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Wednesday, March 18, 2026

March 18, 2026

BLUE HILL METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATORY MILTON, MASSACHUSETTS ELEVATION 635 FEET, 10 MILES SSW OF BOSTON, MA WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2026 ALL TIMES ARE…

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

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2026
ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME (EST)
SUNRISE: 0551E
SUNSET:  1754E

SUNSHINE FILTERED THROUGH HIGH CLOUDS; COLD BUT MUCH LESS WIND….

Today feels more like January than March. Despite filtered sunshine,
it’s on the cold side today with temperatures running well below
normal. At least the wind is much lighter than it was yesterday,
so that is one saving grace.

Temperatures started the day at 20F, and had only warmed to the low
30s by early this afternoon. Normal highs should be in the mid 40s
at this time of year. Adding to the chill of the air are the very
low dew points values, which have been in the single digits and low
teens.

The wind is much calmer today than yesterday. A west-northwest wind
was gusty for the first couple of hours of the day, but has since
diminished for the balance of the day to this point. The average
speed for the day so far is around 10mph. The peak gust for the
day so far is 36mph, which occurred just after 12:30am this morning.

The visibility today has been excellent with a view of 70 miles
being the theme all day so far.

The maximum temperature so far today is 33F degrees, which is
11 degrees below the normal high of 44F. The minimum temperature
since midnight is 20F degrees, which is 7 degrees below the
normal low of 27F.

————————————————————–

Today’s Observations:

7 A.M.
Weather: Clear, few stratocumulus distant WSW-W and distant NNW-ESE,
few cirrus distant SSE-W-N
Temperature: 23F; Dew Point: 11F; Relative Humidity: 59%
Wind: WNW @ 5 kts, wind light
Sea-level pressure: 1027.3 mb; 30.34 in. Hg: rising, then more slowly
Visibility: 70 miles
6-hr Max temp: 24F
6-hr Min temp: 20F
24-hr Precip: Trace
24-hr Snowfall: Trace
Snow Depth: 0 inches
BHO SA 1155 CLR 70 273/23/11/2905/034/ FEW SC DSNT WSW-W AND
DSNT NNW-ESE FEW CI DSNT SSE-W-N WND LGT TOTAL NEW SNW PST
24 HRS TRACE/ 8/501 51033 70000 10024 20020

10 A.M.
Weather: Broken cirrus, few stratocumulus distant WSW-WNW and
distant E-ESE
Temperature: 29F; Dew Point: 7F; Relative Humidity: 39%
Wind: W @ 9G16 kts
Sea-level pressure: 1030.4 mb; 30.43 in. Hg: rising, then more slowly
Visibility: 70 miles
3-hr Precip: 0.00 inches
3-hr Snowfall: 0.0 inches
BHO SA 1455 E250 BKN 70 304/29/7/2809G16/043/ FEW SC DSNT WSW-WNW
AND DSNT E-ESE WND 26V32/ 8/501 51031

1 P.M.
Weather: Overcast cirrostratus
Temperature: 31F; Dew Point: 6F; Relative Humidity: 34%
Wind: SE @ 2 kts, wind light and variable
Sea-level pressure: 1028.8mb; 30.38 in. Hg: falling, then more slowly
Visibility: 70 miles
6-hr Max temp: 33F
6-hr Min temp: 23F
6-hr Precip: 0.00 inches
6-hr Snowfall: 0.0 inches
Snow Depth: 0 inches
BHO SA 1755 E180 OVC 70 288/31/6/1302/038/ SUN DMLY VSBL
WND L/V/ 8/007 56016 10033 20023

————————————————————–

SUMMARY FOR TUESDAY, MARCH 17, 2026

TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
MAX…….59   NORMAL…..44
MIN…….24   NORMAL…..27
MEAN……42   NORMAL…..36

DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR (1991-2020) NORMAL…………….+6
TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH……………………..+112 [+6.4 DEGREES/DAY]

HEATING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON: JUL 2025 THRU JUN 2026)
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY…………….23  DEPARTURE……..-6
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE MONTH (MAR)………425  DEPARTURE……-113
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE SEASON………….4967  DEPARTURE……..-3
TOTAL HEATING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE……..4607  DEPARTURE……+360

PEAK WIND GUST (MPH):
Note: Instruments designated #1 = Main Tower, #2 = South Tower,
F420C, Contacting, Merlin, and Richards are all on Main Tower.
E=Estimated *=Last of multiple occurrences

F420C (Official)………..81 S    @   12:22 A.M.
VECTOR #1 (1-Sec)……….80 S    @   12:21 A.M.
VECTOR #2 (1-Sec)……….87 S    @   12:11 A.M.
DAVIS #1……………….90 S    @   12:22 A.M.
DAVIS #2 ……………..105 S    @   12:22 A.M.
RMY #1 (Instantaneous)…..83 S    @   12:09 A.M.
RMY #2 (Instantaneous)…..93 S    @   12:11 A.M.
MERLIN…………………72 S
RICHARDS (C5C) (Inst)……79 S    @   12:21 A.M.

