BLUE HILL METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATORY MILTON, MASSACHUSETTS ELEVATION 635 FEET, 10 MILES SSW OF BOSTON, MA DAILY DISCUSSION AND CLIMATE SUMMARY THURSDAY, MARCH 29, 2012 ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME AN OVERCAST AND MILDER THAN NORMAL DAY There has been very little rise in temperature today with a heavy overcast of low clouds but with only a trace of precipitation. The morning low of 39F was 8 degrees warmer than normal. The average temperature for March through the 28th is 43.8 deg F. March 2012 will be among the warmest on record. BHO Warmest March, 1885-2011 (deg F) 1) 43.5 in 1946 2) 42.7 in 1945 3) 42.2 in 1903 4) 41.5 in 2010 5) 41.2 in 1921 The total precipitation since January 1st through March 26th is 5.93 inches. With little precipitation in the forecast over the next few days, January-March 2012 looks to set a new record for driest start to the year. BHO Driest January-March, 1886-2011 (inches) 1) 7.20 in 1947 2) 7.39 in 1985 3) 7.92 in 1894 4) 7.97 in 2004 5) 8.08 in 1895 Today's observations: 7 A.M. Weather: Overcast stratocumulus, few cumulus fractus, cumulus, forming, break in overcast N-NE, thin higher cirrus clouds visible, few moderate cumulus ESE, rain shower ended 6:10 A.M. EST Temperature: 41F, Dew point: 34F, Wind: NNW at 13G24 kts, Sea-level pressure: 29.62 inches Hg, rising Visibility: 25 miles, except N 15 miles, NE-E 12 miles, hazy 24-hour precip: 0.05 in. 6-hour min. temp: 39F BHO SA 1155 E25 OVC 25 031/41/34/3413G24/962/ FEW CUFRA/CU FRMG MSTLY DSNT ALQDS FEW MDT CU ESE BINOVC N-ENE HIER CI CLDS VSB N-NNE VSBY N 15 NE-E 12 HAZY WND 30V03 RE10/ 8/801 51025 MANUAL 6000/ MANUAL 70005 ASOS 70005 10047 20039 10 A.M. Weather: Scattered stratus fractus, two layer stratocumulus Temperature: 41F, Dew Point: 34F; Wind: N at 11 kts, Wind: Direction variable NW-NNE Sea-level pressure: 29.70 inches Hg, rising Visibility: 30 miles, except north 20 miles, NE-SE 15 miles, WNW 45 miles BHO SA 1455 12 SCT E25 OVC 30 059/41/34/3511/970/ CIG RGD SKY BRGTNG DSNT S-SW VSBY N 20 NE-SE 15 WNW 45 HZ N-SE DSNT HZ SW-NW 31V03/ 8/5// 53028 1 P.M. Weather: Scattered cumulus, broken stratocumulus, overcast stratocumulus, few moderate cumulus Temperature: 41F, Dew Point: 34F; Wind: N at 7 kts, Wind: Direction variable NW-NE Sea-level pressure: 29.75 inches Hg, rising Visibility: 50 miles, light distant haze 6-hour max. temp: 43F BHO SA 1755 15 SCT E22 BKN 32 OVC 50 076/41/34/3607/975/ FEW MDT CU LGT DSNT HZ WND 32V04/ 8/8// 51017 10043 20040 WEATHER SUMMARY FOR WEDNESDAY, MARCH 28 TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F) MAX.....48 NORMAL.....48 MIN.....33 NORMAL.....31 MEAN....41 NORMAL.....39 DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR NORMAL.......................+2 TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH.....................+285 [+10.0 DEGREES/DAY] HEATING DEGREE DAYS TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY..............24 DEPARTURE..........-1 TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE MONTH.............560 DEPARTURE........-261 TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE SEASON...........4211 DEPARTURE.......-1180 TOTAL HEATING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE......5318 DEPARTURE.......-1107 PEAK GUST AND AVERAGE WIND SPEED (MPH) PEAK WIND GUST FOR YESTERDAY.............30 S AT 9:43 A.M. AERO..................31 S AT 9:43 A.M. ASOS..................31 S AT 9:43 A.M. DAVIS.................29 S AT 9:42 A.M. THE FASTEST MILE FOR YESTERDAY...........23 SSE AT 9:50 A.M. MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE ASOS AVERAGE............23 S AT 12:53 P.M. DAVIS MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE AVERAGE...........23 SSE AT 9:44 A.M. AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION.......10.9 SSW ASOS................10.9 DAVIS................9.8 S [190 deg.] PRECIPITATION (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST) TOTAL PRECIPITATION 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M....0.05 DEPARTURE..........-0.13 ASOS..............0.05 TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH..........1.66 DEPARTURE..........-3.39 ASOS..............1.66 TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR...........5.93 DEPARTURE..........