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BLUE HILL METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATORY
MILTON, MASSACHUSETTS
ELEVATION 635 FEET, 10 MILES SSW OF BOSTON, MA
FRIDAY, AUGUST 21, 2026
ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME (EST)
SUNRISE: 0458E
SUNSET: 1836E
A DAMP AND DREARY END TO THE WORKWEEK WITH BELOW AVERAGE TEMPS….
Rain moved into our area yesterday evening and lingered for quite
a while, with rain tapering off by mid morning here. The total
rainfall overnight netted to 0.27 inches and then an additional
0.07 inches in accumulation was observed during the shift today.
While any rainfall is good, we are still holding at a monthly and
annual deficit.
Skies have remained overcast throughout the day, though with the
drying out during the early afternoon, the sky has brightened just
slightly.
Temperatures have been slow to rise today, due to the overall damp
and overcast conditions. Temperatures have ranged from 61F this
morning to around 67F by the afternoon. Dew points have also been
hovering in the low to mid 60s as well, pointing to humid but
below average temperatures today.
Winds have been steady today, starting from the north-northeast
during the early morning hours and shifting more east to an east-
northeast flow by the afternoon hours. The average speed for the
day so far is around 10mph. The highest gust so far for the day,
is 22mph, which occurred at 10:40am this morning.
Visibility has slowly improved throughout the day. At 7am, the
visibility was only around 2 miles, and has slowly improved to
around 30 miles by the early afternoon.
The maximum temperature so far today is 67F, which is 13 degrees
below the normal high of 80F. The minimum temperature since
midnight is 61F, which is 1 degree below the normal low of 62F.
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Today’s Observations:
7 A.M.
Weather: Light rain showers, overcast stratus
Temperature: 64F; Dew Point: 64F; Relative Humidity: 100%
Wind: NE @ 8 kts
Sea-level pressure: 1019.2 mb; 30.10 in. Hg: rising, then more rapidly
Visibility: 2 miles, fog
6-hr Max temp: 74F
6-hr Min temp: 61F
24-hr Precip: 0.27 inches
BHO SA 1155 E4 OVC 2RW-F 192/64/64/0408/010/ 8/6// 53016 70027
10064 20061
10 A.M.
Weather: Light rain, overcast stratus, few lower stratus fractus,
precipitation very light
Temperature: 65F; Dew Point: 65F; Relative Humidity: 100%
Wind: NE @ 10 kts
Sea-level pressure: 1020.1mb; 30.12 in. Hg: rising, then more rapidly
Visibility: 20 miles, thin fog
3-hr Precip: 0.07 inches
BHO SA 1455 E30 OVC 20R- 201/65/65/0510/012/ FEW LWR STFRA ALQDS
PCPN VRY LGT THN F ALQDS/ 8/6// 53009 6007/
1 P.M.
Weather: Overcast stratocumulus
Temperature: 65F; Dew Point: 65F; Relative Humidity: 98%
Wind: NE @ 8 kts
Sea-level pressure: 1019.7 mb; 30.11 in. Hg: falling steadily
Visibility: 30 miles, thin fog
6-hr Max temp: 67F
6-hr Min temp: 64F
6-hr Precip: Trace
BHO SA 1755 E50 OVC 30 197/65/65/0508/011/ THN F ALQDS/ 8/5//
57003 6000/ 10067 20064
————————————————————–
SUMMARY FOR THURSDAY, AUGUST 20, 2026
TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
MAX…….87 NORMAL…..80
MIN…….62 NORMAL…..62
MEAN……75 NORMAL…..71
DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR (1991-2020) NORMAL…………….+4
TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH………………………+59 [+2.8 DEGREES/DAY]
HEATING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON: JUL 2026 THRU JUN 2027)
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY……………..0 DEPARTURE………0
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE MONTH (AUG)………..0 DEPARTURE……..-5
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE SEASON…………….2 DEPARTURE…….-10
TOTAL HEATING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE……….14 DEPARTURE…….-12
COOLING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON: JAN 2026 THRU DEC 2026)
TOTAL COOLING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY…………….10 DEPARTURE……..+3
TOTAL COOLING UNITS FOR THE MONTH (AUG)………203 DEPARTURE…….+56
TOTAL COOLING UNITS FOR THE SEASON…………..700 DEPARTURE……+166
TOTAL COOLING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE………645 DEPARTURE…….+55
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)………..26 NNW @ 08:27 P.M.
VECTOR #1 (1-Sec)……….26 NNW @ 08:27 P.M.
VECTOR #2 (1-Sec)……….28 NNW @ 08:10 P.M.
DAVIS #1……………….24 NNW @ 08:25 P.M.
