Friday, March 20, 2026

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

FRIDAY, MARCH 20, 2026
ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME (EST)
SUNRISE: 0547E
SUNSET:  1756E

ASTRONOMICAL SPRING MAKES ITS ENTRANCE ON A WARM, WINDY NOTE….

The first day of astronomical spring started with clear skies and
a beautiful sunrise. By the early afternoon, increasing clouds have
been observed. Temperatures have been mild and we remain dry for
the day so far.

Temperatures have been on the mild side today, and with winds out
of the south, the air has been warm as well. Temperatures were
around the freezing mark right before sunrise, but have recovered
well, maxing out at 54F so far for the day. Dew points hovered in
the lower 30’s this morning and have increased to the upper 30’s
by the afternoon.

Winds were on the light side during the early morning hours and
have steadily increased as the day has progressed. Winds have been
generally out of the south-southwest since the late morning hours,
transitioning from a southwest flow. The average for the day so far
is around 10mph, with an increase in the trend. The peak gust for
the day so far is 33mph, which occurred at 1:29pm this afternoon.

The visibility has been impacted by hazy conditions throughout
much of the day. This morning, visibility was around 30 miles
and improved marginally to around 35 miles by the early afternoon.

The maximum temperature so far today is 54F degrees, which is
9 degrees above the normal high of 45F. The minimum temperature
since midnight is 31F degrees, which is 3 degrees above the
normal low of 28F.

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Today’s Observations:

7 A.M.
Weather: Clear, few altocumulus SSW-W-N
Temperature: 33F; Dew Point: 30F; Relative Humidity: 87%
Wind: WSW @ 8 kts
Sea-level pressure: 1021.1 mb; 30.15 in. Hg: rising, then more rapidly
Visibility: 30 miles, thin fog all quadrants
6-hr Max temp: 34F
6-hr Min temp: 31F
24-hr Precip: 0.00 inches
24-hr Snowfall: 0.0 inches
Snow Depth: 0 inches
BHO SA 1155 CLR 30 211/33/30/2508/015/ FEW AC SSW-W-N THN F ALQDS/
8/050 53012 10034 20031

10 A.M.
Weather: Clear, few cirrus WSW-N
Temperature: 48F; Dew Point: 30F; Relative Humidity: 50%
Wind: SSW @ 5 kts, wind light
Sea-level pressure: 1019.3 mb; 30.10 in. Hg: falling, then more rapidly
Visibility: 30 miles, hazy
3-hr Precip: 0.00 inches
3-hr Snowfall: 0.0 inches
BHO SA 1455 CLR 30 193/48/30/1905/010/ FEW CI WSW-N HAZY
WND LGT/ 8/001 58018

1 P.M.
Weather: Scattered cirrostratus, few stratocumulus WSW-NW
Temperature: 52F; Dew Point: 36F; Relative Humidity: 54%
Wind: SSW @ 14G28 kts, peak wind SSW 32mph at 12:47 P.M.
Sea-level pressure: 1014.3mb; 29.95 in. Hg: falling, then more rapidly
Visibility: 35 miles, hazy
6-hr Max temp: 54F
6-hr Min temp: 33F
6-hr Precip: 0.00 inches
6-hr Snowfall: 0.0 inches
Snow Depth: 0 inches
BHO SA 1755 220 SCT 35 143/52/36/2014G28/995/ FEW SC WSW-NW SUN DMLY VSBL
HAZY PRESFR PK WND 1928/47/ 8/507 58050 10054 20033

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SUMMARY FOR THURSDAY, MARCH 19, 2026

TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
MAX…….38   NORMAL…..45
MIN…….23   NORMAL…..28
MEAN……31   NORMAL…..36

DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR (1991-2020) NORMAL…………….-5
TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH………………………+99 [+5.0 DEGREES/DAY]

HEATING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON: JUL 2025 THRU JUN 2026)
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY…………….34  DEPARTURE……..+5
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE MONTH (MAR)………496  DEPARTURE……-100
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE SEASON………….5038  DEPARTURE…….+10
TOTAL HEATING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE……..4653  DEPARTURE……+385

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)………..21 WNW  @   10:34 P.M.
VECTOR #1 (1-Sec)……….21 WNW  @   10:34 P.M.
VECTOR #2 (1-Sec)……….20 W    @   10:01 P.M.
DAVIS #1……………….20 WNW  @   03:01 P.M.
DAVIS #2 ………………23 WNW  @   03:04 P.M.
RMY #1 (Instantaneous)…..21 WNW  @   11:03 P.M.
RMY #2 (Instantaneous)…..20 W    @   11:42 P.M.
MERLIN…………………19 SSW
RICHARDS (C5C) (Inst)……21 SW   @   11:43 P.M.

FASTEST MILE:
CONTACTING ANEMOMETER/OFFICIAL………………15 SW   @   11:03 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE VECTOR #1 AVERAGE…………..15 SW   @   11:03 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE VECTOR #2 AVERAGE…………..15 S    @   03:02 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS #1 AVERAGE……………15 SW   @   11:03 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS #2 AVERAGE……………16 SW   @   03:04 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RMY #1 AVERAGE……………..15 SSW  @   03:59 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RMY #2 AVERAGE……………..15 SW   @   11:03 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RICHARDS (C5C) AVERAGE………14 SSW  @   03:58 P.M.

AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION:
CONTACTING/OFFICIAL………7.4 SSW [177 total miles] VECTOR #1……………….8.2
VECTOR #2……………….8.4
DAVIS #1………………..7.6 SSW
DAVIS #2………………..8.2 SSW
RMY #1………………….8.1 SSW
RMY #2………………….8.5 SSW
RICHARDS (C5C)…………..8.0

PRECIPITATION (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST):
TOTAL PRECIPITATION 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M……..0.00 DEPARTURE…..-0.19
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH (MAR)……..3.49 DEPARTURE…..+0.14
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR (2026)…….10.08 DEPARTURE…..-1.77

SNOWFALL (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST):
TOTAL SNOWFALL 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M…………..0.0 DEPARTURE…..-0.5
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE MONTH (MAR)…………..2.5 DEPARTURE…..-8.3
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE SEASON (2025-2026)……81.2 DEPARTURE….+18.5

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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 41/28/35/0/0.00/0.0/107/15          30 SE  VEC1 30 SE  RMY 29
3/16 60/36/48/+13/1.43/0.0/000/00        71 SSW VEC1 72 S   RMY 74
3/17 59/24/42/+6/0.02/T/555/77           81 S   VEC1 80 S   RMY 83
3/18 35/20/28/-8/0.00/0.0/521/72         36 WNW VEC1 36 WNW RMY 37
3/19 38/23/31/-5/0.00/0.0/…/..         21 SSW VEC1 21 SSW RMY 21

3/20 The low since midnight is 31F, the daily normal low is 28F.

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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

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

RECORDS FOR MARCH 20
HIGH 79 IN 1945
LOW 4 IN 1885
PRECIP 1.39 INS. IN 1957
SNOWFALL 11.4 INS. IN 1957
PEAK GUST 63 MPH SE IN 1975

RECORDS FOR MARCH 21
HIGH 81 IN 1921
LOW 2 IN 1885
PRECIP 2.67 INS. IN 1974
SNOWFALL 10.6 INS. IN 1958
PEAK GUST 72 MPH NE IN 1958

TODAY’S REPORT PREPARED BY: Amanda Joly