BLUE HILL METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATORY 
MILTON, MASSACHUSETTS
ELEVATION 635 FEET, 10 MILES SSW OF BOSTON, MA
 
DAILY DISCUSSION AND CLIMATE SUMMARY
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2011
ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME
 
LIGHT SNOW AND RAIN TODAY,
COLD FRONT RUSHES IN THIS AFTERNOON
 
Light snow began late Monday night, and continued into this morning.
Snow accumulated to 2.0 inches through 7 AM.  The snow was of the wet
variety, with the 2.0 inches of snow melting down to 0.24 inch of
liquid.  The wet, sticky snow clung well to trees, making for a
picturesque scene this morning.  Snow continued after 7AM and
transitioned to a period of light rain.  Only a trace of snow
accumulated after 7 AM as temperatures warmed above 32F. Occasional
light snow and flurries have been observed this afternoon as a colder
air mass enters the region.
 
With the passage of a cold front early this afternoon, winds have
shifted to a WNW direction and have begun gusting 25-30 mph.  The
dew point temperature is beginning to drop as drier air rushes in
as well.
 
Today's observations: 
 
7 A.M.  
Weather: Light snow, thick fog, sky obscured by light snow and fog,
precipitation very light
Temperature: 31F, Dew point: 31F; Wind: SSW at 4 kts 
Sea-level pressure: 29.52 inches Hg, falling
Visibility: 1/16 mile, light snow and thick fog
6-hour min. temp: 31F
24-hour snowfall: 2.0 inches
24-hour precip: 0.24 inch
Total snow depth on ground: 25 inches
BHO SA 1155 W3 X 1/16S-F 997/31/31/2004/952/ PCPN VRY LGT TOTAL NEW
SNW PST 24 HRS 2.0 INS/ 8//// 4/025 56017 ASOS 60017 MANUAL 70024
ASOS 70023 
 
10 A.M.  
Weather: Light rain, thick fog, sky obscured by light rain and fog,
stratus drifting over summit, higher nimbostratus layer occasionally
visible, sun disc occasionally visible, light rain began unknown,
light snow ended 9:20 AM, precipitation very light
Temperature: 33F; Dew point 33F; Wind: SSW at 10 kts
Sea-level pressure: 29.47 inches Hg, falling
Visibility: 1/16 mile, variable 1/16 mile to 1/8 mile,
light rain and thick fog
3-hour snowfall: Trace
3-hour precip: 0.02 inch
Storm total snowfall: 2.0 inches
BHO SA 1455 W3 X 1/16VR-F 981/33/33/2010/947/ STRA DRFTG OVR SMT
HIER NS LYR OCNLY VSB SUN DSC OCNLY VSB VSBY 1/16V1/8 R-BUKN S-E20
TOTAL NEW SNW PST 3 HRS TRACE STORM TOTAL 2.0 INS PCPN VRY LGT/
8//// 58016 MANUAL 60002 ASOS 60002 
 
1 P.M.
Weather: Light rain, scattered stratus/stratus fractus, broken stratus/
stratocumulus, overcast nimbostratus, few lower stratus fractus all
quadrants, higher nimbostratus layer visible, thin fog/haze, snow
ended unknown, light rain began unknown, precipitation very light
Temperature: 34F, Dew point: 34F; Wind: WSW at 13 kts
Wind: Direction variable SSW-W
Sea-level pressure: 29.44 inches Hg, falling
Visibility: 15 miles, light rain, thin fog/haze
6-hour snowfall: Trace
6-hour precip: 0.04 inch
6-hour max. temp: 35F
BHO SA 1755 5 SCT E10 BKN 20 OVC 15R- 971/34/34/2513/944/ FEW LWR
STFRA ALQDS HIER NS LYR VSB THN FG/HZ WND 21V28 S-EUKN R-BUKN
PCPN VRY LGT TOTAL NEW SNW PST 6 HRS TRACE/ 8/72/ 56010
MANUAL 60004 ASOS 60004 10035 20031
 
