BLUE HILL METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATORY
MILTON, MASSACHUSETTS
ELEVATION 635 FEET, 10 MILES SSW OF BOSTON, MA
 
DAILY DISCUSSION AND CLIMATE SUMMARY
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2015
ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME
 
NUMEROUS RECORDS SET OVER DECEMBER 24-25
MILD WEATHER CONTINUES TODAY
 
It was a record breaking Christmas holiday here at Blue Hill and
throughout the Northeast, with exceptionally warm temperatures making it
feel more like early October than late December.  December 24th and 25th
both set new records for daily maximum and high minimum temperatures.  The
67F reading on December 24th broke last year's record of 61F, and the
Christmas day maximum of 64F broke a record of 62F set in 1889.  The
minimum temperature of 52F on the 25th broke the previous high minimum
record by six degrees (46F in 1964).  Six days this month have had a
temperature departure of +20F or greater, including three in a row, both
of which are records for December.  The +30F departure yesterday was the
second largest on record for December.  Also impressive have been the dew
points, which exceeded 60F for much of the day on the 24th.  The temperature
departure for December now sits at +13F, and we are well on our way to the
warmest December on record. 
 
Mild weather has continued today, and although no records are in jeopardy,
this morning's low temperature of 40F is 20 degrees above normal, and
exceeds the normal high temperature for today's date.  Skies have been
partly to mostly cloudy, but primarily with high level clouds, so sunshine
has also been plentiful.  Our yearly precipitation deficit remains above 10
inches, with a couple chances of precipitation expected in the next few days.
 
BHO Largest December Daily Temperature Departure, deg F (1885-2015):
 
1) +35 on 29 Dec 1984 (72/51/62)
2) +30 on 25 Dec 2015 (64/52/58)
3) +29 on 23 Dec 1990 (62/53/58)
   +29 on 24 Dec 2015 (67/48/58)
5) +27 on 31 Dec 1965 (62/45/54)
   +27 on 22 Dec 1990 (58/53/56)
7) +26 on 27 Dec 1949 (57/51/54)
   +26 on 9 Dec 1966 (68/52/60)
   +26 on 6 Dec 2001 (70/52/61)
 
(Thanks to Mike Iacono for compiling these statistics.)
 
So far this season, there has been no measurable snow on Blue Hill. 
This season is now the fourth latest on record for the first
occurrence of measurable snowfall.
 
BHO Latest First Measurable Snowfall, (1885-2014)
 
1) January  13, 2000  (7.0 inches)
2) January   1, 1954  (0.8 inches)
3) December 29, 1941  (0.4 inches)
4) December 22, 1998  (0.6 inches)
5) December 16, 1973  (0.4 inches)
6) December 15, 1891  (0.3 inches)
 
Today's Observations:
 
7 A.M.
Weather: Scattered altostratus, broken cirrus, few stratocumulus distant
ENE, few altocumulus SE-SSW
Temperature: 40F; Dew Point: 31F; Wind: N @ 7 kts
Sea-level pressure: 30.47 ins. Hg, rising
Visibility: 50 miles
6-hr Max temp: 52F
6-hr Min temp: 40F
24-hr precip: Trace 
BHO SA 1155 120 SCT E250 BKN 50 320/40/31/3607/047/ FEW SC DSNT ENE
FEW AC SE-SSW/ 8/570 52026 10052 20040
 
10 A.M.
Weather: Scattered dense cirrus, broken cirrus (partly thin), few small
cumulus distant E-SE, few altocumulus distant SE-WNW, thin smoke layer
along horizon NW-N
Temperature: 45F; Dew Point: 28F; Wind: NNE @ 9 kts
Sea-level pressure: 30.55 ins. Hg, rising, then steady 
Visibility: 75 miles
BHO SA 1455 200 SCT E250 BKN 75 346/45/28/0309/055/ FEW SML CU DSNT E-SE
FEW AC DSNT SE-WNW CI LYR PRTLY THN THN K LYR ALG HRZN NW-N/ 8/151 51026
 
1 P.M.
Weather: Broken cirrus (partly thin), few altocumulus all quadrants except
N-E, few patches of dense cirrus, thin smoke layer along horizon N-NE
Temperature: 47F; Dew Point: 28F; Wind: estimated NE @ 5 kts,
Wind: Light
Sea-level pressure: 30.50 ins. Hg, steady then falling
Visibility: 75 miles
6-hr Max temp: 48F
6-hr Min temp: 40F
BHO SA 1755 E250 BKN 75 329/47/28/E0505/050/ FEW AC ALQDS XCPT N-E
FEW PTCHS DNS CI CI LYR PRTLY THN THN K LYR ALG HRZN N-NE WND LGT/
8/051 56017 10048 20040
 
SUMMARY FOR FRIDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2015 CHRISTMAS DAY
 
TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
MAX.....64   NORMAL.....36
MIN.....52   NORMAL.....21
MEAN....58   NORMAL.....28
 
DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR NORMAL.....................+30
TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH....................+333  [+13.1 DEGREES/DAY]
 
HEATING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON JUL TO JUN)
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY...............7   DEPARTURE.........-30
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE MONTH.............483   DEPARTURE........-335
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE SEASON...........1485   DEPARTURE........-595
TOTAL HEATING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE......1873   DIFFERENCE.......-388
 
PEAK GUST AND AVERAGE WIND SPEED (MPH)
PEAK WIND GUST FOR YESTERDAY...................23  N   AT 11:27 P.M.
                   ASOS........................25  N   AT 11:28 P.M. 
                   DAVIS.......................21  N   AT 10:49 P.M. RMY N/A
FASTEST MILE FOR YESTERDAY.....................17  NNW AT 10:56 P.M.   
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE ASOS AVERAGE..................17  N   AT 11:38 P.M. 
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS AVERAGE.................15  N   AT 10:56 P.M. 
AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION..............9.0  SSW
                   ASOS.......................9.1  
                   DAVIS......................8.3  W [260 Deg.]
 
