BLUE HILL METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATORY MILTON, MASSACHUSETTS ELEVATION 635 FEET, 10 MILES SSW OF BOSTON, MA DAILY DISCUSSION AND CLIMATE SUMMARY FRIDAY, JANUARY 4, 2013 ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME BOTH HOUGHTON'S AND PONKAPOAG PONDS FREEZE OVER COMPLETELY; TEMPERATURES WARMING NICELY TODAY Nearby Houghton's Pond and Ponkapoag Pond were both observed to be completely covered by ice this morning during the 7 AM observation. The warm December was certainly a factor in delaying the complete freeze-over. WSW winds have transported a warmer air mass into the region, stamping out yesterday's bitter cold temperatures. In fact, with a morning low of 19F and an afternoon high in the mid to upper 30s, today will average just sligtly above normal. The WSW winds were gusty at times late this morning and early this afternoon, occasionally reaching 30-35 mph. At Blue Hill, 2012 finished as the warmest year on record by a significant margin. The year also finished with the lowest wind speed on record, again by a significant margin. BLUE HILL WARMEST ANNUAL TEMPERATURE 1885-2012 (deg F) 1) 51.7 in 2012 2) 51.0 in 2010 3) 50.9 in 1999 4) 50.8 in 1998 5) 50.6 in 2006 BLUE HILL LOWEST ANNUAL WIND SPEED 1885-2012 (deg F) 1) 11.8 in 2012 2) 12.5 in 2011 3) 12.6 in 2008 12.6 in 2009 5) 12.7 in 2001 12.7 in 2005 A few updates/additions have been made to the December stats below. DECEMBER 2012 PRELIMINARY STATISTICS: TEMPERATURE: Average Max Temp: 42.8F [+3.7F] Average Min Temp: 30.1F [+6.5F] Mean Temp: 36.5F [+5.2F] 24-hr. Corr. Mean Temp: 36.2F [+4.6F] Max Temp: 59F on 10th Min Temp: 17F on 31st Total heating degree day units (month): 878 [-165] *NCDC method Total heating degree day units (season): 2,028 [-276] *start July 1 (NCDC) PRECIPITATION: Total precipitation: 6.52 ins. [+1.63 ins.] Greatest 24-hr precipitation: 1.93 ins. on 26th/27th Total snowfall: 9.4 inches [-2.0 ins.] *using 1890-2010 mean Greatest snow depth: 7 ins. on 30th WIND: Avg wind speed: 12.7 MPH Avg corrected wind speed: 13.0 MPH Prevailing wind direction: WNW [14%] Peak gust: 70 MPH E on 27th Peak fastest mile: 51 MPH E on 27th SUNSHINE: Total astronomical minutes: 5,669 of possible 17,037 or 33% Total Campbell-Stokes card minutes: 5,520 of possible 16,470 or 33% Today's observations: 7 A.M. Weather: Scattered altocumulus (2 levels), scattered dense cirrus, scattered thin cirrus, few cumulus/stratocumulus along/offshore distant ENE-S, lower altocumulus/altocumulus lenticularis WSW-N, higher altocumulus distante E-SSE and W-N-ENE, patches of dense cirrus WNW-N-E, distant haze Temperature: 20F; Dew Point: 16F; Wind: WSW at 13 kts, Wind: Direction variable SW-W Sea-level pressure: 29.97 ins. Hg, steady then rising Visibility: 30 miles, distant haze 6-hour min. temp: 19F Snow depth: 3 inches BHO SA 1155 60 SCT 100 SCT 220 SCT 250 –SCT 30 149/20/16/2513/997/ FEW CU/SC ALG/OFFSHR DSNT ENE-S LWR AC/ACSL WSW-N HIER AC DSNT E-SSE AND W-N-ENE PTCHS DNS CI WNW-N-E DSNT HZ WND 22V28/ 8/542 4/003 53007 10021 20019 10 