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

DAILY DISCUSSION AND CLIMATE SUMMARY
MONDAY, MARCH 9, 2020
ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME

A NEAR TOP 10 DAY HERE ON THE SUMMIT OF BLUE HILL....

With the combination of bright sunshine and warm temperatures,
today is a near top 10 type of day. The only caveat to this
is the gusty SW-WSW wind here on the summit, which recently
has been gusting to around 30mph.

The temperature has reached 70 degrees as of our 1 P.M. EST
observation. The record high for today is 75 degrees set in
2016, we are not likely to match or exceed this value today.

Visibility has been decent all day at 60 miles. A lack of 
moisture in the air is attributing to a relatively clear
air mass. The dew point has been in the upper teens all day,
resulting in a paltry relative humidity of only 14% this afternoon.
 
On the season, the observatory is considerably dry to start
the year in terms of precipitation. With an annual rain total
of 4.82 inches, we are 4.99 inches below the normal amount.
We continue to depart further from our normal seasonal snow
total of 50.6 inches, being 25.5 inches below that amount to
date. 

The high so far today is 70F, this is 28 degrees above the 
normal high of 42F. The low since midnight is 40F, this is 
16 degrees above the normal low of 24F.

Just a reminder, while most of the country observes Daylight
Saving Time, here at Blue Hill Observatory we do not. As such,
all times referred to within this discussion will be in Eastern
Standard Time.


PRELIMINARY STATS FOR FEBRUARY 2020

TEMPERATURE, Deg. F
Avg. Max. 40.7 [+3.9]
Avg. Min. 25.9 [+6.7]
Mean      33.3 [+5.4]
24-hour corrected mean: 33.0
Max. for month: 60F on the 24th
Min. for month: 4F on the 15th

HEATING DEGREE DAYS
Total heating units:    911 [-164]
Total for the season:  4140 [-345]
Total for last season: 4485

PRECIPITATION, Inches
Total: 3.20 [-0.87]
Greatest in 24 hrs: N/A 

SNOWFALL, Inches
Total: 0.6 [-13.3]
Greatest in 24 hrs: 0.5 ins. on the 13th

WIND, mph
Avg. uncorrected wind speed: 11.5 mph
Avg. corrected wind speed:   12.0 mph
Prevailing wind direction:   W [24%]
Peak gust and direction:     71 WSW on the 7th

SUNSHINE:
Campbell-Stokes card minutes: 7596 minutes of possible 17796 or 43%
Astronomical total minutes: 7853 minutes of possible 18422 or 43%


Today's Observations:

7 A.M.
Weather: Thin scattered cirrus, few altostratus distant W-N-NE
Temperature: 46F; Dew Point: 18F; Relative Humidity: 32%
Wind: WSW at 12G17 kts
Sea-level pressure: 30.29 ins. Hg: rising, then more slowly
Visibility: 60 miles
6-hr Max temp: 46F
6-hr Min temp: 40F
24-hr Precip:  0.00 ins.
24-hr Snowfall: 0.0 ins.
BHO SA 1155 250 –SCT 60 258/46/18/2412G17/029/ FEW AS DSNT W-N-NE
THN K LYR ALNG HRZN ALQDS/ 8/021 51008 10046 20040

10 A.M.
Weather: Scattered cirrus, thin broken cirrus, few altocumulus
distant NW-NE
Temperature: 62F; Dew Point: 16F; Relative Humidity: 16%
Wind: SW at 10G17 kts
Sea-level pressure: 30.27 ins. Hg: rising, then falling
Visibility: 60 miles
3-hr Precip:  0.00 ins.
3-hr Snowfall: 0.0 ins.
BHO SA 1455 200 SCT 250 –BKN 60 251/62/16/2210G17/027/ FEW AC DSNT
NW-NE/ 8/071 58007 

1 P.M.
Weather: Thin scattered cirrus
Temperature: 70F; Dew Point: 19F; Relative Humidity: 14%
Wind: SW at 13G23 kts 
Sea-level pressure: 30.19 ins. Hg: falling, then more rapidly 
Visibility: 60 miles
6-hr Max temp: 70F
6-hr Min temp: 46F
6-hr Precip:  0.00 ins. 
6-hr Snowfall: 0.0 ins.
BHO SA 1755 250 –SCT 60 223/70/19/2313G23/019/ 8/001 58028 10070 20046


SUMMARY FOR SUNDAY, MARCH 8, 2020 

TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
MAX.....53   NORMAL.....42
MIN.....26   NORMAL.....24
MEAN....40   NORMAL.....33

DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR NORMAL....................+7
TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH...................+61 [+7.4 DEGREES/DAY]

HEATING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON JUL TO JUN)
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY...............25  DEPARTURE........-7
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE MONTH..............203  DEPARTURE.......-61
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE SEASON............4343  DEPARTURE......-489
TOTAL HEATING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE.......4812  DEPARTURE......-469

PEAK GUST AND AVERAGE WIND SPEED (MPH) 
PEAK WIND GUST FOR YESTERDAY....................31 W   AT   2:23 P.M.  
                   AERO.........................30 W   AT   2:23 P.M.   
                   ASOS.........................30 W   AT   2:36 P.M. 
                   DAVIS........................31 W   AT   2:22 P.M. RMY 28
FASTEST MILE FOR YESTERDAY......................24 W   AT   2:18 P.M. 
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE ASOS AVERAGE...................23 W   AT   2:24 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS AVERAGE..................25 W   AT   2:24 P.M.
AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION..............11.7 W                
                   ASOS.......................11.8
                   DAVIS......................12.1 W [269 deg.]


