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Saturday, May 16, 2026

May 16, 2026

BLUE HILL METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATORY MILTON, MASSACHUSETTS ELEVATION 635 FEET, 10 MILES SSW OF BOSTON, MA SATURDAY, MAY 16, 2026 ALL TIMES ARE…

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

SATURDAY, MAY 16, 2026
ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME (EST)
SUNRISE: 0422E
SUNSET:  1900E

PLENTY OF SUNSHINE WITH WARM TEMPERATURES AND A NICE BREEZE….

High pressure is building over the Atlantic between North Carolina
and Bermuda. Meanwhile aloft an upper level ridge is gradually
building into the region resulting in a broad southwest flow
which is helping to advect a much warmer air mass into the region.

This combination is allowing for what can only be described as
a spectacular day which just happens to be coinciding with the
weekend for a change. Sunshine has been abundant today with a
nice westerly breeze and warming temperatures. It’s been a perfect
day for any and all outdoor activities.

Temperatures have warmed markedly today into the mid to upper
70s, which is solidly around 10 degrees above normal for the date.
Dew point values have remained quite pleasant with readings dropping
from the low 50s early this morning to the mid 40s by early this
afternoon.

Winds were light overnight, but have been increasing during the
morning into this afternoon. The increase in wind is due to a
combination of the high pressure getting established to our south
and some mixing from aloft as the surface heats up. West have
generally been westerly through the day averaging at around 12mph
for the day so far. It has been gusty at times, with a peak gust
of 30mph so far for the day, which occurred right at 11am this
morning.

Visibility has been pretty decent all day with a view of around
60 miles.

The maximum temperature so far today is 77F degrees, which is
10 degrees above the normal high of 67F. The minimum temperature
since midnight is 47F degrees, which is 1 degree below the normal
low of 48F.

————————————————————–

Today’s Observations:

7 A.M.
Weather: Clear, few stratus fractus distant S and distant WNW-NW,
few altocumulus distant WSW-NW-NE, few cirrus distant W-N
Temperature: 55F; Dew Point: 51F; Relative Humidity: 89%
Wind: WSW @ 8 kts
Sea-level pressure: 1019.5 mb; 30.11 in. Hg: rising, then more slowly
Visibility: 60 miles
6-hr Max temp: 55F
6-hr Min temp: 47F
24-hr Precip: 0.04 inches
BHO SA 1155 CLR 60 195/55/51/2508/011/ FEW STFRA DSNT S AND
DSNT WNW-NW FEW AC DSNT WSW-NW-NE FEW CI DSNT W-N/ 8/751 51015
70004 10055 20047

10 A.M.
Weather: Thin broken cirrus, few cumulus distant ESE-WSW-NNE
Temperature: 68F; Dew Point: 49F; Relative Humidity: 51%
Wind: W @ 9G16 kts
Sea-level pressure: 1018.7 mb; 30.08 in. Hg: rising, then falling
Visibility: 60 miles
3-hr Precip: 0.00 inches
BHO SA 1455 E250 -BKN 60 187/68/49/2609G16/008/ FEW CU DSNT
ESE-WSW-NNE/ 8/201 58008

1 P.M.
Weather: Thin broken cirrus, few cumulus distant SSW-SW
Temperature: 74F; Dew Point: 46F; Relative Humidity: 36%
Wind: W @ 13G25 kts
Sea-level pressure: 1016.0 mb; 30.00 in. Hg: falling, then more rapidly
Visibility: 60 miles
6-hr Max temp: 75F
6-hr Min temp: 55F
6-hr Precip: 0.00 inches
BHO SA 1755 E250 -BKN 60 160/74/46/2613G25/000/ FEW CU DSNT SSW-SW/
8/201 58027 10075 20055

————————————————————–

SUMMARY FOR FRIDAY, MAY 15, 2026

TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
MAX…….56   NORMAL…..67
MIN…….47   NORMAL…..48
MEAN……52   NORMAL…..57

DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR (1991-2020) NORMAL…………….-5
TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH……………………….-9 [-0.8 DEGREES/DAY]

HEATING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON: JUL 2025 THRU JUN 2026)
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY…………….13  DEPARTURE……..+5
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE MONTH (MAY)………153  DEPARTURE……..+1
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE SEASON………….5989  DEPARTURE…….-50
TOTAL HEATING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE……..5486  DEPARTURE……+503

COOLING DEGREE DAYS (SEASON: JAN 2026 THRU DEC 2026)
TOTAL COOLING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY……………..0  DEPARTURE……..-1
TOTAL COOLING UNITS FOR THE MONTH (MAY)………..0  DEPARTURE……..-7
TOTAL COOLING UNITS FOR THE SEASON…………….6  DEPARTURE……..-4
TOTAL COOLING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE………..7  DEPARTURE……..-1

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)………..18 NE   @   11:27 A.M.
VECTOR #1 (1-Sec)……….19 NE   @   11:27 A.M.
VECTOR #2 (1-Sec)……….19 NE   @   11:27 A.M.
DAVIS #1……………….18 NE   @   11:26 A.M.
DAVIS #2 ………………19 ENE  @   11:27 A.M.
RMY #1 (Instantaneous)…..20 NE   @   11:27 A.M.
RMY #2 (Instantaneous)…..19 NNE  @   11:25 A.M.
MERLIN………………….M
RICHARDS (C5C) (Inst)……18 NE   @   11:27 A.M.

FASTEST MILE:
CONTACTING ANEMOMETER/OFFICIAL………………12 NNE  @   11:32 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE VECTOR #1 AVERAGE…………..14 NE   @   11:27 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE VECTOR #2 AVERAGE…………..14 WNW  @   11:07 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS #1 AVERAGE……………14 NE   @   11:27 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS #2 AVERAGE……………14 WNW  @   11:07 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RMY #1 AVERAGE……………..13 NE   @   11:27 A.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RMY #2 AVERAGE……………..14 WNW  @   11:07 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE RICHARDS (C5C) AVERAGE………13 NE   @   11:27 A.M.

AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION:
CONTACTING/OFFICIAL………5.5 WNW [133 total miles] VECTOR #1……………….6.4
VECTOR #2……………….6.7
DAVIS #1………………..6.1 N
DAVIS #2………………..6.1 N
RMY #1………………….6.4 NNW
RMY #2………………….6.5 NNW
RICHARDS (C5C)…………..6.8

PRECIPITATION (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST):
TOTAL PRECIPITATION 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M……..0.04 DEPARTURE…..-0.08
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH (MAY)……..0.99 DEPARTURE…..-0.81
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR (2026)…….14.66 DEPARTURE…..-5.92

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/…/..             37 SSE VEC1 38 SE  RMY 36
5/15 56/47/52/-5/0.04/…/..             18 NE  VEC1 19 NE  RMY 20

5/16 The low since midnight is 47F, the daily normal low is 48F.

————————————————————–

MAY DAILY RECORDS TO DATE

NONE.

————————————————————–

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

RECORDS FOR MAY 16
HIGH 90F IN 1951
LOW 30F IN 1936
PRECIP 2.63 INCHES IN 1954
PEAK GUST 56e MPH NW IN 1952

RECORDS FOR MAY 17
HIGH 90F IN 2017
LOW 34F IN 1956, 1957
PRECIP 2.07 INS IN 1916
PEAK GUST 52 MPH SW IN 1967, W IN 1974

TODAY’S REPORT PREPARED BY: Matt Douglas

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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