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

DAILY DISCUSSION AND CLIMATE SUMMARY
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 24, 2018  
ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME

PARTLY SUNNY DAY AFTER TWO DAYS SOCKED IN THE FOG...

The sun came out today after two very foggy days
on top of Great Blue Hill. With the fog we also
had rain, totaling 1.39 ins. since early Monday
morning. This now leaves January 2.26 ins above
normal for liquid precipitation. 
The wind picked up as pressure dropped yesterday
and we had a peak gust of 53 MPH at 2:19 PM. Winds
have remained stronger today frequently gusting
over 25 MPH. So far today we have had a peak
gust of 36 MPH. 
Temperatures rose quickly yesterday afternoon to
an unseasonable 55F. This is 21 degrees above the
daily normal of 34F. Today temperatures have 
hovered around 36F. Due to lowering humidity 
visibility greatly increased from 45-75 miles 
by 1:00 PM.

Today's Observations:

7 A.M.
Weather: Broken stratocumulus 
Temperature: 36F; Dew Point: 30F; Wind: WSW at 11G18 kts
Sea-level pressure: 29.71 ins. Hg, rising, then more quickly 
Visibility: 45 miles
6-hr Max temp: 37F
6-hr Min temp: 36F
24-hr precip: 1.21 ins.
24-hr snowfall: 0.0 ins.
Snow depth: 0 ins.
BHO SA 1155 E40 BKN 45 061/36/30/2511G18/971/ 8/500 53025 
MANUAL 70121 ASOS 70133 10037 20036

10 A.M.
Weather: Broken stratocumulus 
Temperature: 36F; Dew Point: 25F; Wind: WNW at 17G28 kts,
Peak wind: 30 kts (35 MPH) at 9:40 A.M.
Sea-level pressure: 29.81 ins. Hg, rising, then more quickly 
Visibility: 70 miles 
3-hr precip: 0.00 ins.
3-hr snowfall: 0.0 ins. 
BHO SA 1455 E36 BKN 70 096/36/25/2917G28/981/ PK WND 2930/40/ 
8/500 53035

1 P.M.
Weather: Scattered stratocumulus, scattered patches of
dense cirrus overhead 
Temperature: 35F; Dew Point: 22F; Wind: W at 14G22 kts,
Peak wind: 26 kts (30 MPH) S at 12:26 P.M.
Sea-level pressure: 29.80 ins. Hg, rising then falling 
Visibility: 75 miles 
6-hr precip: 0.00 ins.
6-hr snowfall: 0.0 ins.
6-hr Max temp: 37F
6-hr Min temp: 34F
Snow depth: 0 ins. 
BHO SA 1755 40 SCT 250 SCT 75 093/35/22/2614G22/980/ PTCHS 
DNS CI OVHD PK WND 2626/22/ 8/504 58003 10037 20034

SUMMARY FOR TUESDAY, JANUARY 23, 2018

TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
MAX.....55   NORMAL.....34
MIN.....33   NORMAL.....17
MEAN....44   NORMAL.....25

DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR NORMAL..........................+19
TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH...........................-5 [-0.4 DEGREES/DAY]

HEATING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON JUL TO JUN)
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY.............21  DEPARTURE.........-19
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE MONTH............914  DEPARTURE..........+5
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE SEASON..........3036  DEPARTURE........-177
TOTAL HEATING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE.....2777  DIFFERENCE.......+259

PEAK GUST AND AVERAGE WIND SPEED (MPH) 
PEAK WIND GUST FOR YESTERDAY....................53 S   AT 2:19 P.M.
                   AERO.........................58 S   AT 2:20 P.M.
                   ASOS.........................55 SSW AT 2:20 P.M.
                   DAVIS........................54 M   AT 2:19 P.M.* RMY 57 
FASTEST MILE FOR YESTERDAY......................39 S   AT 2:21 P.M. 
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE ASOS AVERAGE...................40 S   AT 2:21 P.M.  
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS AVERAGE..................38 M   AT 2:21 P.M.*
AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION..............14.2 NE
                   ASOS.......................14.5 
                   DAVIS......................12.9 *

*Davis direction malfunctioning

PRECIPITATION (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST)
TOTAL PRECIPITATION 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M....1.21  DEPARTURE......+1.07
                         ASOS..............1.33
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH..........5.52  DEPARTURE......+2.26
                         ASOS..............6.07
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR...........5.52  DEPARTURE......+2.26
                         ASOS..............6.07

SNOWFALL (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST)
TOTAL SNOWFALL 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M..........0.0  DEPARTURE........-0.5
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE MONTH...............19.3  DEPARTURE........+6.5
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE SEASON..............28.6  DEPARTURE........-0.2

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/..../0.0/011/02      56 S   AERO 56 S   RMY 55
1/13 60/17/39/+14/..../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/+6/0.23/2.3/.../00       20 SE  AERO 17 SE  RMY N/A
1/18 29/16/23/-2/0.00/0.0/.../..       24 NW  AERO 23 NW  RMY 26 
1/19 34/17/26/+1/0.00/0.0/.../..       22 SSW AERO 20 SSW RMY N/A
1/20 45/27/36/+11/0.00/0.0/.../..      38 WSW AERO 37 WSW RMY 39 
1/21 47/34/41/+16/0.00/0.0/.../..      22 W   AERO 21 W   RMY N/A
1/22 37/34/36/+11/..../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 Low temp since midnight is 36F; normal low is now 17F

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

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

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

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

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

RECORDS FOR JANUARY 24
HIGH 60F IN 1967
LOW -12F IN 1907
PRECIP 2.04 INS. IN 1998
SNOWFALL 11.3 INS. IN 1935
PEAK GUST 82 MPH S IN 1996

RECORDS FOR JANUARY 26
HIGH 68F IN 1950 [RECORD FOR MONTH]
LOW -5F IN 1920
PRECIP 1.60 INS. IN 1958
SNOW 9.0 INS. IN 1898
WIND 90e MPH SE IN 1978

TODAY'S REPORT PREPARED BY: Kaitlin Ann Geagan