BLUE HILL METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATORY MILTON, MASSACHUSETTS ELEVATION 635 FEET, 10 MILES SSW OF BOSTON, MA DAILY DISCUSSION AND CLIMATE SUMMARY SATURDAY, MARCH 7, 2015 ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME MOSTLY SUNNY AND WARMER TODAY WITH A FEW HIGH CLOUDS... DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME RETURNS TONIGHT...TURN CLOCKS AHEAD ONE HOUR... It was another cold start to the morning today with a minimum temperature of 13F just after sunrise, though it was colder at lower elevations. The low temperature at nearby Norwood Airport was just 3F. The inversion trapped some smoke near the ground, and this was visible along the horizon early this morning. The sky has been almost free of clouds with only a few thin scattered cirrus clouds approaching by late morning and early afternoon. The visibility has been much hazier compared to yesterday, though it has climbed from 25 miles to 40 miles by early afternoon. With the temperature climbing to the middle 30s by 1 PM EST, the harder snow pack earlier today is melting somewhat under the strengthening March sunshine. The snow depth has dropped to 33 inches as of this morning based on measurements in the instrument enclosure and a survey in a nearby clearing to the north of the Observatory. This is the 33rd consecutive day with 20 inches or more of snow on the ground. Seasonal snowfall has now reached 143.4 inches, just 1.0 inch below the snowiest season on record set in 1995-1996. Statistics and records are still being finalized for the month of February below. For more information about this historic winter, visit our web site at bluehill.org. PRELIMINARY STATS FOR FEBRUARY 2015 TEMPERATURE, Deg. F Avg. Max. 25.6 [-11.2] Avg. Min. 6.8 [-12.3] Mean 16.2 [-11.7] Corrected mean: 17.0 Max. for month: 39 on 2/22 Min. for month: -8 on 2/16 Number of days with temperature at or below zero: 6 HEATING DEGREE DAYS Total heating units; 1360 [+323] Total for the season: 4708 [+140] Total for last season: 4591 PRECIPITATION, Inches Total: 6.17 [+2.10] SNOWFALL, Inches Total: 83.6 [+69.7] WIND, mph Avg. uncorrected wind speed: 13.2 Avg. corrected wind speed: 13.5 Prevailing wind direction: NW @ 17% Peak gust and direction: 53 NW on the 15th SUNSHINE: Astronomical total minutes: 7695/17769 or 43% Campbell-Stokes card minutes: 7440/17148 or 43% BHO Greatest Seasonal Snowfall, inches (1885-2015): 1) 144.4 in 1995-1996 2) 143.4 in 2014-2015 (through 1 PM March 7th) 3) 136.0 in 1947-1948 4) 119.4 in 2004-2005 5) 113.1 in 2002-2003 6) 111.5 in 1915-1916 7) 109.6 in 1966-1967 8) 106.8 in 1955-1956 9) 103.4 in 1903-1904 10) 102.5 in 1922-1923 BHO Longest Duration of 20"+ Snow Depth, (1885-2015): 1) 53 days, 27 Dec, 1947 - 17 Feb, 1948 2) 34 days, 5 Feb - 9 Mar, 1920 34 days, 7 Feb - 12 Mar, 1978 4) 33 days, 3 Feb - 7 Mar, 2015 (through 1 PM March 7th) 5) 23 days, 25 Feb - 19 Mar, 1969 6) 21 days, 27 Jan - 16 Feb, 2011 7) 11 days, 15-25 Mar, 1916 11 days, 5-15 Jan, 1961 BHO Coldest Months, deg F (1885-2015) 1) 13.5 in Feb, 1934 2) 15.5 in Jan, 1920 3) 16.3 in Jan, 1888 4) 16.4 in Feb, 1885 5) 17.0 in Feb, 2015 6) 17.1 in Feb, 1923 7) 17.2 in Jan, 1912 17.2 in Jan, 1918 17.2 in Jan, 2004 10) 17.4 in Jan, 1893 17.4 in Dec, 1989 BHO Coldest February Maximum Temperature, deg F (1885-2015) 1) 37 in 1923 2) 39 in 1969 39 in 2015 4) 40 in 1978 5) 41 in 1905 41 in 1924 41 in 1934 8) 