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

DAILY DISCUSSION AND CLIMATE SUMMARY
THURSDAY, MARCH 31, 2016 
ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME

MARCH TO END WITH A ROAR- GUSTY SOUTHERLY WINDS HIT 63 MPH
BY 1 PM EST TODAY WITH HIGH WIND WARNING STILL IN PLACE

Calm, dry and warmer than normal conditions on Wednesday
have given way to gusty and violent southerly winds today,
as temperatures and humidity have continued to climb. 

Yesterday's maximum temperature of 58F was 9 degrees above
normal for the date, and with a colder than normal minimum
of 29F, temperatures averaged 4 degrees warmer than normal
for the day. Overnight winds shifted to a more southerly flow
and have increased in speed along with rising levels of humidity.

Temperatures today have continued to climb well into the 60s,
and by the 1:00 PM EST observation a maximum temperature of
69F had been recorded. 

Peak Gusts Thru 1:00 PM EST Today

-Official Climate Record (F420c): 63 MPH
-National Weather Service ASOS: 66 MPH
-RM Young Anemometer: 65 MPH

Fastest 2 Minute Sustained Speed (ASOS): 43 MPH


Today's Observations:

7 A.M.
Weather: Thin broken cirrus, few altocumulus lenticularis
distant W-E
Temperature: 53F; Dew Point: 47F; Wind: SSW at 20G30 kts,
Peak Wind: 30 kts SW at 6:49 AM EST
Sea-level pressure: 30.03 ins. Hg, falling, then more slowly
Visibility: 30 miles, hazy
6-hr Max temp: 53F 
6-hr Min temp: 42F
24-hr precip: 0.00  
BHO SA 1155 E250 -BKN 30 168/53/47/2120G30/003/ FEW DSNT ACSL 
W-E HAZY PK WND 2230/49/ 8/041 55005 10053 20042

10 A.M.
Weather: Scattered altocumulus, thin broken cirrus, 
few cumulus in all directions
Temperature: 63F; Dew Point: 45F; Wind: SSW at 26G42 kts,
Peak Wind: 42 kts SSW at 9:42 AM EST
Sea-level pressure: 29.96 ins. Hg, falling, then more quickly
Visibility: 35 miles, hazy  
BHO SA 1455 200 SCT E250 -BKN 35 147/63/45/2126G42/996/ 
FEW CU ALQDS HAZY PK WND 2142/55/ 8/131 58021 

1 P.M.
Weather: Thin broken cirrus, few cumulus in all directions
Temperature: 68F; Dew Point: 45F; Wind: SSW at 30G48 kts,
Peak Wind: 50 kts SSW at 11:55 AM EST
Sea-level pressure: 29.90 ins. Hg, falling, then rising but 
lower still 
Visibility: 35 miles, hazy
6-hr Max temp: 69F 
6-hr Min temp: 53F
BHO SA 1755 E250 -BKN 35 124/68/45/2130G48/990/ FEW CU ALQDS 
HAZY PK WND 2050/1655/ 8/108 55023 10069 20053
 

SUMMARY FOR WEDNESDAY, MARCH 30, 2016 
  
TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
MAX.....58   NORMAL.....49
MIN.....29   NORMAL.....31 
MEAN....44   NORMAL.....40

DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR NORMAL.........................+4
TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH.......................+165 [+5.3 DEGREES/DAY]

HEATING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON JUL TO JUN)
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY..............21   DEPARTURE..........-4
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE MONTH.............726   DEPARTURE........-165
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE SEASON...........4409   DEPARTURE.......-1050
TOTAL HEATING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE......5717   DIFFERENCE......-1308

PEAK GUST AND AVERAGE WIND SPEED (MPH) 
PEAK WIND GUST FOR YESTERDAY...................33 S   AT  6:16 P.M.* 
                   ASOS........................35 S   AT  4:59 P.M.  
                   DAVIS.......................34 S   AT  4:58 P.M. RMY N/A
FASTEST MILE FOR YESTERDAY.....................26 S   AT  5:19 P.M.   
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE ASOS AVERAGE..................26 S   AT  5:02 P.M. 
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS AVERAGE.................24 S   AT  5:49 P.M. 
AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION.............13.8 S 
                   ASOS......................13.6   
                   DAVIS.....................12.6 SW [219 Deg.]

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..........3.21  DEPARTURE......-2.19
                         ASOS..............3.05
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR..........12.58  DEPARTURE......-1.24 
                         ASOS.............13.01


SNOWFALL (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST)  
TOTAL SNOWFALL 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M..........0.0  DEPARTURE.......-0.2
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE MONTH................4.4  DEPARTURE.......-8.0
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE SEASON..............42.5  DEPARTURE......-17.4

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  48/39/44/+9/..../0.0/.../..           25 E   AERO 28 E   RMY N/A
3/17  63/40/52/+16/..../0.0/.../..          44 NW  AERO 48 NW  RMY 45
3/18  51/33/42/+6/0.01/0.0/.../..           43 WNW AERO 45 WNW RMY 43
3/19  44/25/35/-1/0.00/0.0/.../..           25 NNW AERO 28 NNW RMY 26
3/20  35/23/29/-8/..../.../.../..           25 NE  AERO 28 NE  RMY 25
3/21  41/26/34/-3/..../.../.../..           30 WNW AERO 33 WNW RMY 32
3/22  48/28/38/+1/..../.../.../..           33 W   AERO 37 W   RMY 36
3/23  62/39/51/+13/0.01/0.0/.../..          35 NE  AERO 40 NE  RMY 39
3/24  39/34/37/-1/..../0.0/.../..           31 ENE AERO 33 ENE RMY 32
3/25  55/37/46/+8/        /.../..           22 NNW AERO 22 NNW RMY 24 
3/26  43/30/37/-2/0.00/0.0/.../..           22 N   AERO 24 N   RMY N/A  
3/27  46/30/38/-1/0.00/0.0/.../..           23 SSE AERO 24 SSE RMY 22  
3/28  43/35/39/+0/0.41/0.0/000/00           33 W   AERO N/A    RMY N/A
3/29  50/34/42/+2/0.00/0.0/.../..           46 WNW AERO N/A    RMY 46
3/30  58/29/44/+4/0.00/0.0/.../..           33 S   AERO N/A    RMY N/A

3/31  low temp since midnight is 41F; normal now 32F

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 31
HIGH 89 IN 1998  [RECORD HIGH FOR MONTH]
LOW 16 IN 1923
PRECIP 2.89 IN 1987
SNOWFALL 15.0 IN 1997
PEAK GUST 81 MPH SSE IN 1987

RECORDS FOR APRIL 1
HIGH 74 IN 1967
LOW 6 IN 1923 [RECORD FOR MONTH]
PRECIP 3.47 IN. IN 2004 [RECORD FOR MONTH]
SNOWFALL 15.0 IN. IN 1997 [RECORD FOR MONTH]
PEAK GUST 75 MPH SSW IN 1962

TODAY'S REPORT PREPARED BY: Brian Fitzgerald/Cece Borries-Strigle