BLUE HILL METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATORY
MILTON, MASSACHUSETTS
ELEVATION 635 FEET, 10 MILES SSW OF BOSTON, MA

DAILY DISCUSSION AND CLIMATE SUMMARY
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 1, 2020
ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME

A FAIR AND WINDY START TO A NEW DECADE....

Today we observed partly cloudy weather with a 
decent westerly breeze. The highest gust was 
around 36 mph, with an average speed of around 
20 mph. Visibility increased from 35 miles this
morning to 70 miles by the 10 A.M. observation.

Total rainfall for last year was 56.89 inches, 
which is 3.45 inches more than the normal annual
amount. We experienced 20 inches of snowfall so 
far this season, with 19.9 inches of it falling 
in December. That is 4 inches above normal for the 
first 2 months of winter. 

The low since midnight is 30F, 11 degrees above the 
normal low of 19F. The high so far today is 37F, 
2 degrees above the daily normal maximum of 35F.  


Today's Observations:

7 A.M.
Weather: Scattered altocumulus, broken cirrus
Temperature: 31F; Dew Point: 23F; Wind: WSW at 10 kts
Sea-level pressure: 29.58 ins. Hg, falling, then rising 
Visibility: 35 miles, distant haze
6-hr Max temp: 34F
6-hr Min temp: 30F
24-hr Precip:  0.04 ins.
24-hr Snowfall: 0.0 ins.
BHO SA 1155 100 SCT E250 BKN 35 016/31/23/2510/958/ DSNT HZ 
ALQDS/ 8/072 70004 53001 10034 20030

10 A.M.
Weather: Scattered cumulus and broken altocumulus
Temperature: 35F; Dew Point: 25F; Wind: W at 15G25 kts
Sea-level pressure: 29.63 ins. Hg, falling then rising
Visibility: 70 miles
3-hr Precip:  0.04 ins.
3-hr Snowfall: 0.0 ins.
BHO SA 1455 50 SCT E120 BKN 70 030/35/25/2615G25/963/ 8/170 
51014

1 P.M.
Weather: Broken cumulus and cirrostratus
Temperature: 36F; Dew Point: 25F; Wind: W at 16G24 kts,
Peak wind: 37 MPH (32 kts) W at 12:00 P.M.
Sea-level pressure: 29.61 ins. Hg, falling, then more slowly
Visibility: 60 miles
6-hr Max temp: 37F
6-hr Min temp: 30F
6-hr Precip:  0.00 ins.
6-hr Snowfall: 0.0 ins.
BHO SA 1755 E40 BKN 250 BKN 60 024/36/25/2816G24/961/ PK WND 
2832/00/ 8/100 58006 10037 20030


SUMMARY FOR TUESDAY, DECEMBER 31, 2019 

TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
MAX.....40   NORMAL.....35
MIN.....32   NORMAL.....19
MEAN....36   NORMAL.....27

DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR NORMAL..................... +9
TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH.....................+27 [+0.7 DEGREES/DAY]

HEATING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON JUL TO JUN)
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY...............29  DEPARTURE....... -9 
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE MONTH.............1014  DEPARTURE.......-29
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE SEASON............2251  DEPARTURE.......-54
TOTAL HEATING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE.......2295  DEPARTURE.......-44

PEAK GUST AND AVERAGE WIND SPEED (MPH) 
PEAK WIND GUST FOR YESTERDAY....................35 E   AT  4:05 A.M.  
                   AERO.........................32 E   AT  1:24 A.M.   
                   ASOS.........................37 E   AT  4:09 A.M. 
                   DAVIS........................36 E   AT  1:22 A.M. RMY N/A
FASTEST MILE FOR YESTERDAY......................26 ENE AT  4:10 A.M. 
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE ASOS AVERAGE...................26 ENE AT  4:11 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS AVERAGE..................27 E   AT  4:10 A.M.
AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION..............13.4 WSW                  
                   ASOS.......................13.2 
                   DAVIS......................13.7 N [354 deg.]


