BLUE HILL METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATORY
MILTON, MASSACHUSETTS
ELEVATION 635 FEET, 10 MILES SSW OF BOSTON, MA
 
DAILY DISCUSSION AND CLIMATE SUMMARY
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 16, 2016
ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME
 
EARLY WEEK RAIN MOVES AWAY BUT CLOUDS LINGER
 
A total of 0.36 inches of rain was recorded from 7AM yesterday to 7AM
this morning, bringing the storm total for the recent event to 1.41 inches.
Steady rain was long gone by this morning, but clouds, low-level moisture,
and some spotty drizzle have been tough to get rid of. There was no
sunshine observed this morning and early afternoon.  No sunshine was
observed the past two days either.  Clouds appear to be breaking up right
around the time of the 1PM EST observation, however, and the air
has started to dry out, with the dew point dropping several degrees below
the air temperature. 
 
Despite the gloomy conditions, temperatures have remained above normal, with
a warm morning low of 39F and a high so far of 47F.  March continues to be a
very warm month, nearly 8 degrees above average so far.  Winds have been
light, and shifted sharply from north to east-northeast around 12:40 PM EST.
The clearing skies have allowed visibility to the west to soar to 80 miles
this afternoon.   
 
Today's Observations:
 
7 A.M.
Weather: Overcast nimbostratus, line of clearing along horizon WSW-NW
Temperature: 39F; Dew Point: 39F; Wind: N at 7 kts
Sea-level pressure: 29.83 ins. Hg, rising then rising more rapidly
Visibility: 35 miles
6-hr Max temp: 40F
6-hr Min temp: 39F
24-hr precip: 0.36 ins.
BHO SA 1155 E8 OVC 35 101/39/39/3507/983/ LINE OF CLRG ALG HRZN 
WSW-NW/ 8/02/ 53016 ASOS 70039 MANUAL 70036 10040 20039
 
10 A.M.
Weather: Light drizzle, overcast nimbostratus, few stratus fractus,
line of clearing along horizon S-NW
Temperature: 42F; Dew Point: 40F; Wind: N at 9 kts,
Wind: Direction variable NW-NNE
Sea-level pressure: 29.86 ins. Hg, rising then rising more slowly
Visibility: 70 miles, except 20 miles NNW-E, 40 miles ESE-SSE
3-hr precip: Trace
BHO SA 1455 E8 OVC 70L- 113/42/40/3509/986/ FEW STFRA
LINE OF CLRG ALG HRZN S-NW PCPN VRY LGT VSBY NNW-E 20
ESE-SSE 40 WND 32V03/ 8/72/ 51012 MANUAL 6000/
 
1 P.M.
Weather: Overcast stratocumulus, Sun dimly visible, clearing along
horizon S-NNW
Temperature: 47F; Dew Point: 41F; Wind: ENE at 8 kts,
Wind: Direction variable NNE-E
Sea-level pressure: 29.84 ins. Hg, rising then falling
Visibility: 80 miles, except 45 miles N-SE
6-hr Max temp: 47F
6-hr Min temp: 39F
6-hr precip: Trace
BHO SA 1755 E15 OVC 80 106/47/41/0608/984/ SUN DMLY VSBL
CLRG ALG HRZN S-NNW VSBY N-SE 45 WND 03V09/
8/5// 58007 MANUAL 6000/ 10047 20039
 
SUMMARY FOR TUESDAY, MARCH 15, 2016
  
TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
MAX.....45   NORMAL.....44
MIN.....39   NORMAL.....26
MEAN....42   NORMAL.....35
 
DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR NORMAL.........................+7
TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH.......................+122 [+7.9 DEGREES/DAY]
 
HEATING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON JUL TO JUN)
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY..............23   DEPARTURE..........-7
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE MONTH.............359   DEPARTURE........-122
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE SEASON...........4042   DEPARTURE.......-1007
TOTAL HEATING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE......5217   DIFFERENCE......-1175
 
