Wednesday, January 17, 2024

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

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 17, 2024
ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME (EST)
SUNRISE: 0710E
SUNSET:  1639E

QUITE COLD WITH A MIX OF SUN AND CLOUDS TODAY FOLLOWING YESTERDAY’S
WINTRY MESS….

Yesterday’s wintry weather brought snow, sleet, freezing rain,
and rain to the Hill. The freezing rain later in the day left
a thin glaze on all surfaces, which made things a bit difficult
this morning. To recap the event, 3.2″ was the snowfall total
and 0.61″ was the total liquid measured.

Today started with clear skies and bright sunshine, but as day-
timing “heating” takes place, stratocumulus have developed and
increased in coverage as we move into the early afternoon hours.

Temperatures started the day in the low to mid teens, and has
only recovered to the low to mid 20s by early this afternoon.
This is a good 10F degrees below the expected high for the date!

The wind has been busy today with an average speed of 10-15mph.
Frequent gusts of 20-25mph have been the theme keeping wind
chill values in the low teens. The highest gust so far today
is around 29mph, occurring soon after 1am this morning.

Visibility has been decent all day, generally holding between
50-60 miles.

The maximum temperature so far today is 24F degrees, this is 10
degrees below the normal high of 34F. The minimum temperature
so far since midnight is 13F degrees, this is 5 degrees below
the normal low of 18F.

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Today’s Observations:

7 A.M.
Weather: Clear, few stratocumulus offshore distant NNE-SE-SSW
Temperature: 14F; Dew Point: 9F; Relative Humidity: 84%
Wind: WNW @ 10G16 kts
Sea-level pressure: 1009.0 mb; 29.80 in. Hg: rising, then more rapidly
Visibility: 60 miles
6-hr Max temp: 18F
6-hr Min temp: 14F
24-hr Precip: 0.52 inches
24-hr Snowfall: 2.0 inches
Snow Depth: 2 inches
BHO SA 1155 CLR 60 090/14/9/3010G16/980/ FEW SC OFFSHR DSNT NNE-SE-SSW
TOTAL NEW SNW PST 24 HRS 2.0 INS/ 8/500 4/002 53020 70052 10018 20014

10 A.M.
Weather: Clear, few stratocumulus all quadrants
Temperature: 20F; Dew Point: 14F; Relative Humidity: 75%
Wind: WNW @ 9G16 kts
Sea-level pressure: 1011.3 mb; 29.86 in. Hg: rising, then more slowly
Visibility: 50 miles
3-hr Precip: 0.00 inches
3-hr Snowfall: 0.0 inches
BHO SA 1455 CLR 50 113/20/14/3009G16/986/ FEW SC ALQDS/ 8/500 51023

1 P.M.
Weather: Scattered stratocumulus
Temperature: 22F; Dew Point: 14F; Relative Humidity: 70%
Wind: W @ 13G19 kts
Sea-level pressure: 1010.2 mb; 29.83 in. Hg: falling, then more rapidly
Visibility: 50 miles
6-hr Max temp: 24F
6-hr Min temp: 13F
6-hr Precip: 0.00 inches
6-hr Snowfall: 0.0 inches
Snow Depth: 2 inches
BHO SA 1755 27 SCT 50 102/22/14/2613G19/983/ 8/500 4/002 58011 10024 20013

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SUMMARY FOR TUESDAY, JANUARY 16, 2024

TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
MAX…….34   NORMAL…..34
MIN…….19   NORMAL…..18
MEAN……27   NORMAL…..26

DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR (1991-2020) NORMAL…………+1
TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH…………………..+86 [+5.2 DEGREES/DAY]

HEATING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON: JUL 2023 THRU JUN 2024)
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY……………38  DEPARTURE……..-1
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE MONTH…………..519  DEPARTURE…….-87
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE SEASON…………2414  DEPARTURE……-402
TOTAL HEATING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE…….2378  DEPARTURE…….+36

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)……….E36 NW   @  06:26 P.M.
VECTOR #1 (1-Sec)……….33 NW   @  06:26 P.M.*
VECTOR #2 (1-Sec)……….39 NW   @  06:26 P.M.
DAVIS #1……………….33 NW   @  06:26 P.M.*
DAVIS #2 ………………35 NW   @  06:19 P.M.
RMY #1 (Instantaneous)…..31 NW   @  05:59 P.M.*
RMY #2 (Instantaneous)…..30 NW   @  06:26 P.M.*
MERLIN…………………35 NW
RICHARDS (C5C) (Inst)……34      @  06:26 P.M.

