Wednesday, February 21, 2024

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

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2024
ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME (EST)
SUNRISE: 0633E
SUNSET:  1724E

A DECENT DAY WITH A MIX OF SUN AND CLOUDS ALONG WITH SEASONABLE
TEMPERATURES….

We started the day with plenty of sunshine, however both high
and low clouds have been moving through with varying amounts of
coverage. Nonetheless, it’s been a rather pleasant day with
temperatures near seasonable levels and very light wind.

As mentioned, the temperature has been about what one would expect
for today’s date, reaching the upper 30s. The dew point has been
gradually rising through the day, especially as we moved into the
early afternoon hours and the wind became more or less onshore.
Values have risen from the mid teens to the low 20s.

The wind has been rather light and variable, but trending toward
more of an onshore direction this afternoon. The average speed for
the day so far is only around 5mph. The peak gust thus far is
around 18mph, which occurred just after 10am.

Visibility has been somewhat limited today due to haziness. The
view has been generally 40-50 miles all day.

The maximum temperature so far today is 38F degrees, which is equal
to the normal high of 38F. The minimum temperature since midnight is
24F degrees, which is 3 degrees above the normal low of 21F.

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Today’s Observations:

7 A.M.
Weather: Thin scattered cirrus, few stratocumulus/stratocumulus standing
lenticularis distant N-E-SSW
Temperature: 25F; Dew Point: 16F; Relative Humidity: 67%
Wind: WNW @ 3 kts, wind light
Sea-level pressure: 1034.5 mb; 30.55 in. Hg: rising, then more slowly
Visibility: 50 miles, hazy
6-hr Max temp: 25F
6-hr Min temp: 24F
24-hr Precip: 0.00 ins
24-hr Snowfall: 0.0 ins
Snow Depth: 2 inches
BHO SA 1155 250 -SCT 50 345/25/16/3003/055/ FEW SC/SCSL DSNT N-E-SSW
HAZY WND LGT/ 8/501 4/002 51010 10025 20024

10 A.M.
Weather: Broken stratocumulus, thin broken cirrus
Temperature: 33F; Dew Point: 18F; Relative Humidity: 55%
Wind: SE @ 8 kts
Sea-level pressure: 1034.5 mb; 30.55 in. Hg: rising, then falling
Visibility: 40 miles, hazy
3-hr Precip:  0.00 ins
3-hr Snowfall: 0.0 ins
BHO SA 1455 E28 BKN 250 -BKN 40 345/33/18/1308/055/ HAZY/ 8/501 50000

1 P.M.
Weather: Thin scattered cirrus, few stratocumulus distant NNW-NE-SE-SW
Temperature: 37F; Dew Point: 22F; Relative Humidity: 56%
Wind: E @ 3 kts, wind light
Sea-level pressure: 1031.0 mb; 30.45 in. Hg: falling, then more rapidly
Visibility: 50 miles, hazy
6-hr Max temp: 38F
6-hr Min temp: 25F
6-hr Precip:  0.00 ins
6-hr Snowfall: 0.0 ins
Snow Depth: 2 inches
BHO SA 1755 250 -SCT 50 310/37/22/0803/045/ FEW SC DSNT NNW-NE-SE-SW
HAZY WND LGT/ 8/501 4/002 58035 10038 20025

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SUMMARY FOR TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2024

TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
MAX…….36   NORMAL…..38
MIN…….16   NORMAL…..20
MEAN……26   NORMAL…..29

DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR (1991-2020) NORMAL…………-3
TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH………………….+101 [+4.9 DEGREES/DAY]

HEATING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON: JUL 2023 THRU JUN 2024)
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY……………39  DEPARTURE……..+3
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE MONTH…………..650  DEPARTURE……-101
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE SEASON…………3616  DEPARTURE……-538
TOTAL HEATING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE…….3424  DEPARTURE……+192

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)……….E22 N    @  05:59 A.M.
VECTOR #1 (1-Sec)……….22 N    @  04:24 A.M.
VECTOR #2 (1-Sec)……….21 NNW  @  04:25 A.M.
DAVIS #1……………….20 NNW  @  04:23 A.M.
DAVIS #2 ………………21 NNE  @  04:25 A.M.
RMY #1 (Instantaneous)…..21 NNW  @  05:36 A.M.
RMY #2 (Instantaneous)…..22 NNW  @  04:25 A.M.
MERLIN…………………M
RICHARDS (C5C) (Inst)……20      @  04:23 A.M.