42 in 1958 BHO Greatest Snowstorms, inches (1885-2015): 1) 38.7 on 24-28 Feb, 1969 2) 30.8 on 26-28 Jan, 2015 3) 30.3 on 3-5 Mar, 1960 4) 30.1 on 6-7 Feb, 1978 5) 30.0 on 31 Mar - 1 Apr, 1997 6) 29.8 on 6-8 Mar, 2013 7) 27.7 on 7-10 Feb, 2015 8) 26.6 on 8-9 Feb, 2013 9) 24.7 on 17-18 Feb, 2003 10) 24.3 on 5-7 Dec, 2003 11) 23.0 on 5-7 Mar, 2001 12) 22.2 on 16-17 Feb, 1958 13) 21.6 on 14-15 Feb, 2015 14) 21.0 on 9-10 Feb, 1969 BHO Greatest February Snowstorms, inches (1885-2015): 1) 38.7 on 24-28 Feb, 1969 2) 30.1 on 6-7 Feb, 1978 3) 27.7 on 7-10 Feb, 2015 4) 26.6 on 8-9 Feb, 2013 5) 24.7 on 17-18 Feb, 2003 6) 22.2 on 16-17 Feb, 1958 7) 21.6 on 14-15 Feb, 2015 8) 21.0 on 9-10 Feb, 1969 BHO Snowiest February, inches (1885-2015): 1) 83.6 in 2015 2) 65.4 in 1969 3) 51.3 in 2003 4) 45.2 in 1967 5) 40.4 in 1920 6) 39.7 in 2013 7) 37.0 in 1893 BHO Snowiest January-February, inches (1886-2015): 1) 126.5 in 2015 2) 77.9 in 1948 3) 70.2 in 2005 4) 68.7 in 1904 5) 67.5 in 1920 6) 66.9 in 1994 BHO Greatest Snow Depth, inches (1895-2015): 1) 46 in February 2015 2) 43 in March 1969 3) 42 in January 1948 4) 41 in February 1969 5) 39 in February 1948 6) 38 in February 1920 7) 33 in February 1978 33 in January 1996 9) 31 in February 2003 31 in February 2011 11)30 in March 1960 30 in March 1978 Today's Observations: 7 A.M. Weather: Clear, smoke layer along horizon below inversion S-NE, hazy Temperature: 14F; Dew Point: 6F; Wind: WSW at 10 kts Sea-level pressure: 30.21 ins. Hg, falling, then more quickly Visibility: 25 miles 6-hr Max temp: 15F 6-hr Min temp: 13F Snow depth: 33 inches BHO SA 1155 CLR 25 231/14/6/2510/021/ K LYR ALG HRZN BLO INVSN S-NE HAZY/ 4/033 58004 10015 20013 10 A.M. Weather: Clear, few altocumulus distant WNW-NW, hazy Temperature: 26F; Dew Point: 6F; Wind: SW at 10 kts Sea-level pressure: 30.16 ins. Hg, falling, then more quickly Visibility: 35 miles BHO SA 1455 CLR 35 215/26/6/2310/016/ FEW AC DSNT WNW-NW HAZY/ 8/030 58016 1 P.M. Weather: Thin scattered cirrus, few lower dense cirrus, hazy Temperature: 35F; Dew Point: 11F; S at 10G17 kts Sea-Level Pressure: 30.06 ins. Hg, falling, then more quickly Visibility: 40 miles 6-hr Max temp: 36F 6-hr Min temp: 14F BHO SA 1755 250 -SCT 40 180/35/11/1910G17/006/ FEW LWR DNS CI HAZY/ 8/001 58035 10036 20014 SUMMARY FOR THURSDAY, MARCH 5, 2015 TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F) MAX.....26 NORMAL.....41 MIN......5 NORMAL.....23 MEAN....16 NORMAL.....32 DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR NORMAL...........................-16 TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH...........................-37 [-6.4 DEGREES/DAY] HEATING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON JUL TO JUN) TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY..............49 DEPARTURE..........+16 TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE MONTH.............237 DEPARTURE..........+37 TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE SEASON...........4945 DEPARTURE.........+178 TOTAL HEATING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE......4848 DIFFERENCE.........+97 PEAK GUST AND AVERAGE WIND SPEED (MPH) PEAK WIND GUST FOR YESTERDAY..................28 NW AT 2:56 A.M.