Monday, October 21, 2024

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

MONDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2024
ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME (EST)
SUNRISE: 0605E
SUNSET:  1652E

MAINLY SUNNY AND DRY WITH RECORD WARM TEMPERATURES….

Today has featured plenty of sunshine filtered at times through some
mid and upper level clouds. The very warm air mass (for this time of
year) continues in place over the region with record high temps
being experienced this afternoon.

The temperature has reached 81F so far early this afternoon which
has established a new record high for the day, beating the old record
of 79F set in 1979. Readings are running 20+ degrees above normal
today. The dew point is higher today than yesterday, reaching the low
50s early this afternoon. As such, relative humidity levels are a bit
higher than they were yesterday. This is good news as a brush fire
that started yesterday within the Reservation to the east-northeast
of Blue Hill continues to smolder today. The higher moisture content
in the air is helping to make it a bit easier to get the fire
completely extinguished.

The wind has been fairly steady out of mainly a westerly direction,
averaging around 10-11mph for the day so far. The peak gust occurred
just before the 1pm observation period, with a value of 24mph.

Visibility has been lower today than yesterday, in part due to the
higher dew point, but mostly due to being stuck under a stagnant
high pressure system, thus helping to trap pollution in the low
levels of the atmosphere. The view has decreased from around 50 miles
early this morning to only around 35-40 miles by early this afternoon.

The maximum temperature so far today is 81F, which is 22 degrees
above the normal high of 59F. The minimum temperature since midnight
is 52F, which is 10 degrees above the normal low of 42F.

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Today’s Observations:

7 A.M.
Weather: Thin broken cirrus, few altocumulus distant W-NNE
Temperature: 57F; Dew Point: 40F; Relative Humidity: 52%
Wind: W @ 9 kts
Sea-level pressure: 1021.5 mb; 30.17 in. Hg: falling unsteadily
Visibility: 50 miles, hazy
6-hr Max temp: 57F
6-hr Min temp: 52F
24-hr Precip:  0.00 inches
BHO SA 1155 E250 -BKN 50 215/57/40/2709/017/ FEW AC DSNT W-NNE
K PLUME ENE HAZY/ 8/051 52010 10057 20052

10 A.M.
Weather: Broken altocumulus, thin broken cirrus
Temperature: 69F; Dew Point: 45F; Relative Humidity: 43%
Wind: W @ 7 kts
Sea-level pressure: 1021.4 mb; 30.16 in. Hg: rising, then falling
Visibility: 40 miles, hazy
3-hr Precip: 0.00 inches
BHO SA 1455 E85 BKN 250 -BKN 40 214/69/45/2607/016/ HAZY/ 8/051 58001

1 P.M.
Weather: Clear, few cirrus all quadrants
Temperature: 80F; Dew Point: 52F; Relative Humidity: 33%
Wind: WSW @ 9G17 kts
Sea-level pressure: 1019.2 mb; 30.10 in. Hg: falling, then more rapidly
Visibility: 40 miles, hazy
6-hr Max temp: 81F
6-hr Min temp: 57F
6-hr Precip: 0.00 inches
BHO SA 1755 CLR 40 192/80/52/2409G17/010/ FEW CI ALQDS HAZY/ 8/001
58022 10081 20057

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SUMMARY FOR SUNDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2024

TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
MAX…….76  NORMAL…..60
MIN…….47  NORMAL…..42
MEAN……62  NORMAL…..51

DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR (1991-2020) NORMAL…………..+11
TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH………………………+5 [+0.1 DEGREES/DAY]

HEATING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON: JUL 2024 THRU JUN 2025)
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY…………….3  DEPARTURE…….-11
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE MONTH…………..205  DEPARTURE…….-11
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE SEASON………….275  DEPARTURE…….-59
TOTAL HEATING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE……..242  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……..-7
TOTAL COOLING UNITS FOR THE SEASON………….757  DEPARTURE…….+80
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)……….E21 WSW  @   08:56 P.M.
VECTOR #1 (1-Sec)……….22 WSW  @   07:56 P.M.
VECTOR #2 (1-Sec)……….23 WSW  @   09:10 P.M.
DAVIS #1……………….21 WSW  @   08:56 P.M.
DAVIS #2 ………………22 WSW  @   08:38 P.M.
RMY #1 (Instantaneous)…..23 WSW  @   09:51 P.M.
RMY #2 (Instantaneous)…..23 WSW  @   09:10 P.M.
MERLIN…………………21 WSW
RICHARDS (C5C) (Inst)…..OTS

FASTEST MILE:
CONTACTING ANEMOMETER/OFFICIAL………………17 WSW  @   09:34 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE VECTOR #1 AVERAGE…………..16      @   11:58 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE VECTOR #2 AVERAGE…………..17      @   11:36 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS #1 AVERAGE……………16 WSW  @   11:58 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS #2 AVERAGE……………17 WSW  @   10:04 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RMY #1 AVERAGE……………..16 W    @   11:59 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RMY #2 AVERAGE……………..17 WSW  @   11:36 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RICHARDS (C5C) AVERAGE……..OTS

AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION:
CONTACTING/OFFICIAL……10.8 WSW [260 total miles] VECTOR #1…………….10.8
VECTOR #2…………….11.3
DAVIS #1……………..11.1 WSW
DAVIS #2……………..11.3 W
RMY #1……………….10.6 WSW
RMY #2……………….11.3 WSW
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…..-2.95
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR (2024)…….43.57 DEPARTURE…..+1.42

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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  59/40/50/-2/0.00/…/..            28 NNE VEC1 28 NE  RMY 27
10/19  72/46/59/+8/0.00/…/..            20 WSW VEC1 19 WSW RMY 19
10/20  76/47/62/+11/0.00/…/..           21 WSW VEC1 22 WSW RMY 23

10/21  The low since midnight is 52F, the daily normal low is 42F.

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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 21
HIGH 79F IN 1979
LOW 24F IN 1974
PRECIP 2.34 INCHES IN 1944
SNOWFALL TRACE IN 1895,1907,1941
PEAK GUST 69e MPH S IN 1976

RECORDS FOR OCTOBER 22
HIGH 85F IN 1979
LOW 23F IN 1940
PRECIP 2.38 INCHES IN 2014
SNOWFALL TRACE IN 1969, 2010
PEAK GUST 67 MPH ESE IN 1988

TODAY’S REPORT PREPARED BY: Matt Douglas