BLUE HILL METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATORY
MILTON, MASSACHUSETTS
ELEVATION 635 FEET, 10 MILES SSW OF BOSTON, MA
 
DAILY DISCUSSION AND CLIMATE SUMMARY
THURSDAY, MARCH 19, 2015    
ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME
 
CLEAR, COLD, AND BLUSTERY TODAY
 
Arctic air remains in place across New England today, moderated only by the
higher Sun angle we enjoy this time of year.  After a frigid morning low of
15F, the temperature has climbed to only 30F so far this afternoon despite
full sunshine. This is well below the average high for today of 45F.  The air
is very dry, with the dew point having been in the single digits above and
below zero today.  The brisk NW wind has continued to add an extra bite to
the chill as well, but it is not as strong as it was yesterday when winds
gusted over 50mph, with a daily average wind speed of over 25mph.  Still,
several gusts of around 35mph have been observed today.  Visibility has been
very good today, as it often is in these cold air masses, running at about
80 miles for most of the day.
 
Seasonal snowfall remains at 144.0 inches, just 0.4 inches below the snowiest
season on record set in 1995-1996.  For more information about this historic
winter, visit our web site at bluehill.org.
 
The average snow depth is at 16 inches this morning. Our streak of 42
consecutive days with 20 inches or more of snow on the ground has ended,
firmly in second place all time.  The record is 53 days set back in 1948.  
 
BHO Greatest Seasonal Snowfall, inches (1885-2015):
 
1) 144.4 in 1995-1996
2) 144.0 in 2014-2015 (through 1 PM March 18th)
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) 42 days, 3 Feb - 16 Mar, 2015
3) 34 days, 5 Feb - 9 Mar, 1920
   34 days, 7 Feb - 12 Mar, 1978
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
 
Today's Observations:
 
7 A.M.
Weather: Clear, few stratocumulus distant offshore ENE-E, cirrus mostly
distant SSE-NW
Temperature: 17F; Dew Point: 0F; Wind: WNW at 15G23 kts,
Peak Wind: 26 kts WNW at 6:31 AM EST
Sea-level pressure: 30.19 ins. Hg, rising then rising more rapidly
Visibility: 80 miles
6-hr Max temp: 17F
6-hr Min temp: 15F
24-hr precip: None
24-hr snowfall: None
Snow depth: 16 inches
BHO SA 1155 CLR 80 223/17/0/3015G23/019/ FEW SC DSNT OFFSHR ENE-E
CI MSTLY DSNT SSE-NW PK WND 3026/31/ 8/501 4/016 53024 10017 20015
 
10 A.M.
Weather: Clear, cirrus distant SE-SW
Temperature: 23F; Dew Point: -1F; Wind: NW at 22G30 kts,
Peak Wind: 31 kts NW @ 9:03 AM EST
Sea-level pressure: 30.21 ins. Hg, rising then falling
Visibility: 80 miles
BHO SA 1455 CLR 80 229/23/-1/3122G30/021/ CI DSNT SE-SW PK WND 3131/03/
8/001 50006
 
1 P.M.
Weather: Clear, few cirrus distant SSE-SW
Temperature: 29F; Dew Point: 3F; Wind: WNW at 17G28 kts,
Peak Wind: 30 kts WNW @ 12:29 P.M. EST
Sea-Level Pressure: 30.19 ins. Hg, falling then falling more rapidly
Visibility: 75 miles
6-hr Max temp: 30F
6-hr Min temp: 17F
BHO SA 1755 CLR 75 223/29/3/2917G28/019/ FEW CI DSNT SSE-SW PK WND 3030/29/
8/001 58006 10030 20017

SUMMARY FOR WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2015
 
TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
MAX.....30   NORMAL.....45
MIN.....19   NORMAL.....27
MEAN....25   NORMAL.....36
 
DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR NORMAL...........................-11
TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH...........................-39 [-2.4 DEGREES/DAY]
 
HEATING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON JUL TO JUN)
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY..............40  DEPARTURE..........+11
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE MONTH.............608  DEPARTURE..........+39    
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE SEASON...........5316  DEPARTURE.........+179
TOTAL HEATING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE......5238  DIFFERENCE.........+78
 
PEAK GUST AND AVERAGE WIND SPEED (MPH)
PEAK WIND GUST FOR YESTERDAY..................51  NW  AT  12:35 P.M. *
                   ASOS.......................57  NW  AT  10:31 A.M.
                   DAVIS......................54  N   AT  10:31 A.M.  RMY 56
FASTEST MILE FOR YESTERDAY....................41  NW  AT  11:39 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE ASOS AVERAGE.................39  NW  AT  12:08 P.M.   
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS AVERAGE................38  NW  AT  11:40 A.M.   
AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION.............25.6 NW       
                   ASOS......................23.4  
                   DAVIS.....................22.0 NW [314 degrees]
* Last of several occurrences...

PRECIPITATION (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST)
TOTAL PRECIPITATION 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M....0.00   DEPARTURE.....-0.19
                         ASOS..............0.00
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH..........1.79   DEPARTURE.....-1.18 
                         ASOS..............N/A
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR..........13.13   DEPARTURE.....+1.87
                         ASOS..............N/A ***
*** ASOS monthly and 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................6.5  DEPARTURE......-2.1
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE SEASON.............144.0  DEPARTURE.....+88.4
 
PRELIMINARY CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR MARCH 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/..../.../000/00              25 SSW RMY 25
3/2  35/22/29/-2/..../.../480/71              44 WNW RMY 48
3/3  32/13/23/-9/..../2.8/340/50              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/-16/0.00/0.0/681/99              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/..../0.0/252/36              28 S   RMY 27
3/11 55/38/47/+13/..../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/.../..              39 NW  RMY 39
3/16 44/23/34/-1/0.00/0.0/.../..              28 NW  RMY N/A
3/17 48/25/37/+1/0.17/T/.../..                53 NW  RMY 63
3/18 30/19/25/-11/0.00/.../..                 51 NW  RMY 56
 
3/19 morning low temp: 15F since midnight, normal low is now 27F
 
DAILY RECORDS FOR MARCH 2015
 
-NONE SO FAR.
 
DAILY EXTREMES
Temperature and precipitation records back to 1885, and
wind records back to 1940 (e = estimated): 
 
RECORDS FOR MARCH 19
HIGH 77 IN 2012
LOW -2 IN 1967
PRECIP 1.69 INS. IN 1956
SNOWFALL 17.6 INS. IN 1956 [RECORD FOR MONTH]
PEAK GUST 75e MPH WNW IN 1941
 
RECORDS FOR MARCH 20
HIGH 79 IN 1945
LOW 4 IN 1885
PRECIP 1.39 INS. IN 1957
SNOWFALL 11.4 INS. IN 1957
PEAK GUST 63 MPH SE IN 1975
 
TODAY'S REPORT PREPARED BY: Jonathan O'Brien