BLUE HILL METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATORY MILTON, MASSACHUSETTS ELEVATION 635 FEET, 10 MILES SSW OF BOSTON, MA DAILY DISCUSSION AND CLIMATE SUMMARY TUESDAY, MARCH 8, 2016  ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME WARM-UP UNDER WAY, TEMPS REACH THE 50S BY MID DAY Temperatures stayed above the freezing mark overnight last  night after reaching a daytime maximum reading of 49F yesterday afternoon. This morning temperatures dipped to a minimum of 35F, some 11 degrees warmer than today's daily norm. Completely clear, yet thinly foggy skies this morning have  given way to mostly clear conditions this afternoon. During the 1:00 PM EST observation only high cirrus and cirrocumulus were visible in the distance with hazy conditions limiting visibility to just 25 miles in all directions. Temperatures had reached a maximum reading of 53F so far.   With a warm end to the month of February, the average monthly  temperature of 32.2F is the 11th warmest February on record, and when combined with the warmest December on record and a  warm month of January, this winter just barely became the warmest on record with an average temperature of 34.9F. BHO Warmest Februarys, deg F (1885-2016): 1) 34.9 in 1984 2) 34.3 in 2012 3) 34.0 in 1998 4) 33.9 in 1954    33.9 in 1981 6) 33.7 in 1976 7) 33.6 in 1997    33.6 in 2002 9) 33.1 in 1925 10) 32.6 in 1991 11) 32.2 in 2016 12) 31.9 in 1960     31.9 in 1999 BHO Warmest Winters, deg F (1885-2016): 1) 34.9 in 2015-2016 2) 34.8 in 2001-2002 3) 34.3 in 2011-2012 4) 32.6 in 1997-1998 5) 32.3 in 1936-1937    32.3 in 1998-1999 PRELIMINARY STATS FOR FEBRUARY 2016   TEMPERATURE, Deg. F Avg. Max. 42.2 [+5.4] Avg. Min. 22.5 [+3.4] Mean      32.4 [+4.5] 24-hour Corrected Mean: 32.2 Max. for month:  64 on 1st Min. for month: -14 on 14th   HEATING DEGREE DAYS Total heating units: 941 [-130]  Total for the season: 3683 [-919] Total for last season: 4708   PRECIPITATION, Inches Total: 5.60 [+1.53] Greatest in 24 hrs: 1.70 on the 4th-5th Snowfall: 22.5 [+8.6] Greatest in 24 hrs: 12.5 on the 5th   WIND, mph Avg. uncorrected wind speed: 14.4 Avg. corrected wind speed: 14.7 Prevailing wind direction: WNW @ 14% Peak gust and direction: 76 S on the 25th   SUNSHINE: Campbell-Stokes card minutes: 9,000 out of possible 17,796 or 51% Astronomical total minutes:   9,302 out of possible 18,418 or 51% Today's Observations: 7 A.M. Weather: Clear, sky completely clear     Temperature: 37F; Dew Point: 22F; Wind: N at 10 kts Sea-level pressure: 30.15 ins. Hg, rising, then more quickly Visibility: 20 miles, thin fog in all directions, hazy 6-hr Max temp: 39F  6-hr Min temp: 35F 24-hr precip: 0.00  24-hr snowfall: 0.00 inch BHO SA 1155 CLR 20 210/37/32/3610/015/ SKC THN FG ALQDS HAZY/ 8/000 53015 10039 20035   10 A.M. Weather: Thin broken cirrus Temperature: 48F; Dew Point: 32F; Wind: estimated N at 6 kts, Wind Speed and Direction: Light and Variable Sea-level pressure: 30.18 ins. Hg, risng, then falling but higher still Visibility: 20 miles, thin fog in all directions, hazy   BHO SA 1455 E250 -BKN 20 219/48/32/E0106/018/ THN FG ALQDS HAZY WND LGT AND VRB/ 8/001 50009 1 P.M. Weather: Clear, few cirrocumulus distant SSW-WNW,  