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

DAILY DISCUSSION AND CLIMATE SUMMARY
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2018  
ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME

VALENTINE'S DAY STARTS WITH OVERCAST SKIES 
BUT CLEARS THROUGHOUT THE DAY...

Skies were overcast in the morning with a few
breaks. Cloud cover decreased and we had mostly 
sunny skies up after the 1:00 P.M. observation. 
Humidity also decreased during the day making 
for a dry afternoon. Visibility today was 
limited to 40 miles by a distant fog. Wind from
the SW has picked up after yesterday's light
wind. This is due to the pressure dropping from
our extreme high pressure yesterday. We have had
gust frequently over 22 kts (25 MPH) and a peak 
gust of 26 kts (30 MPH) so far today. 
Yesterday's average temperature was 2 degrees 
below normal. Today temperatures have returned to 
slightly above seasonable with a max of 41F so far 
today and and overnight low of 25F. 

Today's Observations:

7 A.M.
Weather: Overcast altostratus, broken altocumulus, few stratus
fractus in all directions 
Temperature: 29F; Dew Point: 15F; Wind: S at 10 kts,
Sea-level pressure: 30.37 ins. Hg, falling, then more slowly     
Visibility: 35 miles, distant fog in all directions
6-hr Max temp: 29F
6-hr Min temp: 25F
24-hr precip: 0.00 ins.
24-hr snowfall: 0.0 ins.
Snow depth: 0 ins.
BHO SA 1155 E65 BKN E100 OVC 35 283/29/25/1810/037/ FEW STFA ALQDS DSNT
FG ALQDS/ 8/72/ 56023 10029 20025   

10 A.M.
Weather: Broken stratus, few stratus fractus WNW-N 
Temperature: 35F; Dew Point: 32F; Wind: SSW at 15 kts,
Sea-level pressure: 30.29 ins. Hg, falling, then more rapidly
Visibility: 40 miles, distant fog in all directions 
3-hr precip: 0.00 ins.
3-hr snowfall: 0.0 ins.  
BHO SA 1455 E30 BKN 40 259/35/32/2115/029/ FEW STFA WNW-N DSNT FG ALQDS/ 
8/600 58024  
 
1 P.M.
Weather: Broken stratus, few cumulus WNW 
Temperature: 41F; Dew Point: 32F; Wind: WSW at 8G20 kts 
Sea-level pressure: 30.18 Hg, falling, then more slowly 
Visibility: 40 miles, distant fog in all directions
6-hr Max temp: 41F
6-hr Min temp: 29F
6-hr precip: 0.00 ins
6-hr snowfall: 0.0 ins.
Snow depth: 0 in.
BHO SA 1755 E30 BKN 40 219/41/32/2408G20/018/ FEW CU WNW DSNT FG ALQDS/
8/600 56040 10041 20029  
 
SUMMARY FOR TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2018

TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
MAX.....31   NORMAL.....36
MIN.....21   NORMAL.....19
MEAN....26   NORMAL.....28

DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR NORMAL............................-2
TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH...........................+44 [+3.2 DEGREES/DAY]

HEATING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON JUL TO JUN)
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY.............39   DEPARTURE..........+2
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE MONTH............455   DEPARTURE.........-45
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE SEASON..........3776   DEPARTURE........-255
TOTAL HEATING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE.....3512   DIFFERENCE.......+264

PEAK GUST AND AVERAGE WIND SPEED (MPH) 
PEAK WIND GUST FOR YESTERDAY....................22 S   AT 10:59 P.M.* 
                   AERO.........................18 NNW AT  8:18 A.M.
                   ASOS.........................21 NNW AT  3:02 A.M.
                   DAVIS........................19 M   AT  7:29 A.M.** RMY N/A 
FASTEST MILE FOR YESTERDAY......................15 NNW AT  8:18 A.M.   
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE ASOS AVERAGE...................16 SSW AT 11:06 P.M.  
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS AVERAGE..................16 M   AT  8:18 A.M.**
AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION...............8.6 NNW
                   ASOS........................8.7 
                   DAVIS.......................7.9 ** 
* Last of multiple occurrences
** Davis direction malfunctioning

PRECIPITATION (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST)
TOTAL PRECIPITATION 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M....0.00  DEPARTURE......-0.14
                         ASOS..............0.00
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH..........2.51  DEPARTURE......+0.74
                         ASOS..............2.65  
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR...........8.51  DEPARTURE......+2.39
                         ASOS..............9.23

SNOWFALL (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST)
TOTAL SNOWFALL 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M..........0.0  DEPARTURE........-0.5
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE MONTH................3.6  DEPARTURE........-2.8
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE SEASON..............38.1  DEPARTURE........-1.5

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/.../T/.../..          31 SSE AERO 29 S   RMY 30
2/5  46/19/33/+7/0.00/0.0/.../..       47 WNW AERO 47 WNW RMY 44
2/6  31/17/24/+2/T/T/.../..            26 SSW AERO 23 SSW RMY 23 
2/7  42/21/32/+5/0.62/1.1/000/00       45 SW  AERO 46 SW  RMY 47
2/8  30/20/25/-2/0.00/0.0/.../..       38 WNW AERO 38 WNW RMY N/A
2/9  30/16/23/-4/0.00/0.0/.../..       28 S   AERO 25 S   RMY N/A
2/10 51/28/40/+13/..../0.0/.../..      31 S   AERO 30 S   RMY 31
2/11 46/36/41/+14/..../0.0/000/00      24 SW  AERO 21 SW  RMY N/A
2/12 53/27/40/+13/..../0.0/.../..      33 WNW AERO 33 WNW RMY N/A
2/13 31/21/26/-2/0.00/0.0/.../..       22 S   AERO 18 NNW RMY 21

2/14 Low temp since midnight is 25F; normal low is now 19F

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

RECORDS FOR FEBRUARY 14
HIGH 56F IN 1949
LOW -14F IN 2016
PRECIP 2.09 INCHES IN 2007
SNOWFALL 11.0 INCHES IN 1914
PEAK GUST 83 MPH SSW IN 2000

RECORDS FOR FEBRUARY 15
HIGH 60F IN 1954
LOW -18F IN 1943
PRECIP 1.28 INCHES IN 1950
SNOWFALL 14.4 INCHES IN 2015
PEAK GUST 94e MPH WNW IN 1946 

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