Wednesday, February 7, 2024

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

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2024
ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME (EST)
SUNRISE: 0652E
SUNSET:  1706E

INTERVALS OF SUN AND CLOUDS HAVE BEEN THE THEME TODAY,
A BIT MILDER….

Yesterday and today marks the 46th anniversary of the Blizzard
of 1978. This event pretty much defined what a blizzard means
to those who are from this area. Here at Blue Hill, the event
dropped 30.1″ of snow and featured a wind gust to 84mph!

Luckily, nothing like that is happening today, instead we’re
seeing an interplay of sunny periods and cloudy periods as a
quiet weather pattern continues this week.

Temperatures have reached the upper 30s early this afternoon,
with a dew point that has been rising through the 20s. A steady,
but generally light wind off the ocean is adding a bit of a
chill to the air however.

The wind speed has been averaging at around 8-9mph, with a
direction that has veered gradually from the north to the east-
northeast. The peak gust so far today is only around 21mph,
which occurred between 9-10am this morning.

Visibility has been excellent today with a view of 60-70 miles.

The maximum temperature so far today is 39F degrees, which is
3 degrees above the normal high of 36F. The minimum temperature
so far since midnight is 26F degrees, which is 8 degrees above
the normal low of 18F.

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Today’s Observations:

7 A.M.
Weather: Broken stratocumulus, thin broken cirrus, virga distant
E-SE-SSW
Temperature: 27F; Dew Point: 21F; Relative Humidity: 79%
Wind: N @ 7 kts
Sea-level pressure: 1026.3 mb; 30.31 in. Hg: rising, then more rapidly
Visibility: 70 miles
6-hr Max temp: 27F
6-hr Min temp: 26F
24-hr Precip: 0.00 inches
24-hr Snowfall: 0.0 inches
Snow Depth: Trace
BHO SA 1155 E18 BKN 250 -BKN 70 263/27/21/3507/031/ VIRGA DSNT
E-SE-SSW/ 8/501 4/000 53015 10027 20026

10 A.M.
Weather: Broken stratocumulus, virga distant ENE-SSE
Temperature: 34F; Dew Point: 26F; Relative Humidity: 73%
Wind: NNE @ 8 kts
Sea-level pressure: 1027.2 mb; 30.33 in. Hg: rising, then more slowly
Visibility: 60 miles
3-hr Precip: 0.00 inches
3-hr Snowfall: 0.0 inches
BHO SA 1455 E18 BKN 60 272/34/26/0308/033/ VIRGA DSNT ENE-SSE/ 8/500
51009

1 P.M.
Weather: Scattered stratocumulus, thin broken cirrus
Temperature: 38F; Dew Point: 27F; Relative Humidity: 65%
Wind: NE @ 7 kts
Sea-level pressure: 1025.5 mb; 30.28 in. Hg: steady, then falling
Visibility: 60 miles
6-hr Max temp: 39F
6-hr Min temp: 27F
6-hr Precip: 0.00 inches
6-hr Snowfall: 0.0 inches
Snow Depth: 0 inches
BHO SA 1755 20 SCT 250 -BKN 60 255/38/27/0507/028/ 8/501 58017 10039
20027

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SUMMARY FOR TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2024

TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
MAX…….35   NORMAL…..35
MIN…….26   NORMAL…..18
MEAN……31   NORMAL…..27

DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR (1991-2020) NORMAL………….+4
TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH……………………+35 [+5.6 DEGREES/DAY]

HEATING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON: JUL 2023 THRU JUN 2024)
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY……………34  DEPARTURE……..-4
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE MONTH…………..197  DEPARTURE…….-35
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE SEASON…………3163  DEPARTURE……-472
TOTAL HEATING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE…….3080  DEPARTURE…….+83

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)……….E26 N    @  10:07 A.M.
VECTOR #1 (1-Sec)……….26 N    @  10:07 A.M.
VECTOR #2 (1-Sec)……….37 NNE  @  12:37 A.M.
DAVIS #1……………….25 N    @  10:07 A.M.
DAVIS #2 ………………24 NE   @  12:09 A.M.
RMY #1 (Instantaneous)…..26 N    @  10:07 A.M.
RMY #2 (Instantaneous)…..27 NE   @  12:09 A.M.
MERLIN…………………25 N
RICHARDS (C5C) (Inst)……25      @  10:07 A.M.

FASTEST MILE:
CONTACTING ANEMOMETER/OFFICIAL………………17 NNE  @  12:15 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE VECTOR #1 AVERAGE…………..17      @  10:09 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE VECTOR #2 AVERAGE…………..17      @  12:09 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS #1 AVERAGE……………16 NE   @  12:10 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS #2 AVERAGE……………17 NE   @  12:10 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RMY #1 AVERAGE……………..16 NNE  @  01:36 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RMY #2 AVERAGE……………..17 NE   @  12:09 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RICHARDS (C5C) AVERAGE………16      @  01:35 A.M.

AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION:
CONTACTING/OFFICIAL…….9.1 N [260 total miles] VECTOR #1……………..9.1
VECTOR #2……………..9.6
DAVIS #1………………9.4 NE
DAVIS #2………………9.4 NE
RMY #1………………..9.0 NNE
RMY #2………………..9.3 NE
RICHARDS (C5C)…………9.6

PRECIPITATION (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST):
TOTAL PRECIPITATION 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M……..0.00 DEPARTURE…..-0.14
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH…………..0.03 DEPARTURE…..-0.79
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR (2024)……..9.27 DEPARTURE…..+3.95

SNOWFALL (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST):
TOTAL SNOWFALL 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M…………..0.0 DEPARTURE……-0.6
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE MONTH………………TRACE DEPARTURE……-4.1
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE SEASON (2023-2024)……20.9 DEPARTURE…..-16.9

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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 The low since midnight is 26F, the daily normal low is 18F

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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 7
HIGH 53F IN 2020
LOW -8F IN 1910
PRECIP 2.12 INS. IN 1983
SNOWFALL 17.1 INS. IN 1978 [BLIZZARD OF 1978] PEAK GUST 87e MPH SSE IN 1951

RECORDS FOR FEBRUARY 8
HIGH 59F IN 1933
LOW -9F IN 1934
PRECIP 1.86 INS. IN 2013
SNOWFALL 16.1 INS. IN 2013
PEAK GUST 63e MPH NE IN 1945, NE IN 2013

TODAY’S REPORT PREPARED BY: Matt Douglas