Friday, October 18, 2024

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

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2024
ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME (EST)
SUNRISE: 0601E
SUNSET:  1657E

BRIGHT SUNSHINE, WARMER TEMPERATURES AND BREEZY TODAY….

Today has been a beautiful day at the summit of Great Blue Hill!
We have nearly approached the normal high temperature by the
final 1pm observation and have had brilliant sunshine and mostly
clear skies. Some stratocumulus clouds could be seen in the distant
offshore but it has had no affect on our weather here.

Though it has been quite windy today, temperatures have been able
to get to near normal values by the early afternoon. With the high
pressure system settling in over our region we should feel some
unusually warm temperatures over the next couple of days. For today
though, we have almost hit our normal maximum temperature of 60F,
and we may by the mid afternoon hours. Low temperatures have stayed
below normal, with a low of 40F overnight. Cool, dry air and a lack
of clouds have contributed to those chilly overnights!

The wind has been very active today, with gusts in the 15-25mph range
throughout the mid morning hours. We had a period of active wind in
the 1am hour and then another active period in the mid morning. Winds
started out of the North and then have progressed to a northeasterly
flow, driven mainly by a disturbance to our southeast. The average
speed for the day so far is around 13mph. The peak gust so far is
28mph, which occurred just before 9:30am.

Visibility has held steady between 70-80 miles today. This has been a
near perfect day to see the fall foilage with a crisp, blue sky in the
background.

The maximum temperature so far today is 58F, which is 2 degrees below
the normal high of 60F. The minimum temperature since midnight is 40F,
which is 3 degrees below the normal low of 43F.

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Today’s Observations:

7 A.M.
Weather: Clear, few stratocumulus distant ENE-ESE
Temperature: 41F; Dew Point: 37F; Relative Humidity: 84%
Wind: N @ 11 kts
Sea-level pressure: 1028.1 mb; 30.60 in. Hg: rising, then more
rapidly
Visibility: 80 miles
6-hr Max temp: 42F
6-hr Min temp: 40F
24-hr Precip:  0.00 inches
BHO SA 1155 CLR 80 281/41/37/0211/060/ FEW SC DSNT ENE-ESE/ 8/500
53015 10042 20040

10 A.M.
Weather: Clear, few stratocumulus distant ESE-SSE
Temperature: 55F; Dew Point: 36F; Relative Humidity: 48%
Wind: NE @ 12G21 kts
Sea-level pressure: 1030.6 mb; 30.43 in. Hg: rising, then more slowly
Visibility: 80 miles
3-hr Precip: 0.00 inches
BHO SA 1455 CLR 80 306/55/36/0412G21/043/ FEW SC DSNT ESE-SSE
8/500 51025

1 P.M.
Weather: Clear, few stratocumulus distant ENE-ESE
Temperature: 58F; Dew Point: 39F; Relative Humidity: 48%
Wind: NE @ 9 kts
Sea-level pressure: 1030.9 mb; 30.44 in. Hg: rising, falling
Visibility: 70 miles
6-hr Max temp: 58F
6-hr Min temp: 41F
6-hr Precip: 0.00 inches
BHO SA 1755 CLR 70 309/58/39/0509/044/ FEW SC DSNT ENE-ESE 8/500
50003 10058 20041

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SUMMARY FOR THURSDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2024

TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
MAX…….54  NORMAL…..61
MIN…….35  NORMAL…..44
MEAN……45  NORMAL…..52

DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR (1991-2020) NORMAL…………..-7
TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH……………………..-12 [-0.9 DEGREES/DAY]

HEATING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON: JUL 2024 THRU JUN 2025)
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY……………20  DEPARTURE……..+7
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE MONTH…………..181  DEPARTURE……..+6
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE SEASON………….251  DEPARTURE…….-42
TOTAL HEATING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE……..218  DEPARTURE…….+33

COOLING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON: JAN 2024 THRU DEC 2024)
TOTAL COOLING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY…………….0  DEPARTURE………0
TOTAL COOLING UNITS FOR THE MONTH…………….0  DEPARTURE……..-6
TOTAL COOLING UNITS FOR THE SEASON………….757  DEPARTURE…….+81
TOTAL COOLING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE……..704  DEPARTURE…….+53

