BLUE HILL METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATORY MILTON, MASSACHUSETTS ELEVATION 635 FEET, 10 MILES SSW OF BOSTON, MA DAILY DISCUSSION AND CLIMATE SUMMARY SATURDAY, AUGUST 6, 2016 ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME WARM WITH OPPRESSIVE HUMIDITY TODAY...CLOUDS AND SHOWERS THIS MORNING FOLLOWED BY SUNSHINE... MORE SCATTERED SHOWERS FORMING THIS AFTERNOON... After a moderately humid day on Friday with a high of 87F and dew points in the upper 50s, much more humid air moved into New England today ahead of an approaching cold front. Clouds this morning brought only a trace of precipitation in two showers, though a few heavier showers passed through the area. The temperature only slowly climbed to the upper 70s by late morning, though the arrival of sunshine by mid-day has increased the temperature to a high of 86F by mid-afternoon. The humidity has increased steadily since yesterday, and the dew point has reached 70F this afternoon. A new round of showers and possible thunderstorms is forming this afternoon just ahead of the cold front, which is expected to arrive later today. Our yearly precipitation deficit has now extended to 8.41 inches, as drought worsens across the area. PRELIMINARY STATS FOR JULY 2016 TEMPERATURE, Deg. F Avg. Max. 84.7 [+3.9] Avg. Min. 64.6 [+1.7] Mean 74.7 [+2.8] 24-hour corrected mean: 74.0 Max. for month: 96F on 22nd and 25th Min. for month: 56 on 10th and 11th COOLING DEGREE DAYS Total cooling units: 317 [+95] Total for the season: 474 [+123] Total for last season: 394 PRECIPITATION, Inches Total: 1.50 [-2.52] Greatest in 24 hrs: 0.56 in. on 30th-31st WIND, mph Avg. uncorrected wind speed: 10.2 Avg. corrected wind speed: 10.7 Prevailing wind direction: W at 13% Peak gust and direction: 45 NNW on 23rd SUNSHINE: Campbell-Stokes card minutes: 17736 mins. of possible 26862 or 66% Astronomical total minutes: 18430 mins. of possible 27720 or 66% The 24-hour corrected mean temperature for July of 74.0 deg F ties with 2011 for the fifth warmest July on record and the warmest since 2013. The warmest July occurred in 2010. BHO Warmest July, deg F (1885-2016): 1) 75.1 in 2010 2) 74.9 in 1952 3) 74.1 in 1994 74.1 in 2013 5) 74.0 in 2011 74.0 in 2016 7) 73.8 in 1999 8) 73.5 in 1949 9) 73.2 in 2012 The heat wave that ended Thursday, July 28, 2016 with 92 degrees is ranked our third longest heat wave with 7 days. The last day of the heat wave was also the 11th day of 90-degree heat this month. This ranks as the second greatest total of 90-degree days for July. BHO Longest Heat Waves (Consecutive Days with Tmax 90F or more; 1885-2016): 1) 9 days, Aug 11-19, 2002 2) 8 days, Aug 10-17, 1944 3) 7 days, Jul 22-28, 2016 4) 6 days, Aug 28-Sep 2, 1953 6 days, Jul 24-29, 1963 6 days, Jul 16-21, 1977 6 days, Jul 6-11, 1988 6 days, Jul 16-21, 1991 6 days, Jul 15-20, 2013 10) 5 days, Jul 2-6, 1911 5 days, Jul 7-11, 1912 5 days, Aug 25-29, 1948 5 days, Aug 7-11, 1949 5 days, Jul 15-19, 1982 5 days, Jul 14-18, 2012 BHO July Greatest Number of 90-Degree Days (1885-2016): 1) 14 in 1952 2) 11 in 2016 3) 10 in 1949 10 in 1963 10 in 