few cirrus distant N-SE Temperature: 53F; Dew Point: 33F; Wind: estimated N at 4 kts, Wind Speed: Light Sea-level pressure: 30.16 ins. Hg, falling, then more quickly Visibility: 25 miles, hazy 6-hr Max temp: 53F  6-hr Min temp: 37F BHO SA 1755 CLR 25 213/53/33/E3604/016/ FEW CC DSNT SSW-WNW FEW CI DSNT N-SE HAZY WND LGT/ 8/009 58006 10053 20037 SUMMARY FOR MONDAY, MARCH 7, 2016     TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F) MAX.....49   NORMAL.....42 MIN.....29   NORMAL.....24  MEAN....39   NORMAL.....33 DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR NORMAL.........................+6 TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH.........................+4 [+0.4 DEGREES/DAY] HEATING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON JUL TO JUN) TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY..............26   DEPARTURE..........-6 TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE MONTH.............228   DEPARTURE..........-4 TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE SEASON...........3911   DEPARTURE........-889 TOTAL HEATING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE......4984   DIFFERENCE......-1073 PEAK GUST AND AVERAGE WIND SPEED (MPH)  PEAK WIND GUST FOR YESTERDAY...................43 SSW AT  1:08 P.M.                      ASOS........................43 SSW AT  1:08 P.M.                            DAVIS.......................43 SSW AT  1:07 P.M. RMY 45 FASTEST MILE FOR YESTERDAY.....................30 SSW AT  1:08 P.M.     MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE ASOS AVERAGE..................30 SSW AT  1:09 P.M.         MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS AVERAGE.................29 SSW AT 12:41 P.M.         AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION..............14.6 SSW                    ASOS.......................14.1                       DAVIS......................13.5 SSW [204 Deg.] * 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..........0.45  DEPARTURE......-0.76                          ASOS..............0.48 TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR...........9.82  DEPARTURE......+0.19                           ASOS.............10.44 SNOWFALL (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST)   TOTAL SNOWFALL 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M..........0.0  DEPARTURE.......-0.5 TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE MONTH................0.5  DEPARTURE.......-3.1 TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE SEASON..............38.6  DEPARTURE......-12.5 PRELIMINARY CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR FEBRUARY CALENDAR DAY DATA DATE: MAX/MIN/MEAN/DEP/PRECIP/SUN(MIN.)