Friday, August 9, 2024

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

FRIDAY, AUGUST 9, 2024
ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME (EST)
SUNRISE: 0446E
SUNSET:  1853E

TROPICAL AIR MASS RETURNS AHEAD OF THE REMNANTS OF T.S. DEBBY….

Dense fog was the theme early this morning along with scattered
showers as a warm front approached the area. The front passed
through during the mid morning hours taking the dense fog with
it. Mainly cloudy skies has remained however with a few peeks
of sun here and there. Scattered tropical showers continue to
pass over the Hill at times. 0.12″ of rain was measured between
last evening and 7am this morning, with an additional 0.09″
being measured between 7am and 1pm today.

Both the temperature and dew point rose steadily during the
morning leading up to the warm frontal passage. Once the front
was through, the dew point shot into the mid 70s, heralding
the arrival of the tropical air mass. Temperature readings
have reached the low 80s late this morning and early this
afternoon.

Winds have increased markedly following the frontal passage with
the average speed increasing from around 8-9mph this morning
to around 20mph for the last couple of hours. The overall
average for the day to this point is around 11mph. Gusts early
this afternoon have been exceeding 40mph, with a peak gust so
far of 45mph occurring around 12:40pm.

Visibility was quite limited early this morning in the dense fog.
The view was only around 1/16th of a mile. It has improved
markedly following the lifting of the fog, but it’s still limited
to only around 20 miles with hazy conditions thanks to the high
humidity levels.

The maximum temperature so far today is 82F, which is 1 degree
above the normal high of 81F. The minimum temperature since
midnight is 62F, which is 2 degrees below the normal low of 64F.

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Today’s Observations:

7 A.M.
Weather: Sky obscured, vertical visibility 100ft
Temperature: 68F; Dew Point: 68F; Relative Humidity: 100%
Wind: SSE @ 8 kts
Sea-level pressure: 1018.9 mb; 30.09 in. Hg: falling, then more rapidly
Visibility: 1/16 mile, fog
6-hr Max temp: 68F
6-hr Min temp: 62F
24-hr Precip:  0.12 inches
BHO SA 1155 X W1 1/16F 189/68/68/1508/009/ RW-B15E18/ 8//// 58008
6003/ 70012 10068 20062

10 A.M.
Weather: Overcast stratus, few breaks in overcast all quadrants,
higher clouds visible OVHD-SE, few lower stratus fractus all quadrants
Temperature: 76F; Dew Point: 76F; Relative Humidity: 99%
Wind: S @ 11G17 kts
Sea-level pressure: 1018.0 mb; 30.06 in. Hg: rising, then falling
Visibility: 7 miles, 4 miles SW-NNW, 10 miles ESE-SSW, thin fog
3-hr Precip: 0.01 inches
BHO SA 1455 E2 OVC 7 180/76/76/1911G17/006/ FEW BINOVC ALQDS
HIER CLDS VSBL OVHD-SE FEW LWR STFRA ALQDS F SW-NNW THN F N-E-SSW
SUN OCNLY DMLY RW-E03 VSBL VSBY 4 SW-NNW 10 ESE-SSW/ 8/7// 58009 6001/

1 P.M.
Weather: Scattered cumulus, scattered altocumulus, broken cirrostratus,
thin broken cirrus, towering cumulus all quadrants, virga distant all
quadrants
Temperature: 81F; Dew Point: 74F; Relative Humidity: 79%
Wind: S @ 20G35 kts, peak wind S 45 mph at 12:41 P.M.
Sea-level pressure: 1015.4 mb; 29.98 in. Hg: falling, then more slowly
Visibility: 20 miles, hazy
6-hr Max temp: 82F
6-hr Min temp: 68F
6-hr Precip: 0.09 inches
BHO SA 1755 30 SCT 70 SCT 180 BKN 250 -BKN 20 154/81/74/1920G35/998/
TCU ALQDS VIRGA DSNT ALQDS RW-E13B24E36 HAZY PK WND 1939/41/
8/276 56026 6009/ 10082 20068

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SUMMARY FOR THURSDAY, AUGUST 8, 2024

TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
MAX…….72  NORMAL…..81
MIN…….58  NORMAL…..64
MEAN……65  NORMAL…..72

DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR (1991-2020) NORMAL…………..-7
TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH…………………….+18 [+2.1 DEGREES/DAY]

HEATING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON: JUL 2024 THRU JUN 2025)
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY…………….0  DEPARTURE………0
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE MONTH…………….2  DEPARTURE………0
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE SEASON……………2  DEPARTURE……..-7
TOTAL HEATING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE……….0  DEPARTURE……..+2

COOLING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON: JAN 2024 THRU DEC 2024)
TOTAL COOLING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY…………….0  DEPARTURE……..-8
TOTAL COOLING UNITS FOR THE MONTH……………83  DEPARTURE…….+20
TOTAL COOLING UNITS FOR THE SEASON………….580  DEPARTURE……+131
TOTAL COOLING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE……..463  DEPARTURE……+117

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

F420C (Official)……….E20 ESE  @   12:08 P.M.
VECTOR #1 (1-Sec)……….20 ESE  @   12:08 P.M.
VECTOR #2 (1-Sec)……….19 ESE  @   02:17 P.M.
DAVIS #1……………….18 E    @   11:16 A.M.
DAVIS #2 ………………18 SE   @   11:20 A.M.
RMY #1 (Instantaneous)…..19 ESE  @   12:08 P.M.
RMY #2 (Instantaneous)…..21 ESE  @   01:58 P.M.
MERLIN…………………17 ESE
RICHARDS (C5C) (Inst)…..OTS

FASTEST MILE:
CONTACTING ANEMOMETER/OFFICIAL………………13 ESE  @   02:23 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE VECTOR #1 AVERAGE…………..14      @   12:00 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE VECTOR #2 AVERAGE…………..14      @   11:20 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS #1 AVERAGE……………14 ESE  @   12:10 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS #2 AVERAGE……………13 ESE  @   11:20 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RMY #1 AVERAGE……………..14 ESE  @   12:10 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RMY #2 AVERAGE……………..13 ESE  @   11:20 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RICHARDS (C5C) AVERAGE……..OTS

AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION:
CONTACTING/OFFICIAL…….7.6 E [182 total miles] VECTOR #1……………..7.7
VECTOR #2……………..8.0
DAVIS #1………………8.3 ESE
DAVIS #2………………7.8 ESE
RMY #1………………..7.9 E
RMY #2………………..7.9 E
RICHARDS (C5C)…………OTS

PRECIPITATION (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST):
TOTAL PRECIPITATION 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M……..0.12 DEPARTURE…..-0.01
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH…………..1.07 DEPARTURE…..+0.01
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR (2024)…….39.32 DEPARTURE…..+7.56

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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   92/71/82/+9/T/779/90                24 W   VEC1 24 W   RMY 23
8/2   94/73/84/+11/0.01/579/67            31 SSW VEC1 31 SSW RMY 30 TSTM
8/3   92/75/84/+11/0.00/612/71            29 W   VEC1 28 W   RMY 28
8/4   85/68/77/+4/0.20/318/37             29 WSW VEC1 29 WSW RMY 31 TSTM
8/5   90/67/79/+6/T/686/80                28 SSW VEC1 28 SSW RMY 29
8/6   73/60/67/-6/0.56/009/01             26 ENE VEC1 26 ENE RMY 26
8/7   69/57/63/-10/0.18/119/14            25 NE  VEC1 23 NE  RMY 23
8/8   72/58/65/-7/0.09/187/22             20 ESE VEC1 20 ESE RMY 19

8/9  The low since midnight is 62F, the daily normal low is 64F.

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AUGUST DAILY RECORDS TO DATE

8/3  RECORD HIGH MINIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 75F,
TIED THE PREVIOUS RECORD SET IN 2020

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

RECORDS FOR AUGUST 9
HIGH 100F IN 1949
LOW 49F IN 1899
PRE 2.65 INS IN 1976
PEAK GUST 90 MPH SW IN 1968

RECORDS FOR AUGUST 10
HIGH 101F IN 1949 [STATION RECORD MAXIMUM – Tied with 8/2/1975] LOW 49F IN 1964
PRE 2.27 INS IN 1952
PEAK GUST 88e MPH S IN 1976

TODAY’S REPORT PREPARED BY: Matt Douglas