PEAK GUST AND AVERAGE WIND SPEED (MPH)
PEAK WIND GUST FOR YESTERDAY...................36 ENE  AT 8:20 A.M.  
                   ASOS........................37 E    AT 8:21 A.M.        
                   DAVIS.......................33 NE   AT 7:19 A.M. RMY 34
FASTEST MILE FOR YESTERDAY.....................25 ENE  AT 8:04 A.M.     
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE ASOS AVERAGE..................24 ENE  AT 8:21 A.M.        
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS AVERAGE.................22 NE   AT 8:20 A.M.        
AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION.............15.9 ENE 
                   ASOS......................15.3   
                   DAVIS.....................13.7 NE [039 Deg.]
 
PRECIPITATION (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST)
TOTAL PRECIPITATION 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M....0.36  DEPARTURE......+0.18
                         ASOS..............0.39
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH..........2.16  DEPARTURE......-0.43
                         ASOS..............2.20
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR..........11.53  DEPARTURE......+0.52
                         ASOS.............12.16
 
SNOWFALL (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST) 
TOTAL SNOWFALL 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M..........0.0  DEPARTURE.......-0.4
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE MONTH................0.5  DEPARTURE.......-6.8
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE SEASON..............38.6  DEPARTURE......-16.2
 
PRELIMINARY CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR MARCH 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
 
3/1   45/30/38/+7/0.00/0.0/602/89           54 W   AERO 60 W   RMY 53
3/2   52/21/37/+6/0.41/0.0/204/30           44 WNW AERP 47 NW  RMY 42
3/3   34/16/25/-7/0.00/0.0/641/94           30 WNW AERO 36 WNW RMY N/A
3/4   30/24/27/-5/..../.../000/00           32 N   AERO 38 N   RMY 34
3/5   35/20/28/-4/0.00/0.0/536/78           31 N   AERO 36 N   RMY N/A
3/6   40/25/33/+1/0.00/0.0/593/86           21 SSE AERO 21 SSE RMY N/A
3/7   49/29/39/+6/0.00/0.0/173/25           43 SSW AERO 48 SSW RMY 45
3/8   55/35/45/+12/0.00/0.0/647/93          23 S   AERO 24 S   RMY N/A
3/9   75/38/57/+24/0.00/0.0/594/85          32 S   AERO 36 S   RMY 33
3/10  64/50/57/+24/..../0.0/000/00          31 NNW AERO 38 NNW RMY 32
3/11  56/38/47/+13/T/0.0/331/47             28 NNW AERO 36 NNW RMY 29
3/12  58/31/45/+11/0.00/0.0/650/92          30 SW  AERO 33 SW  RMY 30
3/13  63/46/55/+21/0.00/0.0/.../..          32 NW  AERO 35 NW  RMY 30
3/14  46/36/41/+6/..../T/000/00             32 E   AERO 33 E   RMY N/A
3/15  45/39/42/+7/..../0.0/000/00           36 ENE AERO 38 ENE RMY 34
 
3/16  low temp since midnight is 39F; normal now 26F
 
DAILY RECORDS FOR MARCH 2016
 
***3/9/16: NEW DAILY RECORD MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 75F,
BREAKS PREVIOUS RECORD OF 71F SET BACK IN 2000.***
 
***3/10/16: NEW DAILY RECORD HIGH MINIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 50F,
BREAKS PREVIOUS RECORD OF 42F SET AND TIED IN 1977, 2006***
 
DAILY EXTREMES
Temperature and precipitation records back to 1885, and
wind records back to 1940 (e = estimated):
 
RECORDS FOR MARCH 16
HIGH 73 IN 1990
LOW 8 IN 1932
PRE 1.95 INS. IN 1900
SNOW 10.0 INS. IN 1896
WIND 79 MPH NE IN 1956
 
RECORDS FOR MARCH 17
HIGH 69 IN 2003
LOW 6 IN 1885
PRECIP 1.97 INS. IN 1968
SNOWFALL 6.5 INS. IN 1956
PEAK GUST 70 MPH SSW IN 1973
 
TODAY'S REPORT PREPARED BY: Jonathan O'Brien