
Temperature: 32F; Dew Point: 25F; Relative Humidity: 75%
Wind: NNW @ 8 kts
Sea-level pressure: 1014.0 mb; 29.94 in. Hg: falling, then more slowly
Visibility: 70 miles
6-hr Max temp: 32F
6-hr Min temp: 27F
6-hr Precip:  0.01 inches
6-hr Snowfall: 0.2 inches
Snow Depth: Trace
BHO SA 1755 E20 BKN 35 BKN 250 BKN 70 140/32/25/3308/994/ TOTAL NEW SNW
PST 6 HRS 0.2 INS/ 8/501 4/000 56019 6001/ 10032 20027

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SUMMARY FOR TUESDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2023

TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
MAX…….38   NORMAL…..43
MIN…….28   NORMAL…..28
MEAN……33   NORMAL…..36

DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR (1991-2020) NORMAL……….-3
TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH…………………+28 [+5.4 DEGREES/DAY]

HEATING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON: JUL 2023 THRU JUN 2024)
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY……………32  DEPARTURE……..+3
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE MONTH…………..115  DEPARTURE…….-29
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE SEASON…………1202  DEPARTURE……-146
TOTAL HEATING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE…….1101  DEPARTURE……+101

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)……….E23 NNW  @  09:22 A.M.
VECTOR #1 (1-Sec)……….24 NW   @  01:38 A.M.
VECTOR #2 (1-Sec)……….28 NW   @  01:35 A.M.
DAVIS #1……………….21 NW   @  01:35 A.M.
DAVIS #2 ………………24 NW   @  01:35 A.M.
RMY #1 (Instantaneous)…..24 NW   @  01:38 A.M.
RMY #2 (Instantaneous)…..26 NW   @  01:35 A.M.
MERLIN…………………22 NW
RICHARDS (C5C) (Inst)……23      @  01:38 A.M.

FASTEST MILE:
CONTACTING ANEMOMETER/OFFICIAL………………16 NW   @  01:39 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE VECTOR #1 AVERAGE…………..17      @  01:39 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE VECTOR #2 AVERAGE…………..19      @  01:36 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS #1 AVERAGE……………18 WNW  @  01:39 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS #2 AVERAGE……………18 NW   @  01:36 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RMY #1 AVERAGE……………..17 NW   @  01:39 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RMY #2 AVERAGE……………..18 NW   @  01:36 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RICHARDS (C5C) AVERAGE………17      @  01:39 A.M.

AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION:
CONTACTING/OFFICIAL…….7.4 NNW [178 total miles] VECTOR #1……………..7.7
VECTOR #2……………..8.0
DAVIS #1………………7.4 NNW
DAVIS #2………………7.5 N
RMY #1………………..7.5 NNW
RMY #2………………..7.8 NNW
RICHARDS (C5C)…………8.1

PRECIPITATION (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST):
TOTAL PRECIPITATION 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M…….TRACE DEPARTURE…..-0.19
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH…………..0.87 DEPARTURE…..-0.02
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR…………..52.24 DEPARTURE…..+2.88

SNOWFALL (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST):
TOTAL SNOWFALL 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M…………..0.1 DEPARTURE……-0.2
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE MONTH………………..0.1 DEPARTURE……-1.1
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE SEASON (2023-2024)…….0.1 DEPARTURE……-3.6

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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  51/38/45/+8/0.04/0.0/213/38         29 SW  VEC1 28 SW  RMY 29
12/2  48/43/46/+9/T/0.0/000/00            18 SSW VEC1 19 SSW RMY 19
12/3  44/41/43/+7/0.76/0.0/000/00         31 ENE VEC1 32 ENE RMY 33
12/4  49/37/43/+7/0.07/0.0/…/..         23 W   VEC1 22 W   RMY 23
12/5  38/28/33/-3/0.00/0.0/…/..         23 NNW VEC1 24 NW  RMY 24

12/6 The low since midnight is 26F, 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 6
HIGH 70 IN 2001
LOW 5 IN 1901,1935
PRECIP 2.78 INS. IN 2003
SNOWFALL 17.0 INS. IN 2003
PEAK GUST 74 MPH NW IN 1981

RECORDS FOR DECEMBER 7
HIGH 74 IN 1998
LOW 6 IN 1906
PRECIP 1.67 INS. IN 1953
SNOWFALL 6.3 INS. IN 2003
PEAK GUST 76e SE IN 1976

TODAY’S REPORT PREPARED BY: Matt Douglas