* ASOS.......................30 NW AT 2:54 A.M. DAVIS......................27 NW AT 2:48 A.M. RMY 25 FASTEST MILE FOR YESTERDAY....................22 NW AT 2:56 A.M. MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE ASOS AVERAGE.................22 NNW AT 2:57 A.M. MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS AVERAGE................19 SSW AT 9:04 P.M. AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION............10.9 NNW ASOS.....................10.9 DAVIS....................9.2 W [267 degrees] * last of several occurrences.. PRECIPITATION (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST) TOTAL PRECIPITATION 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M....0.00 DEPARTURE.....-0.17 ASOS..............0.00 TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH..........0.64 DEPARTURE.....-0.40 ASOS..............0.66 TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR..........11.98 DEPARTURE.....+2.65 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......-0.5 TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE MONTH................5.9 DEPARTURE......+2.8 TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE SEASON.............143.4 DEPARTURE.....+93.3 PRELIMINARY CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR FEBRUARY 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 2/1 28/8/18/-8/0.00/0.0/582/97 29 WNW RMY N/A 2/2 29/8/19/-7/1.53/16.5/000/00 44 NE RMY 46 2/3 21/0/11/-15/0.00/0.0/593/98 31 NW RMY N/A 2/4 36/14/25/-1/0.00/0.0/164/27 31 S RMY 33 2/5 34/4/19/-7/0.15/3.5/000/00 38 NW RMY 39 2/6 19/-2/9/-17/0.00/0.0/392/64 28 NW RMY 27 2/7 25/14/20/-7/0.08/1.1/000/00 25 WSW RMY N/A 2/8 29/11/20/-7/0.78/12.2/000/00 30 NNE RMY 29 2/9 19/12/16/-11/1.59/13.6/000/00 29 N RMY 28 2/10 28/12/20/-7/0.10/0.8/081/13 29 N RMY 29 2/11 24/15/20/-7/0.03/1.4/000/00 30 N RMY 29 2/12 28/14/21/-6/0.02/0.6/000/00 31 NW RMY N/A 2/13 20/2/11/-17/0.00/0.0/630/100 35 NW RMY 35 2/14 26/1/14/-14/..../.../241/38 24 NW RMY N/A 2/15 18/-6/6/-22/..../.../000/00 53 NW RMY 59 2/16 17/-8/5/-23/0.00/0.0/606/95 43 NW RMY N/A 2/17 21/5/13/-15/0.12/2.0/064/10 18 NW RMY 16 2/18 28/15/22/-7/..../.../039/06 17 W RMY N/A 2/19 26/6/16/-13/0.02/0.3/116/18 40 W RMY 43 2/20 15/0/8/-21/0.00/0.0/630/97 38 W RMY 40 2/21 32/3/18/-11/..../.../462/71 39 SSW RMY 42 2/22 39/27/33/+4/..../.../327/50 25 WSW RMY N/A 2/23 28/1/15/-15/0.00/0.0/204/31 38 WNW RMY 44 2/24 18/-6/6/-24/..../.../574/87 26 S RMY 27 2/25 32/11/22/-8/..../.../650/98 35 W RMY 36 2/26 21/15/18/-12/0.04/0.6/000/00 25 NE RMY 24 2/27 25/9/17/-14/0.00/0.0/669/100 20 NW RMY N/A 2/28 30/5/18/-13/0.00/0.0/671/100 22 NW RMY N/A 3/1 29/14/22/-9/..../.../.../.. 25 SSW RMY 25 3/2 35/22/29/-2/..../.../.../.. 44 WNW RMY 48 3/3 32/13/23/-9/..../2.8/.../.. 33 S RMY N/A 3/4 41/32/37/+5/..../.../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/.../.. 28 NW RMY 25 3/7 morning low temp: 13F since midnight, normal low is now 24F DAILY RECORDS FOR FEBRUARY 2015 - NEW DAILY RECORD SNOWFALL FOR 2 FEBRUARY 2015 SNOWFALL 16.5 INS. surpasses previous record: 5.5 ins. in 1916, 1934 -NEW DAILY RECORD SNOWFALL FOR 9 FEBRUARY 2015 SNOWFALL 13.6 INS. surpasses previous record: 13.0 ins. in 1969 DAILY EXTREMES Temperature and precipitation records back to 1885, and wind records back to 1940 (e = estimated): RECORDS FOR MARCH 7 HIGH 66 IN 1946 LOW -1 IN 1890 PRECIP 2.05 INS. IN 1967 SNOWFALL 11.5 INS. IN 2013 PEAK GUST 66 MPH NE IN 1962 RECORDS FOR MARCH 8 HIGH 66 IN 2012 LOW 2 IN 1986 PRECIP 2.20 INS. IN 2008 SNOWFALL 8.3 INS. IN 1941 PEAK GUST 69 MPH SSW IN 2008 TODAY'S REPORT PREPARED BY: Mike Iacono