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

DAILY DISCUSSION AND CLIMATE SUMMARY
TUESDAY, MARCH 27, 2018  
ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME

A SUNNY DAY WITH INCREASING CLOUDS AND FALLING 
PRESSURE...
 
With the decrease in pressure, we observed increasing 
cirrostratus clouds, almost covering the whole
sky by 1:00 P.M. We have reached a maximum temperature
of 40F so far today, still 8 degrees below the daily normal 
of 48F. The low since midnight of 25F was 5 degrees below  
the normal minimum temperature of 30F. Relative humidity 
continued to fall throughout the day, starting at 70% 
and dropping to 50% by 1:00 P.M. Visibility was limited
by a thin layer of smoke in all directions at 7:00 A.M., 
but increased from 50 miles to 70 miles by 10:00 AM. 

Blue Hill Observatory Greatest March Snowfall Totals, 
Inches (1885-2018)

1) 52.0 in 1956
2) 45.5 in 2018 (through 3/26)
3) 42.2 in 1916
4) 41.4 in 2001
5) 41.0 in 1967
6) 37.8 in 2013
7) 35.5 in 1993

Today's Observations:

7 A.M.
Weather: Scattered cirrus, thin smoke layer in all directions 
Temperature: 28F; Dew Point: 19F; Wind: NNW at 7G12 kts
Sea-level pressure: 30.61 ins. Hg, rising steadily         
Visibility: 50 miles
6-hr Max temp: 28F
6-hr Min temp: 25F
24-hr precip:  0.00 ins.
24-hr snowfall: 0.0 ins.
Snow depth: 8 ins.
BHO SA 1155 220 SCT 50 367/28/19/3407G12/061/ THN K LYR 
ALQDS/ 8/002 4/008 52003 10028 20025

10 A.M.
Weather: Scattered cirrostratus, few cumulus E-SE,
few cirrus overhead 
Temperature: 39F; Dew Point: 23F; Wind: NE at 11G20 kts
Sea-level pressure: 30.55 ins. Hg, falling rapidly 
Visibility: 70 miles
3-hr precip: 0.00 ins.
3-hr snowfall: 0.0 ins. 
BHO SA 1455 250 SCT 70 347/39/23/0511G20/055/ FEW CU E-SE FEW 
CI OVHD/ 8/108 56020
  
1 P.M.
Weather: Broken cirrostratus
Temperature: 37F; Dew Point: 28F; Wind: NE at 7G16 kts,
Sea-level pressure: 30.47 ins. Hg, falling rapidly
Visibility: 70 miles 
6-hr Max temp: 42F
6-hr Min temp: 29F
6-hr precip: 0.00 ins.
6-hr snowfall: 0.0 ins. 
Snow depth: 7 ins.
BHO SA 1755 E250 BKN 70 317/41/24/0507G16/047/ 8/008 4/007 58030 
10042 20029

SUMMARY FOR MONDAY, MARCH 26, 2018

TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
MAX.....38   NORMAL.....48
MIN.....27   NORMAL.....30
MEAN....33   NORMAL.....39

DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR NORMAL............................-6
TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH...........................-46 [-2.0 DEGREES/DAY]

HEATING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON JUL TO JUN)
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY.............32   DEPARTURE..........+6
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE MONTH............840   DEPARTURE.........+51
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE SEASON..........4962   DEPARTURE........-395
TOTAL HEATING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE.....4767   DIFFERENCE.......+195

PEAK GUST AND AVERAGE WIND SPEED (MPH) 
PEAK WIND GUST FOR YESTERDAY...................33 NE  AT 11:13 A.M.  
                   AERO........................26 NE  AT 10:43 A.M.
                   ASOS........................31 ENE AT  8:54 A.M.
                   DAVIS.......................28 M   AT 11:53 A.M ** RMY 33
FASTEST MILE FOR YESTERDAY.....................20 NE  AT 10:22 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE ASOS AVERAGE..................21 NE  AT  3:43 P.M.  
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS AVERAGE.................19 M   AT  3:43 P.M.**
AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION.............10.9 NE
                   ASOS......................11.1
                   DAVIS......................9.8 
** Davis direction malfunctioning and reading low/missed peak gust

PRECIPITATION (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST)
TOTAL PRECIPITATION 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M....0.00  DEPARTURE......-0.19
                         ASOS..............0.00
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH..........8.60  DEPARTURE......+4.10
                         ASOS..............9.32  
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR..........18.71  DEPARTURE......+5.79
                         ASOS.............20.17