A.M. Weather: Scattered stratocumulus, scattered altocumulus, scattered cirrostratus, broken thin cirrus, stratocumulus lenticularis NNW-NE, clear sky distant ESE-SW, thin smoke layer distant all quadrants, distant haze Temperature: 29F; Dew Point: 19F; Wind: W at 12G20 kts, Wind: Direction variable SW-WNW Sea-level pressure: 29.97 ins. Hg, falling slightly Visibility: 35 miles, distant haze BHO SA 1455 45 SCT 100 SCT 200 SCT 250 –BKN 35 148/29/19/2612G20/997/ SCSL NNW-NE CLR SKY DSNT ESE-SW THN K LYR DSNT ALQDS DSNT HZ WND 22V30/ 8/547 58001 1 P.M. Weather: Scattered altocumulus, broken altocumulus, broken cirrus, few small cumulus WNW-NE, mostly clear sky distant ESE-WSW, distant haze Temperature: 34F; Dew Point: 22F; Wind: WSW at 20G29 kts, Wind: Peak wind of 29 kts. from the W at 12:52 P.M. EST Wind: direction variable SW-WNW Sea-level pressure: 29.85 ins. Hg, falling Visibility: 40 miles, distant haze 6-hour max: 36F BHO SA 1755 100 SCT 120 BKN 250 BKN 40 110/34/22/2520G29/985/ FEW SML CU WNW-NE MSTLY CLR SKY DSNT ESE-WSW DSNT HZ PK WND 2629/52 WND 22V29/ 8/141 58038 10036 20020 WEATHER SUMMARY FOR THURSDAY, JANUARY 3 TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F) MAX.....23 NORMAL.....35 MIN......2 NORMAL.....18 MEAN....13 NORMAL.....26 DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR NORMAL......................-13 TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH......................-20 [-6.9 DEGREES/DAY] HEATING DEGREE DAYS TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY............52 DEPARTURE........+13 TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE MONTH...........135 DEPARTURE........+20 TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE SEASON.........2163 DEPARTURE.......-257 TOTAL HEATING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE....1845 DIFFERENCE......+318 PEAK GUST AND AVERAGE WIND SPEED (MPH) PEAK WIND GUST FOR YESTERDAY...............24 WNW AT 2:57 A.M. AERO....................23 WNW AT 2:57 A.M. ASOS....................22 WNW AT 3:37 P.M. DAVIS...................22 WNW AT 2:53 A.M. RMY: N/A THE FASTEST MILE FOR YESTERDAY.............18 NW AT 4:55 A.M. MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE ASOS AVERAGE..............17 W AT 3:02 P.M. MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS AVERAGE.............17 WNW AT 4:50 A.M. AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION.........11.0 WNW ASOS..................10.2 DAVIS.................10.0 WNW [285 deg.] PRECIPITATION (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST) TOTAL PRECIPITATION 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M....0.00 DEPARTURE..........-0.15 ASOS..............0.00 TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH..........0.00 DEPARTURE..........-0.44 ASOS..............0.00 TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR...........0.00 DEPARTURE..........-0.44 ASOS..............0.00 SNOWFALL (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST) TOTAL SNOWFALL 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M.........0.0 DEPARTURE............