BLUE HILL METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATORY
MILTON, MASSACHUSETTS
ELEVATION 635 FEET, 10 MILES SSW OF BOSTON, MA
 
DAILY DISCUSSION AND CLIMATE SUMMARY
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2013
ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME
 
UNDERCAST CONDITION EARLY A.M. THEN OVERCAST ALL DAY
SOME VERY LIGHT DRIZZLE EARLY AFTERNOON
INCREASING SOUTH WINDS GUSTING NEAR 30 MPH
 
Low clouds covered the sky after early morning thin fog included a complete
thin undercast, stratus below summit and inversion. There is no sign of
any sunshine today and the clouds are becoming more heavily overcast
early this afternoon as temperatures continue to rise into the upper
50's following the morning low of 43F. No precipitation has occurred
by early this afternoon but showers are expected later. Some very
light drizzle began minutes before 2 P.M. EDT as south winds were
increasing with gusts approaching 30 MPH.
 
October continues to be very dry, with only 1.04 inches of rainfall so far this
month. From October 7-30, only 0.21 inch of rain has fallen on the summit.
That's a mere 5% of the 30-year normal.  From September 3 through October 30,
only 2.20 inches of rain has fallen or less than 30% of the 30-year normal for this
period.  Depending on how much rain fall by the midnight hour and the end of
the month, October 2013 could finish in the top ten driest on record at Blue Hill.
 
BHO DRIEST OCTOBERS (INCHES, 1886-2013)
1)  0.22 IN 1924
2)  0.39 IN 1994
3)  0.50 IN 1946
4)  0.61 IN 1935
5)  0.63 IN 1897
6)  0.79 IN 2001
7)  1.04 IN 2013  *thru October 30
8)  1.15 IN 1918
9)  1.25 IN 1940
10) 1.31 IN 1967
 
Today's Observations:
 
7 A.M.
Weather: High cirrostratus overcast, few thin spots in overcast overhead,
thin fog all quadrants, thin undercast below summit/inversion
Temperature: 46F; Dew Point: 45F; Wind: S at 12 kts.
Sea-level pressure: 30.22 ins. Hg, steady
Visibility: 6 miles, except 8 miles SW and 9 miles N above fog below the
inversion
6-hr min temp: 43F
24-hr precip: 0.02 inch 
BHO SA 1155 E250 OVC 6F 232/46/45/1712/022/ FEW THN SPTS IOVC
OVHD THN UNDERCAST BLO SMT/INVSN THN FG ALQDS VSBY N 9 SW 8 ABV
INVSN FG HVY DEW/CONDENSATION ALL SFCS/ 8/007 55000 ASOS 70002
MANUAL 70002 10046 20043 
 
10 A.M.
Weather: Overcast stratus, fractus drifting over summit 
Temperature: 51F; Dew Point: 51F; Wind: S at 11 kts,
Sea-level pressure: 30.18 ins. Hg, falling then more rapidly 
Visibility:  11/2 miles, fog
BHO SA 1455 E3 OVC 11/2F 220/51/51/1711/018/ STRA DRFTG OVR SMT/
8/6// 58012
 
1 P.M.
Weather: Overcast nimbostratus, few isolated stratus fractus,
virga (likely drizzle) S-SW
Temperature: 58F; Dew Point: 53F; Wind: S at 14G21  kts,
Sea-level pressure: 30.09 ins. Hg, falling then more rapidly
Visibility: 20 miles, except NE 15, W 25, hazy
6-hr max temp: 58F
6-hr precip: none   
BHO SA 1755 E24 OVC 20 188/58/53/1814G21/009/ FEW ISLTD STFRA
VIRGA S-SW VSBY NE 15 W 25 HAZY ALQDS/ 8/72/ 58032 10058 20046
 
WEATHER SUMMARY FOR WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2013
 
TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
MAX.....51    NORMAL.....56
MIN.....38    NORMAL.....38
MEAN....45    NORMAL.....47
 
DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR NORMAL.....................-2
TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH....................+83 [+2.6 DEGREES/DAY]
 
COOLING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON JAN TO DEC)
TOTAL COOLING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY...............0  DEPARTURE..........0
TOTAL COOLING UNITS FOR THE MONTH...............5  DEPARTURE..........0
TOTAL COOLING UNITS FOR THE SEASON............701  DEPARTURE........+99
TOTAL COOLING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE.......767  DIFFERENCE.......-66
 
HEATING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON JUL TO JUN)
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY..............20  DEPARTURE.........+2
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE MONTH.............318  DEPARTURE........-85
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE SEASON............464  DEPARTURE........-81
TOTAL HEATING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE.......393  DIFFERENCE.......+71
 
PEAK GUST AND AVERAGE WIND SPEED (MPH)
PEAK WIND GUST FOR YESTERDAY..................16 W   AT 11:04 P.M. 
                   AERO.......................15 W   AT 11:04 P.M. *  
                   ASOS.......................16 W   AT 11:04 P.M.
                   DAVIS......................14 S   AT  1:06 A.M.  RMY N/A
FASTEST MILE FOR YESTERDAY....................11 S   AT  1:03 A.M. 
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE ASOS AVERAGE.................12 SW  AT  1:49 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS AVERAGE................11 SSW AT  3:55 A.M.  
AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION.............7.3 WSW
                   ASOS.......................N/A
                   DAVIS.....................6.7 SW [230 degrees]
* last of several occurrences...
 
