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Friday, May 22, 2026

May 22, 2026

BLUE HILL METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATORY MILTON, MASSACHUSETTS ELEVATION 635 FEET, 10 MILES SSW OF BOSTON, MA FRIDAY, MAY 22, 2026 ALL TIMES ARE…

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

FRIDAY, MAY 22, 2026
ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME (EST)
SUNRISE: 0416E
SUNSET:  1906E

FILTERED SUNSHINE WITH ONSHORE WIND AND SLIGHTLY BELOW
AVERAGE TEMPS….

High pressure from the midwest continues to expand over the
area today. This cooler air mass has given us below average
temperatures and dry air. It’s been very comfortable for any
outdoor activities. Skies have been mostly cloudy with upper
cirrus and cirrostratus dominating. Even so, there has been
plenty of sunshine able to filter through these upper level
clouds so it’s been an overall pleasant day.

Temperatures continue to trend below normal, but still in a
comfortable range. Temperatures just reached above 60F by the
early afternoon hours but appear to be decreasing now. Dew points
are even lower today, starting near 40F this morning and dropping
to the mid and low 30s by the afternoon.

Winds were steady for much of the day with a northeastern flow
early and transitioning to the east-northeast by mid morning. The
wind has slowed considerably since shifting more east. The average
speed for the day so far is around 10mph. The peak gust so far for
the day is 25mph, which occurred around 8:30am this morning.

Visibility has fluctuated between 50-60 miles, despite the dry air
mass. This is mostly due to high pollen counts in the area.

The maximum temperature so far today is 61F degrees, which is 7
degrees below the normal high of 68F. The minimum temperature since
midnight is 47F degrees, which is 3 degrees below the normal low
of 50F.

————————————————————–

Today’s Observations:

7 A.M.
Weather: Scattered cirrostratus, broken cirrus
Temperature: 53F; Dew Point: 39F; Relative Humidity: 60%
Wind: NE @ 8 kts
Sea-level pressure: 1030.5 mb; 30.43 in. Hg: rising steady
Visibility: 60 miles
6-hr Max temp: 53F
6-hr Min temp: 47F
24-hr Precip: 0.01 inches
BHO SA 1155 22 SCT E25 BKN 60 305/53/39/0508/043/ 8/006 52024
70001 10053 20047

10 A.M.
Weather: Broken cirrostratus/cirrus
Temperature: 57F; Dew Point: 30F; Relative Humidity: 36%
Wind: ENE @ 10kts
Sea-level pressure: 1031.2 mb; 30.45 in. Hg: rising, then steady
Visibility: 50 miles
3-hr Precip: 0.00 inches
BHO SA 1455 E25 BKN 50 312/57/30/0710/045/ 8/006 51007

1 P.M.
Weather: Overcast cirrostratus, few breaks in overcast
Temperature: 60F; Dew Point: 34F; Relative Humidity: 38%
Wind: E @ 6 kts, wind light
Sea-level pressure: 1029.9 mb; 30.41 in. Hg: falling, then more slowly
Visibility: 50 miles
6-hr Max temp: 60F
6-hr Min temp: 53F
6-hr Precip: 0.00 inches
BHO SA 1755 E25 OVC 50 299/60/34/0906/041/ FEW BINOVC ALQDS WND LGT/
8/006 56013 10061 20053

————————————————————–

SUMMARY FOR THURSDAY, MAY 21, 2026

TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
MAX…….68   NORMAL…..68
MIN…….52   NORMAL…..50
MEAN……60   NORMAL…..59

DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR (1991-2020) NORMAL…………….+1
TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH………………………+63 [+2.8 DEGREES/DAY]

HEATING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON: JUL 2025 THRU JUN 2026)
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY……………..5  DEPARTURE……..-2
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE MONTH (MAY)………160  DEPARTURE…….-37
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE SEASON………….5996  DEPARTURE…….-88
TOTAL HEATING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE……..5534  DEPARTURE……+462

COOLING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON: JAN 2026 THRU DEC 2026)
TOTAL COOLING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY……………..0  DEPARTURE……..-1
TOTAL COOLING UNITS FOR THE MONTH (MAY)……….41  DEPARTURE…….+29
TOTAL COOLING UNITS FOR THE SEASON……………47  DEPARTURE…….+32
TOTAL COOLING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE……….14  DEPARTURE…….+33

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)………..22 N    @   02:36 A.M.
VECTOR #1 (1-Sec)……….22 N    @   05:31 A.M.
VECTOR #2 (1-Sec)……….24 N    @   05:36 A.M.
DAVIS #1……………….21 N    @   05:31 A.M.
DAVIS #2 ………………19 N    @   02:34 A.M.
RMY #1 (Instantaneous)…..22 N    @   05:31 A.M.
RMY #2 (Instantaneous)…..23 NNW  @   05:33 A.M.
MERLIN…………………22 NNE
RICHARDS (C5C) (Inst)……21 N    @   05:31 A.M.