FASTEST MILE:
CONTACTING ANEMOMETER/OFFICIAL………………13 N    @  04:16 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE VECTOR #1 AVERAGE…………..14      @  04:25 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE VECTOR #2 AVERAGE…………..15      @  04:25 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS #1 AVERAGE……………14 NNW  @  04:25 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS #2 AVERAGE……………15 N    @  04:25 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RMY #1 AVERAGE……………..14 NNW  @  04:25 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RMY #2 AVERAGE……………..15 NNW  @  04:25 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RICHARDS (C5C) AVERAGE………14      @  04:25 A.M.

AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION:
CONTACTING/OFFICIAL…….6.6 NNW [158 total miles] VECTOR #1……………..7.1
VECTOR #2……………..7.3
DAVIS #1………………6.9 NNW
DAVIS #2………………6.1 N
RMY #1………………..6.9 NW
RMY #2………………..7.2 NW
RICHARDS (C5C)…………7.6

PRECIPITATION (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST):
TOTAL PRECIPITATION 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M……..0.00 DEPARTURE…..-0.15
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH…………..0.73 DEPARTURE…..-2.03
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR (2024)……..9.97 DEPARTURE…..+2.71

SNOWFALL (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST):
TOTAL SNOWFALL 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M…………..0.0 DEPARTURE……-0.7
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE MONTH………………..4.7 DEPARTURE……-8.5
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE SEASON (2023-2024)……25.6 DEPARTURE…..-21.3

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PRELIMINARY CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR FEBRUARY 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

2/1   40/30/35/+9/0.00/0.0/012/02         25 SW  VEC1 24 SW  RMY 26
2/2   39/31/35/+9/0.03/T/000/00           23 N   VEC1 24 N   RMY 25
2/3   35/26/31/+5/0.00/0.0/338/56         26 N   VEC1 26 NNW RMY 28
2/4   39/20/30/+4/0.00/0.0/607/100        28 NNW VEC1 28 NNW RMY 27
2/5   39/22/31/+4/0.00/0.0/597/98         29 N   VEC1 29 N   RMY 30
2/6   35/26/31/+4/0.00/0.0/251/41         26 N   VEC1 26 N   RMY 26
2/7   39/26/33/+6/0.00/0.0/436/71         21 NE  VEC1 21 NE  RMY 24
2/8   44/29/37/+10/0.00/0.0/457/74        16 S   VEC1 16 S   RMY 16
2/9   47/30/39/+12/0.00/0.0/229/37        31 SSW VEC1 31 SSW RMY 31
2/10  58/35/47/+20/0.02/0.0/385/62        26 NW  VEC1 26 NW  RMY 30
2/11  45/34/40/+13/0.00/0.0/119/19        30 NW  VEC1 30 NW  RMY 31
2/12  47/29/38/+10/0.00/0.0/470/75        21 N   VEC1 20 N   RMY 20
2/13  35/25/30/+2/0.65/4.3/000/00         40 NNE VEC1 41 NNE RMY M
2/14  29/21/25/-3/0.00/0.0/562/89         53 NW  VEC1 53 NW  RMY 54
2/15  38/18/28/0/0.03/0.4/…/..          37 SW  VEC1 36 SW  RMY 37
2/16  37/26/32/+4/T/T/…/..              50 WNW VEC1 47 WNW RMY 51
2/17  33/21/27/-2/T/T/…/..              36 WNW VEC1 38 WNW RMY 38
2/18  35/17/26/-3/0.00/0.0/…/..         39 SW  VEC1 40 SW  RMY 41
2/19  36/21/29/0/0.00/0.0/…/..          29 WNW VEC1 29 WNW RMY 28
2/20  36/16/26/-3/0.00/0.0/…/..         22 N   VEC1 22 N   RMY 21

2/21 The low since midnight is 24F, the daily normal low is 21F

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FEBRUARY 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 FEBRUARY 21
HIGH 70F IN 2018
LOW -6F IN 1950
PRECIP 2.42 INCHES IN 1898
SNOWFALL 9.0 INCHES IN 1929
PEAK GUST 72 MPH WNW IN 1967

RECORDS FOR FEBRUARY 22
HIGH 63F IN 1997
LOW -1F IN 1918
PRECIP 1.38 INCHES IN 1900
SNOWFALL 8.0 INCHES IN 1893
PEAK GUST 74 MPH S IN 1974

TODAY’S REPORT PREPARED BY: Matt Douglas