BLUE HILL METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATORY
MILTON, MASSACHUSETTS
ELEVATION 635 FEET, 10 MILES SSW OF BOSTON, MA
 
DAILY DISCUSSION AND CLIMATE SUMMARY
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2013   
ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME
 
COASTAL STORM LIFTS EARLY AFTERNOON, STRONG WINDS PERSIST
 
Snow started falling early this morning and continued until
approximately 1:00 P.M, with the heaviest doses falling during
the late morning hours. We've added 3.2 inches between 7:00 A.M.
and 1:00 P.M. today to the 2.7 inches that fell between yesterday 
and 7:00 this morning.
 
This storm was notably windy also, averaging more than 22 MPH and gusting
to 51 MPH as the snow began to lighten. Winds look likely to pick up
overnight ushering in slightly warmer temperatures tomorrow.
 
 
Today's observations:
 
7 A.M.
Weather: Moderate blowing/drifting snow
Temperature: 18F; Dew Point: 16F; Wind: NW at 21 kts.,
Wind: Peak gust 33 kts NW @ 6:04 A.M.
Sea-level pressure: 29.45 ins. Hg, falling then more rapidly 
Visibility: 1/2 mile
24-hour snowfall: 2.7 inches
Snow depth: 10 inches
6-hour max. temp: 27F
6-hour min. temp: 18F
BHO SA 1155 W3 X 1/2SBS 973/18/16/3121G32/945/ PK WND 3133/04
TOTAL NEW SNW PST 24 HRS 2.7 INS/ 8//// 58033 4/010 70019 10027 20018
 
10 A.M. 
Weather: Heavy blowing/drifting snow
Temperature: 17F; Dew Point: 15F; Wind: NW at 21 kts,
Wind: Peak wind 34 kts NW @ 9:32 A.M.
Sea-level pressure: 29.36 ins. Hg, falling then more slowly
Visibility: 1/2 mile,
3-hour precip: 0.14 inch
3-hour snowfall: 1.8 inches
BHO SA 1455 W3 X 1/2SBS 942/17/15/3121G34/936/ PK WND 3134/32/
8//// 56031 60014 
 
1 P.M.
Weather: Light snow
Temperature: 18F; Dew Point: 15F; Wind: NW at 23 kts
Wind: Peak wind 34 kts. NW @ 12:28 P.M.
Sea-level pressure: 29.35 ins. Hg, falling then more slowly
Visibility: 2 miles, light snow
6-hour precip: 0.27 ins.
6-hour snowfall: 3.2 ins.
6-hr max temp: 18F
6-hr min temp: 16F
BHO SA 1755 W3 X 2S-BS 939/18/15/3123G31/935/ PK WND 3134/28
TOTAL NEW SNW PST 6 HR 3.2 IN/ 8//// 56003 60027 10018 20016
 
WEATHER SUMMARY FOR SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 16
 
TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
MAX.....35      NORMAL.....37
MIN.....29      NORMAL.....19                        
MEAN....32      NORMAL.....28  
 
DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR NORMAL.....................+4
TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH.....................+17 [+0.9 DEGREES/DAY]
 
HEATING DEGREE DAYS
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY............33   DEPARTURE...........-4
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE MONTH...........593   DEPARTURE...........-18
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE SEASON.........3719   DEPARTURE..........-423
TOTAL HEATING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE....3284   DIFFERENCE.........+435
 
PEAK GUST AND AVERAGE WIND SPEED (MPH)
PEAK WIND GUST FOR YESTERDAY...............25 NNW   AT 11:58 P.M. *
                   AERO....................23 NNW   AT 11:56 P.M. *
                   ASOS....................25 NNW   AT 10:45 P.M.
                   DAVIS...................24 NNW   AT 10:20 A.M. RMY 40
THE FASTEST MILE FOR YESTERDAY.............17 NNW   AT 11:57 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE ASOS AVERAGE..............16 NNW   AT 11:59 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS AVERAGE.............16 NNW   AT 10:22 A.M.
AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION..........9.1 NNW
                   ASOS...................9.0
                   DAVIS..................8.5 NNW [342 deg]
* last of several occurrences...
 