FASTEST MILE:
CONTACTING ANEMOMETER/OFFICIAL………………61 S    @   12:11 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE VECTOR #1 AVERAGE…………..55 S    @   12:12 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE VECTOR #2 AVERAGE…………..57 S    @   12:12 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS #1 AVERAGE……………57 S    @   12:12 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS #2 AVERAGE……………68 S    @   12:12 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RMY #1 AVERAGE……………..53 S    @   12:11 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RMY #2 AVERAGE……………..55 S    @   12:12 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RICHARDS (C5C) AVERAGE………53 S    @   12:12 A.M.

AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION:
CONTACTING/OFFICIAL……..22.5 WNW [541 total miles] VECTOR #1………………21.3
VECTOR #2………………22.7
DAVIS #1……………….22.3 WSW
DAVIS #2……………….22.9 W
RMY #1…………………20.9 W
RMY #2…………………21.7 W
RICHARDS (C5C)………….20.8

PRECIPITATION (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST):
TOTAL PRECIPITATION 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M…….TRACE DEPARTURE…..-0.19
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH (MAR)……..3.49 DEPARTURE…..+0.52
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR (2026)…….10.08 DEPARTURE…..-1.39

SNOWFALL (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST):
TOTAL SNOWFALL 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M…………TRACE DEPARTURE…..-0.5
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE MONTH (MAR)…………..2.5 DEPARTURE…..-7.3
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE SEASON (2025-2026)……81.2 DEPARTURE….+19.5

————————————————————–

PRELIMINARY CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR MARCH CALENDAR DAY DATA
DATE: MAX/MIN/MEAN/DEP/PRECIP/SNOW/SUN(MIN)/SUN(%)/PEAK GUST/VEC1/RMY GUST
PEAK GUST: F420C (Official)
VEC1: Vector #1 1-second gust
RMY:  R.M. Young #1 wind gust recording system (Instantaneous)
TSTM: Thunderstorm day (thunder heard some time during day)
….: Data not yet available, records not finalized
M:    Missing data

3/1  37/19/28/-3/0.10/1.9/209/31         30 NNW VEC1 31 NNW RMY 31
3/2  28/8/18/-14/0.00/0.0/665/98         25 N   VEC1 25 NNW RMY 25
3/3  32/17/25/-7/0.43/0.5/211/31         21 S   VEC1 21 S   RMY 22
3/4  54/30/42/+10/0.22/0.0/670/98        20 W   VEC1 19 W   RMY 20
3/5  46/33/40/+8/0.36/0.0/000/00         35 ENE VEC1 35 ENE RMY 38
3/6  33/26/30/-3/0.06/T/000/00           32 ENE VEC1 32 ENE RMY 33
3/7  46/32/39/+6/0.01/0.0/000/00         39 SSW VEC1 39 SSW RMY 42
3/8  54/46/50/+17/0.01/0.0/007/01        33 SSW VEC1 34 SSW RMY 34
3/9  67/45/56/+23/0.00/0.0/684/98        30 SSW VEC1 30 SW  RMY 31
3/10 74/48/61/+27/0.00/0.0/673/96        28 SW  VEC1 27 WSW RMY 28
3/11 59/39/49/+15/0.12/0.0/500/71        38 SSW VEC1 38 SSW RMY 42
3/12 57/30/44/+10/0.18/T/000/00          35 NW  VEC1 34 WNW RMY 37
3/13 42/25/34/0/T/T/383/54               32 WNW VEC1 32 NW  RMY 34
3/14 47/30/39/+4/0.01/0.1/606/85         54 WNW VEC1 54 WNW RMY 56
3/15 41/28/35/0/0.00/0.0/…/..          30 SE  VEC1 30 SE  RMY 29
3/16 60/36/48/+13/1.43/0.0/…/..        71 SSW VEC1 72 S   RMY 74
3/17 59/24/42/+6/0.02/T/…/..           81 S   VEC1 80 S   RMY 83

3/18 The low since midnight is 20F, the daily normal low is 27F.

————————————————————–

MARCH DAILY RECORDS TO DATE

3/9  RECORD HIGH MINIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 45F,
BEATING THE PREVIOUS RECORD OF 42F SET IN 1922

3/10 RECORD HIGH MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 74F,
BEATING THE PREVIOUS RECORD OF 69F SET IN 1977

3/17 RECORD PEAK WIND GUST OF 81 MPH,
BEATING THE OLD RECORD OF 70 MPH SET IN 1973

————————————————————–

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

RECORDS FOR MARCH 18
HIGH 73 IN 2022
LOW 0 IN 1885
PRECIP 5.61 INS. IN 1968 [RECORD FOR MONTH] SNOWFALL 9.3 INS. IN 1985
PEAK GUST 71e MPH WNW IN 1941

RECORDS FOR MARCH 19
HIGH 77 IN 2012
LOW -2 IN 1967
PRECIP 1.69 INS. IN 1956
SNOWFALL 17.6 INS. IN 1956
PEAK GUST 75e MPH WNW IN 1941

TODAY’S REPORT PREPARED BY: Matt Douglas

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Please read the full Policy before accessing Observatory data · Effective January 1, 2025

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