BLUE HILL METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATORY MILTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02186 ELEVATION 635 FEET, 10 MILES SSW OF BOSTON, MA DAILY DISCUSSION AND CLIMATE SUMMARY THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2005 ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME TODAY'S DISCUSSION.....1 P.M. Peak wind gusts to 44 to 54 MPH WNW were recorded late yesterday afternoon with the passage of an Arctic cold front. Some light snow flurries were also noted as occurring for at least an hour during the arrival of the colder air. The dewpoint temperature dropped from 17 to zero in just one hour as the frigid air mass moved in. The low temperature of 14 degrees this morning was our coldest of the season to date surpassing 18 degrees on November 25. Ponkapoag Pond is in the process of icing over today now that the winds have abated. About 80% of the pond is covered by thin ice late this morning. A very small amount of ice is noted on the much deeper Houghtons Pond. The highest barometric pressure of the season to date was 30.62 inches corrected to sea level at 11:10 A.M. this morning. The lowest pressure for the month to date is 29.44 inches at 5:36 a.m. on December 2. December temperatures are averaging 5.6 degrees COLDER THAN NORMAL daily. Today's observations: 7 A.M. clear with clouds along and offshore ne-se and high cloud layer along the distant se to sw horizon; temp. 15; dewpoint 04; wind WNW 17 gusting 23 MPH; six hourly min. temp. 14 deg; total snow depth on ground 1 inch... BHO SA 1155 CLR 60 352/15/4/2915G20/057/ SC LYR ALG/OFFSHR NE-SE CS LYR XTDNG DSNT SE-SW VSBY NW 75/ 8/508 4/001 53028 10015 20014 10 A.M. clear with high clouds distant south and visibility 80 to 90 miles; temp. 22; dewpoint 03; wind WNW 12 MPH.... BHO SA 1455 CLR 80 364/22/3/3010/061/ FEW SC OFFSHR DSNT ESE-SE CS LYR ALG HRZN DSNT SE-SSW VSBY NW 90/ 8/508 53012 1 P.M. clear with high clouds very distant south and visibility 80 miles; temp. 30; dewpoint 4; wind WSW 05 MPH; six hourly max. temp. 30 deg. BHO SA 1755 CLR 80 355/30/4/2604/058/ FEW SC OFFSHR DSNT ESE CS LYR ALG HRZN DSNT SSE-SSW/ 8/508 58009 10029 20015 WEATHER SUMMARY FOR WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 7: TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F) MAX.....28 NORMAL.....41 HAZEN 28.3 @ 12:41 P.M. MIN.....16 NORMAL.....27 HAZEN 16.0 @ 11:59 P.M. MEAN....22 NORMAL.....34 DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR NORMAL.......-12 TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH.......-38(-5.6 DEGREES/DAY) HEATING DEGREE DAYS TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY..........43 DEPARTURE....+12 TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE MONTH.........248 DEPARTURE....+38 TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE SEASON.......1313 DEPARTURE...-186 TOTAL HEATING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE..1499 DIFFERENCE..- 94 PEAK GUST AND AVERAGE WIND SPEED (MPH) PEAK WIND GUST FOR YESTERDAY.........44 WNW AT 6:28 P.M. ** AEROVANE..........50 WNW AT 6:28 P.M. ** ASOS..............44 WNW AT 6:28 P.M. DAVIS.............43 WSW AT 1:08 P.M. FASTEST MILE FOR YESTERDAY...........32 WNW AT 6:27 P.M. ** MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE ASOS AVERAGE........32 W AT 5:40 P.M. MAXIMUM 1-MINUTE DAVIS AVERAGE.......33 W AT 1:30 P.M. AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION.....19.5 W ASOS..............19.0 W [ 270 deg ] DAVIS.............19.2 W [ 270 deg ] ** LAST OF SEVERAL OCCURRENCES... PRECIPITATION (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST) TOTAL PRECIPITATION 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M...trace DEPARTURE....-0.15 ASOS..............0.00 TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH..........0.24 DEPARTURE....-0.81 ASOS..............0.22 TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR.......62.51 DEPARTURE...+14.95 ASOS.............61.37* *EXCLUDES 3.19 INCHES OF ERRONEOUS PRECIPITATION RECORDED FROM 1/23-1/28. SNOWFALL (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST) TOTAL SNOWFALL 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M..........trace DEPARTURE....-0.3 TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE MONTH.................2.3 DEPARTURE....+0.6 TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE SEASON................4.4 DEPARTURE....-0.2 PRELIMINARY CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR DECEMBER 2005......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 12/1 43/35/39/+3/0/0/212/38 29 MPH N 12/2 41/31/36/0/0/0/217/39 46 MPH WSW Aero 51 MPH WSW 12/3 33/26/30/-5/0/0/534/96 46 MPH W Aero 50 MPH W 12/4 28/22/25/-10/0.24/2.2/000/00 22 MPH W 12/5 32/21/27/-8/0/0/.../.. 23 MPH WSW 12/6 33/23/28/-6/T/0.1/.../.. 31 MPH W Aero 36 MPH W 12/7 28/16/22/-12/T/T/479/87 44 MPH WNW Aero 50 MPH WNW 12/8 morning low temp. 14 deg; normal low now 26 deg. DAILY EXTREMES Temperature and precipitation records back to 1885, and wind records back to 1940 (e = estimated): RECORDS FOR DECEMBER 8 HIGH 62 IN 1966 LOW -04 IN 1906 PRECIP 1.54 INS. IN 1969 SNOWFALL 2.5 INS. IN 2001 PEAK GUST 78e W IN 1979 RECORDS FOR DECEMBER 9 HIGH 68 IN 1966 LOW -14 IN 1902 PRECIP 1.52 INS. IN 1956 SNOWFALL 6.0 INS. IN 2001 PEAK GUST 66 SE IN 1973 TODAY'S REPORT BY: Robert Skilling