-7.54 ASOS...............5.99 SNOWFALL (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST) TOTAL SNOWFALL 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M..........0.0 DEPARTURE..........-0.2 TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE MONTH................4.0 DEPARTURE..........-6.9 TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE SEASON..............24.2 DEPARTURE.........-32.1 PRELIMINARY CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR MARCH 2012 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 RMY: RMY = R.M. Young wind gust recording system added 8/9/2011 TSTM: Thunderstorm day (thunder heard some time during day) ....: Data not yet available, records not finalized 3/1 34/22/28/-3/1.05/3.3/000/00 40 ENE AERO 44 MPH ENE RMY 42 3/2 30/21/26/-5/0.01/0.1/000/00 23 ESE AERO 25 MPH ESE RMY 26 3/3 44/30/37/+5/0.35/0.6/000/00 27 W AERO 29 MPH SW RMY 28 3/4 39/30/35/+3/0.00/0.0/082/12 28 W AERO 28 MPH W RMY 28 3/5 35/22/29/-3/0.00/0.0/651/95 33 W AERO 35 MPH W RMY 35 3/6 37/16/27/-5/0.00/0.0/674/98 28 NW AERO 28 MPH NW RMY N/A 3/7 50/29/45/+12/0.00/0.0/608/88 40 SSW AERO 43 MPH SSW RMY 43 3/8 66/48/57/+24/0.00/0.0/499/72 59 SSW AERO 61 MPH SSW RMY N/A 3/9 57/31/44/+11/0.05/T/279/40 62 SSW AERO 63 MPH SSW RMY N/A 3/10 37/27/32/-1/T/T/168/24 32 WNW AERO 33 MPH WNW RMY N/A 3/11 56/27/42/+8/0.00/0.0/681/97 35 SW AERO 37 MPH SW RMY 36 3/12 72/40/56/+22/0.00/0.0/620/88 23 SW AERO 25 MPH SW RMY N/A 3/13 68/46/57/+23/0.08/0.0/347/49 30 SSW AERO 31 MPH SSW RMY 31 3/14 51/36/44/+9/T/0.0/007/01 23 NE AERO 23 MPH ENE RMY 22 3/15 42/33/38/+3/T/0.0/014/02 16 ENE AERO 15 MPH E RMY 15 3/16 43/32/38/+3/0.05/0.0/000/00 16 NNW AERO 16 MPH NNW RMY 17 3/17 51/40/46/+10/0.00/0.0/079/11 21 SSW AERO N/A RMY 24 3/18 72/38/55/+19/0.00/0.0/652/91 27 SW AERO 27 MPH SW RMY 27 3/19 77/44/61/+25/0.00/0.0/667/92 24 NE AERO 24 MPH NE RMY 25 3/20 78/41/60/+23/0.00/0.0/662/91 22 SSW AERO 22 MPH SW RMY 25 3/21 76/54/65/+28/0.00/0.0/556/76 25 SW AERO 26 MPH SW RMY 27 3/22 81/54/68/+31/0.00/0.0/668/91 22 SW AERO 21 MPH SW RMY 22 3/23 75/56/66/+28/T/0.0/509/69 31 NNW AERO 31 MPH NNW RMY 33 3/24 56/44/50/+12/0.00/0.0/052/07 22 E AERO 20 MPH E RMY 17 3/25 47/40/44/+6/0.02/0.0/000/00 17 ESE AERO 16 MPH ESE RMY N/A 3/26 45/29/37/-2/T/0.0/477/64 47 NW AERO 48 MPH NW RMY 47 3/27 47/24/36/-3/0.00/0.0/718/96 40 NW AERO 39 MPH NW RMY 39 3/28 48/33/41/+2/0.05/0.0/038/05 30 S AERO 31 MPH S RMY 30 3/29 morning low temp: 39F; the normal low is now 31F DAILY RECORDS FOR MARCH 2012 3/8 - NEW DAILY RECORD HIGH MINIMUM TEMP OF 48F; surpasses the previous record of 42F set in 1995 and 2009. 3/8 - NEW DAILY RECORD HIGH MAXIMUM TEMP OF 66F; surpasses the previous record of 63F set in 1942 and 1995. 3/12 - NEW DAILY RECORD HIGH MAXIMUM TEMP OF 72F; surpasses the previous record of 67F set in 1977. 3/12 - NEW EARLY SEASON RECORD (NESR) HIGH TEMPERATURE of 72F; surpasses the previous record of 71F set on 3/9/2000. 3/18 – NEW DAILY RECORD HIGH MAXIMUM TEMP OF 72F; surpasses the previous record of 69F set in 2011. 3/19 - NEW DAILY RECORD HIGH MAXIMUM TEMP OF 77F; surpasses the previous record of 70 in 2010. 3/21 - NEW DAILY RECORD HIGH MINIMUM TEMP OF 54F; surpasses the previous record of 51F in 1913 and 1921. 3/22 - NEW DAILY RECORD HIGH MINIMUM TEMP OF 54F; surpasses the previous record of 45F in 1902. 3/22 - NEW DAILY RECORD HIGH MAXIMUM TEMP OF 81F; surpasses the previous record of 71F in 1948. 3/23 - NEW DAILY RECORD HIGH MINIMUM TEMP OF 56F; surpasses the previous record of 49F in 1949. 3/23 - NEW EARLY SEASON RECORD HIGH MINIMUM TEMPERATURE of 56F; surpasses the previous record of 55F set on 3/17/1990 3/24 - NEW DAILY RECORD HIGH MINIMUM TEMP OF 44F; surpasses the previous record of 42F in 1908. DAILY EXTREMES Temperature and precipitation records back to 1885, and wind records back to 1940 (e = estimated): RECORDS FOR MARCH 29 HIGH 85 IN 1945 LOW -2 IN 1923 PRECIP 2.78 INS. IN 1984 SNOWFALL 13.5 INS. IN 1984 PEAK GUST 95 MPH ENE IN 1984 RECORDS FOR MARCH 30 HIGH 83 IN 1977 LOW 10 IN 1887 PRECIP 2.82 INS. IN 2001 SNOWFALL 3.9 INS. IN 1957 PEAK GUST 60 MPH NW IN 1999 TODAY'S REPORT PREPARED BY: Robert Skilling If you do not wish to receive this Daily Discussion and Climate Summary from the Blue Hill Observatory, please send an email to sitemaster@bluehill.org.