BLUE HILL METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATORY 
MILTON, MASSACHUSETTS
ELEVATION 635 FEET, 10 MILES SSW OF BOSTON, MA

DAILY DISCUSSION AND CLIMATE SUMMARY
FRIDAY, APRIL 10, 2015     
ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME
 
DRIZZLE, LIGHT RAIN AND FOG CONTINUE THROUGH THE NIGHT
INTO MORNING, WARM UP FINALLY ON THE WAY, LATEST POND
THAWS ON RECORD LIKELY FOR PONKAPOAG POND

Nonstop light drizzle, occasional light rain and fog continued 
from yesterday's 7:00 AM EST through this morning, with winds
slowing shifting from yesterday's dominant ENE direction to a 
warmer southerly flow by mid morning today. Temperatures had 
finally lifted out of the 30s by mid morning today as well,
after yesterdays stagnant temperature flux between 32F and 35F,
some 10 degrees below the daily norm. From 7:00 AM yesterday through
7:00 AM EST today, 0.24 inches of new precipitation fell, which
has slowly erased the rainfall deficit for the month. 

Both ponds were partially frozen yesterday, with Houghton's 
pond at 30% and Ponkapoag Pond at less than 60%. Both ponds have not
completely thawed yet as of yesterday afternoon, but were not
visible this morning. An inspection of the ponds will take place
this afternoon if fog does not dissipate, given how close the ponds
are to a total thaw. Today's date, the 10th, would mark the 2nd latest
thaw out on record (since 1886) for Houghton's Pond, and tie for the 
latest thaw out on record for Ponkapoag Pond, a record set back in 1926.
Stay tuned to tomorrow's report for an update on the record.

1:00 PM EST UPDATE: Both Houghton's and Ponkapoag ponds were temporarily
visible late this morning, with between 10-20% coverage on Houghton's
Pond, and 40-50% ice coverage on Ponkapoag. Further inspections
will take place later this afternoon and tomorrow morning.
 

Latest Houghton's Pond Thaw Date, (1886-2015)

1) April 14, 1926
2) April 10, 1887
   April 10, 1888
4) April 9, 1923
5) April 8, 1993
6) April 7, 1899
   April 7, 1956
8) April 6, 1916
   April 6, 1917
   April 6, 1924
   April 6, 1940

Latest Ponkapoag Pond Thaw Date, (1886-2015)

1) April 10, 1926
2) April 9, 1923
3) April 6, 1940
4) April 5, 1916
   April 5, 1924
6) April 4, 1967
   April 4, 1994
8) April 3, 1904
   April 3, 1920

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PRELIMINARY STATS FOR MARCH 2015

TEMPERATURE, Deg. F
Avg. Max. 39.6 [-4.8]
Avg. Min. 22.8 [-3.8]
Mean      31.2 [-4.3]
Corrected mean: 31.0
Max. for month: 55 on 3/11
Min. for month:  5 on 3/6

HEATING DEGREE DAYS 
Total heating units: 1035 [+119]    
Total for the season: 5743 [+259]
Total for last season: 5627

PRECIPITATION, Inches
Total: 3.25 [-2.33]
Greatest in 24 hrs: 0.84 inches, March 14th

SNOWFALL, Inches
Total: 13.3 [+0.6]
Greatest in 24 hrs: 5.0 inches, March 28th

WIND, mph
Avg. uncorrected wind speed: 13.0
Avg. corrected wind speed: 13.4
Prevailing wind direction: NW @ 16%
Peak gust and direction: 53 NW on the 17th

SUNSHINE:
Astronomical total minutes:   11107/22218 or 50%
Campbell-Stokes card minutes: 10758/21516 or 50%

For more information about this historic winter, visit our 
web site at bluehill.org.  

