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Saturday, March 21, 2026

March 21, 2026

BLUE HILL METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATORY MILTON, MASSACHUSETTS ELEVATION 635 FEET, 10 MILES SSW OF BOSTON, MA SATURDAY, MARCH 21, 2026 ALL TIMES ARE…

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

SATURDAY, MARCH 21, 2026
ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME (EST)
SUNRISE: 0546E
SUNSET:  1758E

A CHILLY DAMP START TURNS INTO A BRIGHT, MILDER DAY….

Rain moved into the area yesterday evening, netting us 0.15 inches
of precipitation. By the morning, the conditions felt a bit damp
and raw, as fog and moisture was still observed. By the mid
morning, conditions improved and partly cloudy skies with a healthy
amount of sunshine was the theme. The wind was light this morning
but started to increase by noon.

Temperatures have remained mild today, with a low so far of 41F,
which is 13 degrees above the normal for today. Even with a colder
wind, temperatures have still made it to the mid 50’s which is
slightly above average for this time of year. Dew points started
off in the low 40’s while the foggy conditions persisted but have
since dropped to the low 30’s.

Winds started off light out of the west-southwest and shifted to
the north-northwest by daybreak. Winds have picked up most
noticeably since the late morning hours. The average for the day
so far is around 11mph. The peak gust for the day so far is 30mph,
which occurred at 12:46pm this afternoon.

The visibility was poor this morning due to fog in the area,
giving only about 15 miles. Once the fog lifted, visibility
improved to 60 miles by the early afternoon.

The maximum temperature so far today is 52F degrees, which is
7 degrees above the normal high of 45F. The minimum temperature
since midnight is 41F degrees, which is 13 degrees above the
normal low of 28F.

————————————————————–

Today’s Observations:

7 A.M.
Weather: Broken stratus fractus, overcast stratus
Temperature: 42F; Dew Point: 42F; Relative Humidity: 100%
Wind: NNW @ 7 kts
Sea-level pressure: 1009.3 mb; 29.80 in. Hg: rising, then more rapidly
Visibility: 15 miles, thin fog all quadrants
6-hr Max temp: 43F
6-hr Min temp: 41F
24-hr Precip: 0.15 inches
24-hr Snowfall: 0.0 inches
Snow Depth: 0 inches
BHO SA 1155 E8 BKN 45 OVC 15 093/42/42/3307/980/ THN F ALQDS/ 8/7//
53025 70015 10043 20041

10 A.M.
Weather: Broken stratocumulus
Temperature: 47F; Dew Point: 39F; Relative Humidity: 74%
Wind: NNW @ 6 kts, wind light
Sea-level pressure: 1011.7 mb; 29.88 in. Hg: falling, then more slowly
Visibility: 50 miles
3-hr Precip: 0.00 inches
3-hr Snowfall: 0.0 inches
BHO SA 1455 E22 BKN 50 117/47/39/3406/988/ WND LGT/ 8/500 51024

1 P.M.
Weather: Scattered stratocumulus
Temperature: 52F; Dew Point: 33F; Relative Humidity: 47%
Wind: NNW @ 13G26 kts, peak wind NNW 30mph at 12:46 P.M.
Sea-level pressure: 1011.4mb; 29.87 in. Hg: falling, then rising
Visibility: 60 miles
6-hr Max temp: 52F
6-hr Min temp: 42F
6-hr Precip: 0.00 inches
6-hr Snowfall: 0.0 inches
Snow Depth: 0 inches
BHO SA 1755 45 SCT 60 114/52/33/3213G26/987/ PK WND 3226/46/ 8/500
55003 10052 20042

————————————————————–

SUMMARY FOR FRIDAY, MARCH 20, 2026

TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
MAX…….54   NORMAL…..45
MIN…….31   NORMAL…..28
MEAN……43   NORMAL…..37

DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR (1991-2020) NORMAL…………….+6
TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH……………………..+105 [+5.1 DEGREES/DAY]

HEATING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON: JUL 2025 THRU JUN 2026)
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY…………….22  DEPARTURE……..-7
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE MONTH (MAR)………518  DEPARTURE……-106
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE SEASON………….5060  DEPARTURE……..+4
TOTAL HEATING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE……..4672  DEPARTURE……+388

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)………..43 SSW  @   05:48 P.M.
VECTOR #1 (1-Sec)……….42 SSW  @   05:48 P.M.
VECTOR #2 (1-Sec)……….43 S    @   03:15 P.M.
DAVIS #1……………….45 S    @   02:34 P.M.
DAVIS #2 ………………47 S    @   03:10 P.M.
RMY #1 (Instantaneous)…..45 SSW  @   03:39 P.M.
RMY #2 (Instantaneous)…..46 S    @   03:15 P.M.
MERLIN…………………43 SW
RICHARDS (C5C) (Inst)……41 SSW  @   04:43 P.M.

FASTEST MILE:
CONTACTING ANEMOMETER/OFFICIAL………………30 SSW  @   05:48 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE VECTOR #1 AVERAGE…………..30 SSW  @   05:48 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE VECTOR #2 AVERAGE…………..30 SSW  @   05:48 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS #1 AVERAGE……………31 S    @   03:20 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS #2 AVERAGE……………33 S    @   03:11 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RMY #1 AVERAGE……………..30 SSW  @   05:48 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RMY #2 AVERAGE……………..31 SSW  @   05:48 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RICHARDS (C5C) AVERAGE………29 SSW  @   05:48 P.M.

AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION:
CONTACTING/OFFICIAL……..14.0 SSW [337 total miles] VECTOR #1………………14.5
VECTOR #2………………14.8
DAVIS #1……………….14.2 SSW
DAVIS #2……………….15.0 SSW
RMY #1…………………14.3 SSW
RMY #2…………………14.9 SSW
RICHARDS (C5C)………….13.7

PRECIPITATION (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST):
TOTAL PRECIPITATION 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M……..0.15 DEPARTURE…..-0.04
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH (MAR)……..3.64 DEPARTURE…..+0.10
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR (2026)…….10.23 DEPARTURE…..-1.81

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…..-8.8
TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE SEASON (2025-2026)……81.2 DEPARTURE….+18.0

————————————————————–

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 54/31/43/+6/0.15/0.0/…/..         43 SSW VEC1 42 SSW RMY 45

3/21 The low since midnight is 41F, the daily normal low is 28F.

————————————————————–

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

————————————————————–

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

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

RECORDS FOR MARCH 22
HIGH 81 IN 2012
LOW 3 IN 1885
PRECIP 3.48 INS. IN 2001
SNOW 8.7 INS. 1967
PEAK GUST 84e MPH E IN 1977

TODAY’S REPORT PREPARED BY: Amanda Joly

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