Wednesday, February 24, 2021

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

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2021
ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME
SUNRISE: 0626E
SUNSET:  1728E

A WARM, SPRINGLIKE DAY ATOP GREAT BLUE HILL….

Today we’re seeing a great visibility of 80 miles with
a thin layer of cirrus clouds this afternoon. Wind has
picked up slightly since this morning, with a max gust
of 25 mph from the southwest. Snow depth has dropped
only an inch since this morning despite mild weather and
a decent amount of sunshine.

The high so far today is 48F, 9 degrees above the daily
average max of 39F. The low since midnight is 33F, 12
degrees above the daily average low of 21F.

We are now ranked as 7th snowiest February on record.
Per our Chief Scientist, Mike Iacono:

BHO Snowiest Februarys, inches (1886-2021):

1) 83.6 in 2015
2) 65.4 in 1969
3) 51.3 in 2003
4) 45.2 in 1967
5) 40.4 in 1920
6) 39.7 in 2013
7) 38.9 in 2021 (through 7 AM on the 24th)
8) 37.0 in 1893
9) 36.0 in 1899

Today’s Observations:

7 A.M.
Weather: Clear, few cirrocumulus
Temperature: 35F; Dew Point: 26F; Relative Humidity: 70%
Wind: W @ 13 kts
Sea-level pressure: 29.94 in Hg; rising steadily
Visibility: 80 miles
6-hr Max temp: 36F
6-hr Min temp: 34F
24-hr Precip: 0.00 ins.
24-hr Snow: 0.0 ins.
Snow Depth: 10 ins.
BHO SA 1155 CLR 80 140/35/26/2713/994/ FEW CC ALQDS/
8/009 4/010 51031 10036 20034

10 A.M.
Weather: Scattered cirrostratus, few cumulus
Temperature: 43F; Dew Point: 25F; Relative Humidity: 49%
Wind: W @ 9 kts
Sea-level pressure: 30.00 in Hg; falling then rising
Visibility: 85 miles
3-hr Precip: 0.00 ins.
3-hr Snow: 0.0 ins.
BHO SA 1455 220 SCT 85 158/43/25/2709/000/ FEW CU ALQDS/
8/106 50018

1 P.M.
Weather: Broken cirrostratus
Temperature: 46F, Dew point: 24F; Relative Humidity: 42%
Wind: SW @ 14G22 kts
Sea-level pressure: 29.96 in Hg, falling, then more rapidly
Visibility: 75 miles
6-hr Max temp: 48F
6-hr Min temp: 35F
6-hr Precip: 0.00 ins.
6-hr Snow: 0.0 ins.
Snow Depth: 9 ins.
BHO SA 1755 250 BKN 75 142/46/24/2214G22/996/ 8/006 4/009
58016 10048 20035

SUMMARY FOR TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2021

TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
MAX…….43   NORMAL…..39
MIN…….31   NORMAL…..21
MEAN……37   NORMAL…..30

DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR (1981-2010) NORMAL…… +7
TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH……………….+2 [-0.1 DEGREES/DAY]

HEATING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON JUL TO JUN)
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY……………28  DEPARTURE…….-7
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE MONTH…………..860  DEPARTURE…….-4
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE SEASON…………3904  DEPARTURE…..-490
TOTAL HEATING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE…….3981  DEPARTURE……-77

PEAK WIND GUST (MPH):
420C/Official…………..31 WNW @ 11:23 P.M.
AEROVANE (south tower)…..31 WNW @ 11:23 P.M.
ASOS…………………..28 WNW @ 11:35 P.M.
DAVIS #1……………….31 SW  @  2:32 P.M.
DAVIS #2 (south tower)…..30 WNW @ 11:24 P.M.
RMY……………………31     @  2:40 P.M.
VECTOR…………………32     @ 11:33 P.M.
MERLIN…………………32

FASTEST MILE:
CONTACTING ANEMOMETER/OFFICIAL………………20 WNW @ 11:33 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE ASOS AVERAGE……………….20 WNW @ 11:35 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS #1 AVERAGE……………21 WNW @  2:32 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS #2 AVERAGE……………23 WNW @ 11:25 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RMY AVERAGE………………..19 WNW @ 11:33 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE VECTOR AVERAGE……………..20     @ 11:33 P.M.

AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION:
CONTACTING/OFFICIAL……12.3 W  [295 total miles] ASOS…………………12.2
DAVIS #1……………..12.9 W
DAVIS #2……………..12.8 W
RMY………………….11.8 W
VECTOR……………….12.3

PRECIPITATION (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST):
TOTAL PRECIPITATION 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M…….0.00  DEPARTURE….-0.16
ASOS………….0.00
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH………….5.46  DEPARTURE….+2.20
ASOS………….5.65
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR…………..7.78  DEPARTURE….+0.17
ASOS…………8.00

SNOWFALL (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST):
TOTAL SNOWFALL 24 HOURS ENDING 7 A.M………..0.0  DEPARTURE…. -0.5
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE MONTH………………38.9  DEPARTURE….+27.4
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE SEASON……………..72.3  DEPARTURE….+27.7

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   32/21/27/+1/1.86/12.7/000/00      53 NE   AERO 65 NE   RMY 62
02/02   34/29/32/+6/0.91/1.6/000/00       52 NNE  AERO 55 NE   RMY 58
02/03   34/26/30/+4/0.01/0.2/036/06       20 NW   AERO 20 NW   RMY 22
02/04   37/26/32/+6/0.02/0.7/158/26       23 NW   AERO 22 NW   RMY M
02/05   39/26/33/+7/0.01/T/000/00         33 S    AERO 32 S    RMY 30
02/06   40/28/34/+8/0.00/0.0/595/97       42 WSW  AERO 41 WSW  RMY 47
02/07   35/25/30/+3/0.71/11.6/000/00      27 WNW  AERO 28 WNW  RMY 30
02/08   27/13/20/-7/0.00/0.0/619/100      29 NW   AERO 31 WNW  RMY 32
02/09   27/18/23/-4/0.17/2.2/000/00       16 N    AERO 16 N    RMY 17
02/10   31/15/23/-4/0.00/0.0/…/..       26 WNW  AERO 25 WNW  RMY 28
02/11   31/15/23/-4/0.00/0.0/…/..       28 NW   AERO 26 NW   RMY 31
02/12   25/8/17/-10/0.00/0.0/…/..       32 NW   AERO 35 NW   RMY 36
02/13   27/15/21/-7/0.00/0.0/…/..       20 NNW  AERO 20 NNW  RMY 23
02/14   34/24/29/+1/0.00/0.0/…/..       19 ENE  AERO 16 ENE  RMY 19
02/15   31/27/29/+1/0.11/0.0/…/..       21 NNE  AERO 21 NNE  RMY 22
02/16   44/29/37/+9/0.63/0.0/…/..       39 W    AERO 41 W    RMY 43
02/17   30/19/25/-3/0.00/0.0/…/..       40 W    AERO 41 WNW  RMY 40
02/18   29/21/25/-4/0.13/1.7/…/..       24 ENE  AERO 24 ENE  RMY 25
02/19   30/24/27/-2/0.66/7.7/…/..       24 NE   AERO 23 NE   RMY 24
02/20   32/19/26/-3/0.02/0.5/…/..       32 NW   AERO 35 NW   RMY 38
02/21   33/15/24/-5/0.00/0.0/…/..       27 NW   AERO 28 NW   RMY 29
02/22   40/21/31/+2/0.22/T/…/..         41 S    AERO 41 SSE  RMY 44
02/23   43/31/37/+7/0.00/0.0/…/..       31 WNW  AERO 31 WNW  RMY 32

02/24 The low since midnight is 34F, the daily normal low is 21F

DAILY RECORDS

02/01 -RECORD SNOWFALL OF 12.7 INS, BREAKING PREVIOUS RECORD
OF 11.0 INS SET IN 1898
02/01 -RECORD PRECIPITATION OF 1.86 INS, BREAKING PREVIOUS
RECORD OF 1.30 INS SET IN 1898

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

RECORDS FOR FEBRUARY 24
HIGH 71F IN 2017 [RECORD HIGH FOR MONTH] LOW -11F IN 1894
PRECIP 3.10 INCHES IN 1969
SNOWFALL 27.4 INCHES IN 1969 [HIGHEST CALENDAR DAY AMOUNT ON RECORD] PEAK GUST 63 MPH NE IN 1998

RECORDS FOR FEBRUARY 25
HIGH 68F IN 2017
LOW -10F IN 1894
PRECIP 2.40 INCHES IN 1981
SNOWFALL 13.6 INCHES IN 1966
PEAK GUST 76 MPH S IN 2016

TODAY’S REPORT PREPARED BY: Benjamin Turner