FASTEST MILE:
CONTACTING ANEMOMETER/OFFICIAL………………28 NW   @  06:01 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE VECTOR #1 AVERAGE…………..22      @  05:58 P.M.*
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE VECTOR #2 AVERAGE…………..23      @  06:27 P.M.*
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS #1 AVERAGE……………24 NW   @  06:27 P.M.*
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS #2 AVERAGE……………24 NW   @  06:27 P.M.*
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RMY #1 AVERAGE……………..21 ENE  @  03:33 P.M.*
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RMY #2 AVERAGE……………..21 ENE  @  03:33 P.M.*
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RICHARDS (C5C) AVERAGE………24      @  06:27 P.M.

AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION:
CONTACTING/OFFICIAL…….9.8 NW [236 total miles] VECTOR #1……………..M*
VECTOR #2……………..M*
DAVIS #1………………9.1 N*
DAVIS #2………………9.3 N*
RMY #1………………..8.3 N*
RMY #2………………..8.7 N*
RICHARDS (C5C)…………9.7

* Reading impacted by icing

PRECIPITATION (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST):
TOTAL PRECIPITATION 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M……..0.52 DEPARTURE…..+0.37
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH…………..6.90 DEPARTURE…..+4.49
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR (2024)……..6.90 DEPARTURE…..+4.49

SNOWFALL (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST):
TOTAL SNOWFALL 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M…………..2.0 DEPARTURE……+1.4
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE MONTH……………….16.8 DEPARTURE……+7.7
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE SEASON (2023-2024)……17.1 DEPARTURE……-7.1

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PRELIMINARY CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR JANUARY 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

1/1   37/25/31/+2/0.00/0.0/296/54         15 N   VEC1 14 N   RMY 15
1/2   39/19/29/+1/0.00/0.0/550/100        17 WNW VEC1 17 WNW RMY 17
1/3   42/25/34/+6/0.00/0.0/347/63         20 WNW VEC1 21 WNW RMY 21
1/4   42/21/32/+4/T/T/237/43              37 NNW VEC1 36 NNW RMY 39
1/5   32/17/25/-3/0.00/0.0/542/98         40 NW  VEC1 39 NW  RMY 39
1/6   34/24/29/+1/0.11/0.2/022/04         36 E   VEC1 36 E   RMY 36
1/7   33/21/27/0/0.84/13.0/000/00         38 ENE VEC1 37 ENE RMY 42
1/8   32/21/27/0/0.00/0.0/406/73          28 NW  VEC1 28 NW  RMY 31
1/9   40/23/32/+5/0.98/T/000/00           46 SE  VEC1 49 SE  RMY 46
1/10  53/41/47/+20/1.90/0.0/201/36        70 SSE VEC1 69 SSE RMY 75
1/11  43/35/39/+12/0.00/0.0/…/..        45 WNW VEC1 43 WNW RMY 47
1/12  47/33/40/+13/0.00/0.0/…/..        29 SE  VEC1 28 ESE RMY 28
1/13  57/36/47/+21/1.72/0.0/…/..        47 ESE VEC1 51 ESE RMY 49
1/14  39/22/31/+5/0.02/0.4/…/..         53 WNW VEC1 52 WNW RMY 54
1/15  31/17/24/-2/T/T/…/..              30 WNW VEC1 29 WNW RMY 30
1/16  34/19/27/+1/0.61/3.2/…/..         36 NW  VEC1 33 NW* RMY 31*

1/17 The low since midnight is 13F, the daily normal low is 18F

* Reading impacted by icing

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JANUARY DAILY RECORDS TO DATE

1/13: RECORD PRECIPITATION OF 1.72 INS,
BEATS PREVIOUS RECORD OF 1.54 INS SET IN 1979

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

RECORDS FOR JANUARY 17
HIGH 55F IN 1973,1995
LOW -8F IN 1907,1982
PRECIP 1.43 INS. IN 1956
SNOWFALL 13.4 INS. IN 1956
PEAK GUST 65 MPH ESE IN 2022

RECORDS FOR JANUARY 18
HIGH 62F IN 1973, 1990
LOW -10F IN 1982
PRECIP 1.68 INS. IN 1915
SNOWFALL 13.0 INS. IN 1948
PEAK GUST 85 MPH SSE IN 2006

TODAY’S REPORT PREPARED BY: Matt Douglas