BLUE HILL METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATORY
MILTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02186
ELEVATION 635 FEET, 10 MILES SSW OF BOSTON, MA
DAILY DISCUSSION AND CLIMATE SUMMARY
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2004
ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME
TODAY'S DISCUSSION....
JANUARY 2004 TIES FOR 3RD COLDEST OF ALL TIME WITH AN AVERAGE TEMPERATURE
OF 17.2 DEGREES...
January 2004 finishes tied 3rd coldest January on 119-year record with January
1918 & 1912. If it weren't for the first five days of this past month, we could
be looking at a sole 3rd place or even a 2nd place on the all-time "cold
January list."
Here is a list of the "Top 11 Coldest Januarys"
Jan. 1920....15.5
Jan. 1888....16.3
Jan. 2004....17.2
Jan. 1918....17.2
Jan. 1912....17.2
Jan. 1893....17.4
Jan. 1981....18.1
Jan. 1970....18.2
Jan. 1940....18.5
Jan. 1977....18.6
Jan. 1904....18.6
This past month finishes with a departure of -273 degrees, which comes out to
be -8.8 degrees below average per day. The highest temperature of this past
January was 47 degrees on the 4th and the lowest was -12 degrees on the 16th.
With respect to precipitation, only 1.72 inches of liquid fell at the
Observatory, which was -3.06 inches below the average. This ranks as one of the
drier January's on record.
With respect to snowfall, only 8.5 inches of the white stuff fell at the
Observatory, which was -7.1 inches below the average.
Among other news, 0.1 inches of snow fell yesterday between 8:20am and 9:40am
with a passing cold front.
Today's observations:
7 A.M.
Sky: Clear with a few stratocumulus offshore northeast through southeast
Visibility: 30 miles
Temperature: 9 F
Dew point: 4 F
Wind: WNW at 14 kt
Snow on ground: 4 inches
New snow: 0.1 inches
New precipitation: Trace
Morning Low temperature: 9 F
BHO SA 1155 CLR 30 202/9/4/3014/013/ FEW SC OFFSHR DSNT NE-SE TOTAL NEW SNW PST
24 HR 0.1 IN/ 8/500 4/004 53020 70000 10013 20009
10 A.M.
Sky: Clear
Visibility: 70 miles
Temperature: 18 F
Dew point: 4 F
Wind: WNW at 12 kt
BHO SA 1455 CLR 70 224/18/4/3012/019/ WND 25V36/ 8/000 51022
OUR WEATHER SUMMARY FOR SATURDAY, JANUARY 31:
TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
MAX.....25 NORMAL.....34 HAZEN SHELTER: 25.3
MIN.... 11 NORMAL.....18 HAZEN SHELTER: 11.2
MEAN....18 NORMAL.....26
DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR NORMAL.....-8
TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH....-273 (-8.8 DEGREES/DAY)
ASOS MAX/MIN FOR 1/29: 24/11
HEATING DEGREE DAYS
TOTAL HEATING DEGREE DAYS FOR YESTERDAY.......47 DEPARTURE......+8
TOTAL HEATING DEGREE DAYS FOR THE MONTH.....1388 DEPARTURE....+273
TOTAL HEATING DEGREE DAYS FOR THE SEASON....3603 DEPARTURE.....+67
TOTAL HEATING DEGREE DAYS FOR LAST SEASON...3675 DIFFERENCE...-167
PEAK GUST AND AVERAGE WIND SPEED (MPH)
PEAK WIND GUST FOR YESTERDAY........35 WNW AT 2:48 P.M.
AEROVANE.........37 WNW AT 2:43 P.M.
ASOS.............32 W AT 3:42 P.M.
FASTEST MILE FOR YESTERDAY..........26 W AT 4:43 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE ASOS AVERAGE.......26 W AT 2:45 P.M.
AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION..15.9 WNW
ASOS...........16.6
PRECIPITATION (INCHES)
TOTAL PRECIPITATION 24 HR ENDING 7 A.M.....TRACE
ASOS..............0.00
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR JANUARY............1.72
DEPARTURE....-2.06
ASOS..............1.40
SNOWFALL (INCHES)
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M......TRACE
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE MONTH................8.5 DEPARTURE......-7.1
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE SEASON..............38.7 DEPARTURE......+9.0
PRELIMINARY CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR JANUARY, 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
1/1 41/30/36/+09/0.00/0.0/461/84/ 35 WNW
1/2 35/28/32/+05/0.08/0.6/000/00/ 18 SSW
1/3 45/33/39/+12/0.15/0.0/000/00/ 21 SSW
1/4 47/32/40/+13/0.28/T/000/00/ 23 WNW
1/5 34/30/32/+05/0.58/0.4/000/00/ 25 ENE
1/6 32/16/24/-02/0.06/0.6/514/93/ 43 WNW Aerovane 45 MPH WNW
1/7 20/12/16/-10/T/T/404/73/ 37 W
1/8 18/06/12/-10/0/0/505/91/ 51 W Aerovane 51 MPH W
1/9 05/-4/01/-25/0/0/550/99/ 36 NW
1/10 10/-7/02/-24/0/0/557/100/ 32 WNW
1/11 21/-4/09/-17/0/0/328/58/ 30 SSW
1/12 30/20/25/-1/.10/1.4/000/00/ 25 SW
1/13 38/05/21/-4/.001/0.2/107/19/ 61 WNW Aerovane 63 MPH WNW
1/14 05/-8/-2/-28/0/0/474/84/ 39 WNW
1/15 05/-10/-3/-29/0.03/0.5/384/68/ 44 WNW
1/16 10/-12/-1/-27/0/0/516/91/ 47 WNW Aerovane 50 MPH WNW
1/17 34/08/21/-5/0/0/540/95/ 46 NW
1/18 32/23/28/+2/0.22/2.0/000/00 36 WNW
1/19 24/12/18/-7/0/0/561/98 42 WNW Aerovane 44 MPH WNW
1/20 22/9/16/-9/0/0/574/100 42 WNW
1/21 27/9/18/-7/0/0/437/76 33 NW
1/22 33/12/23/-2/T/T/000/00 42 WNW
1/23 18/6/12/-13/0/0/493/85 47 WNW Aerovane 48 MPH WNW
1/24 16/1/9/-17/0/0/442/75 39 WNW
1/25 13/-5/4/-22/0/0/548/94 43 W
1/26 17/1/9/-17/0/0/434/74 28 NNW
1/27 21/9/15/-11/0/0/018/03 18 N
1/28 25/18/22/-4/0.21/2.7/.../.. 35 WNW
1/29 25/13/19/-7/T/T/.../.. 60 WNW Aerovane 61 MPH WNW
1/30 23/10/17/-9/0/0/.../.. 46 WNW
1/31 25/11/18/-8/0/0/.../.. 35 WNW
NEW DAILY RECORDS FOR THIS MONTH TO DATE:
1/9...low max. temp. of 5....previous record 9 in 1968 [corrected]
1/10..low max. temp. of 10...previous record 13 in 1886,1912,1960,1982
1/10..low min. temp. of -7...previous record -1 in 1945,1968,1982
1/14..low max. temp. of 5....previous record 12 in 1914,1988
1/15..low max. temp. of 5....previous record 7 in 1957,1965
1/16..low min. temp. of -12..previous record -10 in 1920
DAILY EXTREMES
Temperature and precipitation records back to 1885, and
wind records back to 1940:
RECORDS FOR FEBRUARY 1
HIGH 65F IN 1989
LOW -9F IN 1920
PRECIP 1.30 INCHES IN 1898
SNOWFALL 11.0 INCHES IN 1898
PEAK GUST 66 MPH SSW IN 1951
RECORDS FOR FEBRUARY 2
HIGH 55F IN 1951 & 1973
LOW -12F IN 1961
PRECIP 1.91 INCHES IN 1999
SNOWFALL 5.5 INCHES IN 1916 & 1934
PEAK GUST 92 MPH SW IN 1970
TODAY'S REPORT BY: Andy Hoell