BLUE HILL METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATORY
MILTON, MASSACHUSETTS
ELEVATION 635 FEET, 10 MILES SSW OF BOSTON, MA
 
DAILY DISCUSSION AND CLIMATE SUMMARY
FRIDAY, JANUARY 17, 2014
ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME
 
AFTER A FOGGY START, ABUNDANT SUNSHINE ON GREAT BLUE HILL
AS THE END OF OUR WARM STRETCH DRAWS NEARER.
 
Following another day with double-digit warm departures, it's been over a week
since we have seen a colder-than-average day on Blue Hill. Thursday's 24-hour
warm departure of +12 degrees puts us at a +33 degree departure for the month with
half of January completed now.
 
Nearly half of the ice on Ponkapoag Pond 1 mile SSE of Blue Hill is now melted as of
early afternoon today.  
 
Today's Observations:
 
7 A.M.
Weather: Intermittent fog, partially obscuring 5/10 of the sky
Temperature: 35F; Dew Point: 32F; Wind: S at 6 kts
Wind: Light
Sea-level pressure: 29.95 ins. Hg, increasing, then more quickly
Visibility: 1 miles, fog except 1/2 NW-NE 
6-hr. min temp: 35F
BHO SA 1155 -X E4 BKN 1VF 143/35/32/1706/995/ STRA LYR DRFTG OVR SMT
VSBY 1/2 V 1 FEW ACSL E-SSE WND LGT/ 8/6// 53012 10037 20036
 
10 A.M. 
Weather: Clear, few cumulus fractus in all directions
Temperature: 35F; Dew Point: 29F; Wind: SW at 8 kts,
Sea-level pressure: 29.99 ins. Hg, steady, then rising
Visibility: 25 miles, 35 ENE-S, thin fog
BHO SA 1455 CLR 25 156/35/29/2308/999/ FEW CUFRA ALQDS LGT HZ SSW-NNE
VSBY ENE-S 35 THN FG/ 8/100 53013
 
1 P.M.  
Weather: Clear, few cirrocumulus S, few cirrus fibratus NW
Temperature: 43F; Dew Point: 21F; Wind: S at 10 kts,
Sea-level pressure: 29.92 ins. Hg, steady then falling  
Visibility: 30 miles
6-hr max. temp: 43F
6-hr min. temp: 33F
BHO SA 1755 CLR 30 133/43/21/1910/992/ FEW CC S FEW CI NW THN HZ SSW-NNE     
8/001 58023 10043 20033
 
WEATHER SUMMARY FOR THURSDAY, JANUARY 16, 2014
 
TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
MAX.....40    NORMAL.....33
MIN.....34    NORMAL.....17
MEAN....37    NORMAL.....25
 
DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR NORMAL.......................+12
TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH.......................+33 [+1.9 DEGREES/DAY]
 
HEATING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON JUL TO JUN)
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY..............28  DEPARTURE.........-12
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE MONTH.............596  DEPARTURE.........-31     
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE SEASON...........2873  DEPARTURE.........-59
TOTAL HEATING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE......2528 DIFFERENCE........+345
 
PEAK GUST AND AVERAGE WIND SPEED (MPH)
PEAK WIND GUST FOR YESTERDAY..................14 ENE  AT    4:34 P.M.*  
                   AERO.......................13 ENE  AT    4:21 P.M.          
                   ASOS.......................14 ENE  AT    4:43 P.M.      
                   DAVIS......................13 ENE  AT    4:33 P.M. RMY 14
FASTEST MILE FOR YESTERDAY.....................9 ENE  AT    4:44 P.M.         
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE ASOS AVERAGE.................10 ENE  AT    4:46 P.M.        
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS AVERAGE.................9 ENE  AT    4:45 P.M.      
AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION.............4.9 NNE 
                   ASOS......................5.3
                   DAVIS.....................4.6 N [6 deg.]
* Last of several occurrences
 
PRECIPITATION (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST)
TOTAL PRECIPITATION 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M....0.00  DEPARTURE.............-0.14
                         ASOS..............0.00
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH..........3.28  DEPARTURE.............+1.00 
                         ASOS..............3.71
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR...........3.28  DEPARTURE.............+1.00
                         ASOS..............3.71
 
SNOWFALL (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST)
TOTAL SNOWFALL 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M........0.0    DEPARTURE..............-0.5
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE MONTH.............15.9    DEPARTURE..............+6.9
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE SEASON............31.6    DEPARTURE..............+6.6 
 
PRELIMINARY CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR JANUARY 2014 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
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
 
1/1  26/16/21/-6/0.00/0.0/505/92          25 W   AERO 25 MPH W   RMY 27
1/2  24/00/12/-15/0.97/10.9/000/00        39 NNE AERO 39 MPH NNE RMY 39
1/3  12/-3/05/-21/0.38/4.7/270/49         36 N   AERO 39 MPH N   RMY 34
1/4  25/-4/11/-15/0.00/0.0/545/99         35 SSW AERO 37 MPH SSW RMY 38
1/5  42/23/33/+07/0.08/0.0/259 47         30 SE  AERO 32 MPH SE  RMY 42
1/6  57/25/41/+15/0.29/0.0/006/01         41 S   AERO 46 MPH S   RMY 48
1/7  25/06/16/-10/0.00/0.0/555/100        44 WNW AERO 46 MPH WNW RMY 42
1/8  21/3/12/-14/0.00/0.0/550/99          28 WSW AERO 29 MPH WSW RMY N/A
1/9  28/13/21/-5/0.00/0.0/540/97          23 WNW AERO 24 MPH WNW RMY 27
1/10 37/17/27/+2/0.05/0.3/000/00          17 SSW AERO 18 MPH SW  RMY N/A     
1/11 57/37/47/+22/0.64/0.0/000/00         50 S   AERO 59 MPH S   RMY 59
1/12 51/32/42/+17/0.04/0.0/286/51         41 W   AERO 44 MPH W   RMY 42
1/13 50/30/40/+15/0.00/0.0/.../..         33 S   AERO 36 MPH S   RMY 37
1/14 49/41/45/+20/0.83/0.0/.../..         35 S   AERO 37 MPH S   RMY 32      
1/15 46/33/40/+15/0.00/0.0/.../..         24 W   AERO 23 MPH W   RMY N/A
1/16 40/34/37/+12/0.00/0.0/.../..         14 ENE AERO 13 MPH ENE RMY 14
 
1/17 morning low temp: 33F; the normal low is now 17F                              
 
DAILY RECORDS FOR JANUARY 2014
None so far.
 
DAILY EXTREMES
Temperature and precipitation records back to 1885, and
wind records back to 1940 (e = estimated):
 
RECORDS FOR JANUARY 17
HIGH 55F IN 1973,1995
LOW -8F IN 1907,1982
PRECIP 1.43 INS. IN 1956
SNOWFALL 13.4 INS. IN 1956
PEAK GUST 62 MPH S IN 1994
 
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 PREPARED BY: Brian Fitzgerald