SNOWFALL (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST)
TOTAL SNOWFALL 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M..........0.0  DEPARTURE........-0.3
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE MONTH...............45.5  DEPARTURE.......+34.2
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE SEASON..............90.2  DEPARTURE.......+31.8

PRELIMINARY CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR MARCH 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

3/01 61/37/49/+18/0.00/0.0/378/56    39 ENE AERO 37 ENE RMY N/A 
3/02 40/32/36/+5/3.47/0.7/000/00     73 NNE AERO 70 NNE RMY N/A
3/03 40/32/26/+4/T/T/034/05          52 NNE AERO 50 NNE RMY 49
3/04 39/34/37/+5/T/T/000/00          36 NNE AERO 32 NNE RMY 32 
3/05 40/29/35/+3/.../1.2/261/38      40 NE  AERO 39 NE  RMY 40
3/06 34/29/32/0/0.00/0.0/062/09      20 N   AERO 16 N   RMY N/A
3/07 35/31/33/0/..../.../000/00      52 ENE AERO 53 ENE RMY 50 
3/08 34/28/31/-2/..../.../000/00     44 NNE AERO 47 NNE RMY N/A
3/09 36/24/30/-3/T/T/265/38          28 W   AERO 26 W   RMY N/A 
3/10 37/28/33/0/0.00/0.0/343/49      38 WNW AERO 38 WNW RMY 41
3/11 42/26/34/0/0.00/0.0/583/83      28 NW  AERO 26 NW  RMY 29
3/12 39/26/33/-1/T/T/155/22          36 ENE AERO 33 ENE RMY N/A
3/13 35/26/31/-3/..../23.0/000/00    60 N   AERO 60 N   RMY 64
3/14 36/24/30/-5/..../.../470/66     38 WSW AERO 38 WSW RMY 41
3/15 40/29/35/0/..../.../.../..      44 W   AERO 44 W   RMY 44
3/16 35/23/29/-6/0.00/0.0/.../..     41 NW  AERO 41 NW  RMY 45
3/17 40/15/28/-8/0.00/0.0/.../...    46 W   AERO 45 W   RMY 49
3/18 31/10/21/-15/0.00/0.0/.../..    39 NW  AERO 38 NW  RMY 40
3/19 35/13/24/-12/0.00/0.0/.../..    32 WNW AERO 32 WNW RMY 34
3/20 40/18/29/-8/0.00/0.0/.../..     23 NW  AERO 21 NW  RMY N/A
3/21 35/31/33/-4/..../.../000/00     43 NE  AERO 44 NE  RMY N/A
3/22 39/30/35/-2/..../.../000/00     28 NNW AERO 26 NNW RMY 30
3/23 44/28/36/-2/..../.../.../..     21 NNW AERO 18 NNW RMY 21
3/24 45/32/39/+1/T/T/.../..          23 NE  AERO 21 NE  RMY N/A
3/25 36/29/33/-5/0.18/1.8/.../..     35 NNE AERO 30 NNE RMY 33
3/26 38/27/33/-6/0.00/0.0/.../..     33 NE  AERO 26 NE  RMY 30

3/27 Low temp since midnight is 25F; normal low is now 30F

DAILY RECORDS FOR MARCH 2018

3/02/18: NEW DAILY RECORD MAXIMUM PRECIPITATION OF 3.47 INS.
         PREVIOUS RECORD WAS 2.15 INS. SET IN 1983

3/13/18: NEW DAILY RECORD MAXIMUM SNOWFALL OF 23.0 INS.
         PREVIOUS RECORD WAS 10.0 INS. SET IN 1993

3/13/18: NEW MONTHLY RECORD MAXIMUM DAILY SNOWFALL OF 23.0 INS.
         PREVIOUS RECORD WAS 18.0 INS. SET ON 8 MARCH 2013

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

RECORDS FOR MARCH 27
HIGH 78 IN 1998
LOW 12 IN 1975
PRECIP 1.05 INS. IN 1913
SNOWFALL 6.6 INS. IN 1959
PEAK GUST 62 MPH NW IN 1965, SE IN 1992

RECORDS FOR MARCH 28
HIGH 86 IN 1998
LOW 7 IN 1923
PRECIP 2.31 INS. IN 1932
SNOWFALL 3.0 INS. IN 1932
PEAK GUST 60e MPH NW IN 1944, 60 WSW IN 1991

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