Wednesday, March 14, 2018

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

DAILY DISCUSSION AND CLIMATE SUMMARY
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 14, 2018
ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME

A CALMER DAY AFTER A RECORD-BREAKING NOR’EASTER
ON GREAT BLUE HILL…

Snow ended sometime yesterday after 8:00 P.M.
We measured a record breaking maximum
snowfall for yesterday of 23.0 inches.
The previous record of 10 inches was set in
1993. This is the greatest amount of snowfall
for any March calendar day on record. Winds
gusted to 52 kts (60 mph) at 8:30 A.M. yesterday
during the storm.

Calmer winds stayed WSW at around 16 kts (18 mph)
for most of the day today. We have had frequent
gusts around 20 kts (23 mph) between the 7:00 A.M.
and the 1:00 P.M. observations. At 7:00 A.M., we
recorded a minimum temperature of 24F, which
is slightly lower than the normal at 26F. The
temperature observed at 1:00 P.M. was 35F.
Visibility has stayed at 40 miles until
1:00 P.M., where it increased to 45 miles.

BHO Greatest March Snowstorms,
inches (1885-2018):

1) 30.3 on 3-5 Mar, 1960
2) 30.0 on 31 Mar – 1 Apr, 1997
3) 29.8 on 6-8 Mar, 2013
4) 23.0 on 13 Mar, 2018
23.0 on 5-7 Mar, 2001
6) 19.5 on 19-20 Mar, 1956
7) 17.8 on 15-16 Mar, 1967
8) 17.5 on 20-22 Mar, 1958
9) 16.9 on 11-14 Mar, 1939
10) 15.4 on 29-30 Mar, 1984

BHO Greatest Snowstorms,
inches (1885-2018):

1) 38.7 on 24-28 Feb 1969
2) 30.8 on 26-28 Jan 2015
3) 30.3 on 3-5 Mar 1960
4) 30.1 on 6-7 Feb 1978
5) 30.0 on 31 Mar – 1 Apr 1997
6) 29.8 on 6-8 Mar 2013
7) 26.6 on 8-9 Feb 2013
8) 24.7 on 17-18 Feb 2003
9) 24.3 on 5-7 Dec 2003

BHO Greatest March Calendar Day Snowfalls,
inches (1885-2018):

1) 23.0 on 13 Mar, 2018
2) 18.0 on 8 Mar, 2013
3) 17.6 on 19 Mar, 1956
4) 17.3 on 4 Mar, 1960
5) 15.5 on 6 Mar, 2001
6) 15.0 on 31 Mar, 1997
7) 13.5 on 29 Mar, 1984
8) 13.0 on 5 Mar, 1891
9) 12.8 on 3 Mar, 1960
10) 12.3 on 24 Mar, 1956

BHO Greatest March Monthly Snowfall,
inches (1885-2018):

1) 52.0 in 1956
2) 42.2 in 1916
3) 41.4 in 2001
4) 41.0 in 1967
5) 39.9 in 2018
6) 37.8 in 2013
7) 35.5 in 1993
8) 33.9 in 1960
9) 30.6 in 1958
10) 29.0 in 1890

BHO Greatest March Monthly Precipitation,
inches (1885-2018):

1) 18.81 in 2010
2) 13.07 in 2001
3) 10.96 in 1968
4) 10.02 in 1983
5) 9.53 in 1953
6) 9.00 in 1984
7) 8.72 in 1993
8) 8.09 in 1956
9) 7.98 in 1994
10) 7.96 in 2018

Today’s Observations:

7 A.M.
Weather: Few cumulus WSW-WNW, few altocumulus W-NNW,
scattered cirrostratus
Temperature: 26F; Dew Point: 25F; Wind: WSW at 16G24 kts,
Sea-level pressure: 29.44 ins. Hg, rising then steady
Visibility: 40 miles
6-hr Max temp: 28F
6-hr Min temp: 24F
24-hr precip: 1.35 ins.
24-hr snowfall: 17.2 ins.
Snow depth: 19 ins.
BHO SA 1155 300 SCT 40 968/26/25/2416G24/944/ NEW SNW PST 24 HRS
17.2 INS. STORM TOTAL 23 INS. FEW CU WSW-WNW FEW AC W-NNW/ 8/185
4/019 54002 MANUAL 70135 ASOS 70135 10028 20024

10 A.M.
Weather: Broken stratocumulus
Temperature: 31F; Dew Point: 31F; Wind: WSW at 16G21 kts,
Peak Wind: 26 (30 MPH) WSW at 9:06 A.M.
Sea-level pressure: 29.41 ins. Hg, steady then falling
Visibility: 40 miles
3-hr precip: 0.00 ins.
3-hr snowfall: 0.0 ins.
BHO SA 1455 E26 BKN 40 961/31/31/2416G21/941/ PK WND 2426/06/
8/800 58007