DAVIS #2 ………………24 N @ 08:15 P.M.
RMY #1 (Instantaneous)…..27 NNW @ 08:10 P.M.
RMY #2 (Instantaneous)…..27 NNW @ 08:10 P.M.
MERLIN…………………24 N
RICHARDS (C5C) (Inst)……25 NNW @ 08:25 P.M.
FASTEST MILE:
CONTACTING ANEMOMETER/OFFICIAL………………18 NNW @ 08:27 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE VECTOR #1 AVERAGE…………..18 NNW @ 08:27 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE VECTOR #2 AVERAGE…………..18 NNW @ 08:16 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS #1 AVERAGE……………18 NNW @ 08:27 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS #2 AVERAGE……………17 N @ 08:16 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RMY #1 AVERAGE……………..18 NNW @ 08:27 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RMY #2 AVERAGE……………..18 NNW @ 08:16 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RICHARDS (C5C) AVERAGE………18 NNW @ 08:27 P.M.
AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION:
CONTACTING/OFFICIAL……..7.6 NW [183 total miles]
VECTOR #1………………8.0
VECTOR #2………………8.2
DAVIS #1……………….7.9 NW
DAVIS #2…………………M
RMY #1…………………7.9 NW
RMY #2…………………8.1 WNW
RICHARDS (C5C)………….8.3
PRECIPITATION (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST):
TOTAL PRECIPITATION 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M……..0.27 DEPARTURE…..+0.14
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH (AUG)……..1.02 DEPARTURE…..-1.57
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR (2026)…….25.12 DEPARTURE…..-8.17
————————————————————–
PRELIMINARY CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR AUGUST CALENDAR DAY DATA
DATE: MAX/MIN/MEAN/DEP/PRECIP/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
8/1 87/64/76/+3/0.00/719/83 23 SSW VEC1 24 S RMY 24
8/2 83/68/76/+3/0.01/406/47 29 S VEC1 28 S RMY 30
8/3 76/65/71/-2/0.70/121/14 44 SSW VEC1 44 SSW RMY 45 TSTM
8/4 85/61/73/0/0.00/860/100 18 W VEC1 18 W RMY 19
8/5 87/63/75/+2/0.00/694/81 21 W VEC1 21 WSW RMY 20
8/6 91/68/80/+7/0.00/539/63 21 SW VEC1 21 SW RMY 22
8/7 92/73/83/+10/T/793/93 20 SW VEC1 20 SW RMY 21
8/8 90/70/80/+8/T/723/85 29 W VEC1 29 WSW RMY 28
8/9 88/69/79/+7/0.00/814/96 28 W VEC1 27 W RMY 28
8/10 87/66/77/+5/0.00/609/72 24 W VEC1 24 W RMY 25
8/11 86/67/77/+5/0.00/792/94 26 WNW VEC1 26 WNW RMY 28
8/12 85/64/75/+3/T/781/93 18 W VEC1 18 W RMY 18
8/13 85/65/75/+3/0.01/679/81 26 WNW VEC1 25 WNW RMY 26
8/14 83/62/73/+1/0.00/710/85 21 NW VEC1 21 NNW RMY 22
8/15 81/59/70/-2/0.00/691/83 18 WNW VEC1 19 NNE RMY 19
8/16 82/57/70/-2/T/722/87 31 SW VEC1 31 SW RMY 31
8/17 75/63/69/-3/0.03/…/.. 29 S VEC1 28 S RMY 32
8/18 80/64/72/+1/0.00/…/.. 18 SSE VEC1 18 SSE RMY 18
8/19 87/67/77/+6/0.00/…/.. 28 W VEC1 27 W RMY 28
8/20 87/62/75/+4/…./…/.. 26 NNW VEC1 26 NNW RMY 27
8/21 The low since midnight is 61F, the daily normal low is 62F.
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AUGUST DAILY RECORDS TO DATE
8/7 TIED RECORD HIGH MINIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 73F;
ALSO SET IN 2018 AND 2022
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DAILY EXTREMES
Temperature and precipitation records back to 1885, and
wind records back to 1940 (e = estimated)
RECORDS FOR AUGUST 21
HIGH 92F IN 1937, 1995
LOW 47F IN 1982
PRECIP 2.84 INCHES IN 1888
PEAK GUST 54 MPH WSW IN 2004
RECORDS FOR AUGUST 22
HIGH 90F IN 1939
LOW 42F IN 1894
PRECIP 2.28 INCHES IN 1935
PEAK GUST 47 MPH ESE IN 2021 [TROPICAL STORM HENRI]
TODAY’S REPORT PREPARED BY: Amanda Joly