PRECIPITATION (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST)
TOTAL PRECIPITATION 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M....0.19  DEPARTURE...........+0.05	
                         ASOS..............0.16	
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH..........3.31  DEPARTURE...........+1.10
                         ASOS..............N/A*
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR...........4.54  DEPARTURE...........-1.83
                         ASOS..............N/A*
*ASOS malfunctioned during storm on 2/8-9, leading to erroneous totals
                       
SNOWFALL (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST)
TOTAL SNOWFALL 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M.........2.7   DEPARTURE............+2.2
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE MONTH..............31.6   DEPARTURE...........+23.7
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE SEASON.............53.1   DEPARTURE...........+12.1
 
PRELIMINARY CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR FEBRUARY 2013 CALENDAR DAY DATA
DATA REPORTED:
DATE: MAX/MIN/MEAN/DEP/PRECIP/SUN(MIN.)/SUN(%)/ PEAK GUST/AERO GUST
AERO: Aerovane wind recording system gust
RMY:  RMY = R.M. Young wind gust recording system added 8/9/2011
TSTM: Thunderstorm day (thunder heard some time during day)
....: Data not yet available, records not finalized
 
2/1   32/19/26/0/T/T/325/54           39 WSW AERO 38 MPH W   RMY 42
2/2   30/15/23/-3/0/0/452/75          28 SSW AERO 23 MPH SSW RMY 28
2/3   26/19/23/-3/0.08/1.2/000/00     22 W   AERO 21 MPH WSW RMY N/A
2/4   29/17/23/-3/T/T/547/90          44 W   AERO 46 MPH W   RMY N/A
2/5   25/18/22/-4/0.04/0.8/000/00     21 W   AERO 16 MPH W   RMY N/A
2/6   37/22/30/+4/0.01/0.2/521/85     35 W   AERO 33 MPH W   RMY 35
2/7   29/16/23/-4/0.00/0.0/306/52     24 NW  AERO 21 MPH NW  RMY 24
2/8   31/18/25/-2/1.86/16.1/000/00    63 NE  AERO 61 MPH NE  RMY 66
2/9   20/12/16/-11/0.98/10.5/000/00   51 NNW AERO 52 MPH N   RMY 51
2/10  37/9/23/-4/0.00/0.0/623/100     29 NW  AERO 27 MPH NW  RMY N/A
2/11  44/23/34/+7/0.15/T/000/00       33 S   AERO 35 MPH S   RMY 39
2/12  44/30/37/+10/0.00/0.0/.../..    39 W   AERO 37 MPH S   RMY 39
2/13  42/27/35/+7/T/T/.../..          22 W   AERO 17 MPH W   RMY N/A
2/14  43/29/36/+8/T/0.1/.../..        21 NNW AERO 16 MPH NNW RMY N/A
2/15  48/29/39/+11/0.00/0.0/.../..    31 S   AERO 30 MPH S   RMY 32  
2/16  35/29/32/+4/0.06/1.2/.../..     25 NNW AERO 23 MPH NNW RMY 40
 
2/17  the morning low temp: 18F; the normal low is now 19F
 
DAILY RECORDS FOR FEBRUARY 2013
2/8 - NEW RECORD DAILY SNOWFALL OF 16.1 INCHES;
      surpasses the previous record of 11.0 inches in 1891
2/8 - TIED DAILY RECORD PEAK WIND GUST OF 63e MPH NE IN 1945
 
DAILY EXTREMES
Temperature and precipitation records back to 1885, and
wind records back to 1940 (e = estimated):
 
RECORDS FOR FEBRUARY 17
HIGH 61F IN 1981
LOW -16F IN 1896
PRECIP 1.86 INCHES IN 2003
SNOWFALL 20.0 INCHES IN 2003
PEAK GUST 72 MPH NW IN 1968
 
RECORDS FOR FEBRUARY 18
HIGH 65F IN 1981
LOW -10F IN 1958
PRECIP 1.97 INCHES IN 1887
SNOWFALL 9.2 INCHES IN 1952
PEAK GUST 70 MPH S IN 2008
 
TODAY'S REPORT PREPARED BY: Forrest Iwanik