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

DAILY DISCUSSION AND CLIMATE SUMMARY
SUNDAY, JANUARY 7, 2018  
ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME

FRIGID TEMPERATURES REMAIN ON A CLEAR DAY...

While the winds have diminished some, temperatures reached a record low
this morning of negative 8 degrees F.  This breaks the previous record 
of -7F set in 1896. All this produced wind chills near -30F at sunrise 
today. As of early afternoon, the temperature had climbed to only 10F, 
and that is the high temperature so far today. 

Today's Observations:

7 A.M.
Weather: Clear, few stratocumulus distant NE-SSW, wind chill -25F
Temperature: -7F; Dew Point: -19F; Wind: WNW at 13 kts,
Sea-level pressure: 30.43 ins. Hg, rising, then more rapidly
Visibility: 50 miles, light distant haze
6-hr Max temp: -6F
6-hr Min temp: -8F
24-hr precip: 0.00 ins.
24-hr snowfall: 0.0 ins.
Snow depth: 17 ins.
BHO SA 1155 CLR 50 304/-7/-19/3013/043/ FEW SC DSNT NE-SSE LGT DSNT HZ 
WND CHILL -25/ 8/100 4/017 53038 11006 21008 

10 A.M.
Weather: Clear, few stratocumulus offshore distant NE-SE
Temperature: 1F; Dew Point: -13F; Wind: NW at 12 kts,
Sea-level pressure: 30.49 ins. Hg, rising, then more rapidly
Visibility: 70 miles
3-hr precip: 0.00 ins. 
BHO SA 1455 CLR 70 324/1/-13/3112/049/ FEW SC DSNT NE-SSE/ 8/100 
53020

1 P.M.
Weather: Clear, few stratocumulus distant offshore NE-ESE and NW
Temperature: 10F; Dew Point: -10F; Wind: WNW at 8 kts,
Sea-level pressure: 30.43 ins. Hg, rising then more slowly
Visibility: 70 miles
6-hr Max temp: 10F
6-hr Min temp: -7F
6-hr precip: 0.00 ins.
6-hr snowfall: 0.0 ins.
Snow depth: 17 ins.
BHO SA 1755 CLR 70 304/10/-10/2908/043/ FEW SC DSNT NE-SSE AND NW/ 
8/400 4/017 56020 10010 21007


SUMMARY FOR SATURDAY, JANUARY 6, 2018

TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
MAX.....10   NORMAL.....34
MIN.....-2   NORMAL.....18
MEAN.....4   NORMAL.....26

DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR NORMAL..........................-22
TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH..........................-91 [-15.0 DEGREES/DAY]

HEATING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON JUL TO JUN)
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY.............61  DEPARTURE.........+22
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE MONTH............323  DEPARTURE.........+91
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE SEASON..........2445  DEPARTURE.........-91
TOTAL HEATING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE.....2224  DIFFERENCE.......+221

PEAK GUST AND AVERAGE WIND SPEED (MPH) 
PEAK WIND GUST FOR YESTERDAY...................43 WSW AT  1:20 P.M. **
                   AERO........................47 WSW AT  1:20 P.M. **
                   ASOS........................37   W AT  4:46 P.M.*
                   DAVIS.......................N/A*                  RMY 47 
FASTEST MILE FOR YESTERDAY.....................35  WSW AT  1:19 P.M. 
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE ASOS AVERAGE..................N/A   
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS AVERAGE.................N/A*
AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION.............23.5   WSW
                   ASOS......................N/A*
                   DAVIS.....................N/A*
*ASOS and Davis anemometers malfunctioning
** Last of several occurrences

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..........1.66  DEPARTURE......+0.80
                         ASOS..............1.97
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR...........1.66  DEPARTURE......+0.80
                         ASOS..............1.97

SNOWFALL (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST)
TOTAL SNOWFALL 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M..........0.0  DEPARTURE........-0.6
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE MONTH...............16.5  DEPARTURE.......+13.1
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE SEASON..............25.9  DEPARTURE........+6.5

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

1/1 11/-5/3/-24/0.00/0.0/.../..         30 NW  AERO 30 NW  RMY 31
1/2 15/-2/7/-20/0.00/0.0/.../..         26 W   AERO 25 W   RMY 26  
1/3 28/11/20/-6/0.00/0.0/.../..         23 WSW AERO 20 WSW RMY N/A
1/4 28/18/23/-3/1.66/16.5/000/00        54 NNW AERO 60 NNW RMY 64
1/5 18/2/10/-16/0.00/0.0/.../..         53 W   AERO 53 W   RMY 57
1/6 10/-2/4/-22/0.00/0.0/.../..         43 WSW AERO 47 WSW RMY 47

1/7 Low temp since midnight is -8F; normal low is now 18F

DAILY RECORDS FOR DECEMBER 2017

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

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

RECORDS FOR JANUARY 7
HIGH 60F IN 1930
LOW -8F IN 2018
PRECIP 1.97 INS. IN 1977
SNOWFALL 16.0 INS. IN 1977
PEAK GUST 74 MPH NW IN 1968

RECORDS FOR JANUARY 8
HIGH 65F IN 2008 
LOW -8F IN 1968
PRECIP 1.70 INS. IN 1958,1979
SNOWFALL 12.5 INS. IN 1996
PEAK GUST 77 MPH NNW IN 1958

TODAY'S REPORT PREPARED BY: Robert Millette