Saturday, August 17, 2024

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

SATURDAY, AUGUST 17, 2024
ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME (EST)
SUNRISE: 0454E
SUNSET:  1841E

COOL AND FOGGY TO START, FILTERED AFTERNOON SUNSHINE….

Today’s weather is evolving very similarly to yesterday’s. We began
the morning with dense fog here on the summit, which slowly lifted.
Overcast skies remained until late morning, as the sun finally began
to peek through the dissipating low cloud deck. Despite mostly clear skies
by early afternoon, wildfire smoke is currently keeping visibility low.
Winds remain very light.

Temperatures reached the low 60s this morning, and have climbed slowly
since into the low 70s, which is below normal for the time of year. The
dew point has held nearly steady in the low 60s.

Winds, as mentioned, have been slow, with an average so far of only 5mph.
The flow is primarily out of the south-southeast, but direction is a bit
variable. The peak gust today occurred right after midnight, with a speed
of only 12mph.

Visibility was poor this morning with the dense fog, limited to 1/16 of
a mile. As the cloud base has lifted and overcast broke, we can now see
up to 10 miles by the 1pm observation, limited by haze and wildfire smoke.

The maximum temperature so far today is 72F, which is 8 degrees
below the normal high of 80F. The minimum temperature since
midnight is 60F, which is 3 degrees below the normal low of 63F.

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Today’s Observations:

7 A.M.
Weather: Fog, sky obscured, vertical visibility 200ft
Temperature: 62F; Dew Point: 62F; Relative Humidity: 100%
Wind: SSE @ 4 kts, wind light
Sea-level pressure: 1019.0 mb ; 30.09 in. Hg: steady, then rising
Visibility: 1/16 mile, fog
6-hr Max temp: 62F
6-hr Min temp: 60F
24-hr Precip:  0.00 inches
BHO SA 1155 X W2 1/16F 190/62/62/1604/009/ WND LGT/ 8//// 53002
10062 20060

10 A.M.
Weather: Overcast stratocumulus
Temperature: 65F; Dew Point: 62F; Relative Humidity: 92%
Wind: SSE @ 2 kts, wind light
Sea-level pressure: 1019.5 mb; 30.11 in. Hg: rising, then steady
Visibility: 8 miles, thin fog all quadrants
3-hr Precip: 0.00 inches
BHO SA 1455 E4 OVC 8 195/65/62/1602/011/ THN F ALQDS WND LGT/ 8/5//
51005

1 P.M.
Weather: Scattered stratocumulus, scattered altocumulus
Temperature: 71F; Dew Point: 61F; Relative Humidity: 70%
Wind: SE @ 4 kts, wind light
Sea-level pressure: 1018.0 mb; 30.06 in. Hg: falling steadily
Visibility: 10 miles, hazy, thin smoke layer all quadrants
6-hr Max temp: 72F
6-hr Min temp: 62F
6-hr Precip: 0.00 inches
BHO SA 1755 20 SCT 150 SCT 10 180/71/61/1404/006/ THN K LYR ALQDS HAZY
WND LGT/ 8/550 57015 10072 20062

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SUMMARY FOR FRIDAY, AUGUST 16, 2024

TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
MAX…….74  NORMAL…..80
MIN…….61  NORMAL…..63
MEAN……68  NORMAL…..72

DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR (1991-2020) NORMAL…………..-4
TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH…………………….+13 [+0.6 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……..-2
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE SEASON……………2  DEPARTURE……..-9
TOTAL HEATING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE……….0  DEPARTURE……..+2

COOLING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON: JAN 2024 THRU DEC 2024)
TOTAL COOLING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY…………….3  DEPARTURE……..-4
TOTAL COOLING UNITS FOR THE MONTH…………..134  DEPARTURE…….+14
TOTAL COOLING UNITS FOR THE SEASON………….631  DEPARTURE……+124
TOTAL COOLING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE……..518  DEPARTURE……+113

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)……….E13 ESE  @   07:56 P.M.
VECTOR #1 (1-Sec)……….13 ESE  @   07:49 P.M.
VECTOR #2 (1-Sec)……….13 ESE  @   07:55 P.M.
DAVIS #1……………….13 ENE  @   02:32 P.M.
DAVIS #2 ………………13 E    @   03:00 P.M.
RMY #1 (Instantaneous)…..13 ENE  @   02:41 P.M.
RMY #2 (Instantaneous)…..13 ESE  @   07:55 P.M.
MERLIN…………………12 ENE
RICHARDS (C5C) (Inst)…..OTS

FASTEST MILE:
CONTACTING ANEMOMETER/OFFICIAL………………10 ESE  @   07:58 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE VECTOR #1 AVERAGE…………..11      @   07:52 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE VECTOR #2 AVERAGE…………..11      @   07:55 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS #1 AVERAGE……………11 ESE  @   07:51 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS #2 AVERAGE……………11 ESE  @   07:55 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RMY #1 AVERAGE……………..11 ESE  @   07:52 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RMY #2 AVERAGE……………..12 ESE  @   07:55 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RICHARDS (C5C) AVERAGE……..OTS

AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION:
CONTACTING/OFFICIAL…….5.0 NE [119 total miles] VECTOR #1……………..5.9
VECTOR #2……………..6.2
DAVIS #1………………5.7 E
DAVIS #2………………5.6 E
RMY #1………………..5.8 ENE
RMY #2………………..6.2 ENE
RICHARDS (C5C)…………OTS

PRECIPITATION (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST):
TOTAL PRECIPITATION 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M……..0.00 DEPARTURE…..-0.13
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH…………..2.61 DEPARTURE…..+0.52
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR (2024)…….40.86 DEPARTURE…..+8.07

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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   82/62/72/0/0.48/127/15              50 SSW VEC1 48 S   RMY 50
8/10  85/68/77/+5/0.37/659/78             41 SSW VEC1 41 SSW RMY 43
8/11  81/63/72/0/0.00/741/88              30 W   VEC1 29 SW  RMY 30
8/12  77/59/68/-4/0.15/638/76             35 WNW VEC1 34 WNW RMY 36
8/13  80/58/69/-3/0.00/787/94             21 NW  VEC1 22 NW  RMY 21
8/14  82/62/72/0/0.00/676/81              16 NNW VEC1 15 NNW RMY 15
8/15  84/62/73/+1/0.57/…/..             44 N   VEC1 42 N   RMY 46 TSTM
8/16  74/61/68/-4/0.00/…/..             13 ESE VEC1 13 ESE RMY 13

8/17  The low since midnight is 60F, the daily normal low is 63F.

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AUGUST DAILY RECORDS TO DATE

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

8/15 PEAK GUST 44e MPH N,
TIED THE PREVIOUS RECORD SET IN 1941

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

RECORDS FOR AUGUST 17
HIGH 97F IN 1944
LOW 48F IN 1902
PRECIP 2.17 INCHES IN 1998
PEAK GUST 50e MPH SSW IN 1952, 50 MPH WNW IN 1962

RECORDS FOR AUGUST 18
HIGH 93F IN 2002
LOW 49F IN 1918, 1941
PRECIP 4.64 INCHES IN 1955 [DIANE] PEAK GUST 46 MPH WNW IN 2007

TODAY’S REPORT PREPARED BY: Joshua Polen