-------------------------------------------------------

Today's Observations:

7 A.M.
Weather: Light rain, fog 
Temperature: 36F; Dew Point: 36F; Wind: estimated WNW at 3 kts,
Wind Speed: Light
Sea-level pressure: 30.06 ins. Hg, falling, then more slowly
Visibility: 1/8 of a mile, obscured by light rain and fog
6-hr Max temp: 36F
6-hr Min temp: 35F 
24-hr precip: 0.24 inch
Snow depth: Trace  
BHO SA 1155 W3 X 1/8R-F 181/36/36/E3003/006/ PCPN VRY LGT 
WND LGT/ 8//// 56016 ASOS 6006 70024 10036 20035

10 A.M. 
Weather: Sky obscured, Fog
Temperature: 42F; Dew Point: 42F; Wind: estimated SSW at 5 kts,
Wind Speed: Light 
Sea-level pressure: 29.98 ins. Hg, falling, then more slowly
Visibility: 1/2 of a mile, except 1/4 of a mile N-NE
3-hr precip: Trace
BHO SA 1455 W4 X 1/2F 154/42/42/E2005/998/ VSBY N-NE 1/4 MI 
WND LGT/ 8//// 56027 ASOS 60001 MANUAL 6000/ 

1 P.M.
Weather: Sky obscured, Fog
Temperature: 49F; Dew Point: 48F; Wind: S at 12G20 kts
Sea-level pressure: 29.85 ins. Hg, falling, then more slowly
Visibility: 1/2 of a mile, except 1/4 of mile NNW-NE,
obscured by fog 
6-hr Max temp: 49F
6-hr Min temp: 36F
6-hr precip: Trace 
BHO SA 1755 W3 X 1/2F 109/49/48/1812G20/985/ VSBY NWN-NE 1/4 MI/ 
8//// 56045 ASOS 60001 MANUAL 6000/ 10049 20036


SUMMARY FOR THURSDAY, APRIL 9, 2015

TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
MAX.....35   NORMAL.....53
MIN.....32   NORMAL.....35
MEAN....34   NORMAL.....44

DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR NORMAL......................-10
TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH......................-22 [-2.6 DEGREES/DAY] 
 
HEATING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON JUL TO JUN)
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY..............31  DEPARTURE..........+10
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE MONTH.............225  DEPARTURE..........+23     
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE SEASON...........5968  DEPARTURE.........+283
TOTAL HEATING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE......5802  DIFFERENCE........+166

PEAK GUST AND AVERAGE WIND SPEED (MPH) 
PEAK WIND GUST FOR YESTERDAY..................31 ENE AT 12:28 A.M.**   
                   ASOS.......................36 ENE AT 12:28 A.M.    
                   DAVIS......................30 NE  AT  7:37 A.M.*** RMY 32
FASTEST MILE FOR YESTERDAY....................23 ENE AT  1:26 A.M.   
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE ASOS AVERAGE.................26 ENE AT  1:27 A.M.      
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS AVERAGE................20 ENE AT  8:23 A.M.***     
AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION............13.8 ENE  
                   ASOS.....................15.2    
                   DAVIS....................10.6 ENE [062 degrees] 
* Last of several occurrences...
** 420C POSSIBLY WEIGHED DOWN BY GLAZE
*** DAVIS LIKELY MISSED PEAK GUST DUE TO ICE ACCUMULATION
 
PRECIPITATION (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST)
TOTAL PRECIPITATION 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M.....0.24  DEPARTURE.....+0.07
                         ASOS...............0.24
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH...........1.42  DEPARTURE.....-0.10  
                         ASOS...............1.35 
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR...........16.01  DEPARTURE.....+0.62
                         ASOS................N/A *** 
*** ASOS annual totals not available due to erroneous readings

SNOWFALL (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST)
TOTAL SNOWFALL 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M...........0.0  DEPARTURE.....-0.1
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE MONTH...............Trace  DEPARTURE.....-1.5
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE SEASON..............150.8  DEPARTURE....+89.6 

PRELIMINARY CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR MARCH AND APRIL CALENDAR DAY DATA
DATA REPORTED:
DATE: MAX/MIN/MEAN/DEP/PRECIP/SNOWFALL/SUN(MIN.)/SUN(%)/ PEAK GUST/RMY GUST
RMY:  R.M. Young wind gust recording system 
TSTM: Thunderstorm day (thunder heard some time during day)
....: Data not yet available, records not finalized