/SUN(%)/ PEAK GUST/ AERO/RMY GUST AERO: Aerovane wind recording system 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   64/40/52/+26/0.00/0.0/305/51          36 WNW AERO 37 W   RMY 34 2/2   48/31/40/+14/0.00/0.0/602/100         23 NW  AERO 23 WNW RMY N/A 2/3   55/34/45/+19/0.80/0.0/000/00          55 SSE AERO 58 SSE RMY 53 2/4   55/39/47/+21/0.08/0.0/000/00          37 W   AERO 36 W   RMY 35 2/5   39/19/29/+3/1.62/12.5/000/00          37 NNW AERO 39 NNW RMY 35 2/6   35/17/26/0/0.00/0.0/532/87            25 SSW AERO 24 SSW RMY 23  2/7   43/26/35/+8/0.00/0.0/577/94           35 ENE AERO 35 ENE RMY N/A 2/8   36/16/26/-1/0.60/8.7/000/00           53 NE  AERO 55 NE  RMY 53 2/9   26/17/22/-5/T/T/000/00                21 N   AERO 22 N   RMY N/A 2/10  33/21/27/+0/0.01/0.1/006/01           23 W   AERO 23 W   RMY 21 2/11  26/7/17/-10/T/T/131/21                39 W   AERO 47 W   RMY 42 2/12  23/4/13/-14/0.00/0.0/433/69           31 WNW AERO 38 WNW RMY 21 2/13  21/-7/7/-21/0.00/0.0/459/73           41 W   AERO 46 WNW RMY 43  2/14  10/-14/-2/-30/0.00/0.0/632/100        33 WNW AERO 46 WNW RMY N/A 2/15  32/-2/15/-13/0.23/1.2/178/28          24 E   AERO 28 E   RMY N/A 2/16  55/32/44/+16/0.74/0.0/006/01          65 SSE AERO 69 SSE RMY 64 2/17  43/30/37/+9/0.00/0.0/576/90           33 W   AERO 35 W   RMY N/A 2/18  32/20/26/+3/0.00/0.0/637/99           25 NNW AERO 29 NW  RMY 25  2/19  39/16/28/-1/0.01/T/452/70             24 SSW AERO 26 SSW RMY N/A 2/20  58/31/45/+16/T/T/363/56               44 SSW AERO 44 SSW RMY 41 2/21  53/39/46/+17/0.00/0.0/475/73          39 WNW AERO 43 WNW RMY 39  2/22  45/29/37/+8/0.00/0.0/608/93           18 NW  AERO 20 NW  RMY 17 2/23  37/25/31/+1/0.01/T/000/00             26 E   AERO 26 E   RMY N/A 2/24  60/33/47/+17/0.70/0.0/000/00          60 S   AERO 66 S   RMY N/A 2/25  63/37/50/+15/0.80/0.0/218/33          76 S   AERO 84 S   RMY N/A 2/26  38/22/30/0/0.00/0.0/665/100           42 WNW AERO 44 WNW RMY 41  2/27  38/16/27/-4/0.00/0.0/654/98           31 SSW AERO 31 SSW RMY 33   2/28  56/34/45/+14/0.00/0.0/335/50          32 S   AERO 37 SSW RMY N/A 2/29  63/41/52/+21/T/0.0/458/68             39 W   AERO 41 W   RMY N/A 3/1   45/30/38/+7/0.00/0.0/.../..           54 W   AERO 60 W   RMY 53 3/2   52/21/37/+6/0.41/0.0/.../..           44 WNW AERP 47 NW  RMY 42 3/3   34/16/25/-7/0.00/0.0/.../..           30 WNW AERO 36 WNW RMY N/A 3/4   30/24/27/-5/..../.../.../..           32 N   AERO 38 N   RMY 34 3/5   35/20/28/-4/0.00/0.0/.../..           31 N   AERO 36 N   RMY N/A 3/6   40/25/33/+1/0.00/0.0/.../..           21 SSE AERO 21 SSE RMY N/A 3/7   49/29/39/+6/0.00/0.0/.../..           43 SSW AERO 48 SSW RMY 45 3/8   morning low temp. since midnight 35F; normal now 24F DAILY RECORDS FOR FEBRUARY & MARCH 2016 2/14/16: **NEW DAILY RECORD LOW MINIMUM TEMPERATURE OF -14F, SURPASSING PREVIOUS RECORD OF -8F SET IN 1979** 2/14/16: **TIED DAILY RECORD LOW MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 10F, MATCHING PREVIOUS RECORD OF 10F SET IN 1979** 2/25/16: **NEW DAILY RECORD PEAK WIND GUST OF 76 MPH S, SURPASSING PREVIOUS RECORD OF 75 MPH S IN 1965** 2/29/16: **NEW DAILY RECORD MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 63F, BREAKS PREVIOUS RECORD OF 56F SET BACK IN 1976** 2/29/16: **DAILY RECORD HIGH MINIMUM OF 41F TIES RECORD  SET IN 1896** DAILY EXTREMES Temperature and precipitation records back to 1885, and wind records back to 1940 (e = estimated): 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 RECORDS FOR MARCH 9 HIGH 71 IN 2000 LOW 1 IN 2007 PRECIP 2.67 INS. IN 1998 SNOWFALL 6.3 INS. IN 2001 PEAK GUST 102e MPH S IN 1942 [RECORD FOR MONTH] TODAY'S REPORT PREPARED BY: Brian Fitzgerald