PRECIPITATION (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST)
TOTAL PRECIPITATION 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M....Trace  DEPARTURE......-0.16
                         ASOS...............0.00
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH...........2.80  DEPARTURE......-1.22
                         ASOS...............2.83
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR...........42.22  DEPARTURE.....-10.34 
                         ASOS................N/A ***
*** ASOS annual total not available due to erroneous readings
 
SNOWFALL (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST)
TOTAL SNOWFALL 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M..........0.0  DEPARTURE.......-0.5
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE MONTH................0.0  DEPARTURE......-10.2
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE SEASON.............TRACE  DEPARTURE......-12.8
 
PRELIMINARY CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR DECEMBER CALENDAR DAY DATA
  DATA REPORTED:
DATE: MAX/MIN/MEAN/DEP/PRECIP/SUN(MIN.)/SUN(%)/ PEAK GUST/RMY 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
 
12/1  42/30/36/-1/..../0.0/000/00           19 NNE RMY 19
12/2  53/37/45/+9/..../0.0/000/00           25 SSE RMY 25
12/3  53/37/45/+9/..../0.0/162/29           43 WNW RMY 42
12/4  47/32/40/+5/0.00/0.0/444/80           32 NW  RMY 32
12/5  50/33/42/+7/0.00/0.0/548/99           21 W   RMY N/A
12/6  57/35/46/+11/0.00/0.0/531/96          22 SW  RMY N/A
12/7  54/37/46/+12/0.00/0.0/353/64          31 NE  RMY N/A
12/8  42/35/39/+5/0.01/0.0/000/00           32 NE  RMY 31
12/9  44/34/39/+5/..../0.0/044/08           28 SSE RMY N/A
12/10 57/41/49/+16/T/0.0/209/38             29 SE  RMY N/A
12/11 56/44/50/+17/0.00/0.0/049/09          28 SSW RMY 28
12/12 59/46/53/+20/0.00/0.0/367/67          23 W   RMY N/A
12/13 54/44/49/+17/0.00/0.0/000/00          18 ESE RMY 19
12/14 60/43/52/+20/..../0.0/000/00          32 S   RMY N/A
12/15 61/45/53/+21/..../0.0/371/68          48 W   RMY 51
12/16 45/34/40/+9/0.00/0.0/415/76           25 N   RMY N/A
12/17 53/36/45/+14/..../0.0/000/00          29 SE  RMY 28
12/18 50/35/43/+12/..../0.0/000/00          29 NW  RMY 30
12/19 38/30/34/+4/0.00/0.0/.../..           39 W   RMY 40
12/20 40/28/34/+4/0.00/0.0/.../..           24 W   RMY N/A
12/21 51/31/41/+11/T/0.0/.../..             38 SSW RMY 42
12/22 57/49/53/+24/0.28/0.0/000/00          35 SW  RMY 35
12/23 56/47/52/+23/..../0.0/.../..          30 E   RMY 27
12/24 67/48/58/+29/..../0.0/.../..          37 SSW RMY 39 
12/25 64/52/58/+30/..../0.0/.../..          23 N   RMY N/A
 
12/26 low since midnight is 40F; normal low is now 20F 
 
DAILY RECORDS FOR DECEMBER 2015
 
**12/13/2015- NEW DAILY RECORD HIGH MINIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 44F,
BREAKS PREVIOUS RECORD OF 43F SET IN 1919, TIED 1983
**12/24/2015- NEW DAILY RECORD MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 67F,
BREAKS PREVIOUS RECORD OF 61F SET IN 2014
**12/24/2015- NEW DAILY RECORD HIGH MINIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 48F,
BREAKS PREVIOUS RECORD OF 46F SET IN 1900
**12/25/2015- NEW DAILY RECORD MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 64F,
BREAKS PREVIOUS RECORD OF 62F SET IN 1889
**12/25/2015- NEW DAILY RECORD HIGH MINIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 52F,
BREAKS PREVIOUS RECORD OF 46F SET IN 1964
 
DAILY EXTREMES
Temperature and precipitation records back to 1885, and
wind records back to 1940 (e = estimated):
 
RECORDS FOR DECEMBER 26
HIGH 58 IN 1973,1982
LOW -12 IN 1980
PRECIP 3.64 INS. IN 1969
SNOWFALL 17.5 INS. IN 1909
PEAK GUST 84 MPH SSE IN 1957
 
RECORDS FOR DECEMBER 27
HIGH 57 IN 1895,1949
LOW -4 IN 1903
PRECIP 2.43 INS. IN 1969
SNOWFALL 11.2 INS. IN 1947
PEAK GUST 73 S IN 2011
 
TODAY'S REPORT PREPARED BY: Jonathan O'Brien and Robert Millette