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R e s e a r c h 

T h e   B O A C   L a b r a d o r   s i g h t i n g   of   J u n e   2 9,   1 9 5 4   

visitor responses
Martin SHOUGH
 Appendix A

(i) Hourly Data Report for June 29, 1954, SEPT-ILES A, QUEBEC

Latitude 50° 13.000' N Longitude 66° 16.000' W Elevation 54.90 m
Climate ID 7047910 WMO ID ... TC ID YZV

Time Temp °C Dew Point Temp °C Rel Hum % Wind Dir Wind Spd km/h Visibility km STu Press KPa Weather
00:0012.210.69071025.0101.46Mostly Cloudy
01:0012.810.6867625.0101.44Mainly Clear
02:0012.810.68621648.3101.36Mainly Clear
03:0012.210.08671848.3101.40Mostly Cloudy
04:0013.910.68071348.3101.43Mostly Cloudy
05:0013.910.68091348.3101.47Mostly Cloudy
06:0013.910.68091648.3101.54Cloudy
07:0014.410.678141948.3101.55Cloudy
08:0014.411.181111648.3101.55Cloudy
09:0014.412.284112448.3101.52Cloudy
10:0015.612.884112348.3101.51Cloudy
11:0015.612.884112748.3101.50Cloudy
12:0013.311.790141948.3101.50Cloudy
13:0014.411.784141348.3101.50Cloudy
14:0013.311.790111616.1101.47Rain Showers
15:0012.811.793111616.1101.37Cloudy
16:0012.211.19391324.1101.46Cloudy
17:0012.211.19391624.1101.43Cloudy
18:0012.211.19391612.9101.42Drizzle
19:0012.211.7969138.0101.40Drizzle, Fog
20:0012.211.7969198.0101.39Drizzle, Fog
21:0012.212.21009238.0101.40Drizzle, Fog
22:0012.212.21009193.2101.39Drizzle, Fog
23:0011.711.71009191.6101.39Drizzle, Fog

All times are specified in Local Standard Time (LST). Add 1 hour to adjust for Daylight Saving Time where and when it is observed.

(ii) Sept Iles Almanac - Averages and Extremes for June 29, 1954 (all recorded
      years)

Average Maximum Temperature18.4 °C
Average Minimum Temperature9.3 °C
Frequency of Precipitation47 %

(iii) Hourly Data Report for June 29, 1954, KUUJJUAQ A, QUEBEC

Latitude 58° 6.000' N Longitude 68° 25.000' W Elevation 39.30 m
Climate ID 71135340 WMO ID 71906 TC ID YVP

Time Temp °C Dew Point Temp °C Rel Hum % Wind Dir 10's deg Wind Spd km/h Visibility km Stn Press kPa Weather
00:00        
01:009.45.677 024.1101.11Mostly Cloudy
02:00        
03:00        
04:00        
05:00        
06:00        
07:0014.49.47318524.1100.77Cloudy
08:00        
09:00        
10:00        
11:00        
12:00        
13:0026.710.035232124.1100.27Mostly Cloudy
14:00        
15:00        
16:00        
17:00        
18:00        
19:0015.012.284181024.1100.58Rain
20:00no more data

All times are specified in Local Standard Time (LST). Add 1 hour to adjust for Daylight Saving Time where and when it is observed.

(iv) Daily Data Report for June 1954, KUUJJUAQ A, QUEBEC

Latitude 58° 6.000' N Longitude 68° 25.000' W Elevation 39.30 m
Climate ID 71135340 WMO ID 71906 TC ID YVP

Day Max Temp °C Min Temp °C Mean Temp °C Heat Deg Days °C Cool Deg Days °C Total Rain mm Total Snow cm Total Precip mm
01MMMMMMMM
02MMMMMMMM
03MMMMMMMM
04MMMMMMMM
0512.8-1.15.912.10.0MMM
069.4-2.83.314.70.0MMM
0722.2-1.710.37.70.0MMM
0810.65.07.810.20.0MMM
0921.1-1.110.08.00.0MMM
1025.011.118.10.00.11.00.01.0
116.72.24.513.50.00.00.00.0
127.20.63.914.10.00.00.00.0
1314.41.78.19.90.00.00.00.0
1423.92.213.14.90.00.00.00.0
1528.36.717.50.50.00.00.00.0
1630.69.420.00.02.00.00.00.0
1725.617.221.40.03.410.20.010.2
1825.09.417.20.80.07.60.07.6
1920.62.811.76.30.02.50.02.5
2016.18.912.55.50.00.00.00.0
2122.23.312.85.20.01.00.01.0
2212.23.98.19.90.00.00.00.0
2310.62.86.711.30.00.00.00.0
2421.1-0.610.37.70.00.00.00.0
2511.78.910.37.70.011.70.011.7
2611.11.76.411.60.00.80.00.8
2712.81.77.310.70.00.00.00.0
2819.45.012.25.80.00.00.00.0
2927.28.317.80.20.00.80.00.8
3015.62.28.99.10.00.00.00.0

M = Missing

(v) Kuujjuaq A, Almanac - Averages and Extremes, June 29, 1954 (all recorded
      years)

Average Maximum Temperature15.3 °C
Average Minimum Temperature4.0 °C
Frequency of Precipitation45 %

[Source: Canadian Weather Office.]