3/1  29/14/22/-9/0.22/2.7/000/00              25 SSW RMY 25
3/2  35/22/29/-2/0.02/0.2/480/71              44 WNW RMY 48
3/3  32/13/23/-9/0.34/2.8/340/50              33 S   RMY N/A
3/4  41/32/37/+5/0.04/0.0/000/00              33 SW  RMY 36  
3/5  36/16/26/-6/0.02/0.2/000/00              28 NW  RMY 29
3/6  26/5/16/-16/0.00/0.0/681/99              28 NW  RMY 25
3/7  38/13/26/-7/0.00/0.0/567/82              30 WSW RMY 30 
3/8  41/25/33/0/T/T/208/30                    38 WNW RMY 41
3/9  45/28/37/+4/0.00/0.0/565/81              40 W   RMY 39
3/10 52/32/42/+9/0.09/0.0/252/36              28 S   RMY 27
3/11 55/38/47/+13/0.02/0.0/604/86             37 WNW RMY N/A
3/12 38/23/31/-3/0.00/0.0/677/96              44 N   RMY 48
3/13 40/18/29/-5/0.00/0.0/581/82              23 SSW RMY 26
3/14 41/29/35/0/0.84/0.0/000/00               23 SSW RMY 23
3/15 41/24/33/-2/0.03/0.6/021/03              39 NW  RMY 39
3/16 44/23/34/-1/0.00/0.0/516/72              28 NW  RMY N/A
3/17 48/25/37/+1/0.17/T/173/24                53 NW  RMY 63
3/18 30/19/25/-11/0.00/0.0/700/97             51 NW  RMY 56
3/19 31/15/23/-13/0.00/0.0/696/96             37 NW  RMY 39  
3/20 32/19/26/-11/0.07/1.0/102/14             17 NNW RMY 15
3/21 41/25/33/-4/0.10/0.8/000/00              36 WNW RMY N/A 
3/22 36/17/27/-10/0.00/0.0/712/97             50 W   RMY 55
3/23 31/14/23/-15/0.00/0.0/700/95             36 WNW RMY 35
3/24 39/16/28/-10/0.00/0.0/636/86             20 NNW RMY N/A
3/25 48/25/37/-1/0.08/0.0/572/77              32 S   RMY 31
3/26 54/35/45/+6/0.56/0.0/052/07              32 SSW RMY 32
3/27 41/36/39/+0/0.22/0.0/000/00              22 NNE RMY N/A
3/28 36/26/31/-8/0.43/5.0/000/00              30 NNW RMY 30
3/29 40/21/31/-9/0.00/0.0/701/93              26 NW  RMY N/A
3/30 43/28/36/-4/T/T/091/12                   36 SSW RMY 39
3/31 46/32/39/-2/0.00/0.0/479/63              28 W   RMY 30

4/1  44/26/35/-6/0.00/0.0/.../..              30 WNW RMY 31 
4/2  59/29/44/+3/T/0.0/.../..                 39 SSW RMY 43 
4/3  56/47/52/+10/0.02/0.0/.../..             36 SW  RMY N/A
4/4  49/32/41/-1/..../0.0/.../..              54 NW  RMY 64
4/5  47/30/39/-4/..../0.0/.../..              40 W   RMY 45
4/6  48/33/41/-2/0/00/0.0/.../..              18 NE  RMY N/A  
4/7  39/34/37/-6/..../0.0/000/00              21 NE  RMY N/A
4/8  41/32/37/-7/..../T/000/00                30 ENE RMY 32
4/9  35/32/34/-10/..../0.0/000/00             31 ENE RMY 32

4/9  low since midnight is 32F normal low is 35F

DAILY RECORDS FOR MARCH 2015

3/28- NEW RECORD DAILY SNOWFALL: 5.0 INCHES;
      surpasses the previous record of 3.0 ins. in 1932

DAILY RECORDS FOR APRIL 2015

4/3 - NEW RECORD DAILY HIGH MINIMUM TEMPERATURE: 47F
      surpasses the previous record of 46F in 1892

DAILY EXTREMES 
Temperature and precipitation records back to 1885, and
wind records back to 1940 (e = estimated):  

RECORDS FOR APRIL 10
HIGH 83 IN 1922
LOW 20 IN 1985
PRECIP 2.40 IN. IN 1935
SNOWFALL 10.1 IN. IN 1996
PEAK GUST 66 MPH WNW IN 1967

RECORDS FOR APRIL 11
HIGH 78 IN 1945
LOW 19 IN 1909
PRECIP 1.72 IN. IN 2003
SNOWFALL 9.5 IN. IN 1958
PEAK GUST 65 MPH NW IN 1963

TODAY'S REPORT PREPARED BY: Brian Fitzgerald