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)……….E22 NE   @   11:33 A.M.
VECTOR #1 (1-Sec)……….22 NE   @   11:33 A.M.
VECTOR #2 (1-Sec)……….20 NE   @   11:34 A.M.
DAVIS #1……………….20 NE   @   11:33 A.M.
DAVIS #2 ………………19 ENE  @   11:33 A.M.
RMY #1 (Instantaneous)…..20 NE   @   11:33 A.M.
RMY #2 (Instantaneous)…..20 NE   @   11:34 A.M.
MERLIN…………………25 N
RICHARDS (C5C) (Inst)…..OTS

FASTEST MILE:
CONTACTING ANEMOMETER/OFFICIAL………………15 N    @   11:42 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE VECTOR #1 AVERAGE…………..14      @   11:44 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE VECTOR #2 AVERAGE…………..15      @   11:49 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS #1 AVERAGE……………15 NE   @   11:35 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS #2 AVERAGE……………14 ENE  @   11:35 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RMY #1 AVERAGE……………..14 N    @   11:42 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RMY #2 AVERAGE……………..15 N    @   11:43 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RICHARDS (C5C) AVERAGE……..OTS

AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION:
CONTACTING/OFFICIAL……..8.6 N  [206 total miles] VECTOR #1………………8.9
VECTOR #2………………9.5
DAVIS #1……………….9.0 NNE
DAVIS #2……………….9.1 NE
RMY #1…………………8.9 NE
RMY #2…………………9.3 NNE
RICHARDS (C5C)………….OTS

PRECIPITATION (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST):
TOTAL PRECIPITATION 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M……..0.00 DEPARTURE…..-0.19
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH…………..0.53 DEPARTURE…..-2.22
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR (2024)…….43.57 DEPARTURE…..+2.15

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PRELIMINARY CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR OCTOBER 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

10/1   66/55/61/+3/T/134/19               28 ENE VEC1 28 ENE RMY 29
10/2   66/52/59/+1/T/252/36               21 ENE VEC1 20 ENE RMY 20
10/3   72/52/62/+5/0.00/592/85            23 S   VEC1 23 S   RMY 23
10/4   74/54/64/+7/0.00/452/65            23 SW  VEC1 22 SW  RMY 22
10/5   72/52/62/+5/T/457/66               24 NNW VEC1 23 NNW RMY 24
10/6   65/47/56/0/0.00/655/95             20 SE  VEC1 19 SE  RMY 18
10/7   60/51/56/0/0.27/021/03             29 SSE VEC1 29 SSE RMY 31
10/8   64/45/55/0/0.00/663/97             21 NW  VEC1 21 NW  RMY 21
10/9   64/46/55/0/T/639/94                24 W   VEC1 23 WNW RMY 23
10/10  60/42/51/-4/0.00/616/91            36 NW  VEC1 36 NW  RMY 38
10/11  67/40/54/0/0.00/635/94             28 WSW VEC1 27 WSW RMY 27
10/12  71/48/60/+6/0.00/652/97            44 NW  VEC1 43 NW  RMY 45
10/13  50/44/47/-7/0.20/007/01            32 ENE VEC1 32 ENE RMY 30
10/14  51/38/45/-8/0.06/000/00            35 NW  VEC1 34 WNW RMY 36
10/15  55/35/45/-8/0.00/617/93            31 W   VEC1 30 WNW RMY 31
10/16  56/38/47/-5/0.00/615/93            32 NW  VEC1 31 NW  RMY 32
10/17  54/35/45/-7/0.00/…/..            22 NE  VEC1 22 NE  RMY 20

10/18  The low since midnight is 40F, the daily normal low is 43F.

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OCTOBER DAILY RECORDS TO DATE

NONE.

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

RECORDS FOR OCTOBER 18
HIGH 82F IN 1908
LOW 26F IN 1939
PRECIP 2.79 INCHES IN 1975
SNOWFALL 3.0 INCHES IN 2009
PEAK GUST 66 MPH S IN 1967

RECORDS FOR OCTOBER 19
HIGH 81F IN 1945
LOW 21F IN 1922
PRECIP 3.64 INCHES IN 1932
SNOWFALL 1.0 INCHES IN 1972
PEAK GUST 66 MPH SSW IN 1967

TODAY’S REPORT PREPARED BY: Amanda Joly