2010 10 in 2013 7) 9 in 1911 8) 8 in 1983 8 in 1988 Today's Observations: 7 A.M. Weather: Scattered altocumulus, broken altocumulus, hazy Temperature: 71F; Dew Point: 65F; Wind: SW at 12 kts Sea-level pressure: 29.76 ins. Hg, steady Visibility: 30 miles, visibility WNW-N 25, E-SSW 35 6-hr Max temp: 71F 6-hr Min temp: 67F 24-hr precip: 0.00 in. BHO SA 1155 75 SCT E110 BKN 30 078/71/65/2212/976/ VSBY WNW-N 25 E-SSW 35 HAZY/ 8/070 54000 10071 20067 10 A.M. Weather: Scattered stratocumulus, overcast altostratus, few cumulus distant SE-SSW, few breaks in overcast SE-S, hazy, rain shower west moving east Temperature: 78F; Dew Point: 68F; Wind: SW at 11 kts Sea-level pressure: 29.74 ins. Hg, falling steadily Visibility: 25 miles, visibility W-NW 20, SE-SW 30 3-hour precip: Trace BHO SA 1455 65 SCT E95 OVC 25 070/78/68/2311/974/ FEW CU DSNT SE-SSW FEW BINOVC SE-S VSBY W-NW 20 SE-SW 30 HAZY RW W MVNG E/ 8//// 57008 6000/ 1 P.M. Weather: Broken altocumulus, overcast altocumulus, few cumulus W-E, few moderate cumulus distant W, few stratocumulus SE-S, few breaks in overcast W-N, few higher clouds visible, hazy Temperature: 82F; Dew Point: 69F; Wind: WSW at 10 kts, Sea-level pressure: 29.70 ins. Hg, falling steadily Visibility: 30 miles 6-hr Max temp: 84F 6-hr Min temp: 71F 6-hr precip: Trace BHO SA 1755 E80 BKN 110 OVC 30 058/82/69/2510/970/ FEW CU W-E FEW MDT CU DSNT W FEW SC SE-S FEW BINOVC W-N FEW HIR CLDS VSBL HAZY/ 8/271 57012 6000/ 10084 20071 SUMMARY FOR FRIDAY, AUGUST 5, 2016 TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F) MAX.....87 NORMAL.....81 MIN.....61 NORMAL.....63 MEAN....74 NORMAL.....72 DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR NORMAL.........................+2 TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH.........................-4 [-1.0 DEGREES/DAY] COOLING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON JAN TO DEC) TOTAL COOLING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY...............9 DEPARTURE..........+2 TOTAL COOLING UNITS FOR THE MONTH..............31 DEPARTURE..........-5 TOTAL COOLING UNITS FOR THE SEASON............505 DEPARTURE........+118 TOTAL COOLING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE.......450 DIFFERENCE........+55 PEAK GUST AND AVERAGE WIND SPEED (MPH) PEAK WIND GUST FOR YESTERDAY...................29 S AT 5:09 P.M. AEROVANE....................29 S AT 5:09 P.M. ASOS........................30 SSW AT 5:09 P.M. DAVIS.......................29 S AT 5:09 P.M. RMY 30 FASTEST MILE FOR YESTERDAY.....................23 S AT 5:09 P.M. MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE ASOS AVERAGE..................23 SSW AT 5:10 P.M. MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS AVERAGE.................22 S AT 5:10 P.M. AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION.............12.5 SSW ASOS......................12.5 DAVIS.....................11.3 SSW [199 Deg.] * Last of several occurrences PRECIPITATION (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST) TOTAL PRECIPITATION 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M....0.00 DEPARTURE......