FASTEST MILE:
CONTACTING ANEMOMETER/OFFICIAL………………14 N    @   02:36 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE VECTOR #1 AVERAGE…………..14 N    @   02:36 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE VECTOR #2 AVERAGE…………..15 NNW  @   05:33 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS #1 AVERAGE……………14 N    @   02:36 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS #2 AVERAGE……………14 N    @   05:53 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RMY #1 AVERAGE……………..14 N    @   02:36 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RMY #2 AVERAGE……………..14 N    @   05:33 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RICHARDS (C5C) AVERAGE………14 N    @   02:36 A.M.

AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION:
CONTACTING/OFFICIAL………6.2 NNW [148 total miles] VECTOR #1……………….6.9
VECTOR #2……………….7.0
DAVIS #1………………..6.6 N
DAVIS #2………………….M
RMY #1………………….6.7 N
RMY #2………………….6.9 N
RICHARDS (C5C)…………..7.3

PRECIPITATION (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST):
TOTAL PRECIPITATION 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M……..0.01 DEPARTURE…..-0.11
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH (MAY)……..1.30 DEPARTURE…..-1.20
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR (2026)…….14.97 DEPARTURE…..-6.31

SNOWFALL (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST):
TOTAL SNOWFALL 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M…………..0.0 DEPARTURE……0.0
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE MONTH (MAY)…………..0.0 DEPARTURE……0.0
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE SEASON (2025-2026)……81.6 DEPARTURE….+11.9

————————————————————–

PRELIMINARY CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR MAY 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

5/1  63/43/53/0/0.00/769/91              26 WNW VEC1 27 NNW RMY 27
5/2  58/45/52/-2/0.04/127/15             29 SSW VEC1 29 SSW RMY 28
5/3  53/41/47/-7/T/119/14                37 NW  VEC1 36 NW  RMY 39
5/4  71/41/56/+2/0.00/775/91             46 SW  VEC1 46 SW  RMY 48
5/5  78/49/64/+9/0.00/718/84             43 SSW VEC1 43 SSW RMY 45
5/6  68/54/61/+6/0.08/146/17             43 SSW VEC1 42 SSW RMY 44
5/7  65/46/56/+1/0.22/697/81             28 WNW VEC1 27 WNW RMY 28
5/8  62/40/51/-4/0.00/741/86             33 W   VEC1 33 W   RMY 33
5/9  58/43/51/-5/0.35/000/00             30 SSW VEC1 31 SSW RMY 30
5/10 72/49/61/+5/T/346/40                28 SSW VEC1 28 SSW RMY 27
5/11 62/45/54/-2/T/191/22                26 NNW VEC1 26 NNW RMY 26
5/12 63/42/53/-4/T/835/96                29 WNW VEC1 29 WNW RMY 29
5/13 65/46/56/-1/T/122/14                41 S   VEC1 40 S   RMY 44
5/14 61/48/55/-2/0.26/000/00             37 SSE VEC1 38 SE  RMY 36
5/15 56/47/52/-5/0.04/026/03             18 NE  VEC1 19 NE  RMY 20
5/16 78/47/63/+5/0.00/853/97             33 SW  VEC1 34 SSW RMY 35
5/17 86/56/71/+13/0.05/827/94            39 W   VEC1 38 W   RMY 40
5/18 84/62/73/+15/0.00/829/94            33 SSW VEC1 32 SSW RMY 33
5/19 95/65/80/+22/0.25/716/81            47 NW  VEC1 47 NW  RMY 50 TSTM
5/20 89/65/77/+18/0.00/789/89            39 WNW VEC1 39 WNW RMY 41
5/21 68/52/60/+1/0.01/…/..             22 N   VEC1 22 N   RMY 22

5/22 The low since midnight is 47F, the daily normal low is 50F.

————————————————————–

MAY DAILY RECORDS TO DATE

5/19 RECORD HIGH MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 95F,
BEATING THE PREVIOUS RECORD OF 91F SET IN 1962

————————————————————–

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

RECORDS FOR MAY 22
HIGH 93F IN 1911, 2022
LOW 35F IN 1907
PRECIP 3.75 INCHES IN 1920
PEAK GUST 49e MPH SSW IN 1947

RECORDS FOR MAY 23
HIGH 92F IN 1964,1992
LOW 38F IN 1976
PRECIP 1.60 INS IN 1919
PEAK GUST 49e MPH W IN 1945

TODAY’S REPORT PREPARED BY: Amanda Joly

Blue Hill Observatory & Science Center · Legal

Data Use & Privacy Policy

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

Notice: By accessing, downloading, or using any Blue Hill Observatory data or services, you unconditionally accept and agree to be bound by this Policy in its entirety. If you do not agree, you may not access or use Observatory data.
Effective January 1, 2025 · Milton, Massachusetts · bluehill.org
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Effective January 1, 2025 · Blue Hill Observatory & Science Center · Milton, Massachusetts