BLUE HILL METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATORY MILTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02186 ELEVATION 635 FEET, 10 MILES SSW OF BOSTON, MA DAILY DISCUSSION AND CLIMATE SUMMARY SATURDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2005 ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME MOSTLY SUNNY AND WARMER TODAY...FRIDAY STORMS BRINGS MORNING ICE THEN MOSTLY RAIN...2005 NOW FOURTH WETTEST YEAR ON RECORD... A mixture of snow, sleet and freezing rain before sunrise on Friday turned to mostly rain as the temperature warmed to a high of 48 degrees F in the early afternoon. The storm total precipitation on Friday was 0.88 inch, and the peak gust to 55 mph ESE at 12:13 PM was the highest for the month. The rain, wind, and warm temperatures yesterday have reduced the snow cover on the summit to two inches this morning. However, the runoff and snow melt refroze this morning, leaving long stretches of ice and treacherous travel on the summit road. The annual rainfall is now up to 64.62 inches, making this year the fourth wettest on record with two weeks to go. Annual Precipitation 1) 71.00" in 1998 2) 69.36" in 1996 3) 65.51" in 1972 4) 64.62" in 2005 (through 12/16) 5) 63.81" in 1920 Today's observations: 7 A.M. Weather: Mostly sunny with scattered cirrus Temperature: 28F, Dew point: 23F, Wind: WSW 15 mph Sea-level pressure: 30.28 inches, rising Visibility: 30 miles BHO SA 1155 220 SCT 250 -SCT 30 254/28/23/2413/028/ 8/001 4/002 1030 70066 10030 20028 10 A.M. Weather: Sunny with scattered cirrus Temperature: 32F, Dew point: 21F, Wind: WSW 15 mph Sea-level pressure: 30.37 inches, rising Visibility: 35 miles BHO SA 1455 250 SCT 36 35 284/32/21/2513/037/ 8/001 51030 1 P.M. Weather: Clear with a few cirrus and cumulus Temperature: 36F, Dew point: 20F, Wind: W 15 mph Sea-level pressure: 30.35 inches, falling Visibility: 40 miles BHO SA 1755 CLR 40 277/36/20/2713/035/ CI E-SSW FEW CU W-NNE/ 8/101 56007 10036 20027 WEATHER SUMMARY FOR FRIDAY, DECEMBER 16 TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F) MAX.....48 NORMAL.....38 ASOS.....47 AT 3:05 PM MIN.....27 NORMAL.....24 ASOS.....27 AT 12:06 AM MEAN....38 NORMAL.....31 DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR NORMAL.......+7 TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH......-97 (-5.9 DEGREES/DAY) HEATING DEGREE DAYS TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY..........27 DEPARTURE.....-7 TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE MONTH.........604 DEPARTURE...+101 TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE SEASON.......1669 DEPARTURE...-123 TOTAL HEATING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE..1679 DIFFERENCE...-10 PEAK GUST AND AVERAGE WIND SPEED (MPH) PEAK WIND GUST FOR YESTERDAY.........55 ESE AT 12:13 P.M.* AEROVANE..........61 ESE AT 12:13 P.M. ASOS..............53 E AT 10:37 A.M. DAVIS.............51 ESE AT 11:37 A.M. FASTEST MILE FOR YESTERDAY...........43 ESE AT 12:01 P.M. MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE ASOS AVERAGE........40 ESE AT 12:01 P.M. AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION...21.4 E ASOS............20.7 *LAST OF SEVERAL OCCURRENCES PRECIPITATION (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST) TOTAL PRECIPITATION 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M....0.66 DEPARTURE....+0.52 ASOS..............0.71 TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH..........2.35 DEPARTURE.....0.00 ASOS..............2.27 TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR..........64.62 DEPARTURE...+15.76 ASOS.............63.42* *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..........0.0 DEPARTURE.....-0.4 TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE MONTH...............13.1 DEPARTURE.....+8.4 TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE SEASON..............15.2 DEPARTURE.....+7.6 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/-8/0/0/061/11 23 MPH WSW 12/6 33/23/28/-6/T/0.1/160/29 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 31/14/23/-10/0/0/545/99 25 MPH NW 12/9 32/22/27/-6/1.23/10.8/000/00 53 MPH NW Aero 63 MPH NW TSTM/SLEET/GLAZE 12/10 34/21/28/-5/0/0/367/67 30 MPH S 12/11 40/27/34/+2/0/0/493/90 27 MPH SSW 12/12 38/21/30/-2/0/0/241/44 25 MPH W 12/13 21/09/15/-17/T/T/361/66 32 MPH WNW Aero 35 MPH WNW 12/14 23/04/14/-17/0/0/513/94 24 MPH NW 12/15 32/07/20/-11/0/0/.../.. 21 MPH E 12/16 48/27/38/+7/0.88/0/000/00 55 MPH ESE Aero 61 MPH ESE SLEET/GLAZE 12/17 ..overnight low 27 DAILY EXTREMES Temperature and precipitation records back to 1885, and wind records back to 1940 (e = estimated): RECORDS FOR DECEMBER 17 HIGH 63 IN 2000 LOW -10 IN 1942 PRECIP 3.03 INS. IN 1888 SNOWFALL 7.5 INS. IN 1988 PEAK GUST 78 MPH SSE IN 2000 RECORDS FOR DECEMBER 18 HIGH 59 IN 1928 LOW -11 IN 1919 PRECIP 1.44 INS. IN 1915 SNOWFALL 7.0 INS. IN 1904 PEAK GUST 76e W IN 1978 TODAY'S REPORT BY: Mike Iacono