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

DAILY DISCUSSION AND CLIMATE SUMMARY
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2018  
ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME

TEMPERATURES QUICKLY DROP AFTER OVERNIGHT 
WIND SHIFT....

The wind shifted from SE-WNW just before 1:00 A.M.
today. This caused temperatures to quickly drop
from 46F just before 1:00 A.M. to 35F just before
8:00 A.M. Our high so far today is 46F, which is
11 degrees above the normal of 35F. As the pressure
rises the wind from the WNW was been moderate to 
strong. So far today we have had a peak gust of 41 
kts (47 MPH) with frequent gust over 32 kts (37 MPH) 
after 10:00 A.M. 

Light snow began before noon yesterday.
As winds from the south caused temperatures to 
rise we then observed a wintery mix of 
precipitation, but as temperatures continued to 
rise after 1:00 P.M. the precip. turned to rain 
and we measured a storm total of 0.68 ins. this
morning.    

PRELIMINARY STATS FOR JANUARY 2018
 
TEMPERATURE, Deg. F
Avg. Max. 33.8  [0.0]
Avg. Min. 18.3 [+1.2]
Mean      26.1 [+0.6]
24-hour corrected mean: 26.4
Max. for month: 60F on 12th and 13th
Min. for month: -8F on  7th
 
HEATING DEGREE DAYS
Total heating units:  1199  [-27] 
Total for the season: 3321 [-210]
Total for last season: 3027

PRECIPITATION, Inches
Total: 6.00 [+1.65]
Greatest in 24 hrs: 2.28 on the 12-13th

SNOWFALL, Inches
Total: 25.2 [+8.0]
Greatest in 24 hrs: 16.5 in. on 4th
 
WIND, mph
Avg. uncorrected wind speed: 14.7
Avg. corrected wind speed: 15.0
Prevailing wind direction: W at 16%
Peak gust and direction: 58 SSW on 13th
 
SUNSHINE:
Campbell-Stokes card minutes: N/A
Astronomical total minutes: N/A

Today's Observations:

7 A.M.
Weather: Scattered stratocumulus
Temperature: 36F; Dew Point: 34F; Wind: W at 10 kts  
Sea-level pressure: 29.61 ins. Hg, rising, then more rapidly 
Visibility: 40 miles 
6-hr Max temp: 44F
6-hr Min temp: 35F
24-hr precip: 0.68 ins.
24-hr snowfall: Trace
Snow depth: 0 ins.
BHO SA 1155 36 SCT 40 026/36/34/2810/961/ FEW STFA WSW-SSW/ 
8/500 53040 MANUAL 70068 ASOS 70073 10044 20035  

10 A.M.
Weather: Broken stratocumulus
Temperature: 39F; Dew Point: 29F; Wind: WNW at 14G34 kts
Peak wind: 34 KTS (39 MPH) at 9:46 A.M.
Sea-level pressure: 29.72 ins. Hg, rising, then more slowly
Visibility: 60 miles
3-hr precip: 0.00 ins.
3-hr snowfall: 0.0 ins. 
BHO SA 1455 E30 BKN 60 065/39/29/2914G34/972/ PK WND 2934/46/ 
8/500 53039 
 
1 P.M.
Weather: Scattered cumulus and stratocumulus
Temperature: 36F; Dew Point: 22F; Wind: WNW at 19G34 kts,
Peak wind: 35 KTS (40 MPH) at 12:21 P.M.
Sea-level pressure: 29.83 ins. Hg, rising, then more slowly
Visibility: 70 miles
6-hr Max temp: 39F
6-hr Min temp: 34F
6-hr precip: 0.00 ins.
6-hr snowfall: 0.0 ins.
Snow depth: 0 ins.
BHO SA 1755 40 SCT 70 102/36/22/3019G34/983/ PK WND 3035/21/ 8/800 
51037 10039 20034

SUMMARY FOR SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2018

TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
MAX.....45   NORMAL.....35
MIN.....23   NORMAL.....17
MEAN....34   NORMAL.....26

DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR NORMAL.............................+8
TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH.............................+2 [+0.3. DEGREES/DAY]

HEATING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON JUL TO JUN)
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY.............31   DEPARTURE..........-8
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE MONTH............154   DEPARTURE..........-2
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE SEASON..........3475   DEPARTURE........-212
TOTAL HEATING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE.....3174   DIFFERENCE.......+301

PEAK GUST AND AVERAGE WIND SPEED (MPH) 
PEAK WIND GUST FOR YESTERDAY....................31 SSE AT 3:07 P.M. 
                   AERO.........................29 S   AT 7:30 A.M.
                   ASOS.........................32 S   AT 6:12 A.M.
                   DAVIS........................29 M   AT 3:14 A.M.** RMY 30 
FASTEST MILE FOR YESTERDAY......................24 S   AT 6:13 A.M. *  
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE ASOS AVERAGE...................23 SSW AT 6:18 A.M.  
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS AVERAGE..................23 M   AT 6:12 A.M.**
AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION..............16.3 SSE
                   ASOS.......................16.0 
                   DAVIS......................15.1 ** 
* Last of several occurrences
** Davis direction malfunctioning

PRECIPITATION (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST)
TOTAL PRECIPITATION 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M....0.68  DEPARTURE......+0.54
                         ASOS..............0.73
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH..........0.99  DEPARTURE......+0.45
                         ASOS..............1.05  
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR...........6.99  DEPARTURE......+2.10
                         ASOS..............7.63

SNOWFALL (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST)
TOTAL SNOWFALL 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M..........0.0  DEPARTURE........-0.5
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE MONTH................2.5  DEPARTURE........+0.5
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE SEASON..............37.0  DEPARTURE........+1.8

PRELIMINARY CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR JANUARY CALENDAR DAY DATA
DATE: MAX/MIN/MEAN/DEP/PRECIP/SNOW/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
M:    Missing data

1/01 11/-5/3/-24/0.00/0.0/538/98        30 NW  AERO 30 NW  RMY 31
1/02 15/-2/7/-20/0.00/0.0/402/73        26 W   AERO 25 W   RMY 26  
1/03 28/11/20/-6/0.00/0.0/430/78        23 WSW AERO 20 WSW RMY N/A
1/04 28/18/23/-3/1.66/16.5/000/00       54 NNW AERO 60 NNW RMY 64
1/05 18/2/10/-16/0.00/0.0/431/78        53 W   AERO 53 W   RMY 57
1/06 10/-2/4/-22/0.00/0.0/554/100       43 WSW AERO 47 WSW RMY 47
1/07 14/-8/3/-23/0.00/0.0/549/99        37 WNW AERO 35 WNW RMY N/A 
1/08 33/14/24/-2/0.02/T/006/01          40 S   AERO 40 S   RMY 42 
1/09 40/25/33/+7/T/T/356/64             37 W   AERO 35 W   RMY 33
1/10 36/20/28/+3/0.00/0.0/553/99        30 W   AERO 30 W   RMY N/A
1/11 50/32/41/+16/0.00/0.0/056/10       33 S   AERO 32 S   RMY 34
1/12 60/45/53/+28/0.89/0.0/011/02       56 S   AERO 56 S   RMY 55
1/13 60/17/39/+14/1.39/0.0/265/47       58 SSW AERO 60 SSW RMY 62
1/14 21/11/16/-9/0.00/0.0/350/62        30 NW  AERO 30 NW  RMY N/A
1/15 18/11/15/-10/0.02/0.5/000/00       23 NNW AERO 21 N   RMY 23
1/16 31/18/25/0/0.00/0.0/153/27         17 SSE AERO 15 SSE RMY N/A 
1/17 32/29/31/+6/0.21/2.3/000/00        20 SE  AERO 17 SE  RMY N/A
1/18 29/16/23/-2/0.00/0.0/497/87        24 NW  AERO 23 NW  RMY 26 
1/19 34/17/26/+1/0.00/0.0/229/40        22 SSW AERO 20 SSW RMY N/A
1/20 45/27/36/+11/0.00/0.0/161/28       38 WSW AERO 37 WSW RMY 39 
1/21 47/34/41/+16/0.00/0.0/467/81       22 W   AERO 21 W   RMY N/A
1/22 37/34/36/+11/0.10/0.0/000/00       21 E   AERO 16 E   RMY N/A
1/23 55/33/44/+19/..../0.0/000/00       53 S   AERO 58 S   RMY 57 
1/24 37/22/30/+5/0.00/0.0/455/78        36 WNW AERO 35 WNW RMY 36 
1/25 29/17/23/-2/0.00/0.0/556/95        35 WNW AERO 36 WNW RMY 41 
1/26 32/15/24-1/0.00/0.0/581/99         28 WNW AERO 28 WNW RMY N/A
1/27 52/24/38/+13/0.00/0.0/406/69       43 SSW AERO 44 SSW RMY N/A
1/28 50/39/45/+20/0.06/0.0/000/00       35 SSW AERO 37 SSW RMY N/A
1/29 39/25/32/+7/..../.../000/00        37 NNE AERO 32 NNE RMY 35 
1/30 27/17/44/-4/..../5.9/000/00        35 NW  AERO 35 NW  RMY 38  
1/31 29/12/21/-5/0.00/0.0/544/91        36 S   AERO 32 S   RMY 35 