PRECIPITATION (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST)
TOTAL PRECIPITATION 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M....0.02   DEPARTURE.............-0.13
                         ASOS..............0.02
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH..........1.04   DEPARTURE.............-3.49
                         ASOS..............1.02
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR..........42.96   DEPARTURE.............-0.65
                         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.........0.0    DEPARTURE..............0.0
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE MONTH...............0.0    DEPARTURE.............-0.3
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE SEASON..............0.0    DEPARTURE.............-0.3
 
PRELIMINARY CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR OCTOBER 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
 
10/1  75/50/63/+6/0.00/676/96         16 WNW AERO 16 MPH WNW RMY 18
10/2  78/56/67/+10/0.00/666/95        29 W   AERO 30 MPH W   RMY 29
10/3  77/56/67/+11/0.00/628/90        20 WNW AERO 20 MPH WNW RMY N/A
10/4  67/56/62/+6/0.26/028/04         18 NW  AERO 20 MPH NW  RMY N/A
10/5  67/56/62/+6/0.01/125/18         14 ENE AERO 12 MPH ENE RMY N/A
10/6  58/53/56/+1/0.56/000/00         20 NE  AERO 20 MPH NE  RMY N/A
10/7  75/57/66/+11/0.07/213/31        48 S   AERO 55 MPH S   RMY 55
10/8  65/50/58/+4/0.00/581/85         25 NW  AERO 27 MPH NW  RMY 28
10/9  59/49/54/0/0.00/545/80          25 ENE AERO 24 MPH ENE RMY 25
10/10 61/46/54/0/0.00/095/14          18 NE  AERO 17 MPH NE  RMY 18
10/11 67/50/59/+6/0.00/473/70         20 NE  AERO 20 MPH NE  RMY N/A
10/12 59/50/55/+2/0.02/007/01         30 ENE AER0 31 MPH ENE RMY 32
10/13 59/46/53/0/0.00/482/72          23 ENE AERO 23 MPH ENE RMY 23
10/14 64/42/53/+1/0.00/580/87         15 SSW AERO 15 MPH SSW RMY 15
10/15 66/50/58/+6/0.00/266/40         16 ESE AERO 16 MPH ESE RMY N/A
10/16 60/49/55/+4/0.00/013/02         23 ESE AERO 24 MPH ESE RMY 23
10/17 70/52/61/+10/0.06/277/42        21 S   AERO 23 MPH S   RMY N/A
10/18 67/50/59/+8/T/630/96            32 WNW AERO 32 MPH W   RMY 31
10/19 65/45/55/+5/0.00/379/58         21 W   AERO 22 MPH W   RMY N/A
10/20 61/44/53/+3/0.00/644/99         33 W   AERO 36 MPH W   RMY 34
10/21 67/43/55/+5/0.00/648/100        23 SSW AERO 25 MPH SSW RMY 27
10/22 69/44/57/+8/T/419/65            25 SSW AERO 27 MPH SSW RMY 27
10/23 50/40/45/-4/0.00/103/16         18 WNW AERO 18 MPH WNW RMY N/A
10/24 53/36/45/-4/0.00/640/100        31 W   AERO 31 MPH W   RMY 34
10/25 49/34/42/-7/0.00/401/63         25 WNW AERO 26 MPH WNW RMY 26
10/26 54/34/44/-4/0.00/521/82         35 SW  AERO 36 MPH SSW RMY 39
10/27 55/39/47/-1/0.04/480/76         30 W   AERO 30 MPH W   RMY 29
10/28 58/35/47/-1/0.00/.../..         31 W   AERO 33 MPH W   RMY 34
10/29 50/30/40/-7/0.00/.../..         15 N   AERO 15 MPH N   RMY 15
10/30 51/38/45/-2/0.02/.../..         16 W   AERO 15 MPH W   RMY N/A
 
10/31 morning low temp: 38F; the normal low is now 38F
 
DAILY RECORDS FOR OCTOBER 2013
None so far.
 
DAILY EXTREMES
Temperature and precipitation records back to 1885, and
wind records back to 1940 (e = estimated):
 
RECORDS FOR OCTOBER 31
HIGH 79F IN 1946
LOW 22F IN 1904
PRECIP 3.74 INCHES IN 1991
SNOWFALL TRACE IN 1906
PEAK GUST 70e S IN 1945
 
RECORDS FOR NOVEMBER 1
HIGH 75 IN 2003
LOW 22 IN 1913,1923
PRECIP 2.93 INCHES IN 1985
SNOWFALL TRACE IN 1906,1951
PEAK GUST 78 ESE IN 1997
 
TODAY'S REPORT PREPARED BY: Robert Skilling