WEATHER SUMMARY FOR MONDAY, FEBRUARY 7
 
TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
MAX.....43     NORMAL.....35
MIN.....28     NORMAL.....19
MEAN....36     NORMAL.....27
 
DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR NORMAL..................+9
TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH..................+8 [+0.9 DEGREES/DAY]
 
HEATING DEGREE DAYS    
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY............29    DEPARTURE........-9
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE MONTH...........262    DEPARTURE.......-10
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE SEASON.........3763    DEPARTURE.......-45
TOTAL HEATING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE....3715    DIFFERENCE......+48
 
PEAK GUST AND AVERAGE WIND SPEED (MPH)
PEAK WIND GUST FOR YESTERDAY..............20 SSE AT 7:42 P.M.
                   AEROVANE...............22 SSE AT 7:42 P.M. *
                   ASOS...................18 S   AT 9:19 P.M. 
                   DAVIS..................19 SSE AT 7:42 P.M. 
THE FASTEST MILE FOR YESTERDAY............14 SSE AT 7:41 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE ASOS AVERAGE.............15 S   AT 8:07 P.M. 
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS AVERAGE............14 SSE AT 7:43 P.M. 
AVERRAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION........8.8 SSE        
                   ASOS..................8.4               
                   DAVIS.................8.0 SSW [195 DEG]
* Last of several occurrences
    
PRECIPITATION (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST)
TOTAL PRECIPITATION 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M....0.24  DEPARTURE........+0.09
                         ASOS..............0.23   
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH..........2.45  DEPARTURE........+1.40
                         ASOS..............2.37**   
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR...........8.46  DEPARTURE........+2.63
                        ASOS...............9.09**
** ASOS data is in error due to system failure on 1/12-13   
 
SNOWFALL (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST)
TOTAL SNOWFALL 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M..........2.0  DEPARTURE........+1.3
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE MONTH...............12.6  DEPARTURE........+8.0
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE SEASON..............83.8  DEPARTURE ......+49.8
 
PRELIMINARY CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR FEBRUARY 2011 CALENDAR DAY DATA
DATA REPORTED:
DATE: MAX/MIN/MEAN/DEP/PRECIP/SNOW/SUN(MIN.)/SUN(%)/ PEAK GUST/AERO GUST
AERO: Aerovane wind recording system gust when significant
TSTM: Thunderstorm day (thunder heard some time during day)
....: Data not yet available, records not finalized
 
2/1  20/15/18/-8/.../../000/00       27 N
2/2  34/18/26/0/.../../000/00        35 NNE  AERO 37 MPH NNE
2/3  25/15/20/-6/.../../.../..       21 WNW
2/4  32/13/23/-3/0.00/0.0/.../..     28 SW
2/5  45/22/34/+7/0.24/0.0/.../..     36 SW   AERO 42 MPH SW   TSTM
2/6  41/30/36/+9/0.00/0.0/.../..     53 W    AERO 58 MPH W
2/7  43/28/36/+9/.../../.../..       20 SSE
 
2/8  morning low temp: 31F; the normal low is now 19F
 
DAILY RECORDS FOR FEBRUARY 2011
None so far.
 
DAILY EXTREMES
Temperature and precipitation records back to 1885, and
wind records back to 1940 (e = estimated):
 
RECORDS FOR FEBRUARY 8
HIGH 60F IN 1933
LOW -9F IN 1934
PRECIP 2.50 INS. IN 1945
SNOWFALL 11.0 INS. IN 1891
PEAK GUST 63e MPH NE IN 1945
 
RECORDS FOR FEBRUARY 9
HIGH 58F IN 1990
LOW -21F IN 1934 [LOWEST TEMPERATURE ON RECORD]
PRECIP 2.12 INS. IN 1969
SNOWFALL 13.0 INS. IN 1969
PEAK GUST 89 MPH NE IN 1969
 
TODAY'S REPORT PREPARED BY: Sean Fankhauser