DAILY RECORDS FOR JANUARY 2018

01/04/18: NEW DAILY RECORD MAXIMUM SNOWFALL OF 16.5 INS. 
          PREVIOUS RECORD WAS 8.6 INS. SET IN 1923 AND 
          TIED IN 1942 

01/07/18: NEW DAILY RECORD LOW MINIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 
          -8F, PREVIOUS RECORD OF -7F WAS SET IN 1896

01/12/18: NEW DAILY RECORD HIGH MINIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 
          45F, PREVIOUS RECORD OF 42F WAS SET IN 2017

          NEW DAILY RECORD HIGH MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 
          60F, PREVIOUS RECORD OF 59F WAS SET IN 2017

01/13/18: NEW DAILY RECORD HIGH MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 
          60F, PREVIOUS RECORD OF 57F WAS SET IN 1890 
          AND TIED IN 1932 

01/28/18: TIED DAILY RECORD HIGH MINIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 
          39F, PREVIOUS RECORD OF 39F WAS SET IN 1974

PRELIMINARY CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR FEBRUARY CALENDAR DAY DATA
DATE: MAX/MIN/MEAN/DEP/PRECIP/SNOW/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
M:    Missing data

2/1 45/27/36/+10/..../0.0/.../..      36 SSW AERO 35 SSW RMY N/A 
2/2 34/08/21/-5/..../.../.../..       43 WNW AERO 46 WNW RMY 46 
2/3 25/04/15/-11/0.00/0.0/.../..      26 S   AERO 24 S   RMY 30 
2/4 45/23/34/+8/.../0.0/.../..        31 SSE AERO 29 S   RMY 30

2/5 Low temp since midnight is 35F; normal low is now 17F

DAILY EXTREMES
Temperature and precipitation records back to 1885, and
wind records back to 1940 (e = estimated):      

RECORDS FOR FEBRUARY 5
HIGH 65F IN 1991
LOW -14F IN 1918
PRECIP 1.55 INS. IN 2001
SNOWFALL 16.0 INS. IN 1907
PEAK GUST 67 MPH WNW IN 1969

RECORDS FOR FEBRUARY 6
HIGH 54F IN 1909
LOW -10F IN 1895
PRECIP 1.88 INS. IN 1896
SNOWFALL 13.0 INS. IN 1978 [BLIZZARD OF 1978]
PEAK GUST 84e MPH NE IN 1978

TODAY'S REPORT PREPARED BY: Kaitlin Geagan and Ben Turner