BLUE HILL METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATORY MILTON, MASSACHUSETTS ELEVATION 635 FEET, 10 MILES SSW OF BOSTON, MA DAILY DISCUSSION AND CLIMATE SUMMARY MONDAY, JANUARY 8, 2018   ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME TEMPERATURES REACH ABOVE FREEZING FOR THE FIRST  TIME SINCE CHRISTMAS DAY.... Temperatures went above freezing today after yesterday's record breaking cold. This is the first time temperatures have been above freezing since Christmas Day 2017. We broke a low minimum temperature record yesterday with a low of -8F. The previous record of -7F was set back  in 1896. Temperatures began rising after midnight with an overnight low of 17F and a high max so far today of 33F. These are both 1 degree below their daily normals. Winds have been moderate today and from the S/SSW. The  clouds increased throughout the day and we had overcast skies by 1:00 P.M. Visibility was low today due to a distant fog/haze which lingered throughout the day. Today's Observations: 7 A.M. Weather: Broken altocumulus  Temperature: 22F; Dew Point: 8F; Wind: SSW at 14G20 kts Sea-level pressure: 30.19 ins. Hg, falling, then more slowly Visibility: 20 miles except ENE-WSW 50 miles  distant fog WSW-ENE 6-hr Max temp: 22F 6-hr Min temp: 17F 24-hr precip: 0.00 ins. 24-hr snowfall: 0.0 ins. Snow depth: 15 ins. BHO SA 1155 E70 BKN 20 224/22/08/2114G20/019/ VSBY 50  ENE-WSW DSNT FG WSW-ENE/ 8/070 4/015 56006 10022 20017 10 A.M. Weather: Scattered altocumulus, broken cirrostratus  Temperature: 26F; Dew Point: 12F; Wind: SSW at 16G21 kts Sea-level pressure: 30.16 ins. Hg, falling, then more rapidly Visibility: 45 miles, distant fog in all directions  3-hr precip: 0.00 ins.  BHO SA 1455 90 SCT E200 BKN 45 215/26/12/2016G21/016/  DSNT FG ALQDS/ 8/076 58009 1 P.M. Weather: Broken altocumulus, overcast cirrostratus  Temperature: 33F; Dew Point: 12F; Wind: SSW at 17G28 kts, Peak wind: 28 kts (32 MPH) SSW at 12:42 P.M. Sea-level pressure: 30.07 ins. Hg, falling, then more quickly  Visibility: 40 miles 6-hr Max temp: 33F 6-hr Min temp: 21F 6-hr precip: 0.00 ins. 6-hr snowfall: 0.0 ins. Snow depth: 12 ins. BHO SA 1755 E100 BKN E250 OVC 40 184/33/12/2117G28/007/ BINOVC  SSE DSNT HZ PK WND 2128/42/ 4/012 58031 10033 20021   SUMMARY FOR SUNDAY, JANUARY 7, 2018 TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F) MAX.....14   NORMAL.....34 MIN.....-8   NORMAL.....18 MEAN.....3   NORMAL.....26 DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR NORMAL..........................-23 TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH.........................-114 [-16.5 DEGREES/DAY] HEATING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON JUL TO JUN) TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY.............62  DEPARTURE.........+23 TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE MONTH............385  DEPARTURE........+114 TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE SEASON..........2507  DEPARTURE.........-68 TOTAL HEATING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE.....2271  DIFFERENCE.......+236 PEAK GUST AND AVERAGE WIND SPEED (MPH)  PEAK WIND GUST FOR YESTERDAY...................37 WNW AT   3:42 A.M.                    AERO........................39 WNW AT   3:40 A.M.                     ASOS........................34 WNW AT   3:07 A.M.                    DAVIS.......................N/A*         RMY N/A  FASTEST MILE FOR YESTERDAY.....................27  SSW AT 11:09 P.M.  MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE ASOS AVERAGE..................25  SSW AT 11:46 P.M.   MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS AVERAGE.................N/A* AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION..............15.9 WNW                      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......+0.66                          ASOS..............1.97 TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR...........1.66  DEPARTURE......+0.66                          ASOS..............1.97 SNOWFALL (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST) TOTAL SNOWFALL 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M..........0.0  DEPARTURE........-0.5 TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE MONTH...............16.5  DEPARTURE.......+12.6 TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE SEASON..............25.9  DEPARTURE........+6.0 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 14/-8/3/23/0.00/0.0/.../..          37 WNW AERO 35 WNW RMY N/A  1/8 Low temp since midnight is 17F; normal low is now 18F 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: DAILY RECORD LOW MINIMUM TEMPERATURE OF -8F,           PREVIOUS RECORD OF -7F WAS SET IN 1896 DAILY EXTREMES Temperature and precipitation records back to 1885, and wind records back to 1940 (e = estimated):       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 RECORDS FOR JANUARY 9 HIGH 62F IN 1937 LOW -9F IN 1968 PRECIP 3.00 INS. IN 1956 SNOWFALL 10.0 INS. IN 1904 PEAK GUST 101e MPH SE IN 1978 [RECORD FOR MONTH] TODAY'S REPORT PREPARED BY: Kaitlin Geagan