Wednesday, March 11, 2020

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

DAILY DISCUSSION AND CLIMATE SUMMARY
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 11, 2020
ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME

PROGRESSIVELY CLOUDIER WITH DECENT VISIBILITY AND
A LIGHT NORTHWESTERLY WIND….

A mix of sun and clouds this morning has become more of
an overcast this afternoon, with temperatures rising
to the mid 50’s by 1 P.M. The record high for yesterday
is 69 degrees set back in 1977. However, we only reached a
high of 68F for yesterday. Wind has been light and
northwesterly, being completely calm at the 1 P.M.
observation. After that, a shift from NW to NE was
seen after 2 P.M. Visibility was 70 miles for the majority
of the day, due to a distant layer of haze.

On the season, the observatory is considerably dry to start
the year in terms of precipitation. With an annual rain total
of 4.82 inches, we are 5.33 inches below the normal amount.
We continue to depart further from our normal seasonal snow
total of 50.6 inches, being 26.5 inches below that amount to
date.

The high so far today is 54F, this is 11 degrees above the
normal high of 43F. The low since midnight is 41F, this is
19 degrees above the normal low of 25F.

Just a reminder, while most of the country observes Daylight
Saving Time, here at Blue Hill Observatory we do not. As such,
all times referred to within this discussion will be in Eastern
Standard Time.

PRELIMINARY STATS FOR FEBRUARY 2020

TEMPERATURE, Deg. F
Avg. Max. 40.7 [+3.9] Avg. Min. 25.9 [+6.7] Mean      33.3 [+5.4] 24-hour corrected mean: 33.0
Max. for month: 60F on the 24th
Min. for month: 4F on the 15th

HEATING DEGREE DAYS
Total heating units:    911 [-164] Total for the season:  4140 [-345] Total for last season: 4485

PRECIPITATION, Inches
Total: 3.20 [-0.87] Greatest in 24 hrs: N/A

SNOWFALL, Inches
Total: 0.6 [-13.3] Greatest in 24 hrs: 0.5 ins. on the 13th

WIND, mph
Avg. uncorrected wind speed: 11.5 mph
Avg. corrected wind speed:   12.0 mph
Prevailing wind direction:   W [24%] Peak gust and direction:     71 WSW on the 7th

SUNSHINE:
Campbell-Stokes card minutes: 7596 minutes of possible 17796 or 43%
Astronomical total minutes: 7853 minutes of possible 18422 or 43%

Today’s Observations:

7 A.M.
Weather: Scattered cirrus, few cumulus W-NW
Temperature: 41F; Dew Point: 32F; Relative Humidity: 69%
Wind: NNW at 7 kts
Sea-level pressure: 30.05 ins. Hg: falling, then rising
rapidly
Visibility: 70 miles
6-hr Max temp: 54F
6-hr Min temp: 41F
24-hr Precip:  0.00 ins.
24-hr Snowfall: 0.0 ins.
BHO SA 1155 250 SCT 70 177/41/32/3307/005/ FEW CU W-NW/ 8/102
51030 10054 20041

10 A.M.
Weather: Broken cirrostratus, few cumulus to the west
Temperature: 50F; Dew Point: 29F; Relative Humidity: 50%
Wind: NNW at 8 kts
Sea-level pressure: 30.09 ins. Hg: rising steadily
Visibility: 70 miles
3-hr Precip:  0.00 ins.
3-hr Snowfall: 0.0 ins.
BHO SA 1455 250 BKN 70 190/50/29/3308/009/ FEW CU W/ 8/102 51013

1 P.M.
Weather: Scattered altocumulus, overcast cirrostratus,
few distant cumulus offshore
Temperature: 52F; Dew Point: 21F; Relative Humidity: 29%
Wind: Calm
Sea-level pressure: 30.05 ins. Hg: falling steadily
Visibility: 70 miles
6-hr Max temp: 54F
6-hr Min temp: 41F
6-hr Precip:  0.00 ins.
6-hr Snowfall: 0.0 ins.
BHO SA 1755 120 SCT 220 OVC 70 178/52/21/0000/005/ FEW DSNT CU
OFFSHR WND CALM/ 8/118 58012 10054 20041

SUMMARY FOR TUESDAY, MARCH 10, 2020

TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
MAX…..68   NORMAL…..42
MIN…..49   NORMAL…..25
MEAN….59   NORMAL…..33

DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR NORMAL……………….+26
TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH………………+110 [+10.8 DEGREES/DAY]

HEATING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON JUL TO JUN)
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY…………….6  DEPARTURE…….-26
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE MONTH…………..218  DEPARTURE……-109
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE SEASON…………4358  DEPARTURE……-537
TOTAL HEATING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE…….4876  DEPARTURE……-518

PEAK GUST AND AVERAGE WIND SPEED (MPH)
PEAK WIND GUST FOR YESTERDAY………………..48 WSW AT   2:44 P.M.
AERO…………………….46 WSW AT   2:08 P.M.
ASOS…………………….49 SW  AT   2:44 P.M.
DAVIS……………………47 SW  AT   2:38 A.M. RMY 49
FASTEST MILE FOR YESTERDAY………………….34 WSW AT   3:30 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE ASOS AVERAGE……………….35 SW  AT   2:44 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS AVERAGE………………36 SW  AT   3:30 A.M.
AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION…………..15.1 SW
ASOS…………………..15.1
DAVIS………………….14.7 SW [226 deg.]