PRECIPITATION (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST)
TOTAL PRECIPITATION 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M....0.04  DEPARTURE......-0.10
                         ASOS..............0.06
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH..........7.81  DEPARTURE......+2.91
                         ASOS..............8.30
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR..........56.89  DEPARTURE......+3.45
                         ASOS.............57.70

SNOWFALL (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST)
TOTAL SNOWFALL 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M..........0.0  DEPARTURE.......-0.6
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE MONTH...............19.9  DEPARTURE.......+6.5
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE SEASON..............20.0  DEPARTURE.......+4.0


PRELIMINARY CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR DECEMBER CALENDAR DAY DATA
DATE: MAX/MIN/MEAN/DEP/PRECIP/SNOW/SUN(MIN.)/SUN(%)/PEAK GUST/AERO/RMY GUST
AERO: Aerovane wind recording system 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
M:    Missing data

12/01  32/16/24/-13/..../5.8/011/02           33 ENE AERO 32 ENE RMY N/A
12/02  37/25/31/-5/..../2.7/000/00            52 NE  AERO 47 NE  RMY 53
12/03  30/23/27/-9/..../4.6/000/00            32 N   AERO 35 N   RMY 36
12/04  34/22/28/-7/..../0.0/000/00            23 WNW AERO 23 NNW RMY N/A
12/05  41/26/34/-1/..../0.0/343/62            33 NW  AERO 35 NW  RMY 37
12/06  33/23/28/-7/0.02/0.1/000/00            25 NW  AERO 23 NW  RMY 29
12/07  31/18/25/-9/0.00/0.0/519/94            25 NW  AERO 23 NW  RMY N/A
12/08  36/15/26/-8/0.00/0.0/402/73            31 SSW AERO 32 SSW RMY N/A
12/09  57/36/47/+13/..../0.0/000/00           53 S   AERO 52 S   RMY 54
12/10  58/37/48/+15/..../0.0/044/08           35 SW  AERO 39 SW  RMY N/A
12/11  36/23/30/-3/..../3.0/236/43            25 NW  AERO 25 NW  RMY N/A
12/12  29/17/23/-10/..../1.8/488/89           29 W   AERO 30 W   RMY 25
12/13  46/22/34/+2/..../0.0/000/00            25 SSE AERO 25 SSE RMY N/A
12/14  58/46/52/+20/..../0.0/000/00           45 S   AERO 41 S   RMY N/A
12/15  48/28/38/+6/0.00/0.0/284/52            53 W   AERO 53 W   RMY 50
12/16  30/25/28/-3/0.00/0.0/000/00            36 W   AERO 36 W   RMY N/A
12/17  35/23/29/-2/..../1.0/000/00            22 NNW AERO 21 NE  RMY 23
12/18  33/18/26/-5/.../0.0/229/42             44 WNW AERO 45 WNW RMY N/A
12/19  20/9/15/-15/.../0.0/534/98             51 W   AERO 47 W   RMY N/A 
12/20  29/11/20/-10/0.00/0.0/540/99           32 W   AERO 30 W   RMY 29
12/21  31/16/24/-6/0.00/0.0/163/30            16 SSE AERO 15 SSE RMY N/A
12/22  40/26/33/+4/0.00/0.0/..../..           23 SW  AERO 21 SW  RMY 23
12/23  54/33/44/+15/0.00/0.0/..../..          30 WSW AERO 30 SW  RMY 30
12/24  42/29/36/+7/0.00/0.0/..../..           30 NW  AERO 27 NW  RMY 30
12/25  42/25/34/+6/0.00/0.0/..../..           16 NNE AERO 16 N   RMY N/A
12/26  39/29/34/+6/0.00/0.0/..../..           22 ENE AERO 20 ENE RMY 22
12/27  47/31/39/+11/0.00/0.0/..../..          32 SSW AERO 30 SSW RMY 34
12/28  47/30/39/+11/0.00/0.0/..../..          23 W   AERO 22 W   RMY N/A
12/29  42/28/35/+8/..../0.0/..../..           22 WNW AERO 21 WNW RMY 23
12/30  36/32/34/+7/..../0.8/..../..           40 E   AERO 37 E   RMY 37
12/31  40/32/36/+9/..../0.0/..../..           35 E   AERO 32 E   RMY N/A    

01/01  The low since midnight is 30F, daily normal minimum is 19F 


DAILY RECORDS FOR DECEMBER

12/01/19: DAILY RECORD SNOWFALL OF 5.8 INS.,
          BREAKS PREVIOUS RECORD OF 2.0 INS. SET IN 1902.

DAILY EXTREMES
Temperature and precipitation records back to 1885, and
wind records back to 1940 (e = estimated):  

RECORDS FOR JANUARY 1
HIGH 58F IN 1966
LOW -6F IN 1918
PRECIP 1.45 INS. IN 1982
SNOWFALL 7.2 INS. IN 1938
PEAK GUST 90e MPH S IN 1945

RECORDS FOR JANUARY 2
HIGH 62F IN 1890
LOW -7F IN 1899,1918
PRECIP 2.10 INS. IN 1987
SNOWFALL 9.0 INS. IN 1904
PEAK GUST 85e MPH S IN 1942

TODAY'S REPORT PREPARED BY: Benjamin Turner