PRECIPITATION (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST)
TOTAL PRECIPITATION 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M....0.00  DEPARTURE......-0.18
                         ASOS..............0.00
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH..........0.16  DEPARTURE......-1.23
                         ASOS..............0.19
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR...........4.82  DEPARTURE......-4.99
                         ASOS..............5.10

SNOWFALL (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST)
TOTAL SNOWFALL 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M..........0.0  DEPARTURE.......-0.5
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE MONTH................0.8  DEPARTURE.......-3.3
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE SEASON..............25.6  DEPARTURE......-25.5


PRELIMINARY CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR FEBRUARY 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

02/01  38/30/34/+8/0.01/T/000/00          14 WSW AERO 14 WSW RMY N/A
02/02  40/30/35/+9/0.00/0.0/078/13        18 W   AERO 18 WNW RMY 18
02/03  44/27/36/+10/0.00/0.0/260/43       28 W   AERO 28 W   RMY 28
02/04  44/33/39/+13/0.00/0.0/055/09       19 E   AERO 16 E   RMY 18
02/05  41/30/36/+10/0.00/0.0/000/00       20 NNW AERO 19 NNW RMY N/A
02/06  31/30/34/+8/0.00/0.0/000/00        29 E   AERO 28 E   RMY 27
02/07  53/25/39/+12/..../0.1/000/00       71 WSW AERO 71 SSW RMY 73
02/08  33/20/27/0/T/T/616/100             46 W   AERO 44 W   RMY 44
02/09  33/15/24/-3/T/T/303/49             30 SSE AERO 29 SSE RMY N/A
02/10  42/33/38/+11/..../0.0/000/00       39 SSW AERO 39 SSW RMY 39
02/11  40/36/38/+11/..../0.0/000/00       24 W   AERO 23 W   RMY N/A
02/12  41/30/36/+9/0.00/0.0/314/50        37 W   AERO 36 W   RMY N/A
02/13  35/31/34/+6/..../0.5/000/00        29 SSW AERO 29 SSW RMY N/A
02/14  33/8/21/-7/0.00/0.0/506/80         32 WNW AERO 32 NW  RMY 34
02/15  27/4/16/-12/0.00/0.0/508/80        31 SSW AERO 31 SSW RMY N/A
02/16  40/23/32/+4/0.00/0.0/006/01        38 SW  AERO 38 SW  RMY N/A
02/17  44/28/36/+8/0.00/0.0/582/91        25 WNW AERO 24 WNW RMY 24
02/18  37/27/32/+3/0.31/T/000/00          26 SE  AERO 26 SE  RMY N/A
02/19  42/25/34/+5/0.00/0.0/530/82        45 W   AERO 46 W   RMY 44
02/20  31/18/25/-4/0.00/0.0/389/60        32 W   AERO 32 W   RMY N/A
02/21  30/11/21/-8/0.00/0.0/651/100       24 NNW AERO 21 N   RMY N/A
02/22  44/23/34/+5/0.00/0.0/647/99        26 W   AERO 24 W   RMY 27
02/23  53/30/42/+12/0.00/0.0/636/97       21 SW  AERO 22 WSW RMY 23
02/24  60/32/46/+16/0.00/0.0/606/92       29 S   AERO 29 SSW RMY 31
02/25  53/40/47/+17/..../0.0/033/05       17 NE  AERO 18 ENE RMY 17
02/26  45/39/42/+12/..../0.0/007/01       23 ENE AERO 24 E   RMY N/A
02/27  49/27/38/+7/0.00/0.0/274/41        51 W   AERO 53 W   RMY 52
02/28  36/25/31/0/0.00/0.0/596/89         38 SW  AERO 38 SW  RMY 36
02/29  35/19/27/-4/0.00/0.0/256/38        32 W   AERO 32 W   RMY 34


PRELIMINARY CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR MARCH 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

03/01  33/15/24/-7/0.00/0.0/..../..        28 WNW AERO 28 WNW RMY 27
03/02  52/24/38/+7/T/T/..../..             40 S   AERO 39 S   RMY 41
03/03  64/45/55/+23/..../0.0/..../..       30 S   AERO 30 S   RMY N/A
03/04  50/38/44/+12/..../0.0/..../..       56 W   AERO 56 W   RMY 58
03/05  51/32/42/+10/0.00/0.0/..../..       31 W   AERO 31 NW  RMY 32
03/06  47/30/39/+7/..../.../..../..        46 NE  AERO 45 NE  RMY 46
03/07  43/26/35/+2/..../.../..../..        42 N   AERO 43 N   RMY 44
03/08  53/26/40/+7/0.00/0.0/..../..        31 W   AERO 30 W   RMY 28

03/09 The low since midnight is 40F, daily normal minimum is 24F 


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

RECORDS FOR MARCH 9
HIGH 75 IN 2016
LOW 1 IN 2007
PRECIP 2.67 INS. IN 1998
SNOWFALL 6.3 INS. IN 2013
PEAK GUST 102e MPH S IN 1942 [RECORD FOR MONTH]

RECORDS FOR MARCH 10
HIGH 69 IN 1977
LOW 2 IN 1984
PRECIP 2.00 INS. IN 1994
SNOWFALL 4.0 INS. IN 1997
PEAK GUST 80 MPH NW IN 1974

TODAY'S REPORT PREPARED BY: Matt Douglas