1 P.M.
Weather: Broken stratocumulus
Temperature: 35F; Dew Point: 27F; Wind: WSW at 14G21 kts,
Peak Wind: 26 kts (30 MPH) WSW at 12:08 P.M.
Sea-level pressure: 29.38 ins. Hg, falling steadily
Visibility: 45 miles
6-hr Max temp: 35F
6-hr Min temp: 26F
6-hr precip: 0.00 ins.
6-hr snowfall: 0.0 ins.
Snow depth: 16 ins.
BHO SA 1755 E40 BKN 45 951/35/27/2414G21/938/ PK WND 2426/08/
8/800 4/016 58010 10035 20026

SUMMARY FOR TUESDAY, MARCH 13, 2018

TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
MAX…..35 NORMAL…..43
MIN…..26 NORMAL…..26
MEAN….31 NORMAL…..34

DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR NORMAL……………………….-3
TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH………………………+26 [+1.8 DEGREES/DAY]

HEATING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON JUL TO JUN)
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY………….34 DEPARTURE……….+3
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE MONTH…………395 DEPARTURE………-25
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE SEASON……….4517 DEPARTURE……..-471
TOTAL HEATING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE…..4335 DIFFERENCE…….+182

PEAK GUST AND AVERAGE WIND SPEED (MPH)
PEAK WIND GUST FOR YESTERDAY……………….60 N AT 11:30 P.M.
AERO……………………60 N AT 8:26 P.M.
ASOS……………………65 NNE AT 8:31 P.M.
DAVIS…………………..58 M AT 8:31 A.M ** RMY 64
FASTEST MILE FOR YESTERDAY…………………34 ENE AT 8:31 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE ASOS AVERAGE………………35 NNE AT 8:32 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS AVERAGE……………..35 M AT 8:32 A.M.**
AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION………….22.4 NNW
ASOS………………….21.9
DAVIS…………………19.9 **
** Davis direction malfunctioning

PRECIPITATION (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST)
TOTAL PRECIPITATION 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M….1.35 DEPARTURE……+1.19
ASOS…………..1.35
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH……….7.96 DEPARTURE……+5.90
ASOS…………..8.55
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR……….18.07 DEPARTURE……+7.59
ASOS………….19.40

SNOWFALL (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST)
TOTAL SNOWFALL 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M………17.2 DEPARTURE…….+16.7
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE MONTH……………39.9 DEPARTURE…….+33.4
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE SEASON…………..84.6 DEPARTURE…….+31.0

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

3/01 61/37/49/+18/0.00/0.0/…/.. 39 ENE AERO 37 ENE RMY N/A
3/02 40/32/36/+5/3.47/0.7/000/00 73 NNE AERO 70 NNE RMY N/A
3/03 40/32/26/+4/T/T/…/.. 52 NNE AERO 50 NNE RMY 49
3/04 39//34/37/+5/T/T/…/.. 36 NNE AERO 32 NNE RMY 32
3/05 40/29/35/+3/…/1.2/…/.. 40 NE AERO 39 NE RMY 40
3/06 34/29/32/0/0.00/0.0/…/.. 20 N AERO 16 N RMY N/A
3/07 35/31/33/0/…./…/000/00 52 ENE AERO 53 ENE RMY 50
3/08 34/28/31/-2/…./…/…/.. 44 NNE AERO 47 NNE RMY N/A
3/09 36/24/30/-3/T/T/…/.. 28 W AERO 26 W RMY N/A
3/10 37/28/33/0/0.00/0.0/…/.. 38 WNW AERO 38 WNW RMY 41
3/11 42/26/34/0/0.00/0.0/…/.. 28 NW AERO 26 NW RMY 29
3/12 39/26/33/-1/T/T/…/.. 36 ENE AERO 33 ENE RMY N/A
3/13 35/26/31/-3/…./23.0/…/.. 60 N AERO 60 N RMY 64

3/14 Low temp since midnight is 24F; normal low is now 26F

DAILY RECORDS FOR MARCH 2018

3/02/18: NEW DAILY RECORD MAXIMUM PRECIPITATION OF 3.47 INS.
PREVIOUS RECORD WAS 2.15 INS. SET IN 1983

3/13/18: NEW DAILY RECORD MAXIMUM SNOWFALL OF 23.0 INS.
PREVIOUS RECORD WAS 10.0 INS. SET IN 1993

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

RECORDS FOR MARCH 14
HIGH 74 IN 1946
LOW 8 IN 1926
PRECIP 4.95 INS. IN 2010
SNOWFALL 7.3 INS. IN 2017
PEAK GUST 67 MPH ENE IN 2010

RECORDS FOR MARCH 15
HIGH 80 IN 1990
LOW 6 IN 1993
PRE 2.86 INS. IN 2010
SNOW 12.0 INS. 1967
WIND 73e MPH ESE IN 1940

TODAY’S REPORT PREPARED BY: Benjamin Turner and Kaitlin Geagan