-0.6 TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE MONTH...............0.0 DEPARTURE............-1.7 TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE SEASON.............15.4 DEPARTURE............-2.3 PRELIMINARY CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR DECEMBER 2012 & JANUARY 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 12/1 34/25/30/-7/0.06/0.8/000/00 16 E AERO 14 MPH E RMY 16 12/2 52/32/42/+6/T/0.0/006/01 32 SSW AERO 32 MPH SSW RMY 34 12/3 57/43/50/+14/0.00/0.0/523/94 31 NW AERO 30 MPH NW RMY 32 12/4 56/40/48/+13/0.03/0.0/000/00 37 S AERO 39 MPH S RMY 38 12/5 56/31/44/+9/0.03/0.0/310/56 38 WNW AERO 37 MPH WNW RMY 40 12/6 38/25/32/-3/0.00/0.0/519/94 31 NW AERO 30 MPH NW RMY N/A 12/7 42/30/36/+2/0.02/0.0/000/00 18 SSW AERO 16 MPH SSW RMY 18 12/8 45/41/43/+9/0.35/0.0/000/00 21 ENE AERO 18 MPH ENE RMY N/A 12/9 45/38/42/+8/0.10/0.0/181/33 24 NNW AERO 24 MPH NNW RMY 25 12/10 59/39/49/+16/0.51/0.0/000/00 32 SSW AERO 33 MPH SSW RMY 35 12/11 54/30/42/+9/0.01/0.0/351/64 25 W AERO 25 MPH W RMY 23 12/12 38/26/32/-1/0.00/0.0/126/23 20 NW AERO 18 MPH NW RMY N/A 12/13 42/29/36/+4/0.00/0.0/416/76 18 NW AERO 15 MPH NW RMY N/A 12/14 47/29/38/+6/0.00/0.0/535/98 28 W AERO 25 MPH W RMY 27 12/15 40/31/36/+4/0.00/0.0/530/97 24 NNW AERO 22 MPH NNW RMY 21 12/16 36/31/34/+3/0.25/0.1/000/00 25 E AERO 22 MPH E RMY N/A 12/17 44/36/40/+9/0.65/0.0/000/00 31 ENE AERO 29 MPH ENE RMY 30 12/18 50/40/45/+14/0.61/0.0/000/00 28 E AERO 24 MPH E RMY N/A 12/19 44/35/40/+10/T/0.0/087/16 42 WNW AERO 40 MPN WNW RMY 43 12/20 42/30/36/+6/T/0.0/262/48 25 NNW AERO 23 MPH NNW RMY N/A 12/21 53/35/44/+14/0.90/0.0/000/00 58 E AERO 53 MPH E RMY 57 12/22 37/26/32/+3/T/T/136/25 47 W AERO 47 MPH W RMY 43 12/23 37/25/31/+2/0.00/0.0/305/56 44 WNW AERO 44 MPH WNW RMY N/A 12/24 39/28/34/+5/0.00/0.0/452/83 25 W AERO 23 MPH W RMY 22 12/25 33/25/29/+1/0.04/0.6/000/00 21 NNW AERO 21 MPH NNW RMY 19 12/26 35/20/28/+0/0.30/1.0/228/43 39 E AERO 39 MPH E RMY N/A 12/27 45/30/38/+10/1.64/0.3/000/00 70 E AERO 71 MPH E RMY 67 12/28 34/24/29/+1/0.00/0.0/528/99 37 NW AERO 39 MPH NW RMY 36 12/29 34/25/30/+3/0.98/6.0/000/00 39 ENE AERO 39 MPH ENE RMY 40 12/30 27/18/23/-4/0.04/0.6/126/22 50 NW AERO 53 MPH NW RMY 53 12/31 31/17/24/-3/0.00/0.0/048/09 35 WNW AERO 35 MPH WNW RMY 36 1/1 35/18/27/0/0.00/0.0/.../.. 44 WNW AERO 44 MPH WNW RMY 45 1/2 29/11/20/-7/0.00/0.0/.../.. 35 WNW AERO 35 MPH WNW RMY 33 1/3 23/2/13/-13/0.00/0.0/.../.. 24 WNW AERO 23 MPH WNW RMY 23 1/4 morning low temp: 19F; the normal low is now 18F DAILY RECORDS FOR DECEMBER 2012 None so far. DAILY RECORDS FOR JANUARY 2013 None so far. DAILY EXTREMES Temperature and precipitation records back to 1885, and wind records back to 1940 (e = estimated): RECORDS FOR JANUARY 4 HIGH 60F IN 2000 LOW -8F IN 1904, 1981 PRECIP 1.79 INS. IN 1982 SNOW 8.6 INS. 1923, 1941 PEAK GUST 84 MPH S IN 1982 RECORDS FOR JANUARY 5 HIGH 61F IN 2007 LOW -9F IN 1981 PRECIP 0.98 INS. IN 1993 SNOW 4.5 INS. IN 1891 PEAK GUST 70 MPH WNW IN 1959 TODAY'S REPORT PREPARED BY: Sean Fankhauser