BLUE HILL METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATORY MILTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02186 ELEVATION 635 FEET, 10 MILES SSW OF BOSTON, MA DAILY DISCUSSION AND CLIMATE SUMMARY SATURDAY, APRIL 24, 2004 ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME [unless otherwise noted] SUNNY AND DRIER WEATHER MOVING IN ON STRONG WINDS... APRIL NOW 4TH WETTEST ON RECORD... After a cloudy start this morning with a few showers after midnight, sunshine returns this afternoon as winds increase out of the WNW. The high temperature as of 2 PM EDT is 63, though it feels much cooler in winds averaging about 30 mph. The peak gust has been 44 mph WNW at 1:21 PM EDT. The storm total precipitation of 0.92 from Friday to early Saturday was 0.92 in. This brings the April rainfall total up to 8.12 inches, making this month the fourth wettest April on record with a week left in the month. The wettest Aprils are: 1987 10.37 ins 1929 8.71 ins 1904 8.53 ins 2004 8.12 ins (through 4/24) Today's observations: 8 A.M. EDT Weather: Overcast stratocumulus with breaks NE-SE Temperature: 41F, Dewpoint: 40F, Wind: SSW 7 mph, Sea-level pressure: 30.05 inches, steady BHO SA 1155 5 SCT E25 OVC 15 177/41/40/2006/005/ BINOVC NE-SE VSBY INCR/ 8/5// 50000 70033 10041 20037 11 A.M. EDT Weather: Partly sunny with broken cumulus Temperature: 56F, Dew Point: 43F, Wind: W 23 mph, gusting 32 mph BHO SA 1455 30 SCT E35 BKN 40 163/56/43/2820G28/001/ PK WND 2828/45/ 8/200 58014 2 P.M. EDT Weather: Mostly sunny with a few cumulus Temperature: 63F, Dew Point: 25F, Wind: WNW 31 mph, gusting 40 mph BHO SA 1755 40 SCT 70 160/63/25/3027G35/000/ FEW CUFRA VCNTY STN PK WND 2938/21 WND 27V33/ 8/100 55003 10063 20041 WEATHER SUMMARY FOR FRIDAY, APRIL 23: TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F) MAX.....62 NORMAL.....58 ASOS.....62 AT MIDNIGHT A.M. MIN.....39 NORMAL.....39 ASOS.....38 AT MIDNIGHT P.M. MEAN....51 NORMAL.....49 DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR NORMAL.....+2 TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH....+45 (+1.8 DEGREES/DAY) HEATING DEGREE DAYS TOTAL HEATING DEGREE DAYS FOR YESTERDAY.......14 DEPARTURE.....-2 TOTAL HEATING DEGREE DAYS FOR THE MONTH......414 DEPARTURE....-45 TOTAL HEATING DEGREE DAYS FOR THE SEASON....5906 DEPARTURE....-17 TOTAL HEATING DEGREE DAYS FOR LAST SEASON...6366 DIFFERENCE..-460 PEAK GUST AND AVERAGE WIND SPEED (MPH) PEAK WIND GUST FOR YESTERDAY........35 NE AT 9:33 A.M. AEROVANE.........36 ENE AT 6:59 A.M. ASOS.............35 ENE AT 7:00 A.M. FASTEST MILE FOR YESTERDAY..........26 NE AT 9:35 A.M. MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE ASOS AVERAGE.......24 ENE AT 9:36 A.M. AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION..12.0 NE ASOS...........11.7 PRECIPITATION (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST) TOTAL PRECIPITATION 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M....0.33 DEPARTURE....+0.19 ASOS..............0.32 TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH..........8.12 DEPARTURE....+4.74 ASOS..............7.70 TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR..........15.79 DEPARTURE....-0.92 ASOS.............14.58 SNOWFALL (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST) TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M......0.0 DEPARTURE....-0.1 TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE MONTH................0.5 DEPARTURE....-2.4 TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE SEASON..............58.0 DEPARTURE....+2.7 PRELIMINARY CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR APRIL 2004......CALENDAR DAY DATA DATA REPORTED: DATE MAX/MIN/MEAN/DEP/PRECIP/SNOW/SUN(MIN.)/SUN(%)/ PEAK GUST/AERO GUST AERO: Aerovane recording wind system when significant TSTM: Thunderstorm day ....: Data not yet available 4/1 41/36/39/-2/3.47/0/000/00 44 MPH NE 4/2 37/36/36/-5/0.30/0/000/00 41 MPH NE 4/3 38/35/37/-5/ 0/0/0/000/00 25 MPH NE 4/4 47/35/41/-1/0.22/0/008/01 32 MPH NW 4/5 40/27/34/-9/0.09/0.5/178/23 45 MPH NW Aerovane 46 MPH NW 4/6 49/26/38/-5/ 0/0/747/96 52 MPH WNW Aerovane 56 MPH WNW 4/7 55/32/44/+1/ 0/0/530/68 31 MPH WSW 4/8 58/32/45/+1/ 0/0/564/72 25 MPH S 4/9 60/39/50/+6/ T/0/550/70 32 MPH W 4/10 57/34/46/+2/ 0/0/718/91 40 MPH W 4/11 51/36/44/-1/ 0/0/063/08 21 MPH W 4/12 47/36/42/-3/0.07/0/341/43 30 MPH ENE 4/13 59/37/48/+3/2.51/0/000/00 56 MPH S Aerovane 61 MPH S 4/14 59/44/52/+6/0.41/0/000/00 62 MPH S Aerovane 64 MPH S 4/15 52/37/45/-1/0.13/0/297/37 36 MPH N Aerovane 38 MPH NNW 4/16 51/33/42/-3/ 0/0/605/70 32 MPH NNW 4/17 74/34/55/+8/ 0/0/501/62 29 MPH S 4/18 63/46/55/+8/ 0/0/608/75 32 MPH SE 4/19 83/44/64/+17/ 0/0/447/55 43 MPH SSW 4/20 67/44/56/+8/ 0/0/326/40 45 MPH W Aerovane 46 MPH W 4/21 62/42/52/+4/ 0/0/450/55 28 MPH SSE 4/22 79/48/64/+15/ 0/0/.../.. 35 MPH S 4/23 62/39/51/+2/0.88/0/000/00 35 MPH NE 4/24 ..overnight low 37..precip 0.04 DAILY EXTREMES Temperature and precipitation records back to 1885, and wind records back to 1940 (e = estimated): RECORDS FOR APRIL 24 HIGH 82 IN 2001 LOW 22 IN 1930 PRECIP 2.51 INS IN 1898 SNOWFALL 1.2 INS IN 1967 PEAK GUST 59 MPH NW IN 1962 RECORDS FOR APRIL 25 HIGH 80 IN 1942 LOW 24 IN 1892 PRECIP 1.38 INCHES IN 1901 SNOWFALL 0.7 INCHES IN 2002. PEAK GUST 66 MPH SE IN 1968 TODAY'S REPORT BY: Mike Iacono