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……….0.16  DEPARTURE……-1.59
ASOS…………..0.19
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR………..4.82  DEPARTURE……-5.35
ASOS…………..5.10

SNOWFALL (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST)
TOTAL SNOWFALL 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M……….0.0  DEPARTURE…….-0.5
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE MONTH…………….0.8  DEPARTURE…….-4.3
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE SEASON…………..25.6  DEPARTURE……-26.5

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  38/30/34/+8/0.01/T/000/00           14 WSW AERO 14 WSW RMY N/A
02/02  40/30/35/+9/0.00/0.0/078/13         18 W   AERO 18 WNW RMY 18
02/03  44/27/36/+10/0.00/0.0/260/43        28 W   AERO 28 W   RMY 28
02/04  44/33/39/+13/0.00/0.0/055/09        19 E   AERO 16 E   RMY 18
02/05  41/30/36/+10/0.00/0.0/000/00        20 NNW AERO 19 NNW RMY N/A
02/06  31/30/34/+8/0.00/0.0/000/00         29 E   AERO 28 E   RMY 27
02/07  53/25/39/+12/…./0.1/000/00        71 WSW AERO 71 SSW RMY 73
02/08  33/20/27/0/T/T/616/100              46 W   AERO 44 W   RMY 44
02/09  33/15/24/-3/T/T/303/49              30 SSE AERO 29 SSE RMY N/A
02/10  42/33/38/+11/…./0.0/000/00        39 SSW AERO 39 SSW RMY 39
02/11  40/36/38/+11/…./0.0/000/00        24 W   AERO 23 W   RMY N/A
02/12  41/30/36/+9/0.00/0.0/314/50         37 W   AERO 36 W   RMY N/A
02/13  35/31/34/+6/…./0.5/000/00         29 SSW AERO 29 SSW RMY N/A
02/14  33/8/21/-7/0.00/0.0/506/80          32 WNW AERO 32 NW  RMY 34
02/15  27/4/16/-12/0.00/0.0/508/80         31 SSW AERO 31 SSW RMY N/A
02/16  40/23/32/+4/0.00/0.0/006/01         38 SW  AERO 38 SW  RMY N/A
02/17  44/28/36/+8/0.00/0.0/582/91         25 WNW AERO 24 WNW RMY 24
02/18  37/27/32/+3/0.31/T/000/00           26 SE  AERO 26 SE  RMY N/A
02/19  42/25/34/+5/0.00/0.0/530/82         45 W   AERO 46 W   RMY 44
02/20  31/18/25/-4/0.00/0.0/389/60         32 W   AERO 32 W   RMY N/A
02/21  30/11/21/-8/0.00/0.0/651/100        24 NNW AERO 21 N   RMY N/A
02/22  44/23/34/+5/0.00/0.0/647/99         26 W   AERO 24 W   RMY 27
02/23  53/30/42/+12/0.00/0.0/636/97        21 SW  AERO 22 WSW RMY 23
02/24  60/32/46/+16/0.00/0.0/606/92        29 S   AERO 29 SSW RMY 31
02/25  53/40/47/+17/…./0.0/033/05        17 NE  AERO 18 ENE RMY 17
02/26  45/39/42/+12/…./0.0/007/01        23 ENE AERO 24 E   RMY N/A
02/27  49/27/38/+7/0.00/0.0/274/41         51 W   AERO 53 W   RMY 52
02/28  36/25/31/0/0.00/0.0/596/89          38 SW  AERO 38 SW  RMY 36
02/29  35/19/27/-4/0.00/0.0/256/38         32 W   AERO 32 W   RMY 34

PRELIMINARY CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR MARCH 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

03/01  33/15/24/-7/0.00/0.0/…/..         28 WNW AERO 28 WNW RMY 27
03/02  52/24/38/+7/T/T/…/..              40 S   AERO 39 S   RMY 41
03/03  64/45/55/+23/…./0.0/…/..        30 S   AERO 30 S   RMY N/A
03/04  50/38/44/+12/…./0.0/…/..        56 W   AERO 56 W   RMY 58
03/05  51/32/42/+10/0.00/0.0/…/..        31 W   AERO 31 NW  RMY 32
03/06  47/30/39/+7/…./…/…/..         46 NE  AERO 45 NE  RMY 46
03/07  43/26/35/+2/…./…/…/..         42 N   AERO 43 N   RMY 44
03/08  53/26/40/+7/0.00/0.0/…/..         31 W   AERO 30 W   RMY 28
03/09  72/40/56/+23/0.00/0.0/…/..        32 SW  AERO 32 SW  RMY 31
03/10  68/49/59/+26/0.00/0.0/…/..        48 WSW AERO 46 WSW RMY 49

03/11 The low since midnight is 41F, daily normal minimum is 25F

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

RECORDS FOR MARCH 11
HIGH 65 IN 1967
LOW 4 IN 1939, 1960
PRECIP 2.11 INS. IN 1901
SNOWFALL 6.3 INS. IN 1934
PEAK GUST 66e MPH W IN 1980

RECORDS FOR MARCH 12
HIGH 72 IN 2012
LOW 2 IN 1885
PRECIP 2.87 INS. IN 1888
SNOWFALL 9.7 INS. IN 1959
PEAK GUST 66 MPH SE IN 1962

TODAY’S REPORT PREPARED BY: Benjamin Turner and Greg White