(vi) 641st AC&W Sq USAF weather report, Goose AFB, Labrador

A telex timed 01:50 Z from 641st Airborne Control & Warning Squadron stationed at Goose AFB contains the terse codes:

CLEAR/VIS 30/73/4B/3013/NNW 8

which does not conform exactly to the format required under Air Force Regulation 200-2 for weather data to be collected in cases of UFO observations, but can probably be translated as follows:

Weather clear
Visibility 30 miles [= 48.3km, see Appendix A(vii) below]
73% RH
Broken cloud at 4000 ft
Surface pressure 30.13 inches of mercury (1020.319 mbar)
Wind NNW 8 knots

The conspicuous omissions are the temperature, the time of the observations, and the exact source.

Compare the Hourly Data Report for Goose archived by the Canadian Weather Office [Appendix A (vii) below] which relates to the joint military/civil airfield of Goose Bay (Goose AFB) as distinct from the nearby facilities of Pepperell AFB centred around the former St John's Airport.

Comparison of pressure and RH alone tends to suggest that the USAF report is probably of an early-morning observation (local time), since which time surface pressure had been falling slightly from its high of >1020 mbar. But none of the hourly observations at Goose corresponds exactly with the values recorded in the 6641st AC&W telex - presumably this may be because the USAF and Weather Office records relate to different observations made at different times at different (albeit nearby) airfields.

(vii) Hourly Data Report for June 29, 1954, Goose A Newfoundland

Latitude 53° 19.000' N Longitude 60° 25.000' W Elevation 48.80 m
Climate ID 8501900 WMO ID 71816 TC ID YYR

Time Temp °C Dew Point Temp °C Rel Hum % Wind Dir Wind Spd km/h Visibility km STu Press KPa Weather
00:0011.15.0669848.3102.02Clear
01:0010.05.07118648.3102.03Clear
02:008.95.077048.3102.03Clear
03:007.25.689048.3102.06Clear
04:005.63.989048.3102.09Mainly Clear
05:006.75.093048.3102.10Mainly Clear
06:0010.05.071048.3102.11Mainly Clear
07:0012.25.664048.3102.10Mainly Clear
08:0013.33.351048.3102.06Mainly Clear
09:0015.02.84414548.3101.98Clear
10:0016.75.6485648.3101.97Clear
11:0018.96.1432848.3101.86Clear
12:0020.07.845361348.3101.79Mainly Clear
13:0021.77.23921148.3101.66Mainly Clear
14:0022.28.34121348.3101.61Clear
15:0022.88.94121348.3101.53Clear
16:0023.37.83751648.3101.44Mainly Clear
17:0022.28.34151148.3101.38Mainly Clear
18:0021.16.73951648.3101.36Mainly Clear
19:0020.06.7425648.3101.36Mainly Clear
20:0018.97.2475548.3101.34Mainly Clear
21:0021.112.859142348.3101.36Mainly Clear
22:0019.413.368142148.3101.35Mainly Clear
23:0018.313.373162348.3101.40Mainly Clear

All times are specified in Local Standard Time (LST). Add 1 hour to adjust for Daylight Saving Time where and when it is observed.

(viii) US Weather Bureau surface pressure charts, 29-30 June 1954

(Click pictures below to enlarge)

meteo1 meteo2
01:30 p.m. EST, June 29, 1954 01:30 a.m. EST, June 30, 1954
[Source : docs.lib.noaa.gov]

(ix) US Weather Bureau 500mbar (~19,000 ft) constant pressure chart,
       Labrador area, June 29, 1954

Detail from contour map of the 500 mbar pressure surface based on radiosonde observations begun between 10:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. (EST) June 29, 1954 and collected by 01:30 a.m. (EST) June 30, 1954.

meteo3

Continuous lines show height in feet above sea level. Dashed lines show temperature in degrees Celsius. Wind barbs show direction and force in knots.
[Source : US Weather Report, Daily Weather Map, Wednesday June 30, 1954, US Dept of Commerce Weather Bureau, Washington DC 25. See : docs.lib.noaa.gov ]

(x) Mean 700-mbar winds, June 1-30, 1954

meteo4a

A. Mean 700-mbar (~10,000 ft) isotachs (meters per second). Solid arrows indicate average position of the mean 700-mbar jet stream, while dashed arrows indicate secondary axes of relative maximum wind speed.

meteo4b

B. Departure from normal wind speed (in meters per second) The mid-latitude westerly jet was strong in the East Pacific but abnormally weak in the Atlantic averaging 6 m/sec (12 kt), between -2 and -4 m/sec (-4 to -8 kt) below normal.
[After : HOLLAND, J. Z., "Weather & Circulation, June1954; Illustrating the Birth and Growth of a Continental Anticyclone", Monthly Weather Review, June 1954, pp. 163-171.]

(xi) Mean 700-mb height contours (solid lines) and departure from normal
       years(dashed lines) over Eastern Canada, June 1-30, 1954

meteo5

Dashed contours in the centre of the chart show a pronounced positive pressure-height anomaly of +260 ft coinciding with the slow-moving "blocking anticyclone" over Labrador, with low pressure (negative height anomaly averaging -160 ft over the month) dominating to the northwest.
[Detail of figure from: HOLLAND, J. Z., "The Weather and Circulation of June 1954; Illustrating the Birth and Growth of a Continental Anticyclone", Monthly Weather Review, June 1954, pp. 163-171 (docs.lib.noaa.gov/.../mwr-082-06-0163.pdf).]

Appendix B  - Witness statements extracts >> 
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