BLUE HILL METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATORY
MILTON, MASSACHUSETTS
ELEVATION 635 FEET, 10 MILES SSW OF BOSTON, MA
 
DAILY DISCUSSION AND CLIMATE SUMMARY
SATURDAY, JANUARY 12, 2013   
ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME
 
MORNING DRIZZLE FIZZLES BY 8:00, THICK FOG PERSISTS
 
Overnight and morning rain gave us our first measurable precipitation
of the new year depositing 0.16 inch by 7:00 A.M., however we are still
well behind our 20 year monthly average of 1.56 inches. This rain,
in concert with a morning low of 35 F has reduced the snow on the ground
to trace patches. The average low for this time of year is 17 F.
 
Wind speed throughout the day has hovered around 2 mph, doing little to
move the thick fog that has enveloped the observatory throughout the day
limiting visibility to 1/16 of a mile.
 
Today's observations:
 
7 A.M.
Weather: Sky obscured by dense fog, light drizzle
Temperature: 37F; Dew Point: 37F; Wind: SE at 10 kts,
Sea-level pressure: 30.16 ins. Hg, falling then steady
Visibility: 1/16 mile, dense fog 
Snow depth: Trace
6-hr min. temp: 35F
BHO SA 1155 W3 X 1/16L-F 214/37/37/1310/016/ 8//// 56003 6/0//
70016 10038 20035
 
10 A.M.
Weather: Sky obscured by fog
Temperature: 40F; Dew Point: 40F; Wind: ESE at 3 kts,
Wind: Light
Sea-level pressure: 30.20 ins. Hg, rising then rising more slowly  
Visibility: 3/4 mile, variable 1/2 to 1 1/2 miles, fog
3-hour precip: Trace
BHO SA 1455 W4 X 3/4VF 227/40/40/1202/020/ VSBY 1/2V11/2 WND LGT/ 8////
51013 6000/
 
1 P.M.
Weather: Sky obscured by fog
Temperature: 42 F; Dew Point: 42 F; Wind: SE at 5 kts,
Wind: Light
Sea-level pressure: 30.14 ins. Hg, decreasing then more rapidly
Visibility: 1/16 mile
6-hour max: 42 F
6-hour min: 35 F
6-hour precip: Trace
BHO SA 1755 W2 X 1/16F 205/42/42/1305/014/ WND LGT/ 8//// 58022 6000/ 10042 20037
 
WEATHER SUMMARY FOR FRIDAY, JANUARY 11
 
TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
MAX.....38      NORMAL.....34
MIN.....29      NORMAL.....17
MEAN....34      NORMAL.....25
 
DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR NORMAL......................+9
TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH......................+51 [+4.4 DEGREES/DAY]
 
HEATING DEGREE DAYS
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY............31    DEPARTURE.........-9
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE MONTH...........378    DEPARTURE.........-51
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE SEASON.........2406    DEPARTURE........-327
TOTAL HEATING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE....2102    DIFFERENCE.......+304
 
PEAK GUST AND AVERAGE WIND SPEED (MPH)
PEAK WIND GUST FOR YESTERDAY...............23 SE  AT  10:33 P.M.
                   AERO....................21 SE  AT  10:24 P.M.
                   ASOS....................21 SE  AT  10:26 P.M.
                   DAVIS...................22 SE  AT  10:13 P.M. RMY 23
THE FASTEST MILE FOR YESTERDAY.............18 SE  AT  10:24 P.M. *
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE ASOS AVERAGE..............17 SE  AT  10:26 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS AVERAGE.............18 SE  AT  10:26 P.M.
AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION.........8.6  SE
                   ASOS..................7.9
                   DAVIS.................8.1 E [99 deg.]
*last of several occurrences
 
PRECIPITATION (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST)
TOTAL PRECIPITATION 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M....0.16   DEPARTURE..........+0.02
                         ASOS..............0.13
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH..........0.16   DEPARTURE..........-1.40
                         ASOS..............0.13
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR...........0.16   DEPARTURE..........-1.40
                         ASOS..............0.13
 
SNOWFALL (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST)
TOTAL SNOWFALL 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M.........0.0   DEPARTURE............-0.6
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE MONTH...............0.1   DEPARTURE............-6.1
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE SEASON.............15.5   DEPARTURE............-6.8   
 
PRELIMINARY CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR 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
 
1/1   35/18/27/0/0.00/0.0/313/57      44 WNW AERO 44 MPH WNW RMY 45
1/2   29/11/20/-7/0.00/0.0/457/83     35 WNW AERO 35 MPH WNW RMY 33
1/3   23/2/13/-13/0.00/0.0/529/96     24 WNW AERO 23 MPH WNW RMY 23
1/4   38/19/29/+3/0.00/0.0/320/58     35 W   AERO 36 MPH W   RMY 36
1/5   40/27/34/+8/0.00/0.0/536/97     36 WNW AERO 37 MPH WNW RMY 38
1/6   42/27/35/+9/T/0.1/471/85        29 SW  AERO 29 MPH SW  RMY 29
1/7   38/27/33/+7/0.00/0.0/538/97     29 NW  AERO 27 MPH NW  RMY N/A
1/8   45/27/36/+10/0.00/0.0/428/77    39 SW  AERO 42 MPH SW  RMY 41
1/9   42/31/37/+11/T/0.0/033/06       40 W   AERO 39 MPH W   RMY N/A
1/10  45/32/39/+14/0.00/0.0/.../..    47 WNW AERO 48 MPH WNW RMY 50
1/11  38/29/34/+9/.../0.0/.../..      23 SE  AERO 21 MPH SE  RMY 23 
 
1/12 morning low temp: 35F; the normal low is now 17F
 
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 12
HIGH 57F IN 1913, 1975
LOW -15F IN 1886
PRECIP 2.04 INS. IN 2011
SNOW 18.2 INS. IN 2011
WIND 84e MPH S IN 1980
 
RECORDS FOR JANUARY 13
HIGH 57F IN 1890,1932
LOW -10F IN 1912,1914
PRECIP 1.54 INS. IN 1979
SNOWFALL 12.6 INS. IN 1964
PEAK GUST 74 MPH NE IN 1964
 
TODAY'S REPORT PREPARED BY: Mike Iacono/Forrest Iwanik/Jonathan O'Brien/
Peter Volpe