-0.15 ASOS..............0.00 TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH..........0.14 DEPARTURE......-0.61 ASOS..............0.12 TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR..........23.33 DEPARTURE......-8.41 ASOS.............23.63 PRELIMINARY CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR JULY CALENDAR DAY DATA DATE: MAX/MIN/MEAN/DEP/PRECIP/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 7/1 84/67/76/+6/0.20/520/57 32 S AERO 35 S RMY 34 TSTM 7/2 76/61/69/-1/0.00/831/91 31 W AERO 34 W RMY 32 7/3 83/57/70/-1/0.00/766/84 23 W AERO 23 W RMY 23 7/4 87/61/74/+3/0.00/847/93 28 SSW AERO 28 SSW RMY 28 7/5 80/65/73/+2/0.29/309/34 16 S AERO 16 S RMY N/A 7/6 92/68/80/+9/0.00/864/95 22 WSW AERO 24 WSW RMY 22 7/7 77/61/69/-2/0.00/409/45 21 NE AERO 20 ENE RMY N/A 7/8 67/58/63/-9/0.02/000/00 25 NE AERO 25 NE RMY 26 7/9 64/57/61/-11/0.09/000/00 20 NE AERO 18 NE RMY 17 7/10 66/56/61/-11/0.04/000/00 16 NE AERO 16 NE RMY 16 7/11 77/56/67/-5/0.00/415/46 20 NNE AERO 21 NNE RMY 20 7/12 86/60/73/+1/0.00/848/94 23 S AERO 23 S RMY 23 7/13 89/64/77/+5/0.00/874/97 30 S AERO 30 S RMY 33 7/14 84/66/75/+3/0.01/360/40 38 S AERO 41 S RMY 43 7/15 93/71/82/+10/0.00/665/74 23 W AERO 23 W RMY 23 7/16 93/69/81/+9/0.00/699/78 25 WSW AERO 24 WSW RMY 24 7/17 83/72/78/+6/0.00/671/75 18 ENE AERO 16 ENE RMY 19 TSTM 7/18 93/70/82/+10/0.05/500/56 41 WNW AERO 41 WNW RMY 43 TSTM 7/19 85/62/74/+2/0.00/802/90 28 NW AERO 28 NW RMY 27 7/20 83/59/71/-1/0.00/837/94 23 NW AERO 23 NW* RMY 24 7/21 89/63/76/+4/0.00/852/96 28 W AERO 26 W RMY N/A 7/22 96/70/83/+11/0.09/806/91 33 SW AERO 35 SW RMY 35 TSTM 7/23 95/68/82/+10/T/796/90 45 NNW AERO 48 NNW RMY 44 7/24 91/64/78/+6/0.00/873/99 20 WNW AERO 20 W* RMY 20 7/25 96/70/83/+11/0.00/528/60 25 S AERO 28 S RMY 27 7/26 95/70/83/+11/0.00/843/96 26 W AERO 26 WNW*RMY 27 7/27 94/68/81/+9/0.00/762/87 21 ESE AERO 21 WNW RMY 19 7/28 92/71/82/+10/0.00/638/73 23 SW AERO 22 SW RMY 23 7/29 80/68/74/+2/0.15/384/44 20 NNW AERO 20 NNW RMY 20 7/30 85/65/75/+3/0.41/722/83 21 W AERO 18 W RMY 20 7/31 72/66/69/-3/0.15/009/01 20 ENE AERO 18 ENE RMY 18 PRELIMINARY CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR AUGUST CALENDAR DAY DATA DATE: MAX/MIN/MEAN/DEP/PRECIP/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 8/1 75/65/70/-2/0.02/.../.. 21 NE AERO 20 ENE RMY 20 8/2 71/63/67/-5/0.12/.../.. 16 ENE AERO 16 ENE RMY 16 8/3 81/60/71/-1/0.00/.../.. 18 S AERO 16 S RMY 17 8/4 86/61/74/+2/0.00/.../.. 23 S AERO 22 S RMY 17 8/5 87/61/74/+2/0.00/.../.. 29 S AERO 29 S RMY 30 8/6 Low temp since midnight is 67F; normal low is now 63F DAILY RECORDS FOR JULY 2016 7/25/16: NEW DAILY RECORD MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 96F, BREAKS PREVIOUS RECORD OF 94F SET IN 1963 AND 1987 DAILY EXTREMES Temperature and precipitation records back to 1885, and wind records back to 1940 (e = estimated): RECORDS FOR AUGUST 6 HIGH 95F IN 1931 LOW 48F IN 1934 PRECIP 1.47 INCHES IN 1995 PEAK GUST 44e MPH SSW IN 1940 RECORDS FOR AUGUST 7 HIGH 95F IN 1924 LOW 51F IN 2004 PRECIP 3.32 INCHES IN 1926 PEAK GUST 51 MPH NE 1975 TODAY'S